41 Weeks Behind Us (Weekly Update and Last Post Of The Year)

41.

41 weeks since coronavirus hit the state of Georgia.

 41 weeks of some people taking this virus seriously and others not so much. Look where we are today - not good.

The end of 2020 is upon us.

I've been trying to figure out what I should write for my last post of 2020. I've been pretty prolific and opinionated this past year, so you'd think I could easily figure out what to say. I've been trying to come up with something possibly enlightening, informative or encouraging - an interesting way to sum up this crap of a year, but I'm not coming up with anything all that constructive.

I think I feel a bit defeated right now. I know a vaccine is on the way, but the distribution of it in the states is a total debacle right now (no federal plan for distribution - what else is new). I'm not even sure when I'll be able to get the vaccine.

 The number of people who tested positive for the virus on Christmas Eve in GA...

Over 10,000 people in one day, and those are the people who actually got tested. It's mind boggling.

I looked back at my very first post I did about the virus in March...

https://waitingforbriana.blogspot.com/2020/03/my-coronavirussocial-distancing-post.html

Everything I said in it still holds true. What a cluster this has become in the U.S.

 I'm frustrated and I am angry. Every time I see a picture of people posing cheek to cheek or gathering in groups, I feel a huge pit in my stomach. I'm irritated every single day- and I hate feeling this way. I know the difference between right and wrong - why don't others?

I haven't eaten in a restaurant since the end of February. No joke. It's just not safe where I live. Even outside - the tables are still too close together...

It's just how I feel.

And as people are dying of Cov!d, our lame duck POS pres!dent is golfing incessantly, screaming about election fraud that doesn't exist, roadblocking the incoming administration, getting pissy about the renovations of his soon-to-be permanent residence and refusing for days to sign off on an important bill that will help people survive. No - the stimulus amount is definitely not enough, but it's something. And he could have said something so much sooner. He could have actually contributed to the creation of the bill and he flat out refused. Now he is trying to "look" like he cares at the 11th hour. It is total BS. Don't let him fool you...

I guess I am happy to see 2020 go. Over the last 10 years going into a new year though, I have either dealt with some sort of personal health ailment, I've worried about a health ailment of a loved one or I've mourned someone's passing. So for me, once again I'm just going into another year dealing with something that is very overwhelming. 

Dang I am not sounding super positive right now.

Sorry about that.

I saw this meme the other day and it really spoke to me...

That is one thing my family did. We got through 2020 without getting Covid - so I'll take that as a win. Hope to continue that winning streak until we get the vaccine. And luckily, Doug, Bri, Mei and I are as close as ever - even though we are together all the time (and drive each other crazy sometimes). 

 So here I am...

I need to sleep better. I need a haircut and color badly. I could use a vacation. 

Hopefully I'll get those all of those things very soon.

I think I will wait until my next post to do a whole "looking back" on 2020 thing.  I'll write about the good and the bad (yes - there was actually some good 2020 stuff).

So I will say "happy" new year to you all. Hope everyone stays safe and healthy. Be back in 2021.

All About The Christmas Season

As the holiday season crept closer and closer this year, I felt a lot of stress and pressure about how it was all going to "look." Months before, I knew it was going to be different - it was going to have to be. Our family of three wanted to remain very vigilant. That meant having to do things alone, having to say no to some things and having to set some boundaries for safety. Everyone was very respectful of our choices, and Doug, Bri and I ended up making Christmas work for us. It was happy and safe. Despite this being a super difficult year, the Christmas season ended up being quite enjoyable for us. It was different and we were definitely sad to miss things that we are used to doing each year, but overall, it was nice. I am confident calling it a "win."

 Here is my mantel with the fireplace on...

And a couple more pictures of decorations around the house...

So what did we do throughout December (besides shopping online, wrapping presents and decorating the house)?

Briana decorated a gingerbread house...

We baked and decorated Christmas (and Hanukkah) cookies...

Besides making the traditional candy canes, nutcrackers, Santa and presents, Bri made a vampire minion and Doug made Pac M@n and a ghost. That says Christmas, doesn't it?

And yes, she did eat the minion cookie!! LOL!!

Bri had her friend Jackson (who is in our social "bubble") come over one afternoon to visit and they exchanged gifts...

In mid-December, Doug, Bri and I visited a drive-thru Christmas light display that was synchronized to music. I had to buy tickets online in advance, and due to the number of people and slow nature of the show, it took about an hour to wait in line before we finally got to the starting point. But once we were in and driving through, it was so worth it. We drove through for about a half an hour and it was amazing...

