I must admit, I am losing my mojo with these life documentation posts. Maybe because our lives do not seem all that interesting right now. Will try to do better next week.

4.13.20 (Monday):

n had his first Zoom meeting to earn a virtual merit badge for Boy Scouts. He is learning about mammals. I think it is pretty cool that they are offering it online, although it is sad how how so many of his Boy Scout activities have been cancelled.

4.14.20 (Tuesday):

We watched the first half of Remembering the Titans. I cannot believe D had never watched this movie before!

4.15.20 (Wednesday):

n had his second Merit Badge meeting. Unfortunately, he will not be going to Boy Scout summer camp this year. I want to start planning some sort of trip for the summer, but things still seem too uncertain.

We finished Remembering the Titans.

4.16.20 (Thursday):

Today we found out that the kids will not receive grades for this grading period. Instead, they will be receiving teacher comments. I guess it is not too big of a deal since grades do not really matter at this point in their academic careers. We still have a month and a half of online school to go!

We watched the Disney Family Sing along on ABC. It was weirdly comforting to watch a live broadcast show, knowing that thousands of other families were watching at the same time. It has been a while since we have watched something other than Hulu or Disney Plus, etc.

4.17.20 (Friday):

Today is our 16th wedding anniversary.

I was going to go to Costco, but my car wouldn’t start! The last time we had driven it was exactly a week prior. After a call to the Mazda service center, D was able to jumpstart it using our other car. We told the kids to hop in so we could take a short joy ride. It was the first time they had left our gated community in car in weeks! PSA: make sure you drive your car every 4-5 days so you do not end up with a dead battery!

D had a lot of work to do, and worked into the night. Not such a great anniversary, eh?

4.18.20 (Saturday):

I became weirdly obsessed with making drawer liners for all of the drawers in our house. It is still a work in progress.

We watched part of the One World special. The Keith Urban song was our favorite.

4.19.20 (Sunday):

We watched our church’s Sunday service online.

D donated blood for a blood drive set up by one of his co-workers.

For dinner, we did takeout from The Habit: 4 cheeseburgers, 4 fries, and garden salad for $25. We had a lot of leftover fries, but it was a nice treat.

We watched the first two episodes of A Diary of a Future President. It brings up some good (and somewhat uncomfortable) talking points about middle school.

4.8.20 (Wednesday):

n and I wore our masks outside the house for the first time, during our walk.

Unemployment in the United States is over 10%, which is astronomically high.

We watched an interesting and entertaining National Geographic Documentary called “Science Fair” on Disney Plus. I liked how the documentary showcased teenagers from very different backgrounds. Even D said it was better than he thought it would be-ha! Highly recommend.

4.9.20 (Thursday):

More rain. During a break in the rain I decided to do a Costco run since I heard that our store had toilet paper in stock. I wore my mask. There was no line to get in, and I was able to buy a big package of Kirkland toilet paper-score! I also noticed that the price of eggs has gone way up.

We have been watching Gordon Ramsay’s show, Uncharted. The first two shows were about Peru and New Zealand. It is a fascinating look into how others live.

4.10.20 (Good Friday):

At Costco, I saw this Urban Pie pizza for the first time, so I decided to try it out. I think it was only like $5 for two pizzas! Pretty good!

In the early evening we participated in communion through our church’s online Good Friday service. We were not prepared, as we did not have grape juice, but we made do.

We watched the documentary African Cats. I could not believe the footage that the cameramen were able to capture! Apparently I am a bigger fan of nature documentaries than the rest of my family, however.

4.11.20 (Saturday):

Even though Saturdays do not really feel like Saturdays anymore, it is nice to have a break from all the Zooming/Google Meets, etc.

4.12.20 (Easter Sunday):

He is Risen!

It was a drizzly day. D made eggs and bacon and I made a giant pancake in the rice cooker using this recipe.

I sewed up some Easter baskets for the kids using this tutorial. They ended up being a little too big since I did not have much to put in them except for some candy. I am thinking they can use them to organize some of their clothes.

