Month: April 2020

Spring rains start the day,
Those flowers better be bright,
Eager for the blooms.

It’s the beginning of a new week—week five working from home. This is beginning to feel like the norm now. I’m not complaining as I am thoroughly enjoying not having to get out of bed until 7 a.m., but I do reflect on how my daily routine has shifted. I now get up an hour and a half later than pre-pandemic, and am back to staying up past midnight on the day’s other end. Now I fear how hard it will be to shift the body clock back to a post-pandemic schedule.

No video conferences scheduled until 4 pm today, so I can hang in my jammies for the remainder of the morning. One of the benefits of working at home is the cost associated with doing laundry each week has gone way down! I do, however, dress up and do the hair and make-up thing for the conference calls as it’s something that’s still in my control.

On the activity front I’m returning to normal. Approaching 10K today earlier than typical. I think subconsciously I need to make up for the days when I was just hovering around the 5K mark. Healthier eating is back on, and while I have not gained any weight this past week, I am eager to shift back to the loosing trend.

A new week, a new effort. Join me virtually.

All egg hunts inside,
Easter spirits still run high,
Hippity hip hop.

Not the typical Easter Sunday, but we still made it work. This year all the eggs were hidden inside, but all the edible parts had to be sealed away in plastic eggs, else the dogs would have found and consumed them all long before Eleanor awoke. While at 10 years old E knows the Easter bunny doesn’t exist, she still expects an egg hunt—yes, she found out about Santa Clause and the tooth fairy this past year as well. And even if her slightly older friends didn’t “clue her in,” she had already begun to question how a life-sized bunny could hide eggs in everyone’s yard in just one night (same for Santa and presents). Ahh, welcome to the age of enlightenment!

Egg hunts weren’t the only thing that was turned upside down, however. The traditional family gathering was scrapped this year. It’s moments like these that I’m so thankful to be living at my sister’s home instead of being stuck in a house all by myself—tomorrow I may want the “house to myself” feeling, but today I want family. So we did the next best thing: a Zoom meeting. Best part is that almost all family members joined in! Only one nephew and his wife, and one niece were missing, which is a major accomplishment for my very large family. The best part is that I could see it meant the world to my Mom to see all her children attending. I think she actually teared up a few times too!

The rest of Easter was nice. Watched a little church on TV, until the power went out half way in, had a fabulous lamb dinner, even an Easter toast with a great bottle of wine. The almost perfect day!

Needless to say, however, the diet was nonexistent today, activity levels not as high (the zoom meeting lasted 2 hours), but a great day health wise all the same. I fended off all the chocolate, and only indulged in a small slice of homemade pumpkin pie, so I didn’t stray too far from plan. Tomorrow I will be back at it!

Happy Easter y’all.

A new adventure,
Inspection day excitement,
Will be moving soon.

Today’s haiku, as you may have deciphered, alludes to a new home purchase. Yes, it’s inspection day! Inspections can be very good, or they can be very bad because they bring to light issues with a home that are not typically seen. I’ve been through three inspections many years ago, with two of those three homes failing inspection due to misrepresentation (one home was in a flood zone and had major electrical issues and the other had a termite infestation). This is my first time dealing with inspections for this round of home buying. And because I am writing this a few days later, I can report that while there were some issues that need to be fixed, nothing was severe enough to walk away from the property. This is a major step forward to acquiring my next home address!

I will add that inspections during a pandemic did alter a lot about how we conduct ourself when in a seller’s home that is still fully occupied. No, the sellers were not present for the inspection, but the home is fully furnished. First, the inspector, my buyer’s agent, and myself were wearing face masks and latex gloves. Second, we did not touch any of the seller’s furniture, not even to sit on a chair after two hours of walking around the property and standing. All systems were checked as they would have been prior to this pandemic, and only the appliances that were being sold as part of the property were inspected. We still managed to get a full inspection, but it felt strange being hyper vigilant about not leaning against counters, walls, or doorways, not sitting for a moment on a stool, and most definitely not using toilets or sinks except to test if they were working and to check water pressure. On the bonus side: I was able to get in at least 5K steps toward my daily goal.

And finally, from the diet standpoint, because the inspection started early in the morning, I did stop and Dunkin’ Donuts (curbside pickup) and got a coffee and egg and cheese wraps. Not too far off diet, but off all the same. I don’t expect any weight gain from this, but from a Whole 30 standpoint, there was cheese, bread, and cream, three items that are not allowed. But then again, this is the modified version. Still, I may have to just admit that I’m not following Whole 30 until the pandemic is over and we can go back to normal food shopping routines.

A cold, brisk morning,
Today we bury a friend,
Sadness fills my heart.

Yes, today we bury a friend—my best friend’s Dad to be exact. But I phrase this loosely as I cannot physically be there due to the pandemic restrictions put in place of no gatherings, including funerals, of more than 10 people. This is devastating all the way around! The family doesn’t feel the peace that comes from the the heart-felt words, stories, and emotional hugs of those paying their respects, and those wanting to pay their respect cannot do so in person. I view this as a major disruption to the healing process. I, myself, feel like I need to do more, but haven’t figured out what that entails. So I resolve to paying close attention to facebook and look for all of the family’s posts filled with loving memories and photos, and try as I might to respond to each and every one.

