Quarantine Day 13-15

Quarantine Day 13

• The only reason I know it’s day 13 is because I am writing these daily. I am with the rest of you in the WTF day is it camp
• Apparently some radio station down in Philly thought it would be amusing to play Christmas songs to really fuck with people’s heads. It seems like something they should have done on April 1^st, just sayin’
• I had minimal motivation today. I made myself get up and off the couch at 3 PM. I have mixed feelings about doing that in retrospect…stay tuned
• Sharing is caring people. Little gestures can make a big difference any time, but no more so than right now

Time for my adventure in parks today

• I scouted online to find a park for the vicinity I was going to be in. I find one, and it’s one I didn’t even know existed. Jug Mountain Reserve. I have lived in that area my entire life, and didn’t know where this place was. There is an obvious reason for this lack of knowledge in my life.
• I use Google maps to get me there, and it takes me down a short driveway. I’m like, um okay. This is clearly not where I am supposed to be. I see signs along the driveway that indicate the park boundary is there. I figure that it must be nearby, and I go try to find it. After about 10 minutes of going up and down this road, I give up. Google you have failed me for the first time in a long time.
• I did find a cool new farm stand, and will go back there when I need produce.
• I now look for another park that is close to where my adventure had taken me. I find one, and think great!  There’s one like 10 minutes from here. Google maps to the rescue! Alas, not so much. It takes me to a private road, where supposedly I drive 0.5 miles and the parking lot is there. I am not too keen on this idea. It’s a plague, and I do not need to get feel like getting arrested or shot to go on a hike. I look on Google maps again, and figure it must be further down then. I drive for about 10 minutes, and nothing. Lots of farms, which is always cool. But no park.
• It becomes crystal clear that Google maps has failed me AGAIN. Now, Google maps has failed me in the past on occasion. But not twice in the same damn day. At this point I am getting frustrated. I just want to go to for a jaunt out into nature at this point. I don’t care what it is.
• I pull up the park brochure, and it gives directions. I think to myself, “okay, I’ll look for that road as a landmark for the park.” I drive back the way I came, and I look for that landmark road. Booyah, there it is!
• This is just the beginning of this comedy of errors, folks. You will be rolling with laughter as you read the series of events.
• I pull in, and it is empty except for one car. Score! I change into my boots, and put on my hiking backpack. Why am I getting squirted with water?! Probably about 50% of you probably know what a Camelback is, so let me explain.  It’s essentially a water reservoir that goes into a backpack, and you can sip on easily while hiking. I look down, and the bite valve came off (it’s where the water comes out of). I am like, are you fucking kidding me right now? Universe, what are you trying to tell me here?! Because you know damn well I am NOT getting back into the car! I am too damned stubborn for that. I rig it so the hose is upright, so it doesn’t become like a teething baby that will let loose when there’s no diaper. I find the bite valve, and it’s under my car. I clean it off, I reattach it, and I’m off.
• I came up with a new word. Wike, it’s when it’s not quite a walk and it’s not quite a hike. That’s what this turned out to be. A bit of elevation change at the beginning, about 1/3 of a mile, and then it became relatively flat. It plateaus into a really cool hemlock grove. I haven’t seen a hemlock grove in a long time; thanks in large part to the Wooly Adelgid. This stand seems relatively healthy, and there are several that seem to be dead or dying. It’s still beautiful, and definitely worth the wike up to see it.
• There is not a single person on this trail after the first 10 minutes. It was awesome and so quiet.
• I head back at about the two mile mark. I start down the trail. I am walking and looking around. This is not a dicey trail. There are some rocks, but this is a very tame trail by comparison to the others I have been doing. Not that I have been doing anything crazy or intense hiking wise yet.
• I roll my ankle on a little f-you rock. That’s what we call them in paddling. They are seemingly insignificance rocks that shouldn’t mess you up at all, but they f-you every time. I have been icing it on and off. I thoroughly hope it’s not sore tomorrow, so I’m playing it very safe by icing it now.
• That ends the comedy of errors. Good news is that I don’t think it’s too badly sprained. I am also obviously off from work, so I can let it rest and heal, if need be. I also made a bunch of kids smile today, so getting off my couch was worth it. Sometimes I need to listen to the universe more because it was basically telling me to go the hell home.
• My radishes froze in my refrigerator. How freaking hilarious and odd is that?
• Confession: I don’t like lettuce or salads for the most part. I really have to be the mood for them. For some inexplicable reason, on Saturday I decided to buy Bibb lettuce. Where has Bibb lettuce been all my life? It is so freaking good!! It’s the little things.
• The woman I have been talking to says, you can’t get injured and go to the hospital now! I thought it was wicked cute because it is a mild sprain.