 

Check out these videos...

It was really something to see! 

 

We have really enjoyed our new home theater during the holiday season.

 

Of course, we had to watch Christmas Vacation...

 

 And Bri and I finally watched "D!e Hard" with Doug for the very first time...

I know, I know. How is it possible that I had never seen "D!e Hard" before? I don't know, but I never had. And it is one of Doug's favorite movies. Doug, Bri and I had been having THE debate about whether it is an actual Christmas movie or not. Doug is in the definite "yes" camp. Bri and I can now make an informed decision, and Bri landed in the "no" camp. As for me, I am on the fence. It is set at Christmastime, but I didn't get big time Christmas vibes from it. I liked it a lot, but it's pretty violent. I can see people saying it's a Christmas movie, but I am not sure I felt it.

Due to the pandemic, D, B and I decided maintain social distancing and saw some friends and family outside and masked before Christmas Day...

Waiting for my friend Amy to drop off a gift one afternoon...

Dropping off gifts at my sister's house one afternoon and visiting for a short while...

My mom dropped off gifts at my house before Christmas, and I didn't get a chance to take a picture of her tree. So, she e-mailed me one. I definitely missed opening gifts at her house on Christmas Day this year...

My sister gave me this early Christmas present - Mei dressed as a queen (so awesome and funny!)...

Gifts from my friends Val and Amy...

My parents gave me this beautiful jewelry box...

When Bri and I went to drop off gifts at my sister's house, Mei was very sad and looked out the window after we left (picture courtesy of Doug)...

She is so used to us being around all the time now. She always hated when we left her, but now it is even worse!

Christmas Eve finally arrived. It started out raining that day, but then the temps dipped, the rain turned into snow flurries. It was really nice. Doug and I watched "Scrooge" in the morning, we exchanged some Christmas Eve gifts that afternoon and ate a nice Christmas Eve dinner...

All the gifts ready for the morning...

Finally, Christmas morning arrived (yule log on the TV)...

Bri made out like a bandit...

 

It was definitely Mand@lorian themed this year...

Briana drew the "Animaniacs" for Doug and I helped her put them on a mug. When Doug opened his gift, he actually thought Bri had just bought the mug in a store - we had to tell him she drew the characters herself...

And I had to get him a "Schitt's Creek" gift of course!

Doug gave me this amazing map that is now hanging in our basement. We placed straight pins in it showing all the places where Doug, Bri and I have visited in the world, and we will add pins when we visit new places...

Mei loved her new Christmas gift too...

Though we didn't have our traditional Christmas this year, thanks to technology (Facetime, phone calls, texting), we were able to touch base with our loved ones anyway.

The day after Christmas, I cleaned up a bit - but I mainly rested. All the stress, excitement, busyness and anxiety of the holiday completely caught up with me. Looking forward to decompressing this week - though I always feel some sort of anxiety. Which is a big bummer.

Thanks for reading all about our Christmas.

I will write one last post on 2020 in a day or two. I need to figure out the best way to wrap this crappy year up!

40 Weeks Behind Us (Weekly Update)

40.

40 weeks behind us since coronavirus hit the state of Georgia.

I'm a few days late with this post, but here it is.

I honestly can't believe it. 40 weeks later and the virus is so bad now - all over the world. Funny how it hasn't "disappeared" yet or how we haven't "just stopped talking about it" yet. We can't - because so many people are sick, hospitalized and dying right now. Vaccinations and social distancing are the only way to fight it. Herd immunity cannot be achieved without vaccinations...

https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/covid-19/2020/11/debunking-the-myth-of-non-vaccine-herd-immunity-in-covid-19/

I posted this on FB the other day..

And it's true. I know (personally) people who have fought it (and are fighting it), have been hospitalized with it and have lost loved ones to it. This is NOT the flu. It's so much worse. It is like playing Russian roulette. If you get this virus, you don't know if you'll get a bullet. A bullet that could maim or kill you. And since I don't know if I'll get a bullet or spread a bullet, I am not going to play the game at all. I am not saying I am completely immune to this virus due to my actions, but I'll know I tried everything in my power to not get it or spread it.

Even though things are so bad right now, I am still seeing a number of families on social media gathering in large groups - celebrating Christmas. Not masking. Not social distancing. Even though (most) medical professionals say we all need to do so. It makes me sad. Very, very sad...

Not sure how long it will take for me to forgive/forget or maybe I never will. I'm finding it very, very difficult right now.

