Quarantine Journal: Week 3
I'm keeping a daily journal while we're stuck in quarantine. To check out previous entries, click below!
Week 1: March 18th-24th
Week 2: March 25th-31st
Day 15: Wednesday, April 1st
I HATE April Fools' Day. I think it's pretty much the dumbest holiday to ever be invented, and that's saying something because there are TWO National Donut Days. With that said, it is kind of sad not seeing anyone participate this year because it means we don't have the energy for it. I look forward to everything going back to normal (hopefully soon 🤞) and once again having plenty of time for trivial, fun - albeit, stupid as hell - things. I promise not to complain about April Fools' Day next year.
Anyway...Wednesday! Let's talk about it. I was having a heart-to-heart with Carly this morning and noticed that the hair on her wrists is starting to look white again. (Yay!) American Bulldogs feel pretty hard, and she was doing some anxious licking/chewing since moving in with us, but I think having us home all the time for the past two weeks has been good for her. Lucky for her, Big Whiny Baby Face Governor DeSantis finally issued a stay-at-home order for all of Florida, so we'll be here for at least another 30 days.
She had her annual appointment scheduled for Monday, April 6th, but our vet has recommended postponing any wellness visits for the time being, so I called and canceled until things are normal again. BONUS: This gives us at least 30 more days to help Carly lose some weight before her annual weigh-in. 🙌
While eating lunch, Sean and I started watching Hillary on Hulu. It's really good! I expended all my rant-energy on Kesha already this week, but Hillary is another one who deserved better. I don't get why everyone hates her so much. They kept referring to her as a polarizing person throughout episode one, which is absolutely true, but I don't really understand why? I personally don't have any strong opinions about her (other than that I think she is judged far too harshly). I do have the utmost respect for her and wish I had half her strength.
Sean and I ended the day with a bike ride around the island. It was a beautiful, cool evening!
Day 16: Thursday, April 2nd
We kicked the day off with another room cleanout! Today we did the laundry room and the kitchen. It is amazing how many reusable bags and empty laundry detergent jugs we have accumulated over our two years in this house. We organized all our reusable bags into one tidy basket, and I came across some really cute ones in the process that I can't wait to use again!
Another thing I came across during this cleanout: a scrapbook I made in 2001.
Events I deemed scrapbook-worthy in 2001: our family trip out west (including meeting the final three from Survivor: The Australian Outback), my 10th birthday party at BYC, our Christmas card featuring every piece of denim fashion to ever exist, and Max (our dog) and Cadi's (someone else's dog) wedding.
I feel I would be doing this recap a disservice if I didn't share this photo:
We had to run out to Bradenton to grab a few things, and Sean was like, "On the way back, we should stop at CVS so we can get some box dye and dye our hair." I laughed and was like, "Yeah, ok," because I thought he was kidding, but he wasn't.
So we spent the evening trying to put a silver streak in his hair. While Sean's hair cooked, we watched the finale of Guy's Tournament of Champions. Unfortunately, the dye didn't work (probably because we didn't have any bleach to apply before the hair dye). But that didn't keep us from reapplying three times.
Day 17: Friday, April 3rd
Today was supposed to be a day spent pampering and celebrating one of my best buds on her wedding day eve. Instead, I spent the day bleaching my husband's hair. Did not see this one coming.
We started the day with a bike ride around the island, and then I had to run some errands for some last-minute supplies (including the hair bleach). I stopped at the Starbucks drive-through on my way home because Teller's and Oscura are closed until further notice, and I ended up with a surprise second drink! Turns out the barista made the wrong thing for the car in front of me, so Sean ended up with a frapp, which he was pretty stoked about.
We spent the afternoon/evening bleaching Sean's hair before taking on round two of the silver dye. The silver dye still did not stick, so Sean just kind of looks like a surfer/middle schooler/dude who put too much Sun In in only one part of his hair. But I kind of like it! It complements the mustache well.
We're doing great over here.
Day 18: Saturday, April 4th
I pretty much got no sleep last night. I had really bad allergies and was struggling to breathe, and then I started freaking out because I thought that if I did fall asleep I was going to forget how to breathe, and then I realized that was stupid so I took some NyQuil at 2am to force myself to stop thinking about it.
We did our morning workout, ate lunch and went for a golf cart ride. And then I spent most of the afternoon in the pool because it was such a beautiful day. Then Emma FaceTimed us because she wanted to weigh in on Sean's hair. Verdict: "Uncle Sean, your hair is so pretty!"
