Day 70 - Governor Newsom imposes new restrictions

L. went to Lunasia with R. for her birthday…

1/24/21. Sunday.

10:30-11:00 – Up and I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. There is a small piece of poop in the middle of the dining room (sigh).  She jumps on the couch and rolls over on her back so I can rub her tummy, then we go outside. It rained yesterday so there are puddles of water on the patio.  Her paws are getting wet and she doesn’t like that, so she’s distracted.  I hang around for about 10 minutes waiting for her to go potty, until it finally happens.  Back inside we go – cheese for her, coffee for me. I go upstairs.

11:00-12:30 – I read The Pregnancy Project

12:30-2:00- Blog posts.

-R. and L. come home and start playing the Wii – I think it’s tennis.

2:00-2:30 – Wash face and brush teeth.  Contacts. Get dressed in my Covid-19 uniform.

2:45 – 3:30 - I say hello to R. and L., then take the dog for a walk.  L. left a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints sitting on the counter so I put a roll in my pocket – don’t judge me.  I eat 7 thin mints while the dog and I circle the neighborhood twice then feel nauseous from the sugar rush.  They taste so good when I’m eating them, but I usually regret how my body is affected from ingesting so much sugar so quickly.  Damn thin mints!  I listen to Organize 365.

3:30-4:30 – I take the dog outside, as is our custom, even though she’s already been outside, walking around the neighborhood, so she can go potty.

-Yard work.

-4:30-5:30 – L. and R. went to Lunasia for her birthday, one of our favorite dim sum restaurants, and brought back a ton of leftovers.  I have some white rice and a steamed bean ball – very tasty. I read a Money Diary and now I’m all caught up until Refinery 21 drops the next batch for USA, UK, and Canada.

5:30-6:30 – Talk to L. about her wonderful birthday celebration with R.  It began at the Descanso Gardens.  There was a slight drizzle, but R. was prepared and brought along a huge umbrella, so they walked around in the light rain enjoying the sights.  L. had forgotten how big Descanso is, as well as the large lake on the north side of the botanical gardens. They had dinner at a restaurant in Glendale??? – take out only (I don’t think there is indoor/outdoor seating at ANY restaurant in California right now) and then on to the Glenmark [this is one of the hotels in Marriott’s Tribute collection], which L. said was really beautiful. L. forced R. to watch Love is Blind and now he’s hooked, similar to his affinity for Love After Lock-up.  L. and I like trash TV. The next day, they went to Bicks for art supplies so L. could buy some artist pens [how does she know what supplies she needs?  These artists!]

-I haven’t even spoken about the gifts that R. gave L.: 1) colored pencils, especially created for artists; 2) a Lana Del Rey vinyl; 3) a huge bouquet of flowers (Sidebar: one of the nice things about L. and R.’s relationship is that when R. gives her flowers – which is often – I’m also a benefactor because they remain on our kitchen counter where both of us can enjoy them, usually for at least 2 weeks because L. and I keep the bouquet going by trimming away the dead stalks, bit by bit, until one lone flower remains.  Thanks to R., we have fresh flowers in the house all the time; 4) the latest DVD by Hayao Miyazaki.  These are such thoughtful gifts.  L., who is a wonderful “gift giver” (one of her many talents) has met her match with R., who appears to be her equal (if not better) when it comes to gift exchanges. She had a great birthday!

7:00-8:00 – I do a 1-hr HIIT Full Body Circuit app with 5-pound weights.  This is my hardest work-out app and never gets any easier. I listen to Slates Spoiler Special – “A Promising Young Woman”

8:00-10:30 – I go to work.

-I teach two classes on Monday, from 2:30-9:00, and I make sure course content is ready for both. I post a Discussion Board prompt for Specialty Class 1A and provide the itinerary for tomorrow’s class.

-I record a PSA for my Core Class.

-I start making my way through Module 3 in my Distance Education course, but I hit a brick wall when I discover that I can’t get out of Module 3 until I complete a 7-point assignment. I have to create a “Course Map”, that shows my student learning objectives (SLOs) and how I plan to achieve them over a 16-week semester!! 

This Distance Education course is actually very difficult.  The coordinator recently sent out a survey to everyone enrolled asking who still planned to finish the course.  Later, the coordinator said out of 186 enrollees, just 42 responded that they were still enrolled.  At this point in the class, I have to design a matrix detailing course content and design for EACH WEEK.  I’m not sure I have the mental bandwidth and it’s sooo much work – omg.

-A notice came from the DMV informing me that my driver’s license is going to expire and that I need to make an appointment. During this Covid-19 spike?  Crazy!  I go online to make my appointment and discover that the DMV is allowing us to renew our licenses online.  I can’t believe it!  A Covid-19 perk!  They do exist, you know.  I renew my license and pay the $38 fee – it will be mailed to me in 2 weeks.

-I buy tickets for an activity that B. and I are going to on 2/2/21. Stay tuned – this is a teaser! (insert winking emoji here)

-My hairdryer stand broke.  When I ordered a new stand, only ONE of a three-part product was received.  I’m returning it so I go through the steps on the Walmart website, print out the label, and box it up for shipping.

-L. airdrops the PSA and the audio lecture I recorded last night, then shows me this beautiful pen-and-ink drawing of a lily, to include the stamens, anthers, and pistens [I had to look these parts up].  This is yet another assignment for one of L.’s many art classes and I really like the technique – L. calls it “stippling.” How does she know what to do?  These artists!

10:30-1:00 – I have some extra time so I suggest that L. and I watch a movie if she can fit it into her schedule. She can, so I make dinner for myself – a mozzarella/tomato salad and two pieces of L.’s leftover pizza – and L. cobbles together some dim sum leftovers.

-We watch Promising Young Woman. We were able to stream it on Prime, BUT it cost $19.99.  Very expensive but we charged it to my ex-husband’s account. Uh-oh.  Disturbing movie, but L. really liked it – I give it an 8.

1:00-1:30 – Of course I’m not tired yet so I listen to What a Day.

1:30-2:00 – Night time routine. Bed.