12/31/2020

Well, the year is finally, at long last, almost over. I started the day working from home. It was slow, then there was a small flurry of work. My coworker ended up going into the office after all, so she did most of the production for it, which will make my Monday that much easier. Then it just really tapered off. I watched When Calls the Heart and made the gingerbread cake from the mix we got for New Years. My boss decided to call it quits early so I logged out around 2:15pm instead of 5pm which is always a fun treat!

I needed to pick up a prescription and a few other items from Bartells, so we went out while it was still light and walked past the fire destruction from the other day. It's so sad. We walked to the drug store and I was able to get everything I needed. I dropped the water holder of my humidifier the other day and it cracked and started leaking, so I needed to get a new humidifier. I got a great deal, assuming that the humidifier works well!

When we got back we watched some more Hobbit specials before putting in our order for Azteca. It took way longer to get our food but I can't be too surprised and am happy that they're doing so well still. We ate it and are now watching Last Holiday, one of our newer favorites. We might watch High School Musical, our traditional New Year's Eve movie, and back to Hobbit specials. 

This year has been terrible, but there have been good moments too. I made it to the end of the year. That alone is an accomplishment worthy of celebrating! So many people weren't so lucky...

12/30/2020

It was such a slow day at work today! I went into the office and there was only one item in the in-box. I did busy work till about 11am and then came home to finish the day there. My coworker decided to go in in the afternoon to do her stuff so she can stay home tomorrow too. There were some referral jobs, but only one production job, which will be finished up on Monday. I suspect tomorrow will be pretty slow too. Maybe a bit of a flurry as people get the last of their work done, but mostly slow. We'll see if I'm right.

I ended up binge-watching the rest of season one of When Calls the Heart on Netflix while I worked. It's a lovely show. I also had prepped the pork roast for our dinner in the morning, so it made getting it ready for dinner much easier. It's huge and there will be many leftovers for other things like pulled pork and stew. I also cleaned out the fridge this afternoon. It looks so nice now!

We're watching all our tv shows that have New Years episodes, and will probably end with Hobbit specials.

12/29/2020

Well, last night did not end peacefully. Around 11:10pm, I started smelling something in my room, sort of a burning smell, and I thought maybe one of the fans was shorting out or something, so I turned them off and still smelled it. On a whim, I opened my bedroom window to see what I could smell, and the smoke was coming from outside. I didn't get a sense that it was our building, because it was thick enough to have the alarms going off in the building, but it was nearby. I went to the lanai and could see flames shooting into the sky to the left. It was far enough away that I knew were weren't in immediate danger, but I could tell it was the strip mall with our favorite restaurants on fire. The kind of fire that the building wasn't going to survive. I ran and got my sister and then got my n95 mask because the smoke was too much for my lungs. I stayed on the lanai with my mask on but there were a couple times I had to come inside because it was too thick. She ran down to get a much closer look. I wanted to go, but I thought that somebody with asthma, who is still recovering from covid, probably wouldn't be making a good life choice by choosing to inhale copious amounts of really unhealthy smoke. The N95 mask really helps though! I highly recommend one.

We were up till about 12:30am and had to shower and set aside our clothes and my blanket for the laundry cuz it was smoke-filled. We aired the place out as best we could and it took me till about 2am to get to sleep. I was really sad because those businesses are mostly women-owned, Black-owned, and Asian immigrant-owned. They were just trying to get by in a pandemic and now their lives are ruined in the dead of winter, in a pandemic. It's really upsetting. The fire department determined it to be arson, and I'm hoping insurance will help these businesses rebuild, but it's going to be a long time before they're back.

I worked from home today, which was nice. I was able to do the laundry, and we aired the place out some more. I was able to be tired at home without worrying about going to the office and crashing there. It was pretty busy for the most part, but not bonkers, so it was good. I was able to make a proper lunch, and eat it. We decided to change the rest of the week, so I'm going to go into the office tomorrow instead of Thursday, cuz that's supposed to be a deadsville day and won't be worth the trouble. We'll all stay home Thursday. Works for me! I also filled and ran the dishwasher and started a rewatch of When Calls the Heart on Netflix because it's being taken off there at the end of January and I want to see if I can get through it so all I need to do is get the latest two seasons from the library.

I did not do the treadmill today. I'm just too rundown and on the verge of headachy from last night so I just skipped it. I'm so tired tonight! Leftovers for dinner tonight. We watched Ghostbusters 2 and now onto some Hobbit specials.

12/28/2020

Today was the bonkers day I thought it would be at work. It wasn't so bad at the office and I did come home before the end of the day but it built up over that time and was out of control again by the time I got online. I ended up having to stay on an extra half hour to get it all under control. I need to do better with eating during office days because I ended up snacking through the day and my blood sugar was super out of control. But, I got some nice gifts from my coworkers, including a $200 check from one of the court reporters!! I'll have to see if my new phone is smart enough to do the deposit function so I don't have to mail it in.

My other coworker got me a box of chamomile tea for Christmas so I'm trying it tonight to see if it helps put me to sleep! Tonight I made curry chicken and rice for dinner, and now we're relaxing and watching While You Were Sleeping. It's a cute movie.

I had a whole list of stuff on a to-do list but since I worked late, and then was so headachey and my blood sugar was too low, I ended up not doing it. Hopefully I can get some of it done tomorrow. I work from home tomorrow and Wednesday.

12/27/2020

Today was a lazy, indoor day. I did laundry and took out garbage and recycling, and filled and ran the dishwasher, but that's about the most of the chores I did today. I also prepped some cooked chicken breast to make dinner with tomorrow after work.

Most of the day was spent with our LOTR rewatch. We did the third Hobbit movie commentary and then more of the first movie specials. We will have stuff to watch for days!! I also did my blog dish, which I will write about next in my food blog.

I go to the office tomorrow. I am just assuming it's going to be a super busy day since people will have had a long break to get caught up on transcripts and we had a few extremely busy days over the past couple weeks, so that stuff is going to start coming in. I have to think though, that I have the easier job to put the transcripts together and get them out the door, rather than do the electronic side of things and email them out to everybody. It's not fun either way, and my feet will be so sore tomorrow night, but I will work from home the next two days before going in again on Thursday. We do get Friday off, though, so that'll be nice!

12/26/2020

Today was errand day. We had to go get gas, get a refund for my sister for a place that double charged her on accident. Then we picked up a couple doughnuts from Top Pot and goodies from the Greatful Bread bakery in the next neighborhood. Then we went to Fred Meyer. We had some groceries to get, and some decorations and storage things we needed to take care of. We got some really great deals, but it was exhausting! I did not do a walk today because that was enough exercise for one day.

We watched Home and the Boxing Day episode of MASH when we got home and then started on the commentaries for the Hobbit movies in our LOTR watch. I was really excited because my order from Etsy came in the afternoon and now we have a lovely fairy house winter decoration for our tree, and a spring one and another spring decoration to use next spring. I always find the best stuff on Etsy, and love supporting small businesses, so it's a great match for me. 

 

We decided to keep the Christmas decorations up till New Years and then switch them out for winter decorations. I have a box of winter decorations but we are slowly getting some things for our new apartment that has a new configuration. I'm excited about it!

12/25/2020

Well, another Christmas is done and over with! The day started off with breakfast, in which I burned the bacon, and opening presents at home for a bit before going to my parents house for a masked, socially-distanced round of opening presents with them. We stayed around 45 minutes there before heading back home and starting with our LOTR marathon. We have gotten well into the third Hobbit movie so far.

Lunch was tacos, always delicious. After the first movie ended, we took an outdoor walk. It was a bit tougher than yesterday as I'd had some asthma issues earlier and it wasn't quite out of my system yet. But it was nice to be outside again before it started raining again.

I'm wearing my coziest jammies today and my thick socks with dog-faces on the feet. It's nice and cozy but we still haven't turned on the heat here so it gets cold occasionally. Dinner was leftovers from last night, very tasty! I didn't do any baking today, but I will probably on Sunday when I make another one of my blog recipes. I have two weeks to make up after this week so it's going to be Christmas at my place for a while yet. Can't complain about that!

12/24/2020

Today has been full of baking and cooking from the moment I got up till I sat down to dinner a while ago. I made my sister's chocolate pie, my cranberry pie, a glaze for the ham, got the chicken wings marinated and then cooked, and the funeral potatoes. This was an approximation of what our family normally eats on Christmas Eve together, and it was all delicious! It made enough for at least dinner tomorrow too. 

We watched the last of the Christmas movies on our list: A Christmas Story, I'll Be Home For Christmas, and now, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. We have the last of our specials and shows to finish out afterwards, and that's it! We managed to get through the list in time, yet again!

We did a couple errands this morning. We went to Bartell's to get some stocking stuffers and then up to Safeway for a few last groceries. In the afternoon, I took the first outdoor walk since recovering from Covid. It was really cold and hard to breath, but the walk itself went very smoothly and it was just lovely. I'm going to try to do that on days when I have daylight hours free to leave the house. 

This year's Christmas sure has been different than normal, but it hasn't been too bad. It's given my sister and me a chance to do some stuff we've always wanted to do. You always have to make the most of it, and I was determined to do just that!

12/23/2020

Worked from home today. It was on and off busy but tapered off in the late afternoon. I tuned into the Hallmark channel all day, seeing as I only have a couple more days of Christmas movies to look forward to! In the new year, their schedule goes back to normal. It won't be too bad though, I've missed The Golden Girls all this time! I'll be going to the office Monday and Thursday next week, and I was told there are some more presents waiting for me there, so that'll make what I'm assuming will be a pretty heavy day on Monday, easier to handle. The saddest thing will be no more Christmas music to listen to anymore...That's always the saddest part about Christmas. Turning on the radio the day after and it's back to regular music.