Then we made tacos and took the dogs for a walk. The neighbors were re-cementing their mailbox, so naturally, Carly barreled right through it in all her graceful beauty.
When we got home, we dialed in for a virtual happy hour with the fam!
Day 19: Sunday, April 5th
Today was super gloomy. It rained pretty much all day, and it was that cold kind of rain that hurts. So naturally, we went for an afternoon bike ride and complained the whole time.
I felt feverish and tired this morning, so I took a bath and then did the whole, "I'm just gonna lay down for a bit," thing that always results in a nap. This one was three hours, and I felt a lot better when I woke up!
After our bike ride, I did one of Tara's online workouts in the less-cold-and-rainy living room, and then I started watching Little Fires Everywhere. So. Freaking. Good. (Another show Sean and I recently started watching that's pretty great is Community, if you're looking for show recommendations.)
Alli got sick tonight, so I called Erica, and we chatted for a little while. Pretty excited to interact with some humans tomorrow, even if it is in the form of a vet visit for poor Alli girl. :(
Day 20: Monday, April 6th
Today I met a pug named Samantha. This was very exciting for me for a few reasons: 1) It meant I got to go for a car ride (!!!) and get out of the house for a little bit. 2) I interacted with people (!!!) IN PERSON (!!!), and it was actually for a valid, essential trip, sooo no guilt. 3) Animals with human names are my favorite.
Samantha the Pug was in the waiting room at Palmetto Animal Clinic. (Side note: Alli did great and should be back to her healthy, happy self soon!) This pug was floating around the room trying to socialize with all the other animals (including some ducklings this lady found and brought in), and the owner was all about it. Most of the humans had masks on and were taking social distancing very seriously, but this pug's mom has clearly been so consumed by her new pug puppy that she hasn't had time to check the news and see there's a pandemic going on. When she said, "Oh, Samantha. You're such a social butterfly," I actually lost it. Just burst out laughing and couldn't pull it together. A pug named Samantha? Yes.
Anyway, after the vet, I did some work and caught up on Little Fires Everywhere over lunch. I had big plans to take my time on LFE so I would never have to wait a week for a new episode, but then I binged the first five in two sittings, so now I'm just like the rest of you having to wait to find out what happens next.
Sean and I have also been watching John Krasinski's Some Good News segments. Very good and will warm your heart. 10/10 recommend you watch.
Anyway, we also went for a sunset cruise around the neighborhood (see beautiful sunset above) and finished the evening with an episode of Community.
Completely unrelated to all of this, but this tweet cracked me up when I saw it, and I've found myself relating to it pretty hard for the past week or so:
Day 21: Tuesday, April 7th
I've been putting off recapping Tuesday because I was like, "Man, this was a jam-packed day. There's so much to write about." But now as I look at my notes, I'm realizing just how much quarantine life has changed the meaning of "jam-packed."
We cleaned the living room and dining "room," which reopened the great dining table debate of 2018. This hightop has been here since we moved in, but the light (that DAMN light) used to hang so low that if you sat in either of the side chairs, it would hit you in the forehead while you ate. Sean didn't mind because his chair is the one facing the backyard (AKA the one with the view of the pool/the one where you DON'T get hit with a swinging light the whole time you're just trying to enjoy a damn meal).
BUT now that we're eating every meal at home, I want to sit at the table and feel like a real human during mealtime, so today, my friends, we finally moved the light up. GAME. CHANGER.
I can also safely say that day 21 is the day I lost my mind. I wrote a check for our lawn bill, put it in an envelope, addressed the envelope, put our last stamp on there and then...threw it away? Luckily there wasn't anything too nasty in the trash, so I was able to fish it out later and send it on its merry way.
Speaking of bills, something very magical happened as I was going through our mail. STORY TIME!
On April 8, 2018, Sean came down with a wicked stomach bug. Nine years prior on my senior camping trip, one of my BFFs also had a stomach bug that turned out to be appendicitis. We ended up rushing her to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. As such, I am now SUPER sensitive about anything involving people I love and their stomachs.
So I made Sean go to the hospital. That hospital visit was TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. The majority of that was covered by our insurance, but for the past two years, we've been paying a monthly bill. I usually don't even open the bill when it comes each month because it's on autopay, but I thought, "What the hell. I'll check our balance." WE'RE FREE! THIS IS OUR LAST PAYMENT WE HAVE TO MAKE ON THIS STUPID BILL!
I think that's a good place to end week 3.