But today does bring with it some goodness! The college I work for is launching some really good events to help the local medical community. We’re making masks! There are sewing stations set up as well as 3D printing stations. A local company donated fabric for sewing cloth masks, and the 3D printers are producing the plastic headbands that will then be fitted with transparent film sheets that together make face shields. I headed to campus to document these activities on videotape and photography, and it makes my heart melt that even though the campus is nearly empty, the few that remain are taking on this effort! I’m also so grateful that I got to actually leave my home and be a part of this wonderful event. Yes, we all still had to stay 6 feet apart and don latex gloves and face masks, but that doesn’t detract from the excitement I felt at seeing coworkers’ faces, hear their voices, and even just being in the same room! This reinvigorated my soul and spirit. Cabin fever has been delayed!

Rain to start this day,
Washes away yesterday,
Bring on the flowers.

First thing I noticed when I woke this morning is that my knee felt a lot better. Second thing I noticed is that it’s pouring outside! Correlation? Perhaps. Except it’s become all too predictable. I’m just always happy when the rain finally gets here because that means my activity level can return to normal! I don’t know the science behind this scenario, only that I believe it has something to do with the pressure in the air before a storm-front moves in.

Another day home, same as yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that … this is getting old. Cabin fever is beginning to show its first symptoms! At least I’m not the only one in my household! I share this space with my sister Jennifer, my niece Eleanor, three dogs—Biscuit, Pixie, and Axel, two cats—Clare and Janet, and seven chickens—all named after YouTubers! They provide a lot of entertainment to break up the monotony, especially the dogs. I will miss all this excitement when I’m once again in my own home. I already had plans to get one dog, but now I’m upping the count to at least two new canine buddies. I’m going to start stockpiling dog balls now!

From the health front, activity levels are back up as mentioned above! My goals have been to get up and get 750 steps each hour until I get to 10K at the least, but yesterday I think I only got about 5K in. Today is starting off strong as I got 2500 in before 8 a.m.! Step goal is starting out strong. Consumption should be good today too. But Eleanor did make brownies yesterday, so I’ll have to keep my eyes closed as I pass that plate during my hourly walks. I’ll allow myself one tiny brownie at the 10K mark.

Yesterday is gone,
Today’s atmosphere is blue,
Family memories.

I’m liking this modified edition of “A Healthier Me,” because I get to make my own rules. Not straying too far from the original plan, but not doing the complete elimination due to lack of grocery supplies these days. That said, I’m trying to eat as healthy as possible, get in some home exercise/walking, and keep myself occupied so that my mode and optimism stays positive. the biggest deviations, however, is I am free to enjoy my niece’s baking attempts, and a temporary allotment of alcohol consumption per week (like only 2 glasses of whatever). I may not loose the weight as quickly, but at least I won’t gain it either. I’ll nickname this round the “hold the line” round.

Diet aside, today my knee is killing me—like swollen pain. I do know exactly what is to blame, and it’s not overuse. It’s weather related. This means a nasty storm is heading my way. But I’m holding off on the Advil as long as I can because this too shall pass.

Eternal journeys,
Footsteps on a graceful path,
Peaceful conclusions.

Yay! The program is back on with only slight modifications. This is great news and is symbolic of several areas of my life during these days of face masks, protective gloves, and self-distancing. I’m making the best of the situation, turning lemons into lemonade. First, unsweetened almond milk is back on the store shelves, so I grabbed 3 of them. Next, there was fresh meat and chicken to be found, and fresh fruits and veggies to boot! Either grocery supplies are beginning to stabilize, or I just happened to hit the store at the perfect time (Thursday at 10 a.m.), either way I’m back on track after a 10 day lapse. And, because it’s Day 1, the scale made an appearance and I am so happy to report that I did not gain anything back in those 10 days, and that was definitely a surprise!

Several other balls that were in play in my world all seemed to fall into place too! I sold my townhouse for a hefty profit (15% over appraised value), which is a miracle considering the ongoing pandemic. And literally 6 days later my deeply discounted offer on another property was accepted (5% below appraised value). These two efforts were very large seeds that have now blossomed into the most beautiful of flowers.

So yes, a lot of good news and plans working out in the best possible ways. But there was one very sad event that occurred in the form of my best friends lost her father yesterday morning. It’s never had loosing a parent, and it’s even more difficult now with all the restrictions on social gatherings. I’m very sad for the entire family as I am quite close to several of them (best friends was not a misspelling—it is deliberately meant to be plural as two sisters are equal in my circle of best friends). Today’s haiku is dedicated to the man I fondly referred to as my second Dad. Rest in Peace Ken Marrin and thank you for your service (Korean War vet).

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Day 1 stats:
Scale: ##3.2
Health: good
Steps: 7,800
Mood: overjoyed AND very sad