After logging out, I walked on the treadmill. It was a bit of a rougher walk seeing as I'd had to use my inhaler earlier in the afternoon. Plus, my knee started twinging, so I had to slow down to keep from injuring it. After I finished, we took out the garbage/compost/recycling and went outside to see if we could see the planets. We think we could see them but it was very close to the horizon and they were pretty far apart. I didn't bother to take any pictures.

Leftover pizza for dinner and It's a Wonderful Life tonight. Lots of cooking and baking tomorrow. It should be a nice day.

12/22/2020

Today I went to the office and stayed till around 2pm before coming home to finish the day here. It wasn't as busy as Monday, and I finally decided to just get all the shredding caught up for once at the office so we'll end the year with all the shredding under control. There was a present for me at the office that I thought was from my coworker but it turns out it was from my boss cuz he asked me this afternoon if I'd gotten it. It's under the Christmas tree now cuz we have no presents under it yet.

My sister got pizza for dinner and I was able to text her in enough time to get one for me too. Papa Murphy's $12 Tuesday deal is great and I was just tired of leftovers for dinner. I have enough for dinner tomorrow and a lunch serving I'll freeze for another time.

Tonight was Elf and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. We ran outside to see if we could see the planets, but were too late. We'll try tomorrow around 6pm and see if we can see them. Tomorrow is my Friday and I am very much looking forward to it!!

12/21/2020

What a day! It was so busy today working from home, it was bonkers! My coworker had to leave early from the office because it flooding, so she had to make sure she got home safely. Luckily, she did. I'm going into the office tomorrow and will finish out what she had to leave behind. We'll see how much new stuff we get tomorrow too, but if I'm lucky, it won't be a full day at the office.

I watched a lot of JAG episodes this afternoon. I'm quite enjoying it. I enjoyed it the first time so I'm not surprised I'm enjoying it again! After logging out for the day, I walked on the treadmill again, and managed to go the fastest yet! I won't do the treadmill tomorrow since I'm going into the office. I'm going to try to balance out office and non office days and exercise, at least until I'm back up to snuff.

It snowed tonight! First snow of the season, on the solstice! It's not supposed to last and it's tapering off, from what I heard. But it snowed before Christmas!!! This is very exciting! We heard it might snow and planned on watching White Christmas tonight but this is the first time we've ever watched the movie and it has actually snowed!

12/20/2020

Today was our annual Santa Clauseathon, in which we watch all three Santa Clause movies in one day. It's always fun. In between the movies, I took out the compost/garbage/recycling, put some mail in the mailbox downstairs, and we ran out and got Wendy's for lunch. Always delicious.

After that, I walked on the treadmill and was able to walk the fastest and longest since starting to recover from covid. I found I did better by increasing in smaller increments to help keep my breathing under control more. I didn't have any problems, but after my shower, while getting my dinner ready I did have a bit of an issue with asthma. I can't tell if it was a result of the exercise or not, because there was quite a bit of time in between the exercising and the start of the asthma. 

Relaxing with some Disney Christmas specials tonight. My blog dinner was amazing and I will be writing about that in a minute! Working from home tomorrow.

12/19/2020

Today was a lazy/relaxing day. I watched two of my Christmas movies that my sister doesn't care for, while she was watching two movies at my parents' house that I am not as interested in. She stopped by the store and picked up MOD pizza for us on the way back home. We settled in for an afternoon of Ab Fab and Vicar of Dibley Christmas episodes. Then we watched the Ugly Betty Christmas episode we have, and are now watching one of the Muppet Christmas movies.

I did start in on my blog cooking for the weekend too, though. I'll write about it more tomorrow, but it was pretty labor intensive. Hopefully it'll be worth it if it tastes as good as it looks. I have to wait for the flavors to meld overnight to try it, though.

Tomorrow will be more of the same with a few more chores thrown in, and making my blog project entree and probably inventing a side dish to use up one of my dessert ingredients, which sounds weird now, but will make sense tomorrow!

12/18/2020

It was a super busy day today, which is unusual for a Friday! I suspect it's going to stay that way until we close for Christmas next week. People want to go into the holiday with no work on their to-do list, which means it's bonkers for us to get it done for them during that time. It'll just make having all of Thursday off that much nicer! I was able to get the sink under control and filled and ran the dishwasher, and got all of the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Christmas episodes watched, as well as one of Little House on the Prairie.

After logging out for the day, my sister and I ordered a variety of stuff to try from the nearby teriyaki shop and ate it at home while watching Mixed Nuts, one of our newer favorite Christmas movies. Now we're watching Disney Christmas cartoons and shows for the rest of the night. More movies over the weekend, it's the big plan for us.

12/17/2020

Today I went into the office. It wasn't as busy, and I wasn't as exhausted, which is good. I was able bend over better today without it bothering my lungs, and that was exciting. It was a shorter day and I left about an hour and a half sooner than Monday. I had to take a transcript to an office in the connected building next to us on my way out, which was interesting. I got to take the freight elevator!

I came home and showered real fast before logging in to finish the day remotely. It was super slow. I'm glad to be working from home tomorrow. I watched the last two ER Christmas episodes this afternoon and plan to start in on the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman episodes tomorrow.

Simple yet tasty dinner tonight: fried polenta slices with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on it. Watched An Avonlea Christmas and now watching Arthur Christmas. My winter bedding was super cozy last night and hopefully I'll sleep well again tonight. The eye mask is definitely helping out.

12/16/2020

It was a very busy morning today. I was stuck at my desk till about 10:30am before it slowed down enough to make a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I think people were making up for not having enough time to turn in anything yesterday. It slowed down a lot after that and I was able to catch my breath a bit. I started working on transferring my dvds to the new cases my sister and I are working on. It should help save space and make using them easier to deal with.

The highlight of the day was finding out that we're going to be closed on Christmas Eve even though the plan had been to be open a half day. I'll go in next Tuesday or Wednesday depending on which day he wants me to go in, and then have a nice long Christmas break!

After logging out, instead of walking on the treadmill, I worked on getting my bedding changed. I've wanted to do it for a while now but haven't felt up to it till now. My lungs were a bit iffy after bending over with the dvds, so I thought this was a good use of my energy. Bending over is rough on my lungs. It seems to be that things that squish my lungs mess with the scar tissue in my lungs and makes my breathing ragged for a while. I'm hoping that will go away after a while, but there may always be issues post-covid, unfortunately.

Leftovers for dinner tonight. Watching Yours, Mine, and Ours. One of my all-time faves. Tomorrow I go back to the office. It'll be interesting to see how a non-Monday goes!

12/15/2020

It was a very slow day working from home today. Most of our people were on assignments, some of them doubled up, so they had no time to turn in anything. We will make up for it in the next couple weeks though, so I will enjoy these moments when they come! I had some paperwork I brought home from the office to work on in the slow times, so I actually stayed occupied the whole time. I still have some for tomorrow too. I did manage to get the sink under control, made chicken salad for lunch, and ran the dishwasher, and got dinner going. I found out we'll be closing around noon or 1pm on Christmas Eve day, so I can start planning out Christmas Eve dinner plans. We have the food planned, but now I can start scheduling it all.

I did the treadmill after logging out and am still pretty much at the same level that I was last week. I'm exhausted now. Between that and going back to the office, hopefully I'll continue to get stronger and faster, but I am learning not to push myself too hard. 

Pork spare ribs and rice for dinner tonight. Leftovers tomorrow. TV shows tonight.

12/14/2020

I am exhausted!!! I went into the office for the first time since getting sick and I am very much out of practice. My feet and legs have no energy in them. I stayed till about 2:30 and then came home to finish the day there. My lungs did pretty well, for the most part. A couple actions are bit rough at the moment, but it'll get better in time. I work from home the next two days before going in again on Thursday. I think I'm going to need those days to recover!!

I took a shower as soon as I got home, and I wasn't very hungry for lunch but knew I needed something, so I ate a bowl of cereal. No treadmill on office days, for the next few weeks at least till I'm a bit more up to snuff.

Dinner was leftovers from last night. The meatballs are definitely as good the next day, but the potatoes weren't, unfortunately. I'm not shocked. Potatoes don't reheat very well, generally speaking. I ate some popcorn to fill in the cracks.

Watching The Preacher's Wife tonight and might actually have time for a second movie. We'll see what we end up with. Hopefully I will sleep very well tonight!

12/13/2020

Today was a good blend of chores and movie-watching. We started up driving up to Burger King for a car breakfast, and then to QFC which is in the same parking lot. We forgot a few essential items yesterday and got them. Then it was back home to start our Christmas Carol marathon, where we watched every version of the story we have. In between, I got the kitchen under control, including some rearranging I have been wanting to do for a while. I did three loads of laundry, and folded and put it all away. And I gathered and took out all the garbage, recycling, and compost.

My blog meal is in the oven and should be ready soon. I already tried the dessert at lunch today and it's fantastic! More on that in my food blog later tonight.

I am preparing to go back to the office tomorrow. I'm charging my ipod, made sure I have some snacks in my backpack, and will prep my breakfast and snack tonight before bed. I'm anxious about going on the bus again, but will be more aggressive about not being near people who aren't wearing a mask, or wearing it properly. Since I'm going to be working from home for the majority of the week from now on, I'm going to take home a few things from work like my Christmas countdown that has been sitting there since I left. I'm anticipating a long, full day, and being exhausted afterwards. If I'm lucky, I won't be too tired, though. I won't do the treadmill on office days, at least until I'm fully recovered and back up to snuff energy-wise.

