First Dose
I am very happy to report that I got my first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine today!
The Vaccine
I cannot wait to get the vaccine.
I feel like I am going to be the last person that can actually get it. In fairness, there are a ton more people that need it and/or should get it before I do.
M&Ms
M&M’s were very important to me as a kid.
I loved chocolate (still do now). We didn’t eat a lot of candy growing up, but once in a while I would get some M&M’s as a treat or when my parents gassed up the car and I asked for them.
Lonesome Dove
This past summer, I was given a copy of Lonesome Dove from my sister. It’s my parents’ book. They had read it many years ago and lent it out to friends. Those friends lent it out to their friends. It’s actually a bit of a miracle that it made it back to them.
Dreams
I don’t think I am the only one who has been having dreams where I am in a public space and I don’t have a mask, which makes me freak out in the dream. I seem to have these dreams a few times a week, at least.
Ring Fit
A friend of mine from Zumba got the Nintendo Switch Zumba: Burn it Up game from her wife for Christmas. I miss Zumba, so I looked into getting it myself. While searching for it, I came across the Ring Fit Adventure game.
Sledding
I went sledding for the first time, probably since college, on January 2nd. I joined my parents, sister, nephew and brother-in-law. These are pretty much the only people I interact with outside of Jeff. Because Covid.
Christmas 2020
We usually celebrate Christmas Eve at my in-law’s house. Due to Covid, there was no Christmas gathering with his family this year. Jeff and I celebrated on our own with gifts, Christmas movies, and takeout from Chili’s.
What to Do About Christmas
I am having a tough time deciding what Jeff and I should do for Christmas.
We didn’t gather with family for Thanksgiving, even though I visited them the weekend before that. The cases in Wisconsin spiked after my visit and the governor and healthcare workers begged people not to get together for Thanksgiving. So, we decided not to.
We Got Socked!
We got Socked the other day!
The other morning, I noticed there were some things on our porch chair. One was a package, which was expected, and the other thing was a Christmas stocking.
We got some candy, a dog toy and some other goodies. According to the rules, I now had 48 hours to refill the stocking and go Sock someone else.
NOOM
I started using the NOOM App yesterday. I haven’t been eating very well since I did the Game On! Diet Challenge and I needed something to kick my butt back into gear.
I had tried NOOM a few years ago and I wasn’t good at tracking my meals, so it wasn’t useful to me at the time.
Light at the End of the Tunnel
COVID Vaccines
It sounds like there is a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to COVID. There are multiple vaccines that seem promising, which is excellent news!
My brother-in-law, who works in a hospital, will be getting the vaccine next week. People like my husband and I will likely have to wait until spring to get vaccinated. That’s fine, there are obviously people out there that are in more need of it than we are.
Family Visit
My sister and my nephew, Stephen, were at my parents’ house in Iola, my hometown this past weekend, so I decided to go and visit on Friday. I hadn’t seen my favorite little ginger (Stephen) for awhile.
It was a good visit. It was just the original four of us, plus Stephen. Just missing the husbands. At times it almost felt like back in the day before Erica (sister) or I went off to college and eventually moved out permanently.
Walks
Mental Health
It has been unusually warm (over 70!) for the past week! That is unheard of for November in Wisconsin. I have taken advantage of the gorgeous days by taking walks each day.
The weather has been good for my mental health, especially this past week with all of the Election drama. All of the walks I have taken help me clear my head a bit.
On Wednesday, the day after the election, I took Charlie over to Voyageur Park and we walked around all of the pathways. It was so pretty, despite most of the leaves being gone.
Election Week
Last Tuesday was Election Day.
It gave me plenty of anxiety, just as I knew it would. I sent messages to my Talkspace therapist when I was in the thick of my anxiety around midnight on Election Day.
I had to focus on my mental health a lot last week while the country waited for ballots to be counted. There were a ton of mail-in ballots to count! Joe Biden is officially the most voted-for presidential candidate in history.
Though it was mathematically unlikely, he could’ve still lost the election because of the Electoral College. The Electoral College should be abolished. It has no purpose.
Halloween 2020
Last weekend was Halloween!
This was the first year in some time that I didn’t dress up for Halloween because I didn’t go to Halloween Zumba. I’ve had memories from past Halloween Zumba pop up on my Facebook timeline. They made me kinda sad.
End of an Era
I mentioned in my previous post that one of the Zumba instructors, “S”, in my community of Zumba friends announced that she is retiring from Zumba next week. She was the only reason that I was going to possibly hold on to my Y membership since her class was the only class I went to anymore.
In my last post, Election Day & Covid Thoughts, I wrote about how I had pretty much decided that I was going to switch to a new gym. The ONE thing that was keeping me at the Y was that my Zumba friends all went there.
Election Day & COVID Thoughts
I am glad I started virtual therapy a few weeks ago with TalkSpace. I knew my anxiety would be leveling up as Election Day got closer.
I want all of this to be over. The election, COVID-19 (which unfortunately won’t go away after the election), racial inequality. All of it.
Even when the election is over, I expect there will some civil unrest, no matter who wins.
When COVID gets under control, I don’t think anyone’s life will return back to whatever “normal” was for them pre-COVID. I know mine won’t.
Changes at The Game Capital
Changes are happening at The Game Capital and they are happening FAST!
Just a few weeks ago, we had about 6 staff members, not including myself or Jeff.
We now have 21 staff members (including myself and Jeff)!
Wow. That’s crazy.
And we are working on hiring a couple more!
The Charlie Chronicles (Part 5)
I was on my exercise bike this morning when the Fox Valley Animal Referral Center finally called with Charlie’s biopsy results.
I ran upstairs to get better reception.
Dr. Leonard, the vet, let me know that the tumor was unfortunately malignant.
Not the news we wanted.
I plan my life out a day at a time, so my posting schedule can be erratic.
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