Quarantine Day 14 and a Bazillion

• It feels like I’ve been in quarantine for a lot longer than 2 weeks. You folks who have been in it for like a month, what does it feel like to you?
• Remember when my internet went out on Friday? They finally showed up today to fix it in the early afternoon, and they were very nice and got it back online. The one redeeming quality of my very slightly sprained ankle is that I wasn’t mad at them for being so late. If I had been able to hike today, and they came that late, I probably would have been mad. Right now, it’s a take it easy, watch stuff, and read a bit kind of time.
• So yup, my ankle is very slightly sprained. It’s a tad sore, but it’s more stiff than anything. I am grateful for that because the way I rolled it yesterday, it could have been worse. Thanks yoga for helping with stronger ankles. I’d rather rest and heal it now than risk a worse injury the next time I go hiking. Because if I have to stay indoors anymore than necessary, I will legit lose my mind.
• I am both jealous and insanely happy for those that got out today. It was a perfect day out, damn it. I kept reminding myself that it’s temporary, and I’ll get out soon. This is my internal slogan during this. It’s temporary, and eventually we’ll get back to “regular life”. Whatever that means, it’ll be interesting to see what that turns out to be. I’ll admit it was frustrating at times to say the least.
• I cleaned out a junk bin today, and found all sorts of interesting and funny things. I found the liquid gold of finds right now, hand sanitizer. Be jealous my friends. I never could have conceived that would be a thing I would write, and not have an ounce of sarcasm about it being valuable. I also found an old planner.  Do people actually use planners? I seem to buy one, and then after like two weeks never use it again. Kudos to you if you do. Except when my mentor gave me a passion planner. That was bitching and pretty cool.
• I went out to get an ankle brace because I have an ace bandage, but it didn’t seem to be doing much. As I was checking out, this kid comes right next to me and says not very nicely to the cashier, “do you take cash?” He says, very politely but with gritted teeth, “please step behind the line”. They also have a table placed in front of the cashier to give six feet of space, which I thought was very clever (see previous post about the candy). The kid did not take kindly to this, acted quite offended, and then left the store. The cashier shook his head, and so did I. The most disconcerting part of it was more the kids’ reaction of contempt than anything else.
• Virtual happy hour with four of my friends! There was laughter, there was solace, and there were puppies and kittens. What else could one want in a plague? I think we will be doing this weekly, yay!
• My cousin Cindy called because her daughter’s birthday is tomorrow, and we are going to do a zoom birthday conference at 7 to wish and sing her happy brithday! Have I mentioned how the person who created zoom deserves a medal? It’s been a lifesaver, and I’m sure in some cases literally. I am really excited about the ability to do this.
• I actually did my makeup for the zoom call, so go me.
• My favorite day of the month was tonight! It’s Training and Recognition for my health and wellness social marketing business. Tonight was even more special because a few of my friends qualified for highest level of management national vice president! I’m so very excited for them; they have worked their ass off for that success and deserve every ounce of it. The trainings were on-point too. There were practical tips, wisdom, inspiration, and gut punches. I love my tribe of inspirational hope dealers
• Today it was challenge not to get frustrated because it’s so nice out. This time is weird and chaotic. I have to remember to give myself grace during those moments of frustration, lack of motivation, and melancholy. This is temporary, but it’s also a struggle. It’s okay for us not to be okay. The most important part in all of this is doing our best to not judge anyone in this madness. You or anyone else. You do not know their story, and sometimes we don’t even recognize our own. Forgive yourself for not being a wonder person right now during this time of crisis. Plagues and quarantines are taxing. Let that shit go. Judgment is never helpful.
• Stay safe, stay sane, and stay safely connected.

