Working girl.

Just wanted to check in quickly.  I've been working the early voting polls here in my county and it's been crazy.  We've seen record numbers and we've only been open 9 days. In those 9 days I've already worked 89 hours and boy am I tired!

I'm leaving the house at 7:40 AM and returning at 7:45 PM. Dan is having to do laundry and cook dinner.  (I usually have the main dish prepped but he and Sarah get it cooked along with the rest of the meal.)

These hours are longer than I realize when I first signed up to do this but I am working with some of my friends and that is making it fun.  Plus I'm really enjoying getting to know the other people I'm working with too.  

The first four or five days we were open were crazy.  Lines were wrapped around the building and into the parking lot.  Things have calmed down the last few days and I'm not bone tired when I get home like I was at first.

I've been taking lots of vitamin C, wearing a mask and gloves, washing my hands like crazy, using lots of hand sanitizer and hoping for the best Covid wise.  99.9 percent of the people voting are wearing their masks and when they aren't we ask them to put one on and they comply. There have only been a couple here and there who refuse (and at this point our little precinct has voted 6,000 people so I think that's pretty good).

I would love to post a picture of myself all masked up and helping voters but it is a felony to take a picture inside a polling location so - no pictures on this post my friends!

Have a great week!

Another quick beach trip and a few other things that have been keeping us busy.

 We spent a small portion of this past weekend in North Myrtle Beach.  If you are keeping up, that makes three weekends in a row that I've been to the beaches in South Carolina.

This time however, it wasn't all fun and games.  The father of one of Sarah's best friends passed away unexpectedly and his funeral was on Friday in North Myrtle.  Her friend asked her if she would come and how could we say no.  

Dan had Friday off as one of his furlough days thanks to Covid so the three of us headed to the beach early on Friday morning.  The funeral Mass was at 1:00.  Our hotel room wasn't ready so we did a quick change in the lobby bathroom and headed to the church.

It was a beautiful funeral - as beautiful as they can be I suppose.  He was retired from the Air Force so there was a flag ceremony, Taps played on the bugle, and a three volley gun salute.  It was sad but I was glad that Sarah was able to be there to support her friend.

We grabbed lunch after the funeral and then Dan and I headed to the beach for a little bit.  

That evening we went to dinner and afterwards Sarah met her friend for ice cream and they hung out for a while.  

Then we got up early on Saturday morning, had breakfast and  headed home.  It was a quick, sad trip but I'm glad we were able to take Sarah.

Other than going to the beach, here's what we've been up to in list form:

1.  Peter's been working on his college applications and I've been filling out his FAFSA.  Everything is very complicated and time consuming and I wish we had started on things sooner.  But we will get it all done. (I hope.)

2. Sarah's been working on her Student of the Year activities for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She led her first team Zoom meeting  and did an excellent job.  I was very proud of her.  And right  now, she is on a call with her first business owner to ask for his support in the spring when the fundraising begins.  By the end of this, she is going to have gained some really great skills that she will hopefully be able to put to good use in the future. And hopefully she will have raised a lot of money to support research for cancer.

3. I will be working the polls for early voting this year!  A friend of mine does it every year and asked if I wanted to help.  They need extra workers this year because due to the PPE we are required to wear, everyone will need extra breaks and time to just breathe. Most of the people that work at this particular poling place are retires so I think they are also looking for extra help running in and out to do the voting for people who can't come inside due to Covid. At the meeting I attended yesterday, we were told we would need to wear a mask, a shield, and gloves.  Part of me is rethinking all of this because guess whose hot flashes have returned with a vengeance?   

4. I finally got a few things to spruce up the front porch and make it look a little fallish. Walmart had this little beauty marked down to $5!  I had to get it.

5.  And I guess I better sign off because it's Open Enrollment time!  I need to make sure we are properly signed up for all of our health benefits.  It seems like I just completed last year's open enrollment process.  Even during Covid, time is flying by.

Girls Getaway to North Myrtle Beach

 Last Friday afternoon, I headed to North Myrtle Beach with 4 of my friends from my old MOPS group.  Our 6th member Wendy wasn't able to go and we really missed her.

We had such a great weekend together. We had no plans other than to eat out  a couple of meals and hang out on the beach.  The weather wasn't the greatest but we still managed a long walk and sitting around enjoying the waves and the sights and sounds of the beach.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

We arrived Friday night and immediately stopped to see the beach under the gorgeous moon!

  Kim was our hostess and when we arrived at her condo these were waiting on us! Inside each basket was a beach devotion book, salt water taffy, a personalized Christmas ornament, a seashell, and Yankee Candle votive called Beach Walk and a handwritten note.  Such a sweet welcome!

Our original plan was to go out for dinner on Saturday evening but after enjoying a leisurely breakfast at the condo and literally sitting around talking and laughing until 2:00 we decided at late lunch would be better.

After lunch we took a walk on the beach and enjoyed the scenery.  The weather was starting to deteriorate at this point but we didn't care.

On Sunday morning we headed out for brunch.

And then we hit a couple  of the outlet stores and shoppes near Barefoot Landing.  The lines to get in the stores were long and we didn't have time to wait.  

It was such a great weekend.  I really enjoyed my time with these ladies and we are already planning another trip.