I'm pretty tired, so I'm hoping I'll sleep well tonight. I have discovered that putting my eye mask on when I wake up seems to help me fall back to sleep better. I guess it was just a little too light, even though it's this time of year. I wish I'd figured that out sooner!

12/12/2020

Today was a nice day. We ran some errands, did some grocery shopping, and got nearly all the stuff we'll need for Christmas, which will save us time down the line. We got Taco del Mar for lunch, always a delicious treat! We watched both Madea Christmas things: the movie and the play. Now we're watching Black Nativity before the new Hallmark Chanukah movie starts at 8pm.

I am also working on my blog project dessert for the weekend. It's not perfect, but I think it's going to be tasty. But more on that tomorrow, of course!

We called our grandmother today to check in with her after losing our grandfather on Thursday. My dad is doing ok, and she seems to be ok too. We're going to wait till the summer to have an outdoor celebration of life for him. That'll be nice because we can social distance better outside.

Covid recovery progress: I was able to unload all the groceries out of the cart onto the conveyor belt without feeling winded and like my lungs were rebelling against me. This is a big difference from the last couple times at the store. It's exciting to see and feel progress. It's still slow-going, but it is going.

12/11/2020

Today was a pretty busy day working from home. It made the day go fast. I watched The Holiday and the pilot episode of JAG since my dvds are starting to show up. I always forget what a good show it was. I'm glad I bought it. I also heard from my coworker who said the plan now is whoever is in the office doing production, the other person will be running the transcripts desk. This is a huge relief for me since so many times I had to try to straddle both and it's just too much. This will be definitely reduce the stress and tension I feel. And going down to two days will also help. I've gotten used to working from home entirely though, so it'll be strange to go back to the office, even if just two days a week.

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the ridiculous lawsuit from Texas, which pretty much is the last nail in the coffin for the Trump Administration. Monday the process to confirm the electoral college voters takes place and I'll be curious to see what drama comes up with that, if any. If we make it through that, there's pretty much nothing more to be done.

After logging out of work, I did not walk on the treadmill. Instead, we picked up Red Robin take out and I gorged myself on fish and chips, and onion rings. It was delish, as usual! Now we're watching Four Christmases.

Sad family news: My grandfather passed away yesterday evening. He was 92 and very ready to go, but it's always sad to lose a loved one. I have a lot of fun and happy memories of him though, and that's where I am putting most of my energy. I did have trouble sleeping last night, though. Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight.

12/10/2020

Pretty steady day today working from home. Busy morning, till about noon, then it was slow till about three, then it was off and on till the end of the day. I watched The Christmas Candle and the last two episodes of Call the Midwife that are currently available on Netflix, which just happened to be the Christmas special, so that was well timed. I'm really sad to be caught up with the show. It's sooooo good! There was no talk and I did not bring up going to the office tomorrow, so I think it's just going to be working from home again tomorrow and then going in Monday instead. That'll be ok by me, because it'll give it just that much more time beyond the 2 weeks post-Thanksgiving covid surge we're experiencing and would be perfectly happy not going out in.

After logging out, I walked on the treadmill again, and this time I didn't have to slow down part way through. I'm only going half speed, but my full length of time. I'm really excited to have hit this milestone in my convalescence. I took out the compost afterwards and brought up the package that was delivered today for my sister. I'm hopeful that I will be able to do more exercising more often now.

One more day, and then the weekend. We're planning on picking up Red Robin for dinner tomorrow night. Should be tasty! Hopefully getting the exercising more under control will help get my sleep more under control as well.

12/09/2020

It was a pretty steady day working from home today. I watched Love Actually and an episode of Call the Midwife today. Plans changed when somebody needed to come into the office tomorrow so my coworker will be going in tomorrow instead of me. I will see if she wants to have me come in on Friday, otherwise, I'll just plan on coming in on Monday.

My lungs are feeling better and I was able to walk on the treadmill after logging out of work for the day. I go slowly so my breathing doesn't get too fast, but it does feel like my body gets a workout. I'll get back to normal eventually. I finished out season one of my Batman watch while walking, so that's fun!

I ordered all the other seasons of JAG the other day, and several of them arrived today. I'm looking forward to doing a rewatch in the New Year. Disney Channel Christmas stuff tonight.

12/08/2020

As busy as it was yesterday, it was super slow today! It was a very relaxing day, not much happened. I watched the Waltons Christmas movie, and a couple episodes of Call the Midwife. I got through some more of my Atlantic Monthly magazine, as well.

The highlight, or lowlight, of the day was finally getting a bill from Seattle City Light, for an overdue notice on bills they never sent me in the mail. And of course I can't get their online stuff to work, so I have to wait till tomorrow to call and sort it all out. I can pay, obviously, I'm just more irritated with the fact that this is the only bill that's managed to make its way to us. I need to make sure the address is ok and that the info is all sorted out.

Leftovers again for dinner. Last night cuz I am tired of leftovers! Something different for tomorrow night, but not sure what yet.

I managed to sleep really well last night, and walked the hallways today after work. Hoping for another good night's sleep tonight too!

12/07/2020

Today was a busy day working from home except for the last couple hours when it just slowed down to nothing. And of course this was the day that I needed to stay logged on 40 minutes late for a very last minute expedite for somebody. But it wasn't too bad. I'm feeling more "lung-y" today so it wouldn't have been a good day for me to do the treadmill anyway. I barely had time to make lunch and clean out the sink today and then when it slowed down, I was just drained and too tired to do chores. I did watch an episode of Call the Midwife on Netflix, though.

We decided that we have time in the evenings for movies, not just tv shows, so we're watching Edward Scissorhands tonight on our Christmas movie watch. I love this movie so much. Leftover chicken stew for dinner tonight. Probably tomorrow night too, based on how much rice and stew I still have to eat.

I'm hoping for a good, full night's sleep tonight.

12/06/2020

Super lazy day today. We straightened up the place a bit before my parents stopped by for a few minutes to pick up and drop off some stuff, and to look at all our Christmas decorations. After they left, we watched some Christmas MASH episodes before leaving to go out and pick up the groceries we had ordered for pick up. We've really enjoyed doing it this way. There are some things we have no choice but to go in and get because they aren't on the online options, but for the most part, we're finding it helps cut down on impulse shopping a lot. It's also safer, and saves time. We'll definitely continue it during the pandemic, but even afterwards, we were talking about continuing to do it like that.

Today was our "action Christmas movies" day. We did Jingle All the Way, Shazaam, and now we're watching Die Hard. I didn't do any other chores except to fill and run the dishwasher after dinner tonight. I did make my blog meal, which I will write about soon in my food blog.

I go back to the office for the first time in about a month and a half on Thursday this week. I'm going to try to do some exercising after logging out leading up to it to make sure I have the stamina for it. I think it'll be good to try it on a Thursday instead of a Monday. I'm always curious how busy it'll be on a Monday. Sometimes it's super busy and sometimes it's shockingly slow. Only time will tell!

12/05/2020

Today started with a nice time sitting in my chair in my room reading for a bit. Then we went on a bit of a walk so I could get a garland for my bathroom mirror and a candy cane from Bartells. My sister needed to mail some stuff so I waited outside the post office while she went in and dealt with that since there were too many people inside when we were there. Then we picked up Papa Murphy's pizzas for lunch before heading home. 

The pizza was delish, and my mirror looks festive with the garland on it. We had a "Grinch-athon" today. We watched the two Grinch movies, and the Glee Christmas episodes, the first of which is a Grinch theme. 

We went out to get a few groceries that we couldn't get from the order we placed for pick up tomorrow, and decided to pick up food on the way back. Apparently the rest of the city decided that too, and every drive thru was ridiculously full. We waited in the Wendy's line for a while before giving up and seeing if the teriyaki place was open, which it was not. Who closes on 6:30pm on a Saturday night??! Burger King's line was too long, so we ended up at Subway where there was no line and we were in and out super fast! Now we're full and settled in to watch the latest Hallmark channel Christmas movie. Should be fun!

12/04/2020

Today was another really light day for work, always nice on a Friday. I didn't do many chores though I did water the plants and got the sink under control. I managed to watch A Princess for Christmas today from my Christmas movie list. The week ended on a nice note, work-wise.

After logging out, we went out to Joann Fabrics for a few Christmas items we still need. One of them I didn't find there so tomorrow when I go out to get some slow-paced exercise, I'll stop by Bartells and try to get it there. Then we went to Ivars to get fish and chips for dinner. Because I'd had a visual migraine this afternoon, a caffeinated beverage was a must, and dinner was delish, as usual!

Christmas tv shows tonight. Hopefully I'll get another good night's sleep tonight!

12/03/2020

It was a very slow day today working from home. I was able to work in the den for a bit, got the dishes under control, got the front hallway under control, put up the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, and cleaned my bathroom sink today, as well as watch Bridget Jones's Diary for my Christmas watch. And then ironically, we got jobs to add to the calendar at the very end of the day and I ended up staying on an extra 15 minutes to get it all done!

After logging out, I walked on the treadmill for my normal length of time, but only at half speed. I'm very tired now and hopefully it'll help me sleep through the night tonight. I have missed being able to exercise properly, but slowly but surely, I'm getting back into it again.

Leftovers for dinner tonight. More Christmas tv shows tonight. Popcorn in a little bit, I think...!