I am actually not going to get deep into politics today. Our nutball-in-chief (soon to be ex) is still crying foul and trying to overturn a legitimate elect!on because his narcissism won't allow him to accept defeat. It is mental. I am not going to give him a lot of my breath anymore because he just isn't all that relevant anymore. He's a beaten man. He's barely doing his job (which he barely did before) and he's just trying to create chaos. 

A new chapter is coming in less than a month and I'm so ready for it.

 The only thing I will say is that my mailbox is overflowing with political flyers because of the GA Sen@te elect!on. It's exhausting. I got EIGHT flyers in my box in one day...

It is insanity.

 ******************

Despite fighting anxiety and depression on a daily basis and being quite melancholy about this pandemic, I have somehow still managed to find joy (for the most part) this holiday season. Kind of shocking, right? Heh. I have already received some really sweet gifts and cards from friends and family - which has been really wonderful.

I will do a separate post on Doug's, Bri's and my Christmas activities right after Christmas. 

********************

I think I will go ahead and wrap this post up.

I know this Christmas is very different for a lot of us this year. I will go ahead and say "Merry Christmas" even though it may not be all that merry for some.

I want to say quickly how blessed I am to have Doug, Bri and Mei Mei in my life. They truly keep me going each and every day.

Hope you all have a safe, calm and peaceful Christmas...

Christmas season post coming up next.

39 Weeks Behind Us (Weekly Update)

39.

39 weeks since coronavirus hit the state of Georgia.

It's funny ~ I remember Tr@mp saying numerous times that this virus would "just go away" somehow. And I also remember so many people saying that the virus would "disappear" after the election. The election happened Nov 3rd, and the virus is now worse than it's ever been.

 So we are STILL talking about it - just like I knew we would. Saying it would go away or disappear never made any sense at all, but it was being spewed as a possible reality over and over again by the disbelievers. It wasn't true at all. It was pure propaganda.

 The glimmer of hope now is the vaccine. THAT is what will finally rid us of this virus. And once I am allowed to get it, I'll gladly lift up my sleeve.

The "virus will disappear after the election" people won't ever admit they were wrong. They'll just ignore they ever said it or twist it around like they usually do.

 ************

 Not too much has happened in my world since I wrote my "38 weeks post." I've really just been prepping for Christmas - wrapping gifts, mailing gifts, sending out Christmas cards, last minute Christmas purchases. I honestly can't believe I have somehow kicked into holiday mode.

Doug and I did drop off our absentee ballots for the GA Sen@te race on Sunday afternoon...

And I went to get my physical yesterday...

I always go in December for a checkup - to check levels in different parts of my body. I got a lot of blood drawn.

Hoping everything comes back looking good.

Doug, Bri and I are still doing everything we can to not catch the virus and also not spread it to others. It has not been easy, but we've somehow managed to stay really vigilant since March. I hope we can keep it going for just a bit longer.

Look at the new case virus numbers in Georgia right now...

Nice numbers, huh?

A chairman from my county posted an urgent video six days ago saying hospitals in my county are over capacity. He asked people to please mask up and social distance. I wish he had said all that before that super spreader tree lighting and parade I mentioned in my last post. Not that people around here listen very well anyway.

 ***********

  Politics time...

I'm not going to spend too much time on this. I can see the finish line now with the Supreme C@urt striking down that ludicrous lawsuit from Tex@s and the elector@l college voting for B!den.

Even when B!den takes office, there is a scary mindset that will continue to exist. It's a dangerous, treasonous, seditious, undemocratic and unconstitutional mindset.

I read an article that explained some of what is being posted over on P@rler...

(If you don't know what P@rler is - this is an explanation...

Click the image to make the explanation larger. Let's just say is a scary place. I would NEVER join a site like that. Hope someone is monitoring it.)

  This is something that was posted...

Like I said...super scary, terror!stic type stuff. Not good.

  This is a mindset that Tr@mp has fed and continues to feed each and every day. It's so disheartening.

I can't wait for January 5th. That's election day for the GA Sen@te race. Of course, I hope it goes the way I want it to, but I'm just ready for it to be over. I'm ready for a lot of this noise to die down.

And I can honestly say...I didn't actually think we would watch Tr@mp being dragged out of the WH kicking and screaming on Jan 20. It is looking more and more like that's how it's going to go down. Unless, he truly knows he has lost and this is just an act to keep collecting money from his supporters.

 ***********

Well, that is all I have to share right now. I have a few safe, Christmas-y things planned over the next couple of weeks. Doug, Bri and I are just going to make the best of what we can right now.

Have a good week everyone. Be safe and smart. Be back next week.