Monday, November 9, 2020

Virtual Coffee Date

Hi, friends, and happy Monday! I thought I'd do a virtual coffee date catch up this morning. I've got my beloved Starbucks whole milk latte with just a little SF vanilla syrup next to me. It's become a daily treat since treats are pretty limited when you are on the gestational diabetes diet. But I figure it's ok to spend about $5/day for the last month of pregnancy. I did try to switch to brewed coffee with my FF french vanilla creamer and it made my blood sugars SKYROCKET so I said forget that and have become a very good Starbucks customer. :) Typically, a latte is a once/week treat so this is NOT normal for a frugal gal like me! Anyways, here's what's going on in my world.

If we were having coffee today...

- I'm sure we would talk about the election. I voted for Joe Biden so was very happy with the results. I hope that he can unite our country and that we can end the phase of bitter, attacking insults against those on the other side of the aisle. I don't like talking about politics on my blog, but I think it's important to note that I used to vote for Republican candidates up until the 2016 election. I've always been more of a moderate, though, and Trump's decisions, policies and rhetoric were not a fit for me. I hope the Republican party returns to the era of people like John Kasick, but we'll see. I definitely breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the race was called on Saturday morning but it felt anti-climatic given how long it took. 

- I'd tell you that the last week has been really hard and sad for my family. My brother-in-law passed away last week. It is not my story to share and Phil is an intensely private person so I will leave it at that. But it was a difficult blow in the midst of a year that has already presented plenty of challenges. I'd tell you how glad I was that the weather was so nice this past weekend. We went to my MIL's on Saturday morning since it was nice enough to be outside for most of our time out there (we are trying not to be indoors w/ her since Paul is in daycare). 

- I'd talk about how we made the most of the nice weather this past week. It was so gorgeous, so I made sure to get as much fresh air as possible when my body allowed. We went to 2 parks - one by our house, one by Nana's - played in the back yard and did lots of scootering. I bought a scooter earlier this summer but Paul refused to try it until the last couple of weeks... It's taking some time to figure it out but he's really enjoying it. 




- I'm sure we'd talk about pregnancy, too. Oof, my RA is angry. I'm getting flares nearly daily, sometimes in multiple joints. I'm a little terrified about what will happen after the baby is born but hopefully I get a little reprieve. And I'll go back on my $1000/injection wonder drug ASAP so I know that will help, but it can take 4-6 weeks to be fully effective. I'm glad Phil will be home for 2 weeks of paternity leave, and will work from home a decent amount around the holidays. I did have a lot of flares before Paul was born (not as bad as this pregnancy) but I don't remember having them after he was born so hopefully I get lucky again this time. 

- We'd of course have to talk about reading! I'd tell you about the 2 books I read over the weekend - "Notes from a Young Black Chef" by Kwame Onwuachi and "Party of 2" by Jasmine Guillory. The first one was non-fiction and a very interesting read. Kwame was a contestant on "Top Chef," which is one of my favorite shows, but I knew very little about his back story. "Party of 2" was the latest installment in Guillory's romance series. I have loved all of her books - they are very light and easy reads but the characters have substance. Check them out if you need a break from the heaviness of life! Then I would want to hear what you are reading or are looking forward to reading!


After talking so much about myself, I'd be sure to ask how you are doing? How is your family? What are your plans for the holidays? Are you as excited to turn the page on 2020 as I am?

12 comments:

Jordan said...

Love finding new "old school" blogs to follow - found you on SHU Box :)

Sorry to hear about your family's sad news; this is such a tough time and especially with COVID I'm sure it's even harder.

I was also SO excited about the election results. I hear cheering outside on Saturday morning and then looked at my phone and realized that they had called it. So nice to feel hopeful again. We watched the speeches on Saturday night and my 4 year old daughter was excited to see "a girl" on TV - we had never let her watch any of Trump's speeches because they're wildly inappropriate and I was so glad that we have civil, respectful discourse back in America.

Amanda said...

I highly recommend the creamer from Super Coffee. The vanilla is good and keto/diabetic friendly.

missris said...

I'm so glad the election is over! I'm also relieved that Joe Biden won. He seems like a deeply good, kind, just human being who really cares about everyone and is guided by his faith. That seems to me like something anyone can identify with and would seek out in a leader, no matter what party they are representing. I like that Joe and Kamala use inclusive rather than divisive rhetoric.

I am so sorry to hear about your family's loss. If we were actually able to get coffee together in person I would give you a big hug!

Sam said...

I'm sorry to hear about your family's loss. I haven't checked out Party of 2 of Notes from a Young Black Chef, but they both sound up my alley!

Grateful Kae said...

So incredibly sorry to hear about Phil's brother passing away. Things just keep piling up, don't they. Just keep hanging in there.... Hugs.

We are gearing up for my mother-in-law to arrive from Mexico next week. It's not ideal for her to come now with the covid cases up again, but my husband's sister planned it with her back in August when things seemed to be trending better. At this point, I guess I feel like it doesn't really matter anyway, since covid is here, there and everywhere by now. She will mostly be staying with my SIL but my husband is very excited to see her too. She has never been in the U.S. for Thanksgiving before, either, so we are planning to have her to our house for a small Thanksgiving with just us and probably his sister to at least eat the traditional foods! It's unfortunate with the timing, because Ivan has other family around the area and it would have been fun to have a great big old gathering with everyone. Hopefully she can come again for the holidays another year.

Jeanie said...

I'm so sorry about Phil's brother and I'm glad you were able to spend time with your MIL, whom I know is probably a bit at sea with all this. It's just one thing after another.

We're fine. I even bit the bullet and we went to visit the Toddlers Sunday. We took every precaution but I'll be edgy for the next two weeks. TG will be just us but I felt better for saying TG and Christmas we won't be seeing them. It's just better to say that in person than on the phone or FTime.

Sending good juju for your flares and these last few weeks.

Stephany said...

Oh, Lisa. My heart aches for your family and this loss. Sending you and Phil and his mom all my love. <3 What a hard thing to go through.

I am so, so relieved for the election results. It was so nice to listen to Biden's speech on Saturday night because after 4 years of senseless, hate-filled speeches from Trump, it was so refreshing to hear from someone who talks about unity and hope. We need that more than ever!

I'm sorry the flares have been so awful during this pregnancy, and I will be praying that you will be FLARE-FREE after baby comes. <3

Anne said...

I am so, so sorry to hear about your family's loss. I cannot even imagine how hard this is for Phil and his family...and Covid, of course, just makes it worse. :(

I think you should absolutely enjoy the lattes! Your flares sound awful, but I am glad you were able to still get outside a bit. Those, plus being able to meet your new baby soon (!!), will hopefully get you through??

Gracie said...

I am so, so sorry to hear of your loss. Such a difficult time already; isolation makes grief more difficult. Sending much love.

katielookingforward said...

So sorry to hear about your loss, especially now it is hard when grieving looks different. love to you and your extended family.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I am so sorry to hear about your brother in law. My deepest condolences to you and Phil and your family.

The election caused me a lot of stress, even being in Canada. It affects so much here, and really divided people. I am very happy with the outcome.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I'm so sorry to hear about Phil's brother!