Corona Documented

 Now that my "quarantine" is coming to an end, I wanted to take a moment to document what "that quarantine life" looked like for me.

JULY


-- road trip to California across the US with a stop at the Grand Canyon
-- homemade pasta
-- new dresses
-- acai bowl
-- Junior's cheesecake bought from the grocery store


JUNE


-- earl grey tea with lavender
-- group chats
-- fresh squeezed OJ
-- homemade eclairs and croissants
-- yummy drinks
-- wine mid-day
-- curly hair
-- fancy lunches/breakfasts/brunches
-- a new raclette maker
-- coloring pages made from my pictures

MAY


-- banana ice cream
-- comfy sweaters
-- braids
-- lots of tea
-- dress up while going through my closet
-- Australian bread
-- chocolate babka from Bread's Bakery courtesy of GoldBelly

APRIL


-- using a book a friend gave us to make "Planter's Punch"
-- homemade blueberry cake with lemon icing
-- Easter dress
-- heartbreak over friends
-- sending a handmade postcard to my friend in Australia
-- SO MANY smores.

MARCH



-- Eating out.
-- Trying Baked Alaska for the first time.
-- Eating "the peach" at a fancy restaurant in Atlanta
-- donuts with kids
-- sunset over the city
-- pizza and hot chocolate in NYC

What did covid-19 quarantine life look like for you? Did you take pictures the whole way through?

August Lookback


Here's where I am:


Listening to:

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, movie playing in the background as I do other things, like write a blog post. ;-)

Remembering:

this past Christmas. Getting one last Christmas with my husband's grandmother. What will this year look like?

Planning:

nothing much during covid, except going back to work and getting household chores done/finding new ways to fix things while I have time to experiment

Anxious about:

My job. I will be helping the kids with their studies and I'm anxious about doing a good job with that.

Also keeping up with online friends.

Interested to Know:

how covid will continue to play out. When will a vaccine be available?

Shopping:
• UO Haverford Frock Midi Dress from Urban Outfitters
• Free People Marley Straw Hat in pink and green
• Lucky Brand Emmie Ballet Flats in black from Belk
• Free People Vacay Tank Top in black from Belk
• Free People Denim A-Line Skirt from Belk
• Free People Krissy High-Rise Skinny Jeans in black from Macy's
• Free People Time Out Tunic from Belk
• Free People Encrusted Mini Dress in black from ASOS
• Free People Kiss Kiss Tunic in white, blue, and turquoise on Poshmark
• Girls' Sparkle Leggings by Cat & Jack in black and burgundy from Target
• Girls' Mid-Length Bike Shorts by Cat & Jack in pink and black from Target
• Girls' 3 pk Black Leggings by Cat & Jack from Target
• Girls' Leggings in pink, yellow, and navy from Target
• Girls Casual Socks 6 pk Cat & Jack white from Target


• Fringed Macramé Hammock from Anthropologie
• Leather paint, finisher, and paint brushes
• printer ink
• WD-40 to get out stains (and it worked!)
• multiple picture frames for framing artwork
• containers to organize bathroom

Reading:

Less. 

Receiving fewer texts since I've been so busy. :-/

Also reading fewer magazines.

Quarantine Notes:

Now, 5 months in:

• Created a PDF to JPG converter
• Submitted information to get cashback on purchases
• made more sales on Poshmark & Ebay: now I've sold a total of $470 since covid started
• $30 sold on Ebay, $70 sold on Poshmark
• Learning more about how to save the most when shipping via USPS; unfortunately, USPS is also going through the ringer due to the current US president
• Converted all 7k+ of my image files from my road trip to DNG files.
• Moved 6k+ iPhone photos to the correct folder/backed them up.
• My birthday! -- We made fresh tomato sauce from tomatoes picked in my grandfather's garden, homemade pasta, homemade strawberry buttermilk ice cream, homemade buttermilk cake with peach filling and a whipped cream topping, homemade dinner rolls with garlic butter, and salad with a homemade dressing. It was the perfect dinner!
• I got my job back! Started this week.
• We bought Ghiradelli chocolate syrup. Combined with my favorite organic milk, I've been loving my dessert in a glass.
• Got devastating new from my husband and promptly lost 4 pounds. Gained back the weight. Oops. Currently searching for a therapist.
• As a result of the news, talking more.
• Got stains out of a few pieces of clothing!
• Painted the stools we have where the paint had chipped.
• Cleaned out my childhood doll trunk
• Cleaned out some of the basement. Got rid of a box of old food and photography equipment.
• Cleaned out husband's tees.
• Conditioned the leather couch.
• Hung curtains.
• Put a window AC unit in the bedroom. Now we can sleep at night.
• Bought picture frames and framed artwork from travels. Now to hang them!
• Bought pillows and the pillow cases that go with our duvet. 
• Broke my iPhone last month, so I upgraded to an iphone XE. Leather case and headphone adaptor bought as well.
• Cleaned out the bathroom cabinet of unused toiletries.
• Made 2 online friends. <3 Billy and a guy from Scotland. I get to hear about 3yo tea parties and get tips on where to travel when I eventually make it to Scotland!
• received a bunch of cute letters/cards from the kids I watch for my birthday!


Lookbacks from Earlier This Year:
Jan • Feb • Mar • Apr • May • Jun • Jul

IWSG 2020 #8


July Goals
✓ Make returns to Amazon
✓ Send Hannah a graduation card
✓ Watch weight. Walk more. Eat more veggies. Eat less sugar.
✓ send returns to Free People
✗ Finish going through clothes.

Additional Successes
• unlocked a $100 gift card (which doesn't sound terrible, but it took 5 calls)
• Sold $100 in stuff online
• Researched gender dysphoria and learned more about it
• Learned how to make my favorite salad dressing.
• Traveled across the country on a whim.
• Bought 9 bottles of wine from my favorite winery.
• Cleaned a sweater that I thought was permanently stained.
• Tried new things with my husband.
• painted stools where the paint had chipped off.
• went through doll clothes
• went through kitchen stuff and photography equipment in the basement
• installed a window ac unit in the master bedroom
• hung room darkening curtains
• lost a pound

August Goals
– Tea and relax. I'm going back to work, so I need to do some self-care.
– Continue making returns.
– Finish the master bedroom curtains
– Wash all of the bedding and towels before returning to work.
– Thoroughly dust.
– Condition the leather couch.

IWSG Question –– Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn't planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

I'm pretty sure I choose my form/genre in advance, though I can see how it could happen that your form or genre evolves over time.

Your Turn

Even though covid-19 is still going strong, I will be returning to work at the end of the month. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm not sure how I feel about upping my potential for illness or losing my free time, but I am grateful for money. I am grateful for all that I have been able to accomplish over the past few months. Deep cleaning, putting items up for sale and selling a few of them. Framing pictures, "editing" my closet, trying new things, meeting new people (online). I'm grateful for all I've learned and become. I will be interested to see how things progress and change in the next few months, learning what the covid-world and post-covid-world are like.

Will August bring anything new to your life? Are you ready for back-to-school and all that fall brings? Was summer all that you hoped for or did it feel lacking this year?

However you feel, I want you to know what someone told me: you are brave. You are brave for working when covid is threatening your life. You are brave for staying home and lessening the impact covid can have on others. You are brave for sending your kids to school or keeping them home for virtual learning. You are brave for tackling the unknown or not allowing your anxiety to get the best of you.

Live that. Know that. Believe that.

You. are. brave.

And I wish you the most amazing August.

IWSG posts: #1 #2. #3, #4, #5, #6, #7

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