12/02/2020

It was another busy day working from home, but I was able to get a few things done in little bits of spare time. I cleared off the tomato plant off the verandah and filled and ran the dishwasher. I was able to watch Holiday Inn in the afternoon.

When I logged off for the day, I took out the garbage and then walked the hallways for a bit. My energy is definitely returning and I'm feeling stronger again. This weekend, when I can go outside in the daylight, I want to do some small walks. To my bus stop and back, maybe, and around the cul de sac. I really need to get out in the fresh air for a while.

Ham and au gratin potatoes for dinner tonight. Leftovers tomorrow. Boy Meets World Christmas episodes tonight. Not an exciting day, but a good day.

12/01/2020

It was another busy day working from home, but a little better paced. I was able to get a few chores done. I stayed on the Hallmark channel all day, but eventually I'll try to start in on my Christmas list. Only 25 days till Christmas!

Once I logged out, I tried to do a little bit of walking in the halls but my stomach wasn't happy with me so I cut it short. I did manage to sleep really well last night, and hopefully I'll do so tonight too. I was exhausted and drained all day today. I'm still doing a bit better. Today I still didn't need cough meds and didn't need my inhaler either. I'm still coughing a bit, but not anything like before. Not really sustained, just here and there.

Tonight we're catching up on our Monday shows, including the Disney sing along, which is super cute. Taco leftovers and more roasted potatoes for dinner. Finally ate the last of the Thanksgiving cake too. Nothing too exciting today, but it was nice and sunny out during the day, which was lovely to look at!

11/30/2020

Today was busy busy busy working from home! But it was a busy that I could deal with. Everything got done by the end of the day, which is nice. I didn't have a lot of spare time besides time to make and eat my lunch, but I did manage to put out a few more Christmas decorations, including decorating the tree.

After logging out, I took out the compost and then walked the halls to get a little bit of exercise. I slept really badly last night, I have some insomnia issues due to covid and not being able to keep up with any exercise regimen, but in spite of that, I woke up feeling better. I emailed my doctor about stopping use of the inhaler, and she reassured me that even though it might not feel like it, I really am recovering very nicely. That made me feel better. So, in spite of a mere three hours sleep last night, I got up feeling like my lungs were feeling healthier and stronger. I coughed a few times and needed my regular inhaler after decorating a bit, which I think involved a lot of dust. This is a typical time for me to need my inhaler. I never took a single dose of cough meds today and I was able to do more stuff today without feeling winded or like my breath was catching. That's a huge step forward.

We had tacos for dinner and I made roasted taco-seasoned potatoes to go with it and honestly it was pretty much the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. I love tacos so, so much...

Well, I really hope I sleep better tonight. I managed to get some exercise, so hopefully I'll be able to sleep better.

11/29/2020

Today we started off at the grocery store to get a few last minute items. We should be set for a couple weeks now and we'll see if we end up doing another pick up order next time to avoid going to the store. Once we were done there, we drove to the Taco Time drive through for tostado salads that I've been craving. It was delish, as usual.

I slowly started decorating the apartment for Christmas, with the help of my sister, who helped move the heavy boxes so I wouldn't wreck my shoulder. It's definitely starting to look festive in here! I still need to do the tree, but hopefully that'll get done tomorrow in any spare time I might have while working from home. This is our first Christmas in the new place so it's interesting to find different spots for everything.

I filled and ran the dishwasher, and made breakfast for dinner tonight. I also wrote up my food blog post, and looked up next weekend's menu and should be set for everything without having to go to the store again, so that should be nice!

Not a very exciting day, but it was nice anyway.

11/28/2020

Today was a blend of slowly doing some chores, taking frequent breaks to rest, and watching Christmas stuff. I did a load of laundry, filled and ran the dishwasher, dusted, and vacuumed the apartment, and put away the fall/Thanksgiving decorations. I had planned to put up all the Christmas decorations, but my shoulder hurt a lot today and my cough meds only half worked because it's a different brand with a different dose, so I was a little more lungy today.

But in spite of that, I am slowly getting better. This is just taking its own time, and I need to learn to be patient with it and also learn what my body can and can't handle, and not push it too soon.

I also made a couple online orders for Small Business Saturday. I ordered my mom's Christmas present, and I ordered some honey for my baklava in a few weeks for my food blog project. Both orders came from shops at the Pike Place Market!

Leftovers for dinner and per usual, we are Thanksgiving'd out. We'll probably do some more turkey sandwiches, but that's it.

Tomorrow we have to go to the store again for a few last minute items, and hopefully I'll get the place decorated!

11/27/2020

Last night I developed an asthma attack after taking my steroid inhaler so I had to use my albuterol inhaler to stop it. I never felt quite right taking that inhaler, so I stopped using it and have been doing a little better since. I have switched to just normal cough medicine instead. It made for a bit of a rough night, but I did get a good amount, in the end.

This morning, we ventured out to the grocery store and it was very sparsely populated, so that was nice. We ordered Mod Pizza online and went to a drug store to kill time and picked out some fun Christmas decorations. The pizza was ready when I got there to pick it up and then we headed home. That is, so far, our only plans to venture into public this weekend. I may do a little bit of walking in our cul-de-sac during daylight hours to work on strengthening my legs, but that won't really be an interacting-with-people thing.

We settled in for Paul Blart, Mall Cop, our Black Friday tradition. Then we discovered the Christmas episodes of Great British Bake Off and watched those all afternoon. We made a completely store-bought, pre-packaged Thanksgiving dinner and it was absolutely delicious!

Now, we're watching The Christmas Chronicles 2, and contemplating what to watch this weekend. Decorating tomorrow...!

11/26/2020

Well, today was the Thanksgiving sans family. My sister and I celebrated by ourselves and instead of a traditional meal, I made one of my Christmas blog meals. It turned out pretty good and I'll blog about that this weekend. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and it was really great this year in spite of having to change the format. We ate and watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, then switched into Christmas movies. We did Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, and now we're watching A Very Brady Christmas. 

I am really tired after the cooking today. I iced my shoulder and it's doing ok. I had some coughing today, but nothing too bad. Maybe my inhaler is kicking in and helping out. Who knows, but I will enjoy coughing less. I just need to get my muscles under control again.

Tomorrow we are venturing out into public for a hopefully brief time to get a few things from the store. We have a turkey breast we're going to cook tomorrow for a day after Thanksgiving Thanksgiving meal. It's a non-conformist year!!

11/25/2020

Well, work is done for the week! I didn't really have time to do anything productive as it was pretty steady all day. Not out of control, but steady. I did watch Home for the Holidays at the same time as my bff, as it's our tradition to get together to watch it together, but obviously this year was different. I was still working at the same time though. I also finished up the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Thanksgiving episodes too and managed an episode of Call the Midwife before the end of the day.

After logging out, I walked slowly for five minutes on the treadmill to begin strengthening myself again. Then I did some prep work for tomorrow's meal, and took a shower. I had a bit of a coughing fit by the end of that work but it's gone now. Today is the first time in a few days that I don't have that stabbing pain in my shoulder from the pulled muscles, so I am hopeful that I'm slowly on the mend.

I tried a new sandwich from Tubs Subs tonight and it was fantastic. Ham, bacon, bbq sauce, coleslaw, cheddar cheese, pickles, and a hint of Tabasco. It is definitely one I'd get again. I've never had a bad sandwich from there though, so it's not a surprised that one was good too.

We're watching some British Bake Off and then we'll watch the Garfield and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving specials next. It'll be a nice way to end the night!

11/24/2020

Today was a much better day. Work was a more normal amount, and physically, I felt a little better. Much less coughing and just less strained muscles. I still have some bouts of coughing, I've noticed it's worse after a meal, and in the afternoons and evenings. My doctor prescribed me a different inhaler, a steroid one, and I'll start it tonight. I hope it helps, because the darned thing cost $100, with insurance!!!!

I got the ok from my boss to continue working from home entirely for two weeks after Thanksgiving, because I know so many people will be gathering unsafely over the holiday and then getting on my bus and I don't want to go out in public during that time if I don't have to. It'll also allow my body to continue working through the lingering symptoms, and I'll be able to continue strengthening my body and hopefully work on getting back into proper exercising.

I've been icing my shoulder off and on all day, and it's helping. I am babying my left arm for a bit. I did a couple chores, by-hand dishes and sweeping the kitchen, and it seemed to be an ok level of use for my shoulder. I'm hopeful that my body will be less sore tonight that I'll be able to sleep well tonight.

11/23/2020

Well, it was a banner day today. I logged in to so much work and every single item required multiple communications with people to resolve it and it was so overwhelming that my boss suggested I log out for a couple hours to let my coworker take over for a while. She was at the office and sometimes it's just easier to be there to deal with stuff, which is why I like going in more often than not. But I just felt like a failure. I have to admit though, that I'm not at full brain power yet. I think my boss is in tune with me more than I realize cuz he seems to just know when to have me sit back for a bit and let somebody else take over, even if I can't see that I need it. I ended up logging back in later in the day and finished out everything else, but it was just bonkers.

I contacted my doctor again because I think I need one of the bronchitis inhalers. The coughing is picking up again, and the stuffy/runny nose, which is typical of what happens when my cold turns into bronchitis. Hopefully I'll get that in a day or two. Once I can get the coughing under control, I can let my body heal from all the pulled muscles I'm also dealing with. I'm in a lot of pain right now, but it's just pulled muscles. This illness sucks. It's a minor case, I can't imagine what a major case would be like. 

