10 things I’ve done during Quarantine

You know, sometimes you wake up and just don’t want to get out bed. Actually, it feels like your bed is feeling a little sad and needs the extra comfort of you lying there, so you help your bed out and just relax all day. Maybe, I helped it warm up by enjoying a warm plate of food and I helped soothe it by reading my book and watching some TV. It wasn’t just me who needed the lazy day, my bed needed me too. Because of all the attention I was giving my bed, my bathtub felt so left out that I had to take a nice hot bath.

Not only am I making pants for my textiles class, but we’re quarantined and people need masks. Instead of staying up late on my phone, I stay up late to sew then go to bed. I’ve even been sewing during some classes but shush… don’t tell my professors. Because of my sewing, I have taken over the dining room and a made a mess.

I need to get my steps in. I’m not exercising enough while I’m stuck inside, but going outside is a health risk. I have to cover my face and wear gloves. Those are two things I don’t want to do, so instead I grabbed my dog and we went on a walk with my sister. We made sure to stay away from people. I got my steps up and they still need to get higher, but I’ll get there. My dog so excited to go jump around in the warm sun. She even took a splash in the creek. I would have hopped in too, but I really didn’t feel like being wet. My sister and I just got to laugh at how funny and cute she looked hopping, yes literally hopping, in the water.

I love to bake, but with all the sewing, classwork, walking, lazy days, and other responsibilities I still have, I haven’t made the time to truly bake. I found a recipe on Tik-Tok actually and tried it out. It was a marshmallow croissant thing. Wasn’t bad, but I’ve made better desserts.  What I’ve been wanting to do for a while is melt chocolate into molds. I made red hearts and puzzle pieces! It was so much fun, but the best part was making a chocolate shot glass! Now, I am 21, but I don’t love the taste of alcohol. So instead, I was thinking of filling the shot glass with either chocolate milk, whipped cream, or ice cream. I think I’m leaning towards whipped cream, but I want to make it from scratch. Hopefully it all tastes good! I’m also planning on trying to make fudge for the third time in my life. I’ve never made fudge successfully, so why not try while I’m quarantine inside?

I’ve lucked out with most of my classes not using Zoom too often. With that being said, it just means I have a lot of homework instead of class time. However, I’ve had to use Zoom for my job and for a lot of interviews. It can be super awkward to video chat with people, but it can also be so much fun. It’s nice to see everyone I’m missing from school. There are even people I didn’t think I’d miss, but I do. So yes, I am a part of the class of 2020, the Zoom class attending Zoom university, but at least I’m graduating and being educated. Plus, I can be awkward in person too, so at least with Zoom classes I can hide my face.

My family has started to truly deep clean our house. My sister and I started with our room and are now moving to the basement. We’ve rearranged, taken out lots of garbage, and have bags of donations waiting. My dad has been super helpful with cleaning his space and helping with the heavy lifting and talking us through our plan. I hate cleaning, with a passion, but I’ll do it. We started cleaning two weeks after my spring break, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be cleaning until the end of time, or hopefully just until this quarantine is lifted. Either way, it’s not fun, but I’m happy to see progress being made.

Two years ago, my parents gave me the best present a garden in our back yard. Last year, I wasn’t able to garden because I wasn’t home much during the summer. This year, I’m home every day, 24/7, until who knows when. With this, and being unable to be at school, I have the time to garden and I am so excited! My neighbor tilled our yard and my dad helped me plant everything. The sad thing is that I couldn’t find any vegetables to plant, but I have some seedlings growing in the kitchen. My dad and I “snuck” out of the house to get some flowers and other plants. I have purple tulips, red tulips, marigolds, pansies, pineapple mint, spear mint, and rosemary. I planted a new bush in the front yard and I’m hoping to have some strawberries too! It was nice to go out of the house to a local store to buy some plants, but it was sad to see barely anyone out and about.

There are lots of funny videos going on an it sparked and idea. My sister said we should say hi to our next-door neighbor with a sign in the window. My mom got super excited. We’ve said hi and now we’re on our second joke with them. Our neighbor is a family of five, a mom, dad, and a set of triplets. It’s fun making silly little jokes with them and being able to share puns with our community!

Even at home I’m procrastinating on schoolwork. I’ve forgotten due dates and assignments, but I’ve been able to get everything in relatively on time. It’s a struggle being home and not having my day-to-day schedule like I did at school. I’ve tried my normal to-do list tactic, but it’s not working as well at it used to. I’m still getting my work done and I’m still enjoying some of my schoolwork, but it’s just so hard because I don’t have the same motivation that I used to have when my entire world was on campus. I’m making a new normal, but I hope it’s just temporary. Scratch that, I know this has to be just temporary.

I’m a lucky duck! Actually, I’m a lucky Golden Bear. I love being home. Of course, I miss school, but I need to find happiness away from school too. At home I have time to be with my family and goof off with them. I’m able to wear comfy clothes every day. Yes, I get on everyone’s nerves at times and sometimes I can get annoyed too, but they are family, my family. My dad is amazing, I’m biased, but he is the best dad anyone could ask for. My sister, is funny and crazy. She keeps me motivated, she helps me stay on tasks and she is my best friend. Now my mom, I don’t know how my family would survive without her. People around the world are thanking essential workers and that’s my mom! She trains people for PATH Inc. She is the protector of our family. Her baking and cooking are my favorite. Her love is endless, even when I argue with her and trust me, I argue with her all the time. My mom is the best mom I could ever ask for. I was worried about coming home and feeling like I was back in high school, but my family has supported me and let me stay independent. I do rely on them and the only thing that would make home better was if my brother and his fiancé could come home too. I also would love it if I could see the rest of my family because there is an adorable baby that I wish I could hang out with, but you’ll get to hear about him more in another article. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and enjoying the little things in life!