Friday, June 26, 2020

TGIF

Hello, Friday! Anyone else in shock that the year will be half over in a matter of days? Parts of 2020 crawled by, like when we were just starting to adjust to COVID life. But it's crazy to think the year is half over. 

The book I'm reading is If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais. This is the 2nd book I've read by this South African author. I discovered her thanks to Modern Mrs. Darcy. Her books are so good! This one is set around the time that Nelson Mandela is elected president so it deals with the racial tension between whites and blacks. There are 3 narrators to the story - 2 white sisters and a black woman who lives in an encampment close to the sisters. The lives of the 3 narrators become entwined. I've been cruising through this book as I have a hard time putting it down each night. 

The high of my week was the milder summer weather we've had this week. We've had quite a few super humid 90+ degree days but this week it's been sunny and around 75 which is just perfect. Granted I haven't enjoyed much of the nice weather since I've been mostly indoors thanks to the head cold I'm battling. 

The low of my week was not feeling well. I ended up getting tested for COVID on Monday because I felt so off on Sat/Sun. By Monday afternoon it was pretty clear I had a head cold but I still got tested since the appointment was set up. I went to a site that uses a 3rd party lab so it takes longer to get your results (2-3 days) and they only call you if you tested positive - otherwise they mail you a letter. I had my telehealth visit with my rheumatologist yesterday and she was able to pull up the results and confirm it was negative. So that was a relief! In the future if I need to get tested again, we'll go to Hennepin Healthcare as they have an onsite lab and you get your results in 24 hours. I started to feel better on Thursday but this head cold is a doosy! 

A recipe I made was pasta with sausage and peppers. We probably make this twice a month as it's something we know Paul will eat.There isn't much originality to our meal planning right now. I haven't felt motivated to try new recipes so we just keep making the same tried and true things over and over. 

A show we are watching is Space Force on Netflix. This is a new show with Steve Carrell in it (whom I love!). It's goofy and silly but that's kind of what we need right now. We were watching Brooklyn 9-9 but we got to a season (I think season 4?) we were both feeling kind of 'meh' about so we decided to take a break. 

The best money spent was on some N/A Prosecco that I ordered after hearing about it on a podcast. I love white wine and prosecco but am obviously not drinking any right now since I'm pregnant! So when I heard 2 podcast hosts rave about this N/A Prosecco I decided to treat myself to some. It's nice to have a fun drink to enjoy on a hot summer night - and it only has 50 calories! 

My plans this weekend include going out to Phil's HS friend's house after Paul's nap on Saturday. He lives on a lake and has a huge lot so it will be easy for us to social distance. I think there will be 3-4 families there? We haven't seen them since January when we hosted this group for a brunch to celebrate the wedding of one of the couples so it will be good to see each other. And it will be a good way to tell them we are expecting - Phil isn't a fan of texting people with our news. On Sunday morning we will go to the lake while Phil does his swim. He's part of a local swim club that has a 0.8 mile course set up at certain times during the week. Our plan is to join him on Sunday mornings when the weather is nice. 

Bonus Paul photos!

Paul loves playing in our backyard. As soon as he gets home from daycare each day he asks to go out there. This week we've been playing with chalk, blowing bubbles, and kicking/throwing a soccer ball around the yard. 


Daddy shared half of his chocolate chocolate chip cookie with Paul. We have quite the cookie monster on our hands. Paul doesn't get many sweets since I very rarely bake but when he does, boy is he happy. Cookies are definitely his favorite treat. He doesn't seem to be a fan of cake (I'm not either so can't really blame him).



How was your week? Have you made any new recipes or are you sticking with tried and true ones like us?

9 comments:

katielookingforward said...

Hooray for friends with a big backyard. I'm playing tennis as a double date on sunday and really looking forward to outside time. Other friends have started using the marco polo app, and I am not into it. But hopefully everyone still feels good with outdoor hang outs. Especially while the weather is milder.

Grateful Kae said...

Those pictures of Paul are always so cute. Gosh, I remember spending hours and HOURS outside when mine were that age, watching them play with chalk, bubbles, their push toys....part of me misses it and part of me is REALLY glad they can play outside unsupervised now!! Haha! Those were good days though.

I continue to be SO impressed with your reading speed! Every time you post I swear you are reading a new book! I bow down to you! :) And apparently you still make time to watch Netflix. Impressive! I will have to check out that show- I love Steve Carrell too.

Have a blast at the lake! That sounds great. Weather looks wonderful this weekend.

Stephany said...

It has to be so unsettling to get sick during this pandemic! You just never know if it could be COVID or just a head cold. I'm glad it didn't wind up being COVID, though! Hopefully you're feeling better now!

Your weekend plans sound like so much fun! It's nice to be able to do things with people but in a safe way. And your weather sounds AMAZINGGGG.

Jeanie said...

Sunds like a good weekend in store for you. I'm so relieved about the Covid test. I would have been on pins and needles. There's a huge outbreak in Michigan that started in Lansing area at a bar. Then the people there went to Detroit. A mess. I'm glad I'm at the lake. I'm not even sure of the temp but the sun is out and there is a lovely breeze, maybe even a small wind, on the lake so it's very comfortable. Happy week to you!

Marlys said...

That N/A proseco sounds good, and fun to have a treat like that on a hot summer day. We just had a cocktail out on the dock and it was such a pleasant evening. We will sure miss having you here over the 4th! This virus is sure hurting family time together. It’s plainly a work of the devil! I hope you find something enjoyable to do over the 4th! Paul would love playing with his cousins, so hope next year we are back to normal again.
Keep posting pictures of Paul! We miss him like crazy!

San said...

Phew, I am glad you tested negative.... it's so stressful to feel any symptoms during this pandemic, as it feels like the symptoms for Covid keep changing every day.
I hope you feel better and that you were able to enjoy the weekend at the lake

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I am so over cooking. I legit would do a week of takeout at this point ha. I also bought paper plates in bulk because I'm over the dishes too! We are getting a little creative with veggies from the garden. We realized that our 'romaine' was actually collard greens so are trying different things with that. Honestly, grilled meat and then I've been trying to make some kind of cold pasta salad to eat off for the week since everyone eats it. Trying to find a 'new' recipe for this week to not make it repetitive. We've also done a lot of charcuterie lunches.

Gracie said...

I haven't been a super creative cook lately, but I did do a really delicious and easy pasta last week: I marinated tomatoes, fresh garlic, and cubed brie in olive oil and salt for a day, then added hot cooked pasta. The pasta cooked the garlic and tomatoes just a little and it was quite good. It's tomato season, which made all the difference!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

We have completely gone off course when it comes to cooking/food. We're totally winging it each day, spending very little time in the kitchen, and eating very, very simply at most meals. A lot of the same over again, and some nights just a bunch of grilled onions, mushrooms and another veggie. The lockdown totally changed the way we do things, and I'm really enjoying some freed up mental space. Someday I'll get around to posting about it ..