Quarantine Day 15

• I made protein blueberry pancakes for the first time, and they were AWESOME. And one of them looked like a turtle. Little things guys. It’s always about the little things, but especially now.
• This is my second day of my self-enforced non-activity for my ankle. Shit is hard, especially because it’s been so beautiful out. I have been exceedingly cautious, but should be back up and running tomorrow. Thanks for all the well wishes!
• I love Sandra Bullock. The only movie of hers that I have seen and didn’t like was Speed 2. You can’t overcome a shitty plot even with amazing actors. I saw that movie exactly one time, and felt I lost brain cells watching it.
• I think Hitch is a brilliant romantic comedy. It has everything, the goofy guy who gets the girl. The good looking guy who gets the hot girl, and all with flair and charm that is lacking in rom-coms these days. Fight me.
• I have one regular standard long gel ice pack. You know what makes a second great ice pack? Frozen peas or dried black eyed peas in a plastic bag frozen. The kind used to make arts and crafts as a kid on construction paper. Why? Because they are malleable when placed on let’s say a joint that is shaped like an ankle. And they can be reused just like an ice pack. Just remember not to eat them if they are the frozen pea variety.  Because that would be really gross.
• I will never, ever take for granted seemingly inconsequential daily personal contact with people ever again.
• I am starting to struggle a bit. It could be because I haven’t been outside, and that’s definitely a factor. The much bigger factor is people aren’t meant to live in isolation like this. We are social beings. Staying isolated is not good for our mental stability as a whole for human beings. It’s just not how our brain or societal connections work.
• Please do NOT misunderstand me. The quarantines that are happening are NECESSARY. Could it have been handled differently? Hell yeah. Do I wish that our President would actually understand how serious this is, make an effort to understand the science behind it? Yes. The how we got here doesn’t matter. It is the going forward that does. Making this quarantine as short as possible. Please stop meeting up with people you don’t live with outside your home. Unless it is ONE other person, and as long as you keep safe distance of six feet, I don’t see the problem. I have hiked by myself this entire time, and just about everywhere I have gone, I have seen people practicing social distancing. Don’t ruin this for others by being a jackass.
• I’m a culprit in this, too. I am not infallible that is for damn sure, nor am I an expert. As recently as this past weekend, I was talking about getting a small group of people together for a hike. I did the math today. It is almost impossible to be able to hike as a group “together” if there are more than three people. Even three people are a stretch because that itself would be 18 feet. So, life is about learning from your mistakes and moving on. Hike with ONE other person, but it’s probably best by yourself for the time being.
• They closed down all the state and even county parks in NJ. The more I think about it, the more I understand why. I think there could have been ways to implement it. Or people could have not been jackasses by using the parks as a place to congregate. If they do the same where I live, I will be legit worried not just for my mental well being, but countless others as well. Being outdoors has been shown to improve mood, reduce anxiety, and boost endorphins. Don’t fuck it up for the rest of us by being a jackass in parks, and using it as a venue to get together socially with people.
• Why don’t they put salsa in a low height, but wide container like hummus? It would make it SO much easier when you get the bottom of the jar. Even if you are civilized, and put it on a dish for serving (rare for me), there is no way graceful way to get it out of the jar near the bottom. If you have a method, please share!
• It’s my cousin Bessa’s birthday today, and we obviously couldn’t get together for her birthday or Easter. So Zoom to the rescue! And my sister figured it out, so I’m proud of her. So as usual wacky family hi-jinks ensued. Obviously we are not looking to make a habit of this because nothing replaces the shared meal, hugs, and overall family togetherness. During that period of time, we laughed until we cried and/or snorted. I did both. It’s the temporary new normal. I’m glad we have the technology to allow opportunity to share a connection with those we love.
• Another v-date chat thing tomorrow, and I’ll keep you posted. 😀
• The online dating thing seems to go in spurts, and I’m not sure why. I took the shotgun approach to dating, and am on all different apps. I think that’s how most people do it. FB dating was good at the beginning, and now it’s like the drunk uncle who doesn’t know where to pee.
• Two huge shout outs: THANK YOU times a bazillion to all the essential workers that helping to keep this country at this time, especially those in the medical field. There are no words that could ever express that gratitude we all owe you. Mwah!
• To my badass tribe of hilarious and awesome women. You have helped keep me sane the past two days. Mwah to you guys, too.

Day two of doing living this, and I REALLY hope it’s the last.

Quarantine Day 10-12

Quarantine Day 10

• I have virtually stopped going on facebook except to check my notifications and my one badass group that makes things fun. There is so very little that is positive out there right now, so I’ll stick with Instagram. It’s so much better.
• Another hike today, and it was relatively short at 2 miles, but man was it challenging. I had never been there before, and I said “I hope it’s a challenge” to the girl I’ve been texting. FAMOUS LAST WORDS.
• What was I thinking by saying such a thing. The first part of the hike was basically two-thirds of a mile straight up. My cardio is getting better at least because I only had to pause and not really stop a few times. At the end of this I may still have a pudge, but my cardio should be pretty on point.
• I came across this vine that looked like something right out of the Secret of NIMH, and it was so cool. I thing I really dug about this trail system is there was minimal trail maintenance. If a tree went down they basically either made it into a step or they just left it. Mountain bikers might not like this feature, but I thought it was badass. There was one tree pictured below where they gave up trying to chainsaw it. The tree was that big that they gave up. The trail crew was like fuck this; the hikers can crawl over it. We are done with his.
• I think and feel that this hike gave me a better workout than the 6 mile one. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I know I’ve got some fitness gurus on here
• How could NONE of you have any pointers about flirting? You guys have failed me. 😉
• the appliance guy is coming tomorrow at 11, and I am going to do my best to remember to answer with a bra on this time.
• I go home and I am starving. I still have a bit of stirfry left over, and I had some black beans. Then I decide to make my own fajitas. They were delicious…yum. That was a good impulse buy at the last grocery shopping I did.
• I think buffy and x-files are the two greatest tv series in the 1990s and 2000s. Fight me. They still hold up incredibly well.
• Online dating is so…weird. But intriguing how it makes connections and such.
• Princess Diaries 2 is a much more feel good movie than the first one. Lilly was kind of a jerk in the first one, and that’s accurate for high school bullshit drama. Good storytelling, and I love the transformation that happens. PD 1 is the better overall movie, but for a feel good movie basically from start to finish, gotta give to PD 2
• Yes I am that bored. Also when I am exercising as much as I have been, I tend to have a lot of reflective thoughts. Both self and overall.
• I legit love how my brain processing problems sometimes. It’s so logical.
• I thought the ultimate test of my tetris (packing) skills was illustrated best by the gear in my car. but no it is in my tiny kitchen. Except when I pull out one thing, other things often come flying out, if I am not careful
• How are you guys all holding up? What has been helping you keep it together, and if you lost it how did you get back up? This situation is so weird and unusual. I think the only thing keep people together in all this is: alcohol (if that’s your thing), memes, and zoom. Yup you heard it hear first. Apocalypse thwarted thus far by the trio hero of inanimate objects of alcohol, memes, and zoom. Those are the three things that are keeping people together and sane in all this. I am really not kidding about this, and especially the memes and zoom. It’s a way to stay safely connected

