A Very So Cal Thanksgiving

Well here we are closing in on Christmas, and really not much has changed in terms of the pandemic. I've settled into this new normal of working from home, going braless most days, living in athleisure wear, and limited outings. No plans to travel any time soon. California just went into Purple tier a few weeks ago meaning Covid cases are up. A curfew was imposed and I think we may be on the verge of another stay home order. 

Cooking Blue Apron Meals When You Can't Cook

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't cook and that my husband is responsible for all the delicious home cooked meals and ridiculously good baked treats made in our home. My role in the kitchen is usually to assist as needed and do the dishes. I believe my mother did her best, but for whatever reasons I lack the cooking gene. I want to want to cook, but I just don't. 

The Great Outdoors || It's all We've Got Right Now + Video

About a month ago we pulled the plug on our European Vacation. International borders were closed, but even if they opened up before the end of August I'm still not comfortable taking an international flight, and what would it even be like at our destinations? Things change so quickly because of covid-19. Planning felt not only stressful, but impossible. I didn't want to spend that much on an airline ticket only to end up with a disappointing experience. One of our flights got cancelled, and there was no other flight to book that would get us to our connection in time, so we were able to get a full refund and not just a credit from Delta. This is officially the first time that I have ever gotten any money back from an Airline company. For once a cancelled flight was a good thing. England, Ireland, and Portugal will have to wait until next year...hopefully. Since Europe wasn't going to happen we turned our attention to what could happen this summer. Where can we drive to? What can we do? The great outdoors seems to be all we got right now, so we focused on national parks, which had just recently opened up again. We decided on Zion National Park for the fourth of July because, it's only 2.5 hours from Las Vegas where my parents live. A road trip felt like a lower risk trip to try to plan during this time, but even this had it's challenges. I booked this a week out, and once I did, kept checking the Zion National Park website for updates and alerts that may affect our trip. I carefully read the covid-19 policy for our hotel and checked into what was open and what was closed, but we still ran into trouble.

Charcuterie Anyone?

I wanted to share this adorable little charcuterie board we had made for us. Charcuterie. I just love that that word. And just in case you are wondering exactly what the word means and how it's pronounced: Charcuterie (pronounced "shahr-ku-tuh-ree") is the art of preparing and assembling cured meats and other meat products. It was Mj's idea to get one specially made. These types of ideas usually are. Anyway, MJ follows a guy on Instagram who does woodworking. Jay made him a really nice rack for him to hang on his wall displaying his medals. He liked it so much he wanted him to make something else.

What I've Been Doing in Quarantine

When I left work for the last time that day in March I knew we weren't going back for a while. They were very realistic with us. They said May if we were lucky, but more than likely June. Well, June is next week and we've heard nothing about when we will be going back to work. Not much is being said about non-essential non retail workplaces. Ten weeks into the stay at home orders San Diego is just now entering phase two where restaurants and retail stores can do in person shopping and dining in with social distancing precautions and extra cleaning requirements. Phase 1 was just parks and beaches. It's funny because in the initial days of this I was thinking, okay we stay home and flatten the curve and then it will be over, but it didn't take long before it hit me that Covid-19 isn't actually going anywhere. We can learn more about it, find new treatments, and eventually come up with a vaccine, but ultimately we will be living in a world in which Covid-19 is always a threat and there is nothing that will change that. As bizarre as it is to be re-opening even as people are still dying daily, I do agree that it has to happen. People have definitely lost their patience with staying indoors. It feels too soon, but the economy is dying and people need to pay their bills. We can't stay home forever.

Since we've been home....

We ordered Blue Apron three times. The first two were because the world had gone mad. The shelves were barren. We couldn't get our hands on a lot of our normal foods, and we couldn't get any grocery pick up slots. It has been so long since we last ordered, that the first delivery actually went to our old house. MJ had to drive over there and snatch it off their doorstep. The last delivery was accidental, and we couldn't have that happening every other week so I made MJ deactivate his account. Each time we ordered three meals that served four so that we could have left overs the next day. The portion sizes are plentiful. It was nice to change things up a bit, and I was actually able to enjoy cooking (even on a weekday) because I wasn't so exhausted from being at the office all day. I enjoyed everything we got. We also did quite a bit of Door Dash, Grub Hub, and Postmates, but we are back to regular programing now.

