Archive of ‘Ultimate Blog Challenge’ category

An A-Z Bucket List

One of my go-to moves to cure writers block is to make a list of something. So tonight, I decided to create an alphabetical bucket list. Has anyone done one of these before? Was it worth it? What’s on your bucket list?

Afford a month-long vacation in Italy

Baseball games at all MLB stadiums

Connect with people from my past who made a difference in my life and thank them.

Disney Backlot Tour and…

Eat at every restaurant in Epcot (seven down and lots more to go!)

Find a job I love

Get to my goal weight (and stay there)

Hear Billy Joel play at Madison Square Garden

Improv class – I think I’d be good at it. 🙂

Jerusalem as an adult. I went as a teenager and know it would be a completely different experience now.

Kind acts every day

Learn to swim and be able to enjoy water parks with my family.

Move somewhere else and live there for a while. I’ve lived in the same area my entire life.

Never stop learning

Own a BMW

Participate in a writers retreat weekend

Quit watching TV reruns for an entire year and see what I can accomplish in the time I gain

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

See the Northern Lights

Tip obnoxiously and anonymously

Understand a second language

Visit every state in the U.S.

Write a book

(E)Xpect and deal with anxiety about things, but don’t let it stop me from doing what I want to do.

Yellowstone National Park

Zone out and be satisfied with how something turns out.

In A School Daze

“I’d rather have a life of “oh wells” than a life of “what ifs.” 

One of my Facebook friends posted these words of wisdom on her page recently. And believe me, I’m not judging this philosophy. I actually envy it. And, how I wish it was that simple for me to live in such a carefree way. But, unfortunately, I am dealing with this pandemic with more anxiety than positivity lately.

Like many parents, I desperately want our kids to go back to school and return to some sense of normalcy. Andrew does so much better in an interactive classroom setting than reading from a screen. Jenna can be a successful student either way, but obviously prefers attending lectures on campus to learning online. As their mom, I hope they are able to enjoy their youth and all of the milestones that come with it.

But, there is a flip side. The virus hasn’t disappeared like some people would like us to believe. As I write this post, CNN is reporting three million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. THREE MILLION! That is some hoax!

(P.S. – it’s NOT a hoax.)

I hate to admit I have concerns. I would much rather have a c’est la vie‘ attitude. While I have been incredibly impressed with our school superintendent, local officials and the governor, who is thankfully not beholden to the president, all the precautions in the world may not be enough. On the other hand, what other choice do we have? I don’t want to be confined to our homes indefinitely. In some ways, life must go on and school is a big part of the process. As parents, we have all done our due diligence by reminding the kids about handwashing, social distancing and mask-wearing. Schools have put a lot of provisions in place and made changes for a safe return and are still working tirelessly to address other issues.

But, this is some scary shit. Am I right? The curve has not flattened and yet we are going from 0-60 – from lockdown to small groups at a social distance to being thrown into crowded schools. In my neck of the woods, restaurants are still limited to take out and outdoor dining only. How will schools do it any better?

I’m clearly in a daze when it comes to this unusual back-to-school season. We are dealing with things we have never dealt with before and on a global level. Hopefully, the plexiglass, hand sanitizer and temperature checks will protect all of our kids until a vaccine is discovered. In the meantime, I will pray that it all comes to an end soon enough.

Anti-Coronavirus Activities

I’m sick of talking about this virus. Talking about it and listening to the news is like a plague within a plague.

So, I’m not going to write about it either. At least, not tonight. Here are some wonderful distractions to keep me from talking or listening or reading about…well, you know.

Let’s see…

I’ve become quite the competitor on Words With Friends–so much so that I had to delete the game from my phone because I was getting nothing else accomplished.

In other exciting news, I am one entire book ahead of schedule on my 2020 Goodreads challenge. I’m hesitant to recommend any of them to you though. Not because they weren’t fantastic reads, but picking the books you want to read should be up to you. Everyone has their own taste, and there are so many to choose from. Having said that…if you don’t have The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides on your list, you must buy it immediately.

Just sayin’ 😉

if you have followed my blog for a while or are one of my Facebook friends, you know that jigsaw puzzles bring me much joy and a zen feeling many of us might be craving these days because of… oops, never mind.

I’ve lost track of how many of them I’ve done since March. All I can say is that I know I’ve ordered more puzzles than I’ve finished. My TBC (to be completed) tower of puzzles might be just as tall as the TBR pile on my nightstand.

Oh! I was so bored one day that when Staples sent me an email requesting a review of my purchase of Wite-Out, I couldn’t say no. Perfect timing! How did they even know I was a writer?! I told them I’d be happy to. I thought it was pretty creative, but you tell me.

“Seriously? What can I say about Wite-Out? You don’t know you need it or remember that it even exists until you mess something up, and it is literally the only thing that can come to your rescue. Great texture. Same horrible smell. Not too tasty. But, it worked like a dream. Does it really need to come in a two-pack? I only needed one bottle.”  

Sadly, this might be the highlight of my quarantine life. That and spending time with my family, of course.

What are you doing to distract yourself these days?

 

 

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