Quarantine Day 11

• Today seemed to go on forever. Like this morning seems like it was like three days ago
• Which in this case, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was a pretty productive day
• Repair guy came and fixed my oven. I put on a bra, a shirt with buttons, and actual pants. He better have appreciated that 😉
• I had to remove my collection of bags of bags (how did that become a thing where we now have bags of bags?) that was next to my oven for him to replace the part. They were surprisingly well organized, and I consolidated them into something even better. I think quarantine might have finally gotten to me
• There are four things that should not be in my house ever because they don’t last long: beef jerky, chips, gummi bears or sour patch kids, and roasted chick peas. Once the oven got repaired, I figured I’d test it out. I made a can of roasted chickpeas. I swear they are the best snack ever. After they were done, I eat the whole container in an hour. Recipe in the comments
• I had a chat with my boss, and let’s just say it was an interesting chat. It’ll work out
• I cleaned my apartment, which felt really good.
• O rings should last longer (for those who don’t know what they are, they are gasket things that keep things from leaking). The original on my mop lasted like three years. I’ve been through at least three in the past six months. I need an industrial o-ring, and I am NOT going to the hardwear store for a damn o-ring in the middle of the plague. I just mopped really fast.
• My internet went out. During a plague. They couldn’t get someone here until MONDAY. Where would the memes come from?! I started freaking, and rightly so. I then texted my downstairs neighbor, and hers was working. She hooked me up. Thanks Dawn!
• I have been trying to do hiking or yoga every day, or at least every other day. I think I’ve missed a day or two, but for the most part, I’ve stuck with that. Yoga today was holy abs and thighs batman, I’ll keep you posted on my progress tomorrow. Everyone has their outlet that has kept them (hopefully) sane during this temporary and difficult new normal we’ve got going on here. I’ve got no judgment about what yours is. You do you, boo.
• I’m going to move onto pilates soon because I think I’m getting strong enough for that. Thanks for the heavy discount Sphericality for the online classes, and can’t wait to tackle the next challenge.
• Things I’m grateful for: my health (including my family), that’s it’s April and not January; newly rediscovered discipline for fitness; my Arbonne business; connecting with women online and then offline (don’t worry not in person yet), and getting back in the habit of writing daily. This has been a reset for me in many ways, and I think it was been for most people.
• Here’s what I will never take for granted ever again: hugging, dancing, paddling, people living our “normal” lives, and daily human in-person interaction. What will you never take for granted again?

