I'm trying to figure out this new blogger situation. The pictures appear backwards now (the first one you selected used to come up first, and the last one last- now your last picture you select comes up first, so that's going to take some getting used to. And, all the pictures are default x-large instead of medium.) So, you're getting what you're getting. Because I'm behind and I need to catch up!
Anyway, I'm not sure what you missed in the world since last time I blogged. Florida hit half a million cases, I think (We're at 550,000 now), and 9,000 deaths. 5.2 million or so in the US. Florida has at least seemed to have plateau-ed and dipped a bit. We're seeing around 5,000 new cases. But, we're also doing way less tests. I've personally heard of people we know not being able to get tests quickly. Some people waiting days to be able to get one, and weeks to get back the test results. So, who knows.
We're also about to start school here in Florida. Hillsbrough County (where Tampa is) gets to be online learning for just the first week. I'm not sure what that's going to do. But, that's where we are. Not sure about Pasco County. I know they start August 24th. But, I don't know if they are in person or what. Add to that movie theaters opening, people trying to figure out how to open bars, and lots of other things opening back up, and I suspect in a month or two, our numbers will be up again. So, I guess now is my chance to do anything I want to do (I'll get to that in the next blog- because I actually went somewhere for my birthday!!)
But for now, I've got pictures leading up to my birthday.
Day 145: Wednesday, August 5th
Asa got the notification that his first student had officially graduated. We celebrated like we did every time Asa passed a class, and had rootbeer floats.
Peyton, meanwhile got his WGU welcome kit. He's already more than half-way through his first class, which is a little ahead of schedule. Which is also great, because he's going at an accelerated pace to begin with.
I am not usually a Taco Bell fan, but they're getting rid of a bunch of menu items, so I told the boys we could have it one more time before some of their favorites went away. Goodbye, Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes. You served me well during my college years.
We started puzzle number #15 of Quarantine.
Day 146: Thursday, August 6th
Etta is sometimes my morning coffee snuggle buddy. Not always anymore (it used to be an every morning thing. Now, maybe she climbs up with me once a week).
Also, usually for my birthday my mom would be here. For obvious reasons she can't make the 1,000 mile trek this year. But, in the spirit of her would-be visit, she did send us on a Costco shopping trip for my birthday. It's not nearly as much fun without her, but it is still pretty great.
And then I had all kinds of awesome food for my birthday weekend. Asa cooked and grilled A LOT.
She also sent a little gift package my way.
Perfect for birthday charcuterie!
And of course there was more puzzle working. I find puzzles to be a necessity of quarantine. And one of the only things that is *more* fun during quarantine than was before.
The Tangled hair, though, was tough!
Day 147: Friday August 7th
Usually, in non-Coronavirus times, I would have had a birthday weekend extravaganza, where we go do all kinds of fun things in a couple day long celebration. But, these are coronavirus times. So we tried to think of fun stuff I like to do around the house. Enter: True American. But, it's my birthday, so I didn't want to have to set it up. That's nice. But, it's not always organized as pretty as I usually would have it. But, you know, it worked.
If you don't know, True American is a game I invited based on the vague game they played in the TV show, New Girl. Basically you go around the room, trying to figure out what president you have on your head, when you think you have it, you buzz in and yell "JFK! FDR! *Insert president here*!" and then take a "shot" (sprite and cherry juice, which we've deemed prohibition cocktails in this house), name facts about that president, while hopping across the "hot lava" aka the floor, to get to your snacks in the middle of the room.
So, it's a fun game. But, I smoke people. Because, well, I can usually get a president pretty quick. Numbers and party helps. I use a white board to keep track of who I've eliminated, and bam! But, Calib struggles a bit more. It has been five years since he did the presidents.
If you can't name facts about your president, because you get a guy like Franklin Pierce or Benajmin Harrison (and you're not me), you have to go to the corner of shame to read up about them. (This is Asa in the corner of shame).
Hayden is actually pretty good at this now too. But, he has the advantage of learning about the presidents this year. Although, if he gets one's we haven't done yet, he's pretty lost on naming facts about them.
And then of course, they all cleaned up after themselves. Which, broke out into a war.
That day, we also finished puzzle #15.
And started on Puzzle #16. It's a Ravensburger! This one is actually my favorite we've done.
We played some overcooked that night. But, Etta was a stinky farter. Look at how Hayden is coping.
Asa grilled Allison's Greek Chicken for dinner that night. Plus we had asparagus and pita chips.
And we took one more walk around the loop. These are few and far between, because, well, have you ever been in Florida in August? It's a swamp. Like, it feels all sticky and gross, almost all the time. I did say July and August would be the worst, with all this coronavirus stuff- because outside is gross and inside is dangerous- and we're just about 3/4 of the way through that. September will be hot and miserable too. But, not quite as bad, as the sun starts to lose some of it's intensity. And plus then you're almost to October, which is usually much nicer.