Today, things finally started going in the right direction for the Biden administration. Michigan certified their vote, and that sort of set off an avalanche. The GSA finally certified Biden's election, and the Trump administration finally permitted the Biden administration to move forward properly. Trump and co. are total garbage, but garbage collection day is coming...!

On another note, my sister and I finally settled on a Thanksgiving dessert idea, and now I feel like the meal is truly set. I need to remember to take out our pork roast tomorrow so it's thawed in time...!

11/22/2020

Today I ventured out of the house for the first time since my diagnosis. My isolation ended yesterday. We exchanged some stuff with my parents first when they dropped by, and then walked to the Bartells drug store a couple blocks away. I picked up my inhaler and a few items I needed and since there's a Panda Express right next to it, we stopped in and picked up some food for lunch. I was so exhausted by the time I got back that I pretty much sat around for the rest of they day. I put off my food blog and will try to do it this week during Thanksgiving. I need to work on getting my strength back up before I do actual exercising again.

We watched a bunch of Christmas stuff today, including some movies we'd never seen but were very good! Jingle Jangle, The Christmas Chronicles, and Noelle. All ones I'd add to my annual viewing list! We're going to watch the new Hallmark Christmas movie tonight at 8pm. It should be fun.

I have strained my left shoulder from all the coughing I've been doing and am icing it in hopes of reducing the pain. It feels like I'm being stabbed in the shoulder each time I inhale. Apparently it's called the trapezius muscle. Fun times!

I have another week of working from home, and it's only a three day week, so that should be nice. Hopefully it won't be too crazy busy tomorrow, but at if I can manage to get a good night's sleep, it should be ok.

11/21/2020

I managed to get a really good night's sleep last night which made for a much better day today. I had my phone appointment with a doctor today to check in with the covid. She was really pleased with how I'm progressing and even renewed my inhaler prescription since she wants to make sure my lungs stay healthy through this. She said that I'm at the point where I can start exercising again, low and slow. So, since my isolation ends today, I will be walking the few block walk to the drug store tomorrow to pick up the inhaler. It'll be the perfect reintroduction to exercising.

I spent a lot of time on the phone with my mom too. We've been texting but I knew she would want to hear about my appointment and just get caught up on all the covid stuff from start to finish. My shoulder was sore from all the coughing and sleeping on it oddly, but it was super painful after pretty much two hours of holding up a phone. I've been using the heating pad on it off and on ever since, but it's just like all the other stuff with this, it just has to work its way through me.

My parents are going to stop by tomorrow for a short time to pick up a few things and drop off the brandy I need for Thanksgiving dinner this week.I'm actually making one of the Christmas dinners for my food blog for Thanksgiving, so it should be fun. Tomorrow, I'll be baking for the blog too, so it should be a nice day.

We spent the day watching the rest of our Thanksgiving stuff and got through everything except the stuff my sister doesn't like, which I'll watch next week when she returns to work and I continue to work from home. I tried to work on a garland for the Thanksgiving tree, but it didn't work out. We found some ribbon to use as a second attempt though it won't be ready for this year. It'll give me a year to figure it all out!

11/20/2020

Well today began with a basically sleepless night last night. I developed a sharp pain in my left lung, like a twinge. I've had it before over the years and it usually only lasts a few seconds or a minute before going away, but last night it just didn't stop. I started getting worried about the side effects of covid, was I having a heart attack? A pulmonary embolism? Was I developing pneumonia? The pain plus those thoughts were not conducive to sleep. I emailed my doctor with a detailed description of the symptoms and then attempted one last position in bed: on my stomach, on the wedge pillow, so slightly upright, with my arms stretched up on the pillow. Finally, that allowed my lungs the space they needed to stretch out properly and the pain finally subsided. But the position of my head and neck were still not conducive to sleeping. I emailed the doctor again with an update and then emailed in sick to my boss because there was no way I was going to be any use to them.

I set up a phone video doctor appointment for tomorrow with a different doctor than mine, but I was supposed to do that anyway, to check in for covid. I have some questions I'd like answered so hopefully I'll get the answers tomorrow morning!

Later, my doctor emailed me back saying it was basically lung cramps and that it's really common with covid because of how long and how much you're coughing. No danger, just irritating. I felt better after that. I also felt better after my sister stepped on my back and cracked about a thousand things in it, including probably all of my ribs back into place. I immediately felt better, but from about my collar bones up, I'm pretty stiff and sore. I hope I start to see an improvement soon!

In the meantime, we started our Christmas stuff. We watched The Borrowers, Last Christmas, and now the Doctor Who Christmas episodes. Leftovers for dinner and popcorn later for a treat. I hope I manage to sleep well tonight because I am exhausted!

11/19/2020

It was a day today! I was so busy working from home, I barely had time to make a super late lunch. There is going to be so much that my coworker has to work on when she goes into the office tomorrow. This is why I liked going in every day, but we're just going to have to deal with it, and I will have to adjust to it. I watched Hallmark Channel all day. I didn't have time to really focus on anything at all today.

I did manage to make a delicious pork spare rib dinner tonight. That was nice.

Today I feel like my lungs made a turn for the better. They feel lighter and more normal. I'm having a bit more congestion, but I'm hoping it's on the way out. Way less coughing today, which was nice.

More Space Force and Great British Bake Off tonight.

11/18/2020

I slept on my side last night and didn't even attempt to rest on my back and slept much better, thankfully. Work was really busy, so the day went pretty fast. It's harder not being in the office so I can't control as much and have to rely on other people, which isn't my strong point. But that's probably good for me, to learn to trust others.

Probably the most interesting thing that happened today is that we got our groceries that we ordered online for pick up. Everything was perfect and we got everything we ordered! Honestly, we may never go back to regular shopping now! At least until the pandemic is over...

I ran a load of dishes in the dishwasher today and did a load of dishes by-hand tonight after dinner. Dinner was leftovers, and tomorrow will be more tasty food! Giving Space Force a try on Netflix tonight.

11/17/2020

A less busy day working from home today. I watched some more Call the Midwife and Hallmark channel while I worked. We placed our first order for groceries to pick up at the store tomorrow. My sister's isolation ends tomorrow so she can leave, but I have to stay home till Sunday, at least.

I learned the hard way last night that I can't lie on my back right now. It sets off my coughing. I ended up sleeping really badly last night because of it. I will not be doing that again!

Nice chicken and stuffing dinner tonight, leftovers for tomorrow. Catching up with some new shows finally airing on tv. It's nice to have new episodes again!

11/16/2020

Well, it was a busy day working from home today. Pretty much from start to finish I worked the whole time! The only thing I was able to do with empty out the dishwasher, fill it with the new dirty dishes, and make lunch. I did watch Hallmark channel for a while before switching over to Call the Midwife on Netflix for the afternoon. I have come to the end of the rewatch, and now have two seasons of entirely new-to-me episodes. This last season broke my heart, all over again. I'm definitely curious about the next two seasons!

We're going to finish out The Office tonight and I'm so sad to see it end. It's been a great first watch! I'm gonna miss all the people at Dunder Mifflin! I also finished my Frederick Douglass book I've been reading for my antiracism work. I need to find more of his works to read because he's amazing.

Leftovers for dinner tonight, chicken burger for lunch. Thawing chicken for dinner tomorrow, it should be a good dinner! I miss walking on the treadmill, but I need to wait before getting back into exercising properly again. Hopefully I'll manage to sleep ok in spite of it!

11/15/2020

Today started off with some scones, and watching the governor's announcement to take the state back into near-lockdown, which is good, and will make for a sad Thanksgiving, but hopefully less dead people, so that's a win.

After that, we started an Office marathon. I ate my chicken parmesan from last week that I froze and then thawed now that I can taste again. And then I did my blog meal for dinner and it was pretty delish! I will be blogging about that next!

I did a load of laundry today, and filled and ran the dishwasher. Tomorrow I will be working from home again. My isolation goes through next Saturday so I'll be working from home all week. This is good in a way because it'll get me used to working from home more when I go back. I liked the routine of going into the office. I will continue to work on not putting everything on me to do. There are other people in the office who can come into work more often, or work on stuff when we have the time to. But I need to work from home primarily, at least until the pandemic passes, because I don't want to get covid again.

11/14/2020

Well, today was not a huge "doing stuff" day. I stayed up super late last night and slept in till almost 10am. When I got up I decided to make the cake for my blog project. Tomorrow will be the entree and side dish and I'll write about it all Sunday evening, as usual. I missed not being able to blog last week but am very glad that my taste and smell are returning.

My illness is still progressing nicely, and I've passed the time when I need to worry about initial horrible side effects, though I will still have to be on the lookout for long term possible side effects. Even mild cases can have long term side effects, so I'll have to consult with my doctor before starting up with any exercising again. The scary thing is just not knowing. How can you tell if you'll develop problems? Ultimately you have to just get on with life because you can't live in that constant worry.

And apparently the governor tomorrow is going to crack down on the state and it's going to be more restrictions because of the spike in cases right now. People will grumble, but the next step is another lockdown. Let's hope that this does the job to lessen the cases.

We watched the Psych 2 movie, finally, and then all the Psych Christmas episodes. Now we're watching The Office and will finish with an episode of The Great British Bake Off. Should be nice!

11/13/2020

Worked from home today. My coworker tested negative so she can come into the office and was able to restart my computer and get me back into the system. I got a late start and was pretty busy the whole day. I have another full week at home before I can think of going back to the office. And I have to make sure I'm fully symptom free. I am still getting through this crud, but it's progressing nicely.