Quarantine Day 12

• I do not think I have hiked this much in about ten years, since I started really getting into paddling. For me, hiking is not enough of a challenge for my brain and not enough of a puzzle. Which is probably why I liked backpacking, because that is a challenge both physically and mentally. I really might get into mountain biking soon if I can find a cheap bike because hiking isn’t quite cutting it for my problem solving skills or as a challenge
• New place for hiking today, and I was pleasantly surprised. I was looking to maximize my exploring and practicality into one trip. When I pulled up to this place, it’s a little more crowded than I would like, even if it’s a not a plague. However, I am stubborn and wanted to explore this area. If it turned out to be too crowded, I would turn around and find somewhere else. I was pleasantly surprised! Judging by the area, I thought for sure I was going to be going on more of a walk then a hike. I was pleasantly mistaken 😀 It is like an oasis right outside the city with lots of hills, and a boulder garden. I ran into Johnny who is a mountain biker, which was cool. All in all, it was a very satisfying hike
• this year I really want to kick my fear of heights, as I was thinking as I climbed this boulder to look down at the valley. Nope, I wasn’t scared at all.
• I found the weirdest and random thing I have ever seen while hiking. It looked like a very small concrete retention pond, but it was initially covered. Erosion has made it partially open, and I have no idea what the purpose would have been for. I was trying to think back to my environmental classes, and I got nothing. There was a cute frog in it, which made me happy
• I hit the farmers market after my hike, and stocked up on a ton of produce. The fruit stand had heavily discounted their berries, and I took full advantage. I went a little overboard on the strawberries, but I’m sure I’ll be able to eat them.
• I went to the store on my way home, and for the first time in about two weeks, I got comfort food. I got chips, hummus, and I even got gluten-free cookies
• Hummus is going on that list of things that should not be in my house; it doesn’t last very long.
• What monster makes the serving size of 2 cookies? That’s just absurd. If you have that kind of willpower, that is awesome
• I was putting the stuff away I got at the store in my freezer. My freezer is packed, and I’m trying to think of what the hell is in there, so I am pulling stuff out. I find a bag of ice in my freezer. Why the hell do I have a bag of ice in my freezer? Who does that? Maybe I was camping and didn’t have enough of those blue packs? Which is not true either because I have about a bazillion of those too. I take it out, and put it in my sink. I feel bad about wasting the water, but I need the room.
• I thawed a tuna steak, and made dinner with a ton of veggies. It was delicious, and made this cherry tomato salad with Bibb lettuce that was on point.
• I’ll be eating that for a few days. Leftovers are a wonderful thing

Quarantine Day 4-6

Quarantine Day 4

• Productive day today. I called the gas company about the gas problem. They said, do you know if there’s a problem. I said, “um, the gas keeps shutting off”. Them: “we can’t send someone out until we know there’s a problem.” The gas keeps shutting off, that would indicate a gas problem, right?
• I call the landlord and fill him in. He basically says, find someone who is not going rape me with a service call charge. Me, um okay? I guess
• I call a few appliance services. One says, it’s $140 just to come out. Another says, “basically screw you, I’m not coming” (honestly can’t really blame him). The third guy says, “I’ll call you later. Calls later, I’ll be out there tomorrow. I’m paid for my time.” DONE DEAL DUDE.
• Another hike! Yay! I am epically grateful for any time spent outside. I miss my paddling time. I miss that connection, and more than anything I miss the challenge of nailing lines that are a bit outside my comfort zone. For those that don’t know me very well, get your mind of out of the gutter. When I refer to paddling, I mean canoeing, this time. 😉
• At least I’m getting my ass in shape. It is getting better than a week ago, but still got a ways to go.
• I am on quarantine day four. Holy schnikes to you guys going on two weeks. This shit is a challenge for sure. To those of you who are single and quarantined, PM me. Let’s chat about how challenging this is, and do it together.
• Sigh, I finished the plantain chips.
• On my way back from hiking I stopped by CVS. I was looking for antiseptic for someone in one of the groups I belong to. Her husband is an essential employee, and they don’t provide it. They didn’t have it, and I am not surprised at all.
• However, remember the thing I said about gummi things (e.g. sour patch kids) being my kryptonite. If someone can figure out a more eloquent way to say gummi things, please tell me. I’ll just refer to them as sour patch kids because that’s what I buy 95% of the time. I figured this was my chance to get some. I was vulnerable, hungry, and it’s a fucking pandemic. I want sour patch kids. Those tricky bastards at CVS put tables in front of the counter. Six feet worth, and I am impressed for a couple of reasons. Numero uno : I can’t get to the smallest bag of sour patch kids. Since I really don’t want to crawl underneath a table, I need to grab a bigger bag. Now, I’m a scientist by trade. I’m weighing my options. A bag of sour patch kids or a pint of ice cream? I choose sour patch kids because they are cheaper, and I get more for my buck. So I get the smallest bag of sour patch kids, and go to the counter. The safety aspect of the tables is impressive too.
• You know what it says on it? 3.5 servings! What kind of savage does that? Good for you if you can resist the power of sour patch kids. I finish the box in the time it takes to get home. I have some willpower; I didn’t get the bigger box.
• I will either end up chiseled or 20 pounds heavier with a drinking problem. I shit you not.
• We had a facebook messenger chat with video of mostly my paddling friends, and it was really awesome to connect, even if it has to be temporarily virtually. It was chaotic, awesome, and so human. I loved every minute of it.
• I love my tribe of badasses. Tonight we talked with a variety of people who could not have been more different, and yet we were all the same. We are all challenged by this new normal. Mel rocks by being vulnerable, and saying this shit is tough, let’s get together.

