7QT: Friends, Mass, House Projects and a Break Up

Happy Friday!  Linking up with Kelly and the rest of the faithful bloggers.

1)

I am in great spirits because we have events on our social calendar this weekend!  After almost 3 months of not having social interactions, even this introvert is dying for some friend time.  Tonight, a friend is coming over to our house for dinner, and then on Sunday, Phil and I are going out to eat with another friend at an outdoor restaurant in Rhode Island.  I can't even remember what going to a restaurant is like!!  I hope I behave :)

2)

WE WENT TO MASS!!!!

We were all there, JP was taking this picture, and Phil was inside talking, and talking, and talking to Father.  (I told you we were starved for attention).  My four oldest boys served Mass, Maggie was the sacristan, and the little two boys seemed to whisper much louder behind their masks in the pew.  I thought I would cry upon receiving Our Lord for the first time in months, but I was too busy thinking about the logistics of being told when to go by an usher, bowing, pulling down my mask, and receiving by hand (I never receive by hand), that I didn't have time to be too emotional.

3)

Phil has been taking on some small home projects and was able to rescreen our porch screens last weekend.  Lucy, the Goldendoodle, loves to lay out there, but then gets excited when she sees another dog or a car pull in, and jumps and rips the screens.  So Phil bought some heavy-duty pet screen and fingers crossed it won't rip again.  Otherwise, Lucy might be RIP.  Kidding, kidding.

While the boys were working on the screens, Maggie and I decided to clean out the fridge.  I'm embarrassed by how dirty it was, but it does make for a great before and after photo sesh. ;)  I started following @gocleanco and was inspired to fill my tub with hot water/bleach/powdered tide to soak and clean all the fridge shelves and drawers.  It worked out great!  I never would have thought to use the tub like that, in the past, I have always awkwardly tried to clean them in the small sink.  I was even able to clean out the tub and shower after.  Bonus!

And finally, we switched out our brown bedroom ceiling fan with the boob light for a new white fan with better light, that doesn't squeak and actually blows air :)

4)

The Catholic high school we work for is part of our diocese, and the diocese offered a four-week step challenge to all of its employees.  Phil and I ended up coming in 1st and 2nd place out of everyone!  Phil averaged 24,000 steps each day, and I averaged 21,000 steps each day.  Due to the pandemic, we were able to be more active than we would during regular work weeks.  Every morning started with a four-mile walk with the dog, then after work, another long walk.  We also worked out via zoom classes or online classes a few times each week and went for a few runs each week.  It was nothing extraordinary, but all the little steps add up!

 

5)

I went into work to create employee contracts for next year, and it was so weird.  I do not know how people handle working in masks and social distancing.  Then again, I also can't imagine working from home all summer with everybody else on summer break.  There's no good alternative and I miss our old life.

6)

Every day, Declan and Brendan ask if "the corona" is over, and "where are we going that's fun today?"  Brendan (he's 3) said: "We can't go anywhere with a door, because the doors are all locked, but the outside doesn't have any doors!"  So we do a lot of outside trips to beaches and parks and throw rocks in the water.  Vitamin D and Vitamin Sea do all of us good. 

 

7)

Yesterday, I was helping Phil carry up an air conditioner, and somehow my Apple Watch fell off my wrist and cracked.  I can't use it anymore, and it costs $159 to replace the screen.  It's only $40 more than that to buy a new one, but I am going to look at this time as a breakup.  I've worn a fitness tracker for years and years, and get a little anxiety from the added pressure of burning a certain amount of calories or getting a certain amount of steps.  During this pandemic, I had achieved my "move goal" every day, so I was at a 70 something day streak, and I was actually anxious that a day would come that I wouldn't be able to keep it going.  That's not normal, right?  So today is my first day with a naked left wrist, and we will see how it goes.

Have a wonderful, outdoor adventure-seeking weekend everyone!