We watched our church’s Easter service online. So glad that we are still able to worship and celebrate the Resurrection in this way. We did not dress up at home, like I saw some other people doing on social media.

For dinner, D cooked salmon for us. I made a giant m&m cookie for dessert.

We watched a National Geographic documentary on Apollo at night. It seemed fitting since today was the 59th anniversary of the first manned flight to outer space.

4.3.20 (Friday):

I joined in on a Google Meet for our kindergarten class for the first time since we started online distance learning. It was so nice to see all those cute faces! I also made a video of me reading a book from ReadingIQ using Screencastify for our class. It is fun learning about all the educational online resources that are out there, but it can be somewhat overwhelming.

We joined our small group via Zoom again. This time we were able to watch part of a DVD series and answer some questions.

4.4.20 (Saturday):

Last night I had a disturbing dream that the kids and I had symptoms of Covid-19. It is sad that I immediately start to worry at the smallest cough or sneeze from anyone in our family. (We are currently all fine, health-wise).

I made a “snacky” lunch with carrots, cucumbers, hummus, tuna salad, cheese, crackers and grapes.

It is always nice when the kids are not arguing. Here k is being a helpful older sister by videotaping n doing his soccer skills. n is supposed to turn these videos into his coach each week.

At night we watched “Breaking 2” on Disney Plus. It is a National Geographic documentary about three men attempting to run a sub-two hour marathon. Highly recommend!

4.5.20 (Sunday):

We watched our church’s Palm Sunday service online.

For the record, we completed our third 1,000 piece puzzle.

Our eating out treat for the week was the “Share the Love” Deal from Hopdoddy: $5 hamburger, comes with a side of fries. Good alternative if you do not feel like waiting in the drive-thru line at In-n-Out next door. They offer curbside pick-up, like most restaurants are doing these days.

4.6.20 (Monday): It was a rainy day, but I still managed to take 10,000 steps inside the house.

I went to Trader Joe’s for the first time since the stay at home order went into effect. I had to wait outside in line for about twenty minutes (in the rain, but luckily there was an overhang). They had pretty much everything in stock, with no limits, except there was no toilet paper.

This is how our crazy kids practice the keyboard together.

For dinner, we had one of our go-to quick & easy meals. Ground turkey, spinach, onions and carrots with some Soyaki sauce (Trader Joe’s).

4.7.20 (Tuesday):

Second day of rain, and this time I did not even come close my 10,000 step goal. I tried a Zumba class online, but it was more strength training.

n’s teacher did an online lesson on 3-D drawing, and this is n’s final result. Can’t believe he will be registering for middle school pretty soon!

We had our first virtual meeting “fail”. n was supposed to be on his soccer team’s call at 6:00, but we forgot about it until 6:20. It ended at 6:30. Whoops. We have all of our calls listed on a master calendar in the kitchen, but maybe we need an audible reminder as well.

We watched Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe. It was just ok.

3.29.20 (Sunday): We watched our church’s online service on YouTube again.

D went on a massive gardening spree, and finished ripping out all of the plants on the side of our house.

We did a game/puzzle swap with my nephew.

D and n started watching The Mandalorian on Disney Plus.

President Trump announced that his stay at home orders are now in effect until April 30. That is a relief to me, since before he was telling reporters he thought America should be back to work by Easter.

3.30.20 (Monday): Back to school/work! k started her assignments from her actual teachers (instead of the district). n and his teacher seem to have a better handle on how assignments are given and turned in.

We did the BOGO X-Large pizza deal from Northwood Pizza. It is kind of fun looking for different pizza places since we usually overly rely on Costco.

3.31.20 (Tuesday):

I went grocery shopping, this time at Ralphs again. The situation was somewhat better. There was no line to enter the store. There was no flour, toilet paper or rice vinegar (I know, probably not a staple for most people!) The checker told me they are no longer allowed to bag groceries.

n also had a Zoom meeting with his soccer team.

The California Superintendent made an announcement warning school districts that they should be prepared for online distance learning for the rest of the school year.