Quarantine Day 5

• The appliance guy is coming at 1, so clean up around the stove and kitchen area. I have this collection of corks that I have been gathering for years, and I actually put them into mugs. I briefly consider if he’ll judge, and promptly conclude I don’t care.
• He comes, early I might add. What service guy comes early? I’d highly recommend this guy, and his name is Steve Houseknecht. Very professional, and also won’t waste your time. And of course it didn’t do the thing it has been doing. He says, look this happens all the time. I will tell your landlord that you are not crazy. He leaves around 1:30.
• I SWEAR this is the universe being like, stop trying to bake bitch, and stick to your stir-fry and your amoeba pancakes. Because you are really good at improvising there.
• I leave the oven on because I KNOW it will happen. Before he leaves, he says take a pic or video of when it happens. It clicks off at 1:45. I call him, and say, “I’m sure you are on your way to your next call, but it just clicked off.” I sent him the video. He called my landlord, and we are waiting on parts.
• I belong to this amazing fb group that is literally just a bunch of women supporting women, and having FUN. The best thing about this is who knew such a thing could exist on FB with NO drama might I add. It’s glorious, and I am grateful just about every day for its existence. It’s become a sanctuary in the vast negativity that is facebook right now.
• This whole plague is really cramping my dating life, but I am getting to know people better before meeting them. So that’s cool, but I’m ready for real-life interaction. Stay the hell home so I can get do that.
• I do have a virtual date tomorrow. If anyone has any pointers for this, please let me know. This is such an odd, new normal. It’s temporary, and I’ll be grateful for the lessons. That’s the attitude I’m striving to remember.
• No hiking today because it was miserable out. I did however do a yoga session that kicked my abs, and I took my Arbonne hydration and after workout to help alleviate the agony of tomorrow. I will keep you posted. You guys better not be on point with the memes.
• I am a little under a half into my potato lasagna, which I’m going to freeze now. If I can find any room in my freezer, anyway. The struggle is real right now. I’m so glad I didn’t buy the bigger bag of sour patch kids
• Improv dinner! What I had thawed seemed a tad past due, and if it was any other time, I would have cooked it. But I don’t need to get food poisoning during a plague.
• I really like Brussels sprouts drizzled in oil olive and sautéed with garlic and some other spices. Due to the lack of a protein, and what I had in my fridge, I figured I’d do bacon-wrapped Brussels sprouts. If you like Brussels sprouts, DO NOT DO THIS. You will be ruined for life. They were ridiculously good. I really thought I snapped a pic of the delicious little nuggets, but apparently I ate them too fast. They were a great appetizer before my main stir-fry course with about a bazillion veggies.
• Stay safe, stay sane, and stay safely connected. That’s my new slogan for this quarantine for the plague. All three are essential for us to get through this.

Quarantine Day 6

• I’m really enjoying doing these. It’s a great way for me to get back into the daily habit of writing
• I love my business. I was making breakfast and listening to a training at the same time. It was awesome. Voxer for the win
• I made chocolate chip protein pancakes this morning, and they are looking more oblong than amoeba-like. They were also banging. Super dark chocolate for the win 😁
• Progress! See universe I listened. I’m sticking with awesome stirfry combinations and breakfast for the moment
• I showered, put on clean clothes, a bra, and makeup today. It’s the first time I’ve done all four of those in awhile. According to my tribe of ever supportive badass women, I looked radiant 😀
• First virtual date was just like most other first dates, but for sure a little weirder. It was a little awkward; a little strange, but overall decent, I think. Not sure if there’s chemistry, but it might be hard to gauge virtually. She’s smart, and the conversation flowed pretty well. So at the very least, I’ll probably end up with a new friend. I’ll take that too. The new normal for dating. I’ve waited long enough to be truly myself, and embrace finding love. I’ll be damned if I let this plague get in the way. I love a challenge
• Did I mention I have the best group of friends and community on the planet? The amount of support, love, and comments regarding my virtual date made me tear up. I almost cried this afternoon. I am so incredibly grateful to have found another empowering group of women. I am very humbled and very grateful today. You all rock.
• I am so epically glad it will be sunny tomorrow.
• You know what the weird thing about dating in general, even before this whole worldwide plague, is how there are like a bazillion women out there to sort through rather easily. It only takes a handful to figure out what you are looking for, and conversely what you are not looking for. I guess that was always dating was like. It’s just easier, but at the same time harder to make a genuine connection than it ever was. I don’t know…I’m not in the convincing business. I’m in the sorting business. Trying to convince anyone of anything is not a good way to go about doing things. Especially when regarding personal relationships. Deep thoughts by me
• I was chatting with someone, and totally forgot to eat dinner. Until I went downstairs, and was like I really need to eat something. Turkey jerky it is. I really regretted freezing that lasagna at that moment, that was would have been useful. Oops
• Most of you are on like day 15+ of this quarantine. I am on Day 6. In the tri-state area, we basically got told today that this is going to last a lot longer than expected. This nation and world we are tough. And we will get through this. Hopefully we’ll learn the lessons
• This was basically Earth telling us, all of you have been a bunch of greedy assholes for too long. I am putting you ALL in time out. The earth always wins. You know what? It’s working. Fossil fuel emissions are down. Air pollution is down dramatically. For those of you who said we couldn’t cut greenhouse emissions. Well clearly we can. It’s a matter of doing it effectively and strategically.
• We did this quarantine because if we didn’t the affects would be catastrophic, and if we did the worse thing that could happen is people bond. WHY CAN’T WE APPLY THIS LOGIC TO CLIMATE CHANGE. The data is just, if not more terrifying, than the long-term affects of covid-19
• Remember that yoga class I took? My abs are a little sore today, but not terrible. I have a feeling tomorrow it will hurt to laugh. In this case, I’ll take a little pain. It means I was doing the exercises right. A little change to the cliché, no pain, no appreciation of the work to achieve progress.
• I love that people are playing board games, jigsaw puzzles, and everything other family game I played as a kid. It’s awesome.
• Can we get a collective shoutout to all the first responders, medical personnel (in every industry and category), vet techs, group home workers, grocery store retailers, truckers, manufacturers, etc that are still busting their asses every day. Sometimes jeopardizing their own safety in the process, and in some cases I’m not even referring the virus. There are so many people out there trying to keep this increasingly serious situation from getting worse.
• To the unsung heroes beyond those listed: the stay at home moms (or dads) and teachers that are improvising on the fly to make this work. You guys all rock my socks off, and I have so much respect for you. I had respect for you long before this, but I’m sure it crystalized respect for teachers for a lot of people
• I am epically grateful to have soo many socks, and they are almost all mismatched. You are welcome. Life is too short to match socks, fight me. Heather, sorry if that triggered your OCD.

