The State of the Household - August
Hey there, friends and family!
I sometimes go through bouts of waking up remarkably early in the morning and then being unable to go back to sleep (I can't WAIT until we're old and this is considered normal), and in one of these moments, I brainstormed an idea for a new, recurring post on the blog! Since we don't really see anyone anymore, it's easy to lose track of the small things that make up our everyday lives; you know - the place you ordered food from last week or the movie you rented or the new foundation you got from Ulta or whatever. While these day-to-day things aren't generally earth-shattering, they make up the backbone of normal life, and frankly, I miss sharing them with all of you and having you respond in kind.
To remedy that, my plan is to post a "State of Household" address each month (if I can keep my sh*t together - never guaranteed) of what Chris, Zoe, August, and I have been doing, and I hope that after reading it, you guys will feel free to comment, letting me know how your set of "small things" (not so "small things" are encouraged, too) are progressing as well. The plan for now is to have a similar set of categories each month and update them as we go, but if these are stupid or you want to suggest other things, please let me know!
Okay, cheers to this new adventure!
Since this blog is for the month of August,
I figured I would start it with a picture of August!
August 2020
What's Your Current Work Situation?
Both of us have been working from home since mid-March, and Amy's employer (the University of Phoenix) recently announced that all of us will be home, full-time until at least the end of the calendar year (given that Google and other employers have now extended their folks until June 2021, I'd assume our announcement of that isn't too far away). Chris had been going into the clean room at his building at Gore once a week or so to work on the machines; for a few weeks now, all of the engineers on his team have been going into work 2 days a week and working from home the rest of the time. We're not thrilled about it, but there is a need for engineers to be there to support the manufacturing associates, and it seems like Gore is being smart-ish about keeping people safe. Fingers crossed that he can go back to working from home full-time in the near future.
Even though Chris is home most days and Amy is home all the time, we still send the kiddos to daycare twice a week. They're young, and they have SO much energy that it's impossible to keep them around full-time without us all going nuts (it doesn't help that once 8am rolls around in Phoenix, any outside activities are off the table - it's just too hot to be out there). I can always tell when tomorrow will be a daycare day, as Zoe starts giving me this vibe:
Which quickly progresses to this, when she sees I'm still working on the computer:
How's Everyone's Health?
Zoe has too much energy, August stepped in a hole the other day on a walk but seems fine, and Chris is totally normal. Oh, you weren't really worried about them? Fair enough.
I had another echo ultrasound and set of blood work in mid-August, and the results that came back were really good. My troponin level (the enzyme that was spiking when they checked me into the ER in June) is totally normal, and all of my other markers were good. When I talked with the cardiologist in late August, she said the ultrasound didn't show any excess fluid in the pericardium, so I think that means I officially don't have pericarditis anymore. Hooray!
I still don't feel back to 100% yet, so I'm starting to reintroduce fitness into my life, but I'm taking it easy and going slow. My all-time favorite set of online yoga videos is Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, and she offers several different 30-day plans; I'm currently doing the one called, "Care," and I'm also doing daily walks with the kiddos and Chris, up to about a mile each. Once I finish this 30-day program, I might start another one that seems a bit more active as well as try to incorporate some strength training (maybe also some easy, short hiking - we'll see about that). If all of that goes well, then maybe in 45 days or so, I might try reintegrating actual cardio fitness - walking for 5 minutes, jogging for 5, and so on. Fingers crossed everything goes well!
What Have You Read/Audible'd This Month?
I will say that one good thing about this pandemic is that my reading time has increased exponentially (the "not being able to exercise due to a heart condition" plays into that too, I suppose). So far, in 2020, I've read 25 books, exceeding my total from all of 2019. Silver linings, anyone?
This month, I read:
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu - interesting book. Very sciency science fiction, full of discussion of subatomic particles and physics and string theory and whatnot. This is the first book of a trilogy, and while it took a while to get cranking, once it did, it was enjoyable and ended on a cliffhanger. I might read the second book as well to see how things progress.
Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood by Trixie Mattel and Katya - a fun humor read from two of my favorite drag queens. I marvel at their makeup skills - seriously, amazing.
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry - a good read - this one's about a field hockey team in the Northeast during the late 1990s who tap into the powers of the occult that lurk around the area. Good characterization, and the ending was solid, but it dragged a bit for me at the beginning. The themes of women's empowerment and girls coming into their own in a world that wasn't interested in having them do so were cool, and the reminders of the time period were fun - the team listens to a lot of Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson.
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell - this was Mitchell's first novel (he's famous for writing Cloud Atlas), and it was a good read. The book features stories about several different characters across the globe that end up intersecting with one another, in all sorts of different ways (much like Cloud Atlas). It didn't take me too long to read, and I enjoyed all of the different narrators; it also had small passages inside each chapter, and that makes me happy, so I can take breaks as needed without losing the narrative thread (winning).
Chris - Due to focusing mostly on reading for his MBA classes, Chris hasn't had time to pick up a book for leisure in quite some time. However, on the days he commutes to work, he listens to audio books. Chris' audio pick for the month of August was The Light of All That Falls by James Islington (Book 3 of the Licanius trilogy). He says he's enjoying it (it's in the fantasy genre).
