Monthly Archives: September 2023

Tech in Your 30’s

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Alright, so what does using technology look like if you’re in your 30s and aren’t cool?

Let me give you the low down–note my cool use of slang there.

I have an iPhone, so I like to use the sleep focus on my phone. This sets a time when my phone doesn’t allow any notifications through (except for those I allow). I have mine set to sleep between 9 pm and 6 am on weekdays and 11 pm and 8 am on weekends. This allows me to have a better sleep because I use my phone as my alarm clock and always have it within arm’s reach when I’m sleeping.

I also have an Apple Watch and make use of a few features such as:

  • the time and date
  • weather
  • stopwatch
  • fitness rings
  • notifications for texts, emails, and phone calls
  • navigation
  • heart rate monitoring
  • to find my phone
  • track my sleep
  • adding items to my grocery list (“Siri, add eggs to grocery list” and it connects to your phone–amazing).
  • take photos with my phone when its set up from a distance
  • and so many more things! Check out this website for some more tips and tricks about Apple Watches.

Just in case you’re one of those crazy Android users… here is why you should switch:

 

On my way to and from work, I always listen to audiobooks–this is my favourite part about having a 50-minute drive. For the last two years, I’ve used the Libby app, which is set up using my public library card. So far, I’ve listened to 71 books and have 21 currently on hold. I’d highly recommend you use this instead of something like Audible, as I just can’t see how paying for a book that you can get from the library makes sense.

Once I get to work, there are quite a few different programs I use; here are just a few:

  • Google Classroom
    • I have all my classes set up here. All assignments, instructions, and videos are posted daily for students. It keeps everything organized and accessible to my students wherever they are.
  • Google Drive
    • This is such a convenient place to store all my files, and is easy to collaborate with others.
  • Email
    • I use Outlook, formally known as Hotmail (which is apparently dead, but for some reason its still what I set up my new email using my married name under. Sigh.)
    • Mostly I use this program just for emails, but I do use the calendar function to keep track of work meetings–especially those that are on TEAMS
  • Planbook
    • This is a really useful online daybook for teaching. You can organize and colour code your classes, block out non-school days, add SLO’s to each day, attach assignments, and even use it as a gradebook. It even integrates with Google Classroom.
  • BMO spend dynamic
    • This is an online banking app that allows me to do all the coding for my school credit card. It’s not a fun job, but this program works pretty seamlessly.
  • My School Sask
    • I do not like this program one little bit. I have worked in several school divisions and have used many different platforms. This one is by far the worst I’ve ever used.
    • I use this program to set up all classes and enroll students
    • to record CFR levels for EAL students, although this will soon be moved over to CLVR.
    • to track attendance
    • as a gradebook and for report cards
  • Atrieve
    • I use this program to track my school budget and to code any expenses that I don’t put through on my credit card
    • To approve any leave requests, or enter my own absences

In my personal time I use some of the following apps:

  • Facebook
    • I know this is for old people, but I just can’t move on.
  • Instagram
    • I know you can do neat things like make reels; however, I just scroll
  • Snapchat
    • What better app is there to send pictures of your double chin to your friends?
  • Pinterest
    • This app helps me keep track of some of my more creative endeavors. It is a collective of posts that I can sort into ‘boards’ of my interests. I have boards for my house, nails, hair, classroom activities, travel, quotes, etc.
  • Youtube
    • This app gets used all the time to watch videos and listen to music. My husband uses it all the time learning how to rebuild motors more efficiently so he has me on his family plan with a premium subscription.
  • RBC online banking
    • I like to keep track of my spending and investments so this makes it easy
    • I use my Visa all the time and rack up as many points as I can for travel
    • The financial planning tool is kind of cool. You can put your information in and set goals for saving and retirement.
  • Online shopping apps: amazon, costco, sephora, etc.
  • Reolink
    • This is the company we use for our security cameras at home
  • Ecobee
    • This is a smart thermostat. Now my husband and I can both sneakily adjust the temperature–game on!
  • Google Nest Hub
    • I currently am using mine to play study music while I write this. It chose a playlist of classical music off YouTube.

I’m sure that there are a lot more sources of technology that I use daily and have just forgotten to post about them. While technology is amazing, it sure is hard to keep up. Until just recently (about a year ago now), we didn’t even have the internet at our house because we live in the country. Starlink came to our rescue with its expensive, but reliable internet. There are many apps that I use that save me time, money, and help me to connect to those more important to me; however, technology can also just as quickly eat up all my time and turn me into an unproductive sloth.

Anything but Brown

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Alright, the walls are washed, and now I really need to decide what colour I want on the walls. Here’s the catch…did you notice all that awful yellow oak (apologies to those who love it)? All the baseboards, window trim, and even the ceiling moulding in the dining room are yellow oak.

Flashback–the 80’s want their yellow oak back. Please keep it there.

So, let the research commence.