Quarantine Day 1-3

I have been writing these daily quarantine life on my social media, and it started off as just goofy anecdotes. Several people have commented privately and publicly that they are enjoying them. They describe them as uplifting and funny to read. I figured I would clean them up and put them here. I will do two or three day increments, and hopefully I’ll be able to catch up. This is not my normal style of writing, and is much more off the cuff. It’s been a cartharic way to not only process the day, but also get back into the daily habit of writing. Enjoy!

Quarantine Day 1

• Waking up without having to go to work was odd, but I adjusted rather quickly
• I decided to season my cast iron skillets with my help from my cousin and amazing chef Scott
• What do you mean the oven kept shutting off at 450 degrees? Yup, but where’s there’s a will, there’s a way. I’m quite stubborn, and figured out I have to wait for the oven to cool down to finish seasoning later. I also need to call the gas company apparently, so grateful to have the luxury of time at the moment. You gotta make the best of a challenging situation right? That’s what I keep telling myself.
• So HIKE TIME! It’s beautiful out with it being sunny and relatively warm in the mid 50s. It’s go time!
• I am usually Miss Prepared that is what I am known in my circle of friends. My car is basically my swiss army knife. I can fix just about anything with the things that are in it.
• Except water. I get to the trailhead, and I realize that I forgot water. Epic fail. So I’ll shorten my hike, no biggie. Um, what do you mean I haven’t eaten ANYTHING today except for a few squares of dark chocolate and a handful of almonds hours ago? Oops.
• Wait, I’ve got apples! I can have those. They have water and carbohydrates right? I’m golden!
• About two miles in on this beautiful day and hike, my legs revolt. Legs we’ve got to get to two miles! What do you mean you are done? It’s a tiny hill. Oh alright, we will head back. I’ll circle the parking lot to get 2 miles in.
• I get home, and have an Arbonne protein shake because I’m starving at this point. I start the process of finish seasoning my cast iron dishes. I feel a sense of accomplishment, and better now that the task is done. I also have a glass of wine.
• I organize my kitchenware around in my limited cabinet space, and a lid shoots down onto my stovetop and careens into my glass of water shattering it all over my stove top. Meh, no biggie. It was a pint glass that I didn’t care for. I vacuum and clean up because I have this thing about glass in my kitchen that I’m kind of picky about. I remind myself to never start reorganizing my tiny cabinet because chaos ensues, and things seem to break. I’m glad it wasn’t my lid that broke, because that would have sucked. Be grateful for the little things.
• I cook dinner, and it is a stirfry with a ton of veggies, spices, and turkey cutlets. My cast iron skillet is now like Teflon, and it is amazing how well the seasoning worked. I appreciate my cousin even more.
• I have joined a plank challenge within a FB group I belong to. I am past a minute, which I am quite proud of. I will slay you winter coma of lethargy body into an amazon woman of strength.
• I am grateful for this time that I will get to spend with myself (it is only day 1, so that might change). I am infinitely more grateful for the doctors, nurses, grocery store associates, and everyone else who was not sent home like I was yesterday. THANK THOSE PEOPLE when you see them. Especially your grocery store workers. Most of them are emotionally fried because people keep coming in expecting miracles or harassing them about stock. They are doing the best they can with what they have. Be patient, but more importantly, be kind and grateful that they are there doing their jobs during this time.

