Quarantine Chronicles

It's now been a month since I was sent home to work due to COVID-19. I figured it was a good time to look at whats changed in the last 4 weeks.

To summarize: A lot. For everyone.

There's no question in everyone's mind that this month has been hard on the head for everyone, but I think a lot of good has blossomed as well. 

I have not hugged another human in over a month. That has been a very bizarre reality for me as I am one who enjoys a hug. 

My heart breaks for those who find themselves without employment at this time, especially self employed individuals who invested so much into their empire and may not make it out of this storm.

I've found the easiest way to get through this is to focus on the positives that are coming out of this. 

The helpers are coming out in all shapes and sizes. I see friends donating their time and skills to aid with people who need food or PPE while they have so much extra free time. 

I am blessed with employment that can be done from home so I've done my best to share financially wherever I can. 

Although my groceries are arriving in plastic bags for the first time in years, air pollution is down across the globe. That. Is an enormous win for our planet and everyone and everything who lives on it. And believe me, not a single one of those "single use" plastic bags in my house will only be used once. It'll be nice not having to hunt for something to put cat litter in for a little bit.

I've learned a lot this past month:

1. The ideal exercise time for me seems to be 8am surprisingly. Right after the coffee. I haven't missed many morning workouts since this all began. 

Activity has always been a struggle since starting the office work 4 years ago. I'm dedicated to keeping this routine. 

2. I hate going to grocery stores now. I'll be ordering in advance and just picking things up long after this whole thing is over! I've also made use of an an amazing online farmers market ordering system that allows me to simply pick up my order with minimal human interaction. 

This allows me all the fresh foods I'm used to without the hassle of crowds and I can still support locals! 

(wfm2go.com if you’re local in NS. Bonus, there's also no plastic bags involved, yay!) 

3. Cupboards go bare fast when you're home all the time! I'm planning meals out much better, cooking 3 meals a day, 7 days a week you have to. (I miss sitting in a restaurant.) There is very little being wasted and although I know my grocery bill has obviously increased, I still feel like I'm saving. 

Helps that life isn't as busy and I'm not eating as much takeout. Amazingly I have not eaten a single order of takeout all month! (my pants are thanking me) 

4. I need more time for projects. I have gotten SO much done in the past 30 days. Things that may have taken me months and years otherwise. A lot of these project were a go even before the pandemic hit so it really drove home how overwhelmed I probably would have gotten in the near future trying to get everything done. My "normal" life does not let me express myself as I would like. This was a big eye opener for me. I've always assumed the answer was to do less, but now it feels like I should focus on how I'm doing things, and try to do things smarter. 

At the beginning of it all, I found a great set of questions that you can ask yourself each day that makes the whole process a little easier. I'm so blessed to have a big house with lots of distractions, without it, I would not feel nearly as stable and strong as I am today. This entire experience would be different if we were still in my tiny townhouse in the city.

Daily Quarantine Questions

I know not everyone is as lucky as me to have a large space to embrace, but even in the smallest of spaces I believe these questions can be answered by anyone daily and it does a world of help.

Well that’s it for now. Still not bored. A little less pudgy. It could be worse?

xoxo Nicole

A Single Girl's Bucket List

I am single for the first time in years and I am so happy I am! I wasn’t in a bad relationship but it wasn’t a good relationship either. At the end we just wanted different things and the split was for the best. It’s given me time to think about my life again as an individual and do things that make sense for me. I wanted to share a little bit of my collaboration for things to take advantage of and experience while single (lets all be honest it’s just another list.)

1. Try Speed Dating

   Lets all be honest here, online dating is awful. You have to sift through a lot of questionable characters to find someone worth talking to. Speed dating is a nice way to ween out some of the people you don’t want to talk to. It’ll usually cost a small fee but that will deter certain people from going and keep people from bailing. It worked for me- I went on a cold Tuesday night in January- all I wanted to do was go home and curl up in my jammies, but since I’d paid the $25 ticket price I was determined to get what I paid for.

   The event I went to was sold out! How exciting to experience. It was 5 minutes per person and I met 14 different men in the span of a couple of hours. Some were very easy to talk to, some not so much.. But that’s why you make your notes as people come and go.

   It was a nice change to interact with people in the flesh. You can’t hide behind a screen and think about what you wanted to say- you were thinking on the fly and people see you for who you are. (Well except for the fact that I almost never still have makeup and a dress on at 9pm on a Tuesday…) I’m glad I did it. I may never do it again. But I’m glad I did it. Google speed dating events in your area to find one that works for you! If there’s an age range- pick the range you want to date. not necessarily the age you are. I prefer to date older, for 28 I’m an old soul so the age 35-45 event made more sense to me than the 25-35 event.

2. Live alone

   This one can be hard in this day and age. It’s rare to be able to pay rent/ mortgage on your own. If given the opportunity, however, do it. You learn so much about yourself when you have your own fortress. You learn how messy you truly are (or not messy.)

3. Learn to Dance

   This one has a personal note to it. I’ve always wanted to take a simple dance class but 2 things have always stopped me. 1. Can never find someone to go with me. 2. The free time. I’ve made this more of a priority for my single adventures because 1. I should have more free time now. And 2. I shouldn’t be afraid to do it solo. If you don’t want to learn to dance, then learn another skill- an art, a sport, a cause. Guaranteed you’ll learn about yourself.

4. Spa day with some friends

   Or family, or whoever you feel would be good company (go on your own if that sounds the most relaxing.) Watch for a sale or a groupon and take a pause day. Soak and massage your worries away for a few hours- you deserve it.

5. Choose a hairstyle without asking others opinions

   I an NOTORIOUS for this. I’ll find styles I like, ask for opinions and if no one else likes it I’ll decide against doing it. Do what feels and looks right for you. Hair grows back- even if it was a bad decision you won’t be living with it for long.

6. Buy a new mattress

   If the budget doesn’t allow for a new mattress, or your mattress is in good shape- take over the middle of the bed! It’s all yours after all, take advantage of it.

   If you’ve gone a number of years choosing one side of the bed this may be tricky. I found the best way to enjoy it was to position the pillows in a triangle shape to cuddle my head in the middle of the bed. So much room. So glorious.

   I will be doing both in the near future. My mattress has to be 15-20 years old. It has no sparkle in its eye anymore and needs to be retired.

7. Take a Solo trip

   Ever wanted to go somewhere but your partner didn’t care to join? Why not try a solo vacation. A lot of travel agencies will actually have a list of options for you to choose from. If the budget doesn’t allow for a grand vacation- just look around to see what activities are going on in your area. Take a small road trip and make as many stops as you want on the way.

Those are some of my Bucket List items as I recover from being a Serial Relationshipper (don’t think that’s an actual word but oh well.) Feel free to comment if you have suggestions to add to my list!