What Have You Enjoyed Watching This Month?
I'd been reading about it on various and sundry television blogs for a bit now, but we finally got around to watching it and can officially report that the new, animated Harley Quinn series (on HBO Max) is fantastic. It's bloody, foul, and has tons of inappropriate language, but it's freaking hysterical. You probably know the story of Harley Quinn's character already (feel free to Google it, if not), and the series is really about her taking back control of her own life and figuring out how to be her own person. The voice talent is stellar, and the friendship between Harley and Poison Ivy is the center of the show, which is a really cool thing to see. We both highly recommend it.
This month, also on HBO Max, we watched Legendary, which is a reality show competition set in the world of ball culture, recently seen more widely in the FX show Pose. I really liked Pose, so I was excited to see more coverage of the actual folks currently participating in balls, and it is a lot of fun. The mothers and kids in each house have such touching, engaging stories, the costuming and makeup is fabulous, and every week, I can't wait to see how big Jameela Jamil's dress will be. It may not be to everyone's taste, but for us, it's a stylish look inside a culture about which we didn't previously know very much.
Also on HBO, we finished up the new Perry Mason series, starting Matthew Rhys and his incredible sad face. Holy dang, that kiddo is a good actor, and while the show itself dragged a bit at times, it was a fun watch (got to see lots of shots of 1930s-era LA) and it was gorgeous to look at.
We also started up Lovecraft Country, and it's really good - creepy enough without making me lose sleep at night, moving, and intriguing. Cool show, and again, gorgeous to look at.
Oh! And we've become addicted to World's Toughest Race on Amazon Prime; it's about the Eco Challenge run in Fiji, which hasn't been there in almost two decades. It's doing nothing to abate my wanderlust or need to JUST GO RUN SOMEWHERE, but it's fun to watch people do amazing things in beautiful locations. Fair warning - people get hurt all the time, so it's a pretty gory show to watch, particularly for a reality series.
Since sports has started back up, we've been heavy consumers of those, too. We've been watching NASCAR races, the Tour, and of course, lots and lots of playoff hockey - GO BOLTS!
Where Have You Adventured This Month?
Back in July, we started taking some day trips around Arizona, mainly to get out of the house and see some fun things from the air-conditioned safety of the car. In August, we took the girls with us and headed to Prescott to drive the Prescott Lakes Loop detailed here on the Arizona Highways website. Of the scenic drives we've done so far, it wasn't our favorite - it was pretty enough, but we somehow missed 2 of the 3 lakes on the drive (they were set back from the road), and part of it was fairly white-knuckle-y, being right on the edge of a steep drop-off without guardrails.
Some shots from the internet:
We also took our second trip in Arlene, our camper, up to Prescott and the Grand Canyon, and you can read about it here.
Just last weekend, we headed northwest, to Alamo Lake State Park, where we're planning on camping with friends in October. We wanted to check out the campsites as well as the cell coverage (we'll be teaching and taking classes, respectively, while we're there). The campsites are situated high above the lake itself, and the vista is pretty cool:
Tired puppers
What Have You Been Eating This Month?
After eating in a restaurant for a few Saturdays in June, we've retreated back into takeout/delivery mode. This will really only help local folks, but hey, you've read this far - why stop now? This month, we tried out a local Italian spot downtwon, Pomo Pizzeria, for their homemade pasta and bruschetta, and it was quite good; it'll be a repeat option, for sure (we actually had it twice in one week, so that's a good sign). We also had delicious tacos from Taco Chelo (also downtown) one night; they'll be on the repeat list, too.
While we were in Prescott on the August trailer adventure, we ordered takeout from Farm Provisions; I'd read about it in several publications that said it was amazing, and they WERE. NOT. WRONG. OMG, so good. We had a pork tenderloin dinner (Chris) and a chicken pot pie (me), and it was outstanding even after the 15 minute trek back to the camper. When it's safe, we'll absolutely be back to dine there in person.
We also continued to hit up the usual suspects: Postino, Joyride Tacos, Pita Jungle, and Pane Bianco. Dang it - now I'm hungry.
What's the Stupidest Thing You Bought on the Internet This Month?
Because, let's face it, spending money online has been a major past time during all of this quarantining.
The stupidest thing we bought was....a SewiePig. Okay, so. When you attach your stinky slinky to the sewer connection at a full hookup RV park, sometimes, it doesn't lock properly, and you need to weigh it down to keep it in place (or risk having sewage in places where you don't want sewage - which is pretty much everywhere). Many people have sandbags or other weights to do this, and when we visited Greer's in Flagstaff in July, we used a pile of rocks. But, of course, Amazon sells a product that will do the job for you in a more stylish manner. For $20, you can have your own SewiePig, which you can fill with water to sit atop your sewer hose. This is what they look like on Amazon's website:
Okay, that's it for now! I hope you enjoyed seeing what normal life-type things we've been up to, and I hope to see everyone share their notes as well!
Later!
Amy
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