Crazy Things Are Happening

When I heard that Celebrity cruises was offering a very upgraded two-night cruise to Mexico for military and veterans I called right away. Sign us up! I called on February 29th and we were booked in for April 4th. It would be the perfect thing to do for my Birthday, and I was really looking forward to it. Even after hearing about two Princess cruise ships that were re-routed due to COVID-19, I still wasn't that worried. I'm in relatively good health, and I still hadn't grasped the enormity of what was going on. It still didn't seem like that big of a deal. I figured the odds were that I wouldn't get it at all, but if by some small chance I did, I would recover. My biggest worry was finding myself quarantined somewhere if there were concerns about people aboard having been infected.

Always Choose Hawaii

She let me hold her hand!

I had two options. I could either meal prep my food for the following week or I could book a flight to Hawaii and run away.

In January MJ mentioned that he'd be going to Oahu for work. I was open to the possibility of going along with him, but it would be very short notice. I tried to mentally process it, but couldn't do a thing until I knew it was really happening. One week he told me it would happen the following week. Then it got pushed back. I told him to let me know when he booked his flight, and not to pressure me. Many people would jump at the chance for a mostly all expenses paid trip to Hawaii under any circumstances, but maybe I'm not most people. Last minute ANYTHING makes me anxious. Packing makes me anxious. Missing work without advance notice makes me anxious. Spending hundreds of dollars spontaneously makes me anxious. I would come along, but only if the ticket prices were reasonable and I felt comfortable with my ability to pull it off.

Working on that Home Decor Thing

Setting up a brand new house is very expensive. There isn't any fixing up to do, but not to fear, there are still plenty of things to spend money on. We bought four ceiling fans, three pendant lights, and so many other things I've lost count. It never seemed to end. I think we were at Home Depot every weekend for the first six months. We kept the majority of our furniture from our old home, but we did spend money replacing a desk, bar stools, fold out couch for a spare bedroom, and a buffet. The only additional item we've purchased is a 4 tier shelf for our entry way. Our couch is about to be ten years old and we're ready for a new one, but we've had to wait because of those darn priorities. Our biggest expense was outdoor landscaping, which we were required to take care of right away. Once we got that together we prioritized getting our patio cover, and outdoor furniture so we could enjoy the backyard. We also had to buy window coverings for 29 windows. We picked up a few items here and there to decorate, but for the most part home decor as fallen to the bottom of our priority list.

Is Disneyland Just for Kids?

All the pretty lights

I think I was in middle school the first time I went to Disneyland. I went with a friend's family, and we ran from ride to ride like psychopaths. When I was a cheerleader, Disneyland was our yearly team trip, and when I graduated from high school it was our Senior year grad night. I have many fond memories of waiting in endless lines for rides, buying candy from the old time sweet shop on main street, and searching for a souvenir cheap enough for me to buy with my meager allowance. That was before California Adventure, or Max Pass, and way before the Disneyland App or Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. It cost $20.00 to get in and that felt like a lot of money to teenage me. It's hard to believe it could have ever been that impossibly low, considering the current going low rate is  $104.00 for a weekday during off peak season (like now January-March ish) for a basic, 1 day pass. It goes up from there with the addition of Park Hopper, Max Pass, and all of these other add-ons that weren't even a thought of back then. We live pretty close to Disneyland Resort Anaheim, but I never thought too much about going again. MJ had never been, and talked about planning a trip for a while, but I wasn't so sure. Disneyland is for kids. What's the point of two adults going to Disneyland? Especially, given how expensive it is now.

Fun fact: the Sleeping Beauty castle is inspired by Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. We got to see the real thing three years ago. I've also seen the real Thunder Mountain in Sedona Arizona, so now I need to see the real Matterhorn in Switzerland. Forget about Space Mountain. Not that I could ever go or anything, but the idea of being in space freaks me out.