And, here's a squishy Ellie face picture for you, just because I love her.
Day 148: Saturday, August 8th
We've been working on this little fence mural during quarantine. It's tough, because you never know when it's going to pour down rain, and you obviously need it to be dry if it does. But, we tried to get some painting in.
We're working on the balloons- it's a work in progress. But it is super cute.
Of course, for your birthday, you always get lots of free food at various places. Usually I let some expire, because it's great to get my meal for free- but having to pay for another four every time doesn't exactly make it a great deal. Since most places let me get my free food take out, we drove around collecting all my free meals for lunch on Saturday.
And then we brought them all home for everyone to share. I had a free Red Robin Burger, a free PDQ meal, a free Pollo Tropical Meal, and to round it out, Asa and I used our $3.14 pizza from Blaze for Pi Day.
It made for a weird, but fun lunch!
Oh, and I also got my free bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes.
Asa and I went down to play some tennis to work off all the calories. We had actually gotten tennis racquets back in June, but we hadn't used them yet. It's a good activity we can do down at the lodge these days. There were two other people on the court beside us, but you're distant and outside, so that should be fine. Right?
And then of course, more puzzling.
We also still had one Gino's East Pizza left in the freezer from the three pack we ordered for our anniversary, so we had date night with that.
Plus salad, breadsticks, and lemon cheesecake!
And then we watched Hamilton, for the very first time. We put it off for a few weeks, and then I decided we might as well wait for my birthday. I'm glad we did. I LOVED it. We've literally watched it every day since. We play the music all the time, we put it on while we're puzzling to hear it, we watch it. It's just amazing. I mean, come on, it's a Broadway musical about history. How could I not love it? I am shocked at how much Asa and Hayden love it too, though. (Calib and Peyton didn't watch it, and don't get our obsession. I'll get them eventually).
Peyton always ruins the market. But, at least he played!
Day 149: Sunday, August 9th
Sunday was my last day of being 38. Asa and I took our morning bike ride, despite the heat.
I had Mickey Waffles for brunch.
And we painted a few more balloons. After this, that's where the rain became super unpredictable and we haven't done anything since.
And we kept working on our puzzle. This one was so fun, but super easy.
August 9th would have been the closing ceremonies of the 2020 Summer Games. Usually we do a whole thing for the Olympics here, and I was so looking forward to it. But, like everything else in 2020, it was canceled. So, in honor of the would-be 2020 games we played some of our favorites from the 2016 summer games. Including our handball game. (Basically giant beer pong, minus the beer).
But my favorite event was fencing. You have an egg on your head, and your opponent is trying to break it with a pool noodle.
Peyton beat Hayden, and then I beat Calib.
But Peyton really got me and won the event.
We also did shooting, with nerf darts.
And then the pool was out, so we hung out in there for awhile.
Even Porkchop went for a dip.
Of course, there was shenanigans.
But it was nice to spend some time in the water. We had the neighbors pool for that month, and it was glorious. But we've only been to the community pool once. They've been fixing the pavers around it- and usually there is just one pool open, which doesn't leave as much room as I'd like for social distancing. It's a bummer, because we usually go to the pool like five times a week in the summer.
After some time in the pool, Asa and I ran out to get some wawa smoothies.
And he grilled me some porkchops for dinner.
Plus we played 5 person spy alley. Another one of my favorites.
And we also ordered some Beignet Mix from Cafe Du Monde. Super easy. Just add water, roll out, cut, and fry.
And they were yummy! We might make some more this weekend.
We also finished up Puzzle #16.
I told you this one was easy, look it's like 9 puzzles in one, and it was super easy to identify which piece went to which section.
That's it for this blog. Lets get you an updated count:
Most popular "hurricane snacks": Sweet Stuff rules right now, cheesecake, cookies, reese's - we got it all1
Current binge watching obsession: So, we're checking on this Married at First Sight Show. It's a little crazy.
Most popular game: Overcooked is still going strong.
Boxes of Elbows used: 3 of 16 (we discovered shells for 29 cents at Aldis, so we've been using those and saving the elbows.)
Puzzles completed: 16 (Periodic Table, Track & Field, Villains times 2, Chicago, 2 Pixar Ravensburger Puzzles, the 4 pack of 500 piece Disney Puzzles, the impossible Mickey Puzzle, the Princess Puzzle, the Silhouette puzzle, Tangled, and the 9-in-1 Ravensburger).
Boredness scale 1 to 10: Depends on the time of day. We're really all over the place here.
Frozen II Watchthroughs: 60, I think. If I don't blog frequently it's hard to keep count.
How many times we've walked the loop: 79.
Days Down: 149
Days Remaining until the inauguration and help (hopefully) arrives: 171.
No comments:
Post a Comment