My sister and I have planned some really nice, comfort-food dinners for next week. I think it'll be nice to look forward to some nice food during this time. It'll also use up some of our supplies from the freezer, which will be good too.

Every day I'm about half better than I was the day before. Every day I'm less congested, and I cough a little less, so that's good. Tomorrow is day ten, and that's when the doctor says I'll be out of the danger zone, if I was going to have any complications. After that, I should be in the clear and just waiting for the rest of the symptoms to clear out.

The weekend will probably consist of a lot of tv and movie-watching, and laundry-washing. I will also be doing my blog meal on Sunday. Good times!

11/12/2020

Well, I got a call from my doctor's office, and I did test positive for covid, which isn't a shocker since my sister did too. I have to stay home till the 21st, even if the symptoms clear out before then. It's still just basically a cold and it's already clearing out. My smell and taste are back to about 3/4, which is nice. 

If I can keep my computer connection working right, I'll keep working from home during this time. When I return I'm going to start coming into the office Mondays and Thursdays only to keep my time on the bus to half the time it currently is. It will always put me on days I'm most likely to be alone at the office. We're also probably going to really crack down on mask wearing in the office because currently I'm the only one who actually wears it the whole time, except for when I'm eating. Ironic, I wear a mask all the time, and I get sick...!

I'm sure I'll be dealing with the health department soon, and I'll have to do a video call with my doctor in a few days to check in, but other than that, I basically just stay home till the 21st. We'll probably finally figure out how to order groceries online for delivery since it's gonna be a couple weeks before we can go to the store and it was recommended that we don't order them for pick up at the store.

I'm still planning on doing my blog project since my taste and smell are returning. Keeping busy at this time is going to be a good idea!

11/11/2020

Well, today was a day. It started off with work, as usual. Then my sister texted, saying her covid test came back positive and I had to come home right now and work on getting tested as well. My phone was almost dead, but I alerted my manager before heading home and waiting for over an hour at Westlake Center for my sister to come get me. I got through to my doctor's office and made a 3:30pm appointment for a covid test, which I took. I will know in 48-72 hours what the results are. Until then, I have to work from home, and my sister has to stay home for 10 days. I will know when the results arrive if I have to do the same thing or not.

I still feel like all I have is a cold, but I won't know till the results arrive. I'm still pretty stuffy and I have a cough still, but it's all moving in the direction that my colds always do. I'm slowly gaining my taste and smell again. It comes and goes, per usual.

I made tacos for dinner which I could half taste, but it's more than I could taste yesterday! Well, if this is covid, I'm praying that this is as bad as it gets.

11/10/2020

I think today was a record short day at the office. I left the office before 10:30am and it was still so early we had to take the non-HOV lanes! My sister was still asleep cuz she's home with a cold too. I settled in to work with the Hallmark channel on. It was a pretty slow day, so it was nice to be home and work on getting over my cold.

I'm slowly getting better. My taste has returned about half strength though I still have no sense of smell, though I was able to smell the bacon my sister cooked for her dinner. She graciously gave me a few pieces, which I could taste, thankfully! I still have a bit of a cough, but probably a third of what it was even yesterday and I haven't sneezed all day. I'm still congested and might need to actually breathe steam for a while for that to start breaking up. But it is moving in the right direction, which is exciting!

Tonight we watched the newest episode of The Good Doctor, finished out the Sabrina Christmas episodes, and are now watching the Family Matters Christmas episodes. I'm trying to ignore the news of what our current POTUS is trying to do to remain in office. It's getting scary, but nobody seems to think it'll come to anything. I hope they're right.

11/09/2020

Today was a pretty good day at work. My coworker came in to help and I was able to leave around 2pm. My cold is getting slightly better, I feel less run down, so I was able to deal with working in the office. My sinuses are bad though, but this is the most precarious part of the cold, where it's starting to leave, and I have to make sure it clears out without lingering and turning into a sinus infection. I'm still taking hot, steamy showers to clear my head, and drinking a lot of water, including hot water. I still can't taste much and it's making me not want to eat that much but I still get hungry! 

My sister has a cold too. We were gonna have tacos tomorrow night but have decided to put them off till we're a little better and can actually taste them. But they are gonna taste so good when I can taste again!!

We watched the Buffy Christmas episode and are now watching the Christmas Sabrina the Teenage Witch episodes tonight.

One of the worst things about this cold, is how chapped my hands are from washing my hands all the time. They always get back this time of year, but it's super awful right now.

I've been sleeping well and I hope to keep doing so. It's the most important part of recovering from a cold!

11/08/2020

I made the right choice to put off the blog meal this weekend. I still have no sense of smell or taste and I am sneezing all the time! I'm pretty tired tonight, but overall, it's not one of those colds where I'm super sore, or anything, so that's nice.

I did some chores today. Sweeping, two loads of garbage, compost, and recycling, three loads of laundry, and putting away the clean dishes and cleaning out the sink. I'm still making myself eat meals even though I can't taste anything. Keeping my energy up is important!

We watched movies today, starting our Christmas list, the ones we usually watch earlier on. It's been nice, stress-free, delightful.

We'll see how tomorrow goes, I need to go to the office, but we'll see if I can work from home on Tuesday, depending on how I feel. If I'm still pretty wiped out, I might do better from home. So far I've been sleeping pretty well, so hopefully I'll sleep well tonight too. That's always the most important thing to recover from a cold.

11/07/2020

And today, at long last, Joe Biden was finally named the next president of the US. At long last, we could take a breath. At long last, we could start to move on. It took a long time for me to let the emotions come, but they finally have, and I have been crying off and on all evening. This is pain and fear and sadness I've held onto for four years, and now I'm able to start letting go of it all. It's a good, cathartic feeling.

On the cold front, I definitely can't deny that it's a cold. I cancelled getting together with my family tonight, and put off my blog meal till next week, because I've lost my sense of taste and smell, which is common for me in a cold. I usually get one this time of year, and after the stress and sleep deprivation of this week, I'm not surprised that my body was poised to catch something. I'm fever free, which is encouraging, and so far I'm not too miserable, which is good. I would just like it to start clearing out soon and be ready to cook next weekend.

We went to Fred Meyer real fast this morning and bought some stuff for my cold, like kleenex and chicken soup, and we also bought a big humidifier for our living room which is now set up and in use. I think it's going to work nicely to help with the dryness in the apartment.

The President and Vice President-Elect made speeches tonight, and after watching the news commentary on them, I have turned on the Hallmark channel to watch Christmas movies for the rest of the night. I need to relax!

11/06/2020

It was a busy day working from home! But it was a good day too. I did manage to get a few chores done in the kitchen in the little bits of spare time I had. I have a big cooking and baking weekend ahead and I want to get the kitchen under control before I start! I also managed to enjoy a day of Hallmark channel Christmas movies and the Home and Family show, so that was nice.

After logging out for the day, we ran to the store. We've decided to go every week instead of every other week. It actually makes for less time in the store each time, and helps us from buying too much at a time. And because it's been a horrible week for our stress levels, and we always buy out on Friday, we got Heaven Sent chicken, the best fried chicken ever! And it was perfect.

A nice hot shower helped with my sinuses and lungs a bit, but I'm still hacking and coughing. We're going to get a humidifier for our living room soon. Our apartment is drier than our old place. My theory is we were so much closer to the water in our old place that it kept things a little more humid than where we are now. The air is just do dry here, and that definitely doesn't help my sinuses!

Fresh Prince of Bel Air Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes tonight and hopefully a good night's sleep to follow!

11/05/2020

It was another full day at the office today. It was bonkers and I had to leave some stuff for my coworker to do when she comes in tomorrow, and some stuff in the in-box to work on tomorrow. My coworker is back from her vacation, so she'll be able to help a bit more. It's been a hard week mostly on my own, so I'm very much looking forward to working from home tomorrow!

I've been having some asthma and sinus issues this week. Tis the season, sadly, but I find that wearing a mask all the time is not helping. I think when I'm in the office by myself, I might leave the mask off. And possibly when there's only one other person in the office and they're in the far room with the door closed. I think those might be ok times to leave the mask off. I just struggle to breathe so badly when I wear it all day. We'll see.

I stopped by both post offices after leaving work and hit pay dirt. I snagged a giant stack of envelopes to bring in on Monday. We'll be set until our supply orders finally show up. I've been having to leave stuff waiting for mailing because we are so low on our envelope supplies so far. I feel relieved and maybe I can stop raiding the post office like a nerd every day.

Frozen pizza for dinner tonight and my sister and I decided we're getting Heaven Sent fried chicken tomorrow night regardless of the election results, being updated or not. This week has been absurd and we definitely have earned some deliciousness tomorrow! We might also do our grocery shopping tomorrow night so we don't have to out on the weekend. We finished the Home Improvement Christmas episodes, now it's time for Hallmark Christmas movies till bed!

11/04/2020

What a day at work! I was there till 4, and people just had so many requests that I swear it took half my day up! But it kept me busy, and that's what mattered. At 10am, my radio station switched over to Christmas music, and I will be listening to it till Christmas! That definitely helped me get through the day.

The election is slowly moving along, but they say it won't be till tomorrow till they're able to announce the winner. I still can't allow myself to hope, even though it's looking hopeful. If it goes the way I want it to, I'll celebrate then, but not before.

More foraging the cupboards and fridge for dinner tonight. I just don't have the energy to cook right now. Just not the right week for it. Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes of Home Improvement tonight. Miraculously, I slept well last night. Hopefully I'll do so again tonight...At least the early day that was maybe going to happen tomorrow got cancelled and I can go in at my usual time.

