Day 7 - Governor Newsom rescinds restrictions. Outdoor dining reinstated!

B. and I go to Piccola Trattoria…

1/31/21. Sunday.

8:00 – 8:15 - I set my alarm at 8:00 today because I have a therapy appointment at 9:30 and it is hard. to get out of bed after last night with L. and The Vow. Downstairs and the dog is still asleep so I wake her up by gently rubbing her tummy three times.  She grabs her toy and we go outside together, then she goes potty. Back inside, and she runs to the refrigerator and starts jumping up and down, waiting for her treat.  Cheese for her; coffee for me. I go upstairs.

8:15-8:45 – I read Dancing.

8:45-9:15 – Wash face. Brush teeth. Dress in Covid-19 uniform. Some make-up and I wear a hat today.

9:15-9:30 – Drive to therapy.

9:30-10:00 – Session.  I typically avoid mentioning the content, but it goes well.  I will say that the question du jour is: How does one know, for sure, if he/she has truly saved enough for retirement?  How does one know, for sure, if he/she is truly financially ready for retirement?

10:00 – 10:30 – To Goodwill to drop off clothes and books.

10:30-11:00 – Drive home.

11:00-1:00 –Yard work.  I pull the multi-colored glass beads out of the rock garden, one by one, so I can wash them.  This takes some time because I have to sift the red rock and go under the layers. Once this is achieved, I pull the two bags of rocks I bought at Home Depot last night out of my trunk and physically drag them from the garage to the flower bed.  I fill in all of the gaps in the bed, using a spade for better accuracy. It’s pretty laborious, but the red-rock bed looks 100% better.  Unfortunately, I need two more bags of rocks.

I have a miniature Hersheys dark almond piece of chocolate. Not hungry today.

-I plant the flowers I bought last night in two containers and place them near the fountain, then pick the dog poop off the Astroturf. Trash day tomorrow.

-I wheel the trash cans to the curb.

-I completed my short-term [for the week] yard  goals  and I feel like yard work for this week is over.  It’s been raining off and on so I don’t even think I need to water.

1:00-3:00 -  When considering my daily routine and addressing, what I call, “time wormholes”, I think  meal prepping breakfast/lunch in advance will help me transition more seamlessly to my next activities. There is too much of a delay thinking about what I’m going to have for lunch, then preparing it, then eating it, etc.  Ideally, lunch time should occur after the conjoined activities of reading and writing, but before the next pair of conjoined activities: walking the dog and yard work. So, I’m going to try meal prepping more intentionally for next week.

-I spend the next two hours meal prepping for the week and using the remaining food L. and I have left in the refrigerator.  I make scrambled eggs, with zucchini and this great beer cheese that L. purchased. I  have a few bites today and save the rest for the week.  I then meal prep two salads with remaining spinach, zucchini, cheese, and boiled eggs.  After, I dice an apple and add it along with chopped walnuts to a pint of plain Greek yogurt (I eat this with honey).   I cut an apple into slices for a potential snack to have with almond butter, then slice our last zucchini for another snack.  There is still some of the quinoa/avocado salad I made a few days ago and I defrosted some chicken breasts for a mustard-bake chicken I’m going to make later on in the week.

-I clean the kitchen and ready my coffee for Monday.

-Meal prep is ready for the week.  I’ll see if this improves my time efficiency. Stay tuned.

-I place the pieces of L.’s art work that I framed last night on the cabinet ledge, along with the rest of her work.

3:00-3:45 – I read a Money Diary, then take a nap. 

-L. leaves to pick up an acai bowl.

4:00-5:00 – L. is back so I talk to her for a little bit.  She has an art project due that involves drawing the street and houses in our neighborhood.  She is also finalizing her application for the Getty Museum internship.

-I hang the Xmas picture of L. and I. on the stairwell landing.

5:00-5:20-I create a prompt for the Discussion Board for the 6:00 class tomorrow and ready the course content.  I also check the 2:30 class and make sure everything is ready to go.

5:20-6:00 – Take out my braids and apply heavy make-up.

6:00-6:30 – B. arrives.  B. made dinner reservations at one of our favorite restaurants: Piccola Trattoria!!!

6:30-7:30 – Dinner is exceptional.  I have the stuffed spinach ravioli and an excellent glass of Brut champagne.  B. has something??  We establish that we have not been to a nice restaurant since we went to Geoffrey’s, in Malibu, for B.’s birthday in October.  B. recalls that we went to 50/50 Slaters twice before the shut down, but that’s more of a ‘standard eats’ location.

Although it is great eating at a restaurant again, we are not really outdoors.  Technically we are, but all of us are seated under an expansive white tent and the tables are too close together, not in compliance with the LA County Dept. of Health’s numerous mandates. However, the diners are ‘cycling’ rapidly – nobody is lingering – and the two tables next to us are ‘turned’ 30 minutes after B. and I arrive. Additionally, B. and I are seated near the entrance – a huuggee open space that is letting in a cold breeze.  We’re under heat lamps so I don’t care.

7:30 – 11:00 - Back to B.’s house after discovering that he has access to Seduced, the second documentary about NXIVM!!! since he has On Demand.  We watch the first two episodes and I love it.  This documentary is from the character “India’s” perspective while The Vow, the documentary that L. and I have been watching, is from the perspectives of “Sarah, Nippy, Mark and Bonnie.” I know that L. would love Seduced.

I have two glasses of champagne and fall asleep briefly.  Darn it.  BUT, I think I only missed 15 minutes of Episode 2.

11:00-11:30 – B. drives me home.

11:30 – 12:30 - I tell L. about Seduced and she thinks she can sign up for Stars and then cancel the membership after we watch it.

-Night time routine.

-L. is finishing up her Getty Museum internship application and asking me for input on the finishing touches.  A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this application and she is finally done.  Right before she hits “send”, L. says to me, “Mom, hold my hand.”  I am touched beyond measure.  I hold L.’s hand as she submits the application and then I say, “And history is made.”  I hope, hope, hope that L. gets this internship, BUT, if she doesn’t, L. has discovered several other museum internships that she can apply for, as a result of this journey. The door is open and she has saved all of the material she provided/created for the Getty application so it will be a much easier process with future applications.

12:30-2:00 – L. and I watch the first episode of Seduced and she really likes it.  I start falling asleep the last 15 minutes, but recover enough to watch it until the end. 

Good night.