Looking Back and Looking Forward: Pandemic Edition

Things that made me happy in March

I had to laugh when I came across this "list" in the back of my planner this week:

😂😂😂

And that pretty much sums up the crazy month of March!

But there were some things that were good, particularly four things in a row at the beginning of the month that I never wrote down because soon after they happened the pandemic came to America and I forgot all about this list. So I will list them now--things that made me happy in March 2020:

Book club. It was especially fun this month. Maybe it knew that we needed a really good one because we wouldn't be able to meet again for awhile.

Going to the movies with friends to see Emma. It was good! And it was my first time eating at a dine-in theater, which was fun.

Going to a Jane Austen Tea Party with two of my friends. It was "excessively diverting" and was the last social/friends/fun thing I did before social distancing arrived.

John's 15th birthday

Getting our invisible pet fence and garage door problems fixed literally the day before this all went down. What a relief not to have had the added stress of dealing with those this month! I also got new bedroom window treatments installed last week that have been wonderful for keeping out the morning light out at the crack of dawn. They look good too. (Pictures to come in a future post, hopefully in June.)

Having Peter home more than he's ever been. I've been wanting this to happen ever since he started his consulting job, albeit not under these circumstances.

Not having to go anywhere except the grocery store! The homebody in me is still pretty happy about that.

Getting caught up on all of the Hallmark movies and Frontlines in my DVR.

Weekly family movie nights have started happening again.

I made blueberry muffins from scratch for possibly the first time ever. I'm learning how to use sourdough starter. I'm making more homecooked meals than ever before. I'm planning a garden. It's Homemaking 101!

Most of the other things I'd been looking forward to in March got cancelled. But we did get a little snowstorm this week. It was all gone by the next day, but it was something!

Things I'm looking forward to in April

Well this list is going to be quite different from what it would have been if this stupid coronavirus had never hit our shores. The boys aren't going back to school until May 4th so they'll be home all month. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but...oh wait yes I am. We had to cancel our April vacation to Virginia, which is so disappointing. But I think there are some good things in store for April...

The real arrival of spring and milder temperatures.

General Conference, more than ever before!

Easter (although we'll be celebrating it the way the heathens do, with no church 😈)

Going to the Cape house for a change of scenery (finally!?)

Planning and preparing to plant our first-ever vegetable and herb garden.

I truly hope and pray that in April we'll see a real turn-around of this virus in the U.S. and in the world, and that life will start getting back to normal sooner rather than later! 🙏

October 2019 Randoms

We went out to dinner to celebrate my brother-in-law Adam's birthday.

I finally gave in and got a shorter haircut that I ended up really liking! 

I liked it even better with a headband.

 

The antics of Sam!

Planner love

I was waiting in the school parking lot to pick John up from his trombone lesson and saw this school bus from Martha's Vineyard. I was surprised! Students from the Vineyard--an island off the Cape--come all the way to my town? Wow! I was wondering if the bus comes over on a ferry but then I thought that they probably keep buses on the mainland for this purpose and just ferry the students over. 

Rapelling in the woods with John and my dad. I was once again the belayer. I have no problem with that!

I'll take my nice solid spot down on the ground, thanks!

I bought a Poldark mug on amazon that was shipped over from England.

This is how I can get my lips on Ross! 😘

   

Halloween stuff amongst the books.

At my friend Meredith's Halloween lunch. She's so good at entertaining!

I wore this cute witch hat headband there that I'd had for years and never worn.

Speaking of witches (kind of), I went to see the new Maleficent movie. It was okay. 

 

I liked Real Simple's October cover.

 🙌 

 Yup! He does what he says he's going to do.

Speaking of immigration (kind of), this was my updated ethnicity estimate. I love how British I am and that I'm a descendant of Mormon pioneers and New England settlers!

 I saw this on Facebook and thought it was so funny! Lots of organizational changes in the church last year! 

 I love good health information like this.

Halloween 2019

Last Halloween I went trick-or-treating for the first time in years. My many years-long streak of staying home and handing out candy came to an end. 😭 I did it for my sister Elizabeth who came over with her family and wanted me to go with her and her husband Justin and our three boys. And I have to say it was pretty fun! But that doesn't mean that this year I won't be trying to stay home again! 

Sam wanted to be a hot dog. 😂 It was a cute, easy costume.

We went to the neighborhood parade and potluck dinner. It was fun, but I don't know if we'll do it this year because it was kind of stressful to get there on time, and I drove over so then I had to drive home again, we forgot the trick-or-treat bags, I still don't know most of the people in the neighborhood, etc. I like my holidays nice and simple. But it was fine. The boys had fun.

The ground was wet from rain earlier in the day and from the day before, but the temperature was nice and mild. So our feet were wet that night but we weren't cold. I'll take it!

Sam, Rocco, and Shane had a lot of fun together. It was John's first year not going trick-or-treating (his choice), and he was totally fine with that. He preferred to stay home and play Fortnite. Sam was so happy that John didn't go with us. 😆 My mom took over my usual job and handed out the candy. 

That night after everyone went home and we were all in bed, there was a big wind storm that knocked out the power. I couldn't get to sleep and was a mess the next day. It was an eerie end to a fun Halloween!

Sam in October

I have enough pictures of Sam from last October to merit his getting his own blog post. I titled this post "Sam in October" because I'm real original like that. 😉

Silly boy!

At his ninja gym

Sam and his friend were using my phone outside while they took pictures and made videos (very trusting and kind of me, I know!). I was with them for a little while and took a few pictures. 

I don't know how this ended up in black-and-white but I like it!

 

 

Sometimes Sam's favorite stuffed animal uses Sam's Switch and headphones while Sam is at school. (Sometimes I arrange his things in different positions like this to make him smile when he gets home because I think it's cute!) 

His Greg Heffley/Diary of a Wimpy Kid pumpkin for a book project at school.

I love my little Sam-man!

The SpongeBob Musical

On a sunny Saturday afternoon last October we went into Boston to see The SpongeBob Musical. It was (somewhat surprisingly) really good! 

I love how beautiful and ornate the Boch Center is (it will always be the Wang Center to me!).  

Selfies with Sam. That kid photobombed us!  

I finally figured out where to look in this one! 🙌

Before the show started there was a fun little band playing onstage.

 Intermission

 The end of the show got a standing o. I liked it a lot--good acting, good story, good costumes, and good songs.

After the show we ate dinner at Fogo do Chao, a nice Brazilian steakhouse in the city. It was good, but not as good as The Brazilian Grill on the Cape.

My chocolate cake

 Sam's hot fudge sundae

 It was a fun day!