11/03/2020

Well, it's Election day. We're waiting for the results. The West Coast closes in 10 minutes and then we should have a better idea of things. Some people have won that I wanted to lose, which is disappointing, but I hear that the Democrats have kept the House, so there's some good news, at least.

Work was work. I stayed till a little after noon and then stayed pretty busy when I got home. It was so rainy today. I got my finger caught in my umbrella when I was closing it this morning and it pinched it so badly it drew blood and I had to put a bandaid on it. It was not a fun start to the day!

I slept badly again last night, and who knows how tonight will go. I can't think of a whole lot to say about this day, otherwise. However this election turns out, I just hope we manage to keep fighting for what's right. I can't let myself feel any hope. I haven't felt that since the last election night.

11/02/2020

Bleh, what a day! It wasn't a particularly hard day at work, just a full, busy day at work. I was alone the whole time, but at least I had the radio for company. We're running out of mailing envelopes and neither of the post offices had any when I stopped by them to look. I ordered 200 more today but I really need the first set to arrive! I'm going to have to start holding off on mailing stuff and let things build up until I can send them in boxes, if we don't get more soon.

I slept really badly last night and am super tired today. I had a bit of a meltdown when I got home from work, but dinner and a shower helped. I didn't have it in me to do the treadmill, and I probably won't tomorrow either because I will be glued to the tv...

The stress and anxiety of the election is definitely getting to me. I think it's getting to all of us. Everybody I interact with is in a bad mood right now. I'm doing my best, but I'm feeling very close to throwing a grown up tantrum.

I was going to make a new recipe tonight but I just didn't have the energy to make it and my tummy wasn't happy with me tonight, so I just foraged through the fridge and my cupboards for stuff instead. Probably more of the same tomorrow. We split the caramel apple we bought from the store yesterday, and it was very tasty! We watched The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band which I like to watch on Election day Eve. Now for some of the new Charmed on Netflix. I'm sad because Highway to Heaven was taken off Netflix before I had a chance to finish the series. I really liked that show, it was really soothing. I might need to start rewatching the Hallmark shows like Good Witch and When Calls the Heart because they're really soothing too.

I hope I sleep well tonight, because tomorrow might be a long night...

11/01/2020

Today was a grocery shopping day and we had way too much fun at Fred Meyer and all their Thanksgiving decorations! Our holiday tree is now well on the way to becoming a Thanksgiving tree, and we bought an awesome decoration for the front entry hall. I spent a lot of time cutting out the extra items on the tree skirt made out of a discount tablecloth, and will turn those into a garland for the tree.

Before we went to the store, I got a few chores done. I did all the handwash laundry, and a load of by-hand dishes. We picked up Taco Time on our way back in from the store and ate it while watching Coco for Dia de los Muertos. I did a load of laundry and made my stollen for my food blog project. 

We had leftover spaghetti for dinner and I was able to portion out 4-1 cup portions of sauce for each of us, so we'll be good for spaghetti sauce for a while, so that's good. We watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and are now watching the Thanksgiving episodes of Roseanne.

Probably gonna be a crazy day at work tomorrow. I'm on my own, so it should be interesting to see how long a day it'll be...

10/31/2020

Happy Halloween! Today has been a nice day. I packaged up the stocking stuffers I got for my sister and put them under the Halloween tree because our stockings hadn't arrived yet. Funnily enough, they arrived today! Our Halloween set up is now complete and it's time for me to set my sights on Thanksgiving starting tomorrow! We discussed our strategy for watching Thanksgiving and Christmas tv show episodes and decided to change it a bit and do a show, and watch all the Thanksgiving and then all the Christmas episodes before moving onto to the next show. This will allow us to work out of one disc holder at a time, so that should be nice.

We started the day with bacon, pancakes, and eggs for me for a brunch and it was great. We did a Wayward Pines marathon today, which is a great show for Halloween. It's very creepy. After a couple episodes we paused for a bit so I could go to Bartell's to pick up a prescription. While I was there they were playing Halloween music and got to listen to the entire Twin Peaks theme song which was epic!

When I got back we took out all the recycling and garbage before getting back to the show. I started the spaghetti sauce, and the blog recipes. One recipe I only did the first step, and I'll finish it tomorrow. The other recipe I made entirely, and have tasted it and it's lovely! Both recipes are breads, but very different from each other. I'm excited to make the other one tomorrow too.

The spaghetti sauce turned out great and I'm happy to have more tomorrow for dinner too! We've finished Wayward Pines and have launched into our annual viewing of the Garfield Halloween and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown specials. To me, this is the true kickoff of the holiday season!

Even though I slept well last night, I'm still pretty tired and anticipate another good night's sleep tonight too. We get our hour back tonight too, so that'll be good.

10/30/2020

I ended up going into the office this morning and stayed till around noon when everything got under control. I'm glad I went in because it'll be that much less to deal with on Monday. I brought a cd of Christmas music and listened to it while I worked, so that was fun! When I got home I logged on for the rest of the day. It was pretty slow in the afternoon, so that was nice. I watched Labyrinth, and then turned on Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel for the rest of my shift.

Once I logged off, we went out and ran some errands. We stopped at my parents's house to pick up and drop off some stuff, then went to Central Market to stock up on meat for my Christmas blog project. Then a trip to Joan Fabrics to get some non-Christmas ornaments. Then I picked up chicken shawarma from the Middle Eastern restaurant next door. It was sooo good! I'm enjoying some baklava for dessert now.

We're likely to finish out the Simpsons Halloween episodes tonight and tomorrow we're planning on a Wayward Pines marathon. I'll also be picking up a prescription, and making a batch of spaghetti sauce for dinner. It should be a nice Halloween! I'm going to try to make the stollen tomorrow too. I picked up the dark rum I need to soak the fruit tonight from my dad.

I hope I sleep well, I didn't sleep well last night and I'm pretty tired today!

10/29/2020

Today was a full, and I mean, till 5pm full, day at the office. Luckily my coworker came in for a few hours to keep me company for a while and went over some stuff before she goes on a short vacation. And then it was busy the rest of the day, so it didn't matter that I had to stay for the people using our office for their prepping. I'm not 100% certain yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll go in tomorrow for a couple hours since my coworker won't be there. I'd rather get everything as caught up as I can for Monday, but who knows, maybe it'll be super slow and I'll work from home instead.

I didn't walk on the treadmill tonight because it was so much later than it usually is for me, and my knee is feeling iffy today. I want to give it a day off. Leftovers for dinner tonight. Simpsons again.

10/28/2020

Today was finally a very short day in the office. I spent most of the time working on exhibits. There wasn't much when I got home either. Hopefully I'll have a lot to do tomorrow because I'm facing a full at at the office to deal with somebody coming in at 1pm and I have to be there until they leave. Still not sure about Friday. I should have no problem getting everything done tomorrow, so it's just a matter of how busy I think Friday might be.

While I worked, I finished out my Halloween movie list with The Sixth Sense, and I threw in Little Shop of Horrors for good measure. Then I switched to Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. Always so fun! I also caught up with the sink and ran a load of dishes in the dishwasher.

After logging out, I walked on the treadmill, showered, and made an awesome pork chop dinner! Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!

More Simpsons tonight. Good times!

10/27/2020

Today was a full day at the office. It was ridiculously busy! The next couple weeks are going to be a bit stressful. My coworker goes on vacation and there's some random stuff we have to do at the office, or might have to do, not sure yet. But at least the day goes quickly, that's nice! I left at 4pm and stopped at the post office by my bus stop downtown to look for envelopes for our stuff we mail, but they were out. I ordered some last week but they haven't arrived yet and we're out! After I got off the bus here I walked to the post office here and got ten envelopes, so hopefully they'll last until the delivery arrives.

I almost didn't walk on the treadmill today when I got home, because I wasn't feeling like it, but I made myself do it anyway. This is how it starts, with one day, then another day, then I just stop. I need to keep going as long as I'm not injured.

Leftovers for dinner. Pork chops tomorrow night. Simpsons Treehouse of Terror episodes tonight.

10/26/2020

Today was an easy day at work. My coworker came in and helped out. It's amazing how much easier work is when more than one person is doing it all! The day flew by and was simultaneously slow, if that makes any sense whatsoever. I ended up staying till around 3pm before heading home to finish working remotely. 

I was busy most of the time when I got home, till logging out at 5pm. I walked on the treadmill and then cleaned up the kitchen before taking a lovely hot shower!

Today I broke down and took out my winter coat and got out my hats, gloves, and scarf. It's supposed to warm up a bit soon but it's cold now! And I was really glad I did cuz I was nice and toasty warm!

Leftovers from last night for dinner, and Treehouse of Terror Simpsons marathon tonight.

10/25/2020

Lazy day today. My parents dropped by to help my sister put some stuff up in her room, and my dad helped hang a picture in our living room, so that was nice. They really liked all our Halloween decorations, especially the tree!

We mostly watched movies today. We borrowed my mom's copy of The Birds, which I haven't seen in ages, and it's the perfect time of year to watch it. We also watched the new version of Rebecca on Netflix. It was ok, a bit slow. I'd like to try the novel out and the Hitchcock version, sometime.

I also did my blog food, which I'll write about in my food blog next. I changed up one of the recipes for a future week based on my 23andme DNA test update, in which I lost all my Southern European DNA, but gained some Eastern European. I want to try and keep it as accurate as I can!