Quarantine day 2

• I was not nearly as productive as yesterday, and I’m becoming okay with that
• I made vanilla-chocolate protein pancakes for breakfast that either look like cookies or chicken cutlets, apparently. I am incapable of mastering a breakfast that looks palatable, and that’s okay because it all tastes pretty awesome. I specialize in fancy eggs and amoeba protein pancakes.
• Chatted with a friend who is also on day 2 of quarantine, and we swear we are both going to lose our minds.
• The meme going around social media that says either all my chakras will be aligned and shit done around the house or 20 pounds heavier with a drinking problems, I could see why that is now. There is no in between
• I went to the store. The people where I live seem much more rational than the people near where I work (it’s only about 35 minutes away). There was flour, paper towel, and even toilet paper. There were actually things in the grocery store. I’m still amazed I didn’t get jacked for the paper towel
• I scored a box of disposable gloves. Mark another thing off on the list of things I’d never be excited to find, let alone be buying, ever.
• I broke down and bought plantain chips. Chips and gummi things (bears, sour patch kids, jelly beans, etc) don’t last long in my house. They are my kryptonite.
• Pretty sure I busted another online dating scammer today. It’s kind of fun to do a gotcha test, and see them try to squirm out of it. It’s the little things.
• I skipped the plank challenge because I did a killer yoga class. I expect my abs and arms to be pissed tomorrow or maybe the day after that. Muscles like to trick you into a false sense of compliancy of “that workout wasn’t so hard”. Then BOOM. Holy abs batman it hurts to laugh. Which is a problem because the memes are so on point.
• Let’s send out a vibe to all the stay at home mom’s out there and teachers too. They are the real heroes, outside the medical profession and grocery store retailers, who are doing a lot of heavy lifting of their own. It’s a brave new world, and it’s a really challenging position for everyone. But it’s also an enlightening one.
• Thank the universe tomorrow is going to be nice again, and I can get outside.
• I will go batshit crazy if I have to stay inside for any length of time.

Quarantine Day 3

• I was craving hard-core comfort food, which is very rare for me. I decided to make potato lasagna (yes it is as awesome as it sounds). The gas went off THREE times while I was trying to cook it. I was losing my shit, even though I knew it was a possibility. It still turned out great. Did I mention that I’m stubborn?
• I really wish I had done laundry before this whole thing went down.
• This was me during spring cleaning, why the fuck do I have so many clothes? Me now, YESSS for me having so many clothes. I can always buy more underwear
• Another hike! This time I did all the things one is supposed to do when you go hiking. I ate beforehand; I hydrated on the way to the trail head, brought snacks, water, and my hiking backpack! Go me. I completed about 5.5 miles, and it was glorious.
• Adventures in the woods today included peeing in the woods! Upon said hydrating, by the time I got to the park I really had to pee. Because of the virus, they closed all the restrooms down. I fully support this decision, and also have no trouble peeing in the woods. I go down the trail; I find a tree; I do my business, and I walk back up to the trail. There’s a woman coming down the trail as I am climbing back up, and she has a cute puppy. This woman looks at me like I’m some serial killer that’s going to kill her dog. Because it’s always about the dog. She basically herds the dog away from me, and the dog looks really sad. Poor puppy and poor me. Apparently she’s never seen anyone come up from a trail before, who knows.
• It was a fairly leisurely trail until the last part. The last part was like a mile uphill, which doesn’t sound like much. Except when you’ve already done over 4 miles, and you are not in the best shape. A mile uphill seems like a huge throw down. You want to see the vista, you’ll have to earn it bitch. Well, I did and it was awesome.
• In spite of two apples, lots of water, and a jerky stick, I was starving by the time I get off the trail. Thank goodness I have the potato lasagna I can eat once I get home.
• Bet you were expecting something dramatic. Nope…I ate, I drank, and now I am on the couch.
• I am grateful for this weather and for this to be happening now when we can all get safely outside. Can you imagine if this was happening in January? THAT would be epically worse. Be smart people.
• This is the slogan I came up with: stay safe, stay sane, and stay safely connected. Connection in any form matters so much right now. Check in with your friends and family, especially those that single.
• I am blessed to have a group of friends that have checked up on me, and it has meant and helped so much.
• Eventually we’ll get to hug again. Kevin, I’m coming for you!