The first blog I read recommended beige and guys, I just can’t. At least not any true brown-beige. The blog continues to show some colours they would recommend that, while beige, look more grey, which I can get on board with. They also recommend a blue paint, or something with a purple or green undertone. I think my favourite recommendation from the blog was the colour “Salamander” by Benjamin Moore, which is a dark, almost black-green colour. This leads me to think that maybe I want a statement wall? This blog was a great first step in seeing what I liked paired with yellow oak. There were parts that I skipped over when reading, like the discussion on whether yellow oak will come back into style (barf), and other parts that were really interesting, like the colour theory of why certain colours will go better with the oak than others. When I’m seeking the answer to a question like, “What paint colours will go with yellow oak,” I don’t want to read about someone’s whole life story and why green is their favourite colour–which is why I struggle with reading blogs at times. If I were reading a blog solely for enjoyment, I think I would feel differently.

I also tried listening to a podcast called “How to Decorate,” episode 32: How To Choose The Right Paint with Sandie Mazzi. I wasn’t really sure how I would like listening to a podcast about paint colours when I couldn’t actually see what they were talking about, but it was actually great! They talked about things like establishing the mood, how I want to feel in the space and considering the items I already have and need to keep.

Sandi Mazzi, thankfully, also told me what I wanted to hear–go bold in the dining room! I’d really like to do an accent wall, so I was happy to hear this was the space to do it in. Sandie Mazzi also hit the nail on the head when she discussed how having a vision in your head and then actually being able to find that colour and have it look that way on your wall is an epic battle.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed listening to this podcast. I don’t know that I necessarily learned anything new from it, but I was given some assurances on the direction I wanted to take in my dining room.

This week, I also played around on the Sherwin Williams website:

!!Opinion Time!!

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Coming Soon
Accent Wall: What Colour Should I Paint It?

 

Also, if you’re wondering how I casually slipped this poll into my blog, here are the steps!

  1. First, I watched “How to Add a Poll in WordPress“
  2. I learned that I needed to check out the Plugins tab. Click it.
  3. Scroll down, and you will see an option for “Poll” and “activate.” Do this.
  4. TS Poll should show up on your side tab. Click Add New.
  5. From there, you can pick your theme, and change the question and answers.
  6. To get your poll into your blog, click the tab that says “Shortcode” on TS Poll. Copy the link for WordPress.
  7. Paste the link into your blog. This will just look like weird code, but don’t worry, the poll will show up like normal!

Hope this helps!

 

He Can’t Say No, Right!?

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I have always loved interior design and dreamed of having a home I could make my own. My husband practically lives in his shop building cars in his free time, which means the house he bought before my time is basically a bachelor pad…free for my taking! Unfortunately, for a man who has been satisfied to have everything in our house be a shade of brown, he has some strong opinions about the changes I want to make.

Lucky for me, one of our toilets started leaking last winter, and we had to gut our bathroom and start over. This marked the beginning of my take-over. Cue villanous laugh!

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  • I used an acacia wood butcher block and cut out a spot for the sink (with the help of my husband).

  • Then I chose a stain and later did a clear coat to protect it.

  • The finished counter--I swear it looks better in natural light!

After the bathroom, I tackled the spare bedroom where we, no joke, almost had a fistfight over whether or not I could paint the ’70s wood panelling. I won this battle with the caveat that I never, ever touch the fireplace brick (little does he know; I had my fingers crossed). I also started on our laundry area, but alas, life took over, and the job is half finished.

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  • Welcome to the 70's

  • So much wallpaper

  • So much better!

  • Disaster area

This brings us to now. Our dining room seems to make the most sense to tackle next (and maybe even finish the laundry area–but this is less exciting). However, I feel like a teenage girl who keeps trying out new outfits to see what I like and where I fit in. While the other rooms I have worked on were more private, the dining room is the beginning of the more public spaces in our home–so I desperately need to figure out my style. You need only look at my Pinterest board to see that I’m obviously in the middle of an identity crisis.

Here’s what my dining room looks like now:

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  • Brown, on brown

  • on brown, on brown

 

So, my plan. I’ve washed the walls and brought up some of my painting supplies from the basement. Now I just need to figure out colours. Some goals for this room are to paint, get new lighting, curtains, rug, artwork, and something for the large wall…maybe a buffet or shelf?

Wish me luck, and let’s hope my husband doesn’t say no!

Who is Sarah Fradette? No, seriously…

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Honestly, this is a loaded question because this name still feels so foreign to me. For all you married people who changed their name, when does calling yourself by another name start to feel normal? At what point is the blank stare I give people who call me by my new last name no longer appropriate? Anyway, I digress.

My name is Sarah Fradette, at least when I remember to call myself that. I’m in my eleventh year of teaching and my third year as an administrator. I live on an acreage south of Moose Jaw, where we have two dogs (Frank and Beau) and some farm cats. This summer, I deserted my grass-cutting duties and spent the month of July backpacking in Bali, Indonesia, with my husband. Here is evidence of the cliched statement: low-quality photos–high-quality time. One of our first destinations was a boat tour based out of Labuan Bajo, where we checked out a bunch of islands, including the Komodo National Park. Check out the video our guide made for us while at the park!

I’m totally new to the blogging world and am really not all that tech-savvy. Pray for me. However, this is the last class of my Inclusive Ed certificate, so I’m determined to give this blog thing my best effort. I dislike cooking blogs; I just want to get to the darn recipe already, but I enjoyed reading travel blogs when planning our trip to Indonesia. Hopefully, I can create something worth reading!