 I did a few typical Sunday chores. Laundry and taking out garbage, compost, and recycling. Also some general straightening up and putting away the clean dishes. Good times!

Now we're watching a DCOM to finish out the night. Back to work tomorrow..another Monday...!

10/24/2020

Today started with a trip to Safeway, even though it wasn't a shopping weekend. There were some good deals and a coupon to take advantage of. We picked up the ingredients to make a giant batch of spaghetti sauce next weekend, which will be perfect because my blog recipes for next week are both desserts, cuz of Halloween.

When we got back, we settled in for some episodes of The Office, and then we switched to more Halloween stuff on Disney+, including my first viewing of Frankenweenie, which was cute. Hallmark channel has switched to 24/7 Christmas, which is fun. I watched some of that after before calling in our teriyaki order for dinner.

We picked up dinner and drove out to our parents' house for our family gathering where we finally watched Hamilton as a group! Sigh, it's so good on screen! I also got some feedback for my new possible book intro, and have a better sense of the direction to take it in, which is really helpful!

Tomorrow my parents stop by to help my sister with some stuff, and they get to see our Halloween tree. The last of the ornaments I ordered from Etsy arrived today, so I feel like the tree is as set as it can be until we start tracking down more ornaments on our as of now, non-existent day trips. We're also awaiting our Halloween stockings. Nobody seems to make Halloween stocking holders, but I found a good idea online of how to make our own. Too late for this year, but we can work on it for next year.

Tomorrow I do my blog meal. Hopefully it'll turn out better than last week's did!!!

10/23/2020

I worked from home today and it wasn't very busy, which is nice. I got some stuff done in the kitchen and watched some movies during the day. About an hour before logging off for the weekend, I needed to add some jobs to the calendar and my connection died on me. Of course it did! There was no reconnecting, so I had to go the "back door" way and connect to two of the elements I need to do my job, online instead. I wasn't able to get to the last element, but it turned out I didn't need it anyway, which is good. I was able to finish putting the jobs on our calendar and set up zoom appointments for them.

We now have some ornaments on our Halloween tree. Today the Haunted Mansion ornament arrived! It's so cool!

The tree is really coming along now! I can't wait for our Halloween stockings to show up!

We picked up Azteca for dinner and I have to stop ordering the tamale with my dinner because I keep getting a beef tamale when I order chicken. Not ok when you don't eat beef! I'll just get a taco or something instead!! Next time...!

Now we're watching Halloween Disney shorts and Treehouse of Terror Simpsons episodes on Disney+. Always fun!

Getting together with family tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll get to sleep in tomorrow morning!

10/22/2020

It was another full day at the office today, but it was ok. My coworker came in and we had a good afternoon. One of the things I miss about working mostly alone is having people to talk to and commiserate with. We hashed some stuff out and hopefully it'll continue to improve for everybody by sharing some more of the work. I'm going to start getting phone calls at the office some days and that will expand my experience which means I'll eventually be able to work the front desk better. It also keeps things busy, which I enjoy!

I walked on the treadmill after work today, which I've come to quite enjoy. I work from home tomorrow and typically don't do the treadmill that day, but Monday through Thursday I try to do it without skipping it, unless I'm injured.

I made chicken in bbq sauce and rice for dinner tonight. Nothing special, but it just sounded good. I did use up the rest of a bottle of sauce in the fridge, so that's good.

I have some movies in mind for tomorrow when I work from home. We'll see how busy or slow the day is and if I manage to get any chores done in between stuff. We're getting Azteca for dinner tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

10/21/2020

Today was a short day at the office and I was home a little after noon! Funny though, it got busy for about an hour when I logged in. I was able to get the dishes under control and watch an afternoon of Call the Midwife on Netflix. I also learned the hard way that when they say to take your Omeprazole on an empty stomach, they really mean it. Not on the first bite of a big lunch that will then sit on the pill all afternoon that will then make your stomach sour all afternoon. I'm just now starting to feel like I could eat some dinner.

After logging out for the day, I walked down to Bartell's to pick up a prescription I'd called in and I also picked up some junk food and "peppermint" Christmas lights which should be fun! Then I came back and did my treadmill walk before a shower.

An evening of The Office is underway. Now, to dinner!

10/20/2020

It was another full day in the office. We got so much mail set up to go out! I'm still working on beating myself up when I make mistakes. I'm still relatively new at this job, and I'm being asked to do a second job as well. And I don't always have in-office support when I need it the most. I shouldn't always expect perfection under such circumstances.

The bus ride home worked out way better today. It was less irritating and I had more energy to do the treadmill, and then get the sink under control, start a load of dishes in the dishwasher, and take out compost/garbage/recycling before taking my shower.

I finished out the last of my Spanish tortilla from Sunday for dinner tonight. I hope to get home sooner tomorrow and will make an actual new meal that I picked a recipe for this morning. I actually have all the ingredients!

We got through our Halloween stuff too soon and it feels too early to start on Thanksgiving shows, so we spent the evening watching The Office, which oddly included a Christmas episode! If Michael and Holly don't end up together I think I'm going to throw something at the tv...!

I hope I sleep well tonight. I woke up early today and couldn't get back to sleep. Tired now.

10/19/2020

What a day! It has never been this busy since July when my coworker went on vacation. It was busy to start with and it just kept coming and coming all day long. I stayed till 4pm before leaving and there's probably at least half a day's work for tomorrow to get all the paper stuff squared away. Luckily my coworker comes in tomorrow and will hopefully be able to help me out. It wasn't hard stuff or anything anxiety-inducing, which was good. It was just so much!

The worst part of the day was coming home. It was freezing cold and raining and the bus said it was 9 minutes away, but it ended up being at least twice that long till it arrived, and was then packed. And then when it got to the park and ride, it took a ten minute break before moving on again. It was ridiculous!

I almost skipped it, but I walked on the treadmill when I got home, and finished out a Joker storyline on Batman. A nice hot shower helped me forget the silly bus ride home. Leftovers for dinner and a strawberry Pop Tart for dessert helped too. Fun stuff on youtube tonight is very relaxing. Cold feet though, in spite of socks and slippers!

10/18/2020

Today was mostly food blog recipes that turned out to be an epic fail and a hug disappointment. We ran out to get Domino's Pizza for lunch and came back to settle in for the last of our Halloween stuff to watch. We did the Donnie Darko actor commentary, The Return to Oz, the Halloween episode of Charmed, and all the Goldbergs Halloween episodes. We just finished the Rugrats Halloween episode, which finishes out my sister's Halloween list. I have a few more things I'll watch this week most likely, but starting tomorrow, we move onto Thanksgiving!!

I also did two loads of laundry and an emergency blanket laundry load when I accidentally spilled pasta on it. I cleaned up the kitchen before I started the recipes, and refilled my spices, but I'll need to keep cleaning the kitchen as the week goes on. I prepped my work food too.

Work tomorrow is always a mystery for how busy it'll be for a Monday. I have a few things I need to work on, for sure, but we just won't know till we look at it tomorrow how busy we'll be! I do like a busy Monday, though. We'll see how it goes!

10/17/2020

Today has been a pretty nice day. We started off with breakfast before heading to Fred Meyer. We spent a lot of money but I got some things I've needed or wanted for a long time in terms of clothes. I also did the last of my grocery shopping there, as well. Afterwards, we drove out to my parent's house to pick up/drop off some stuff. My mom's birthday is next week so we wanted to give her her present before instead of after her birthday.

When we got home, we settled in for the rest of the day with movies. We watched Knives Out, teamed up with Clue. Then we watched Poltergeist, and now we're onto the classic Ghostbusters to finish out the day. We have a couple more Halloween movies for tomorrow but then we'll be moving onto Thanksgiving!!

I took out the garbage/compost/recycling today, but laundry will be tomorrow. So will my blog recipes. I wanted to make sure they're as fresh as possible into next week as I can make it since on Tuesday I'll have coworkers in the office who might eat leftovers if they're still good then.

Last night I ordered a few more Halloween ornaments from Etsy for our Halloween tree and so far two of them have shipped, so hopefully over the next week they'll show up and we'll put them on the tree! It's so much fun to have a Halloween tree, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner!

I shouldn't stay up as late as I did last night because I'm super tired now!

10/16/2020

I worked from home today. It was a well-paced day but I had some times to work on other stuff. I swept the hardwood floors, vacuumed the apartment, and cleaned the toilet and bathroom countertop. I also made my candied oranges for this weekend's blog recipes. I watched one of the commentaries on my Sense and Sensibility dvd because I watched the movie yesterday. No real reason, I just felt like it. But in Halloween things, I watched Crimson Peak. I also set up the Halloween tree and the decorations we have gotten so far for it. We have a tree skirt, garlands, a black glitter tree topper, and candy corn lights that I strung up around the leaf garland on the shelves behind it. We're still waiting on our ornaments and the stockings.

Here are the candy corn lights. We had the garland up, but I put the lights around them today. I think it looks really great like this and we'll keep those up through Thanksgiving.

The lighting isn't the best at the moment, but that's the tree as it is now. I'll try to take some more pictures once the ornaments show up and I'll experiment with the lighting too.

And here's a close up of the Jack Skellington tree skirt. I think it's super cute!

After logging out for the day, we did the majority of our grocery shopping but we'll have to go back out tomorrow to do a little bit more before we're finished. It was getting late, so we picked up dinner and headed home. Watching Halloween DCOMs tonight.

I forgot to put on one of the nose strips last night so I didn't sleep well and am very tired. I hope to sleep in tomorrow! More Halloween shows and movies tomorrow.