4.1.20 (Wednesday):

It is April Fool’s Day, but I think people are not really in the mood to play jokes on one another.

I had two Google Meets for work.

Saw a group (4 teenage boys) of Covidiots playing spike ball at the park! AHHHH!!!

Our school district announced that we will be doing online distance learning for the rest of the school year!

4.2.20 (Thursday):

We hit the depressing statistic of having one million cases of COVID-19 around the world.

k did another online basketball training with Ironmen.

It seems that the guidelines regarding face masks are changing. Before the authorities were saying they are not helpful, and now California is recommending them when you are out in public. However, they are also warning people to leave the medical-grade masks for hospitals. According to the California Department of Public Health,

A cloth face covering may be factory-made or sewn by hand, or can be improvised from household items such as scarfs, T-shirts, sweatshirts, or towels.

Using this tutorial and scraps from my fabric stash, I whipped us up some masks.

3.24.20 (Tuesday):

Today Japan announced the Olympics would be postponed until 2021. So sad, but understandable.

We watched some American Idol on Hulu.

3.25.20 (Wednesday):

I had my first Google Meet meeting with the special education team at the school I work for. Let’s just say that Google Meet does not work when you have a group of 15+ elementary school students on at the same time.

My big outing of the day was that I went shopping at Costco. I had not dared go to Costco before, after hearing all of the nightmare stories. They limited the number of people in the store and gave out sanitized shopping carts once you were inside. I ended up spending around $200, which again is about double what I usually spend in a single shopping trip there.

We watched Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Hulu.

3.26.20 (Thursday):

I made a mini Google slideshow to connect with the kindergarten class that I work with. I do miss their smiling faces.

k did another basketball training session through Instagram.

Today the United States surpassed Italy and China to have the most cases of COVID-19 cases in the world!

I went for a walk and saw a group of five teenage girls running/walking together. This made me so angry! Why do people not take this seriously? Staying home is really a small sacrifice compared to the doctors and nurses who are risking their lives in order to save others.

We watched American Idol on Hulu.

n had a Zoom conference with his soccer coach and teammates. I guess they are going to try to do that every Thursday.

3.27.20 (Friday):

I started doing some online trainings for work.

It seems that a lot of people are stress baking, as flour and sugar are difficult to find. Luckily, my mom was able to find a bag of flour for me since we were running low.

I made blackberry muffins. Will need to make another batch of breakfast cookies soon.

n had another Google Meet with his teacher.

At night, k had a Discord meeting with her youth group and D and I had a Zoom meeting with our small group. It was nice to virtually “see”/talk/pray with everyone.

3.28.20 (Saturday): It did not really feel like the weekend, but it was nice not to have work/schoolwork/conference calls.

D relieved some stress by pulling out some plants on the side of our house. We need to figure what to plant.

This fried rice was a collaborative effort. n chopped the carrots/green onions, k chopped the broccoli, and I did the rest. Good way to use up leftover rice.

The cities are finally starting to make it clearer that the parks are shut down. I still do “passive walking” through them, which is explicitly allowed.

3.20.20 (Friday):

k was able to do a basketball training through her club basketball program.

We did takeout from Panda Express. (They are offering the Family Feast for $20, which is a good deal!) I have been sending D out to pick up our take-out food because he actually likes to get out of the house.

k attended a youth group meeting by using an app called Discord. (Millennials and Gen Z definitely seem to have an advantage in being able to use technology to keep in contact with each other. Our small group is still trying to figure things out-ha!)

We watched The Princess Bride. (The kids had never seen this movie before, even though we own it on DVD!)

3.21.20 (Saturday):

More gardening and cleaning. Still walking to the park. n and I played ping pong on the kitchen table (He had been asking for a while, and I finally had the time!) We watched a faith-based movie called Catching Faith 2. (Some parts were cringe-y, some parts were funny, and some parts were touching).

3.22.20 (Sunday):

We viewed our online church service. D and the kids did a hike at Peters Canyon.

I baked Breakfast Cookies using this recipe.

We did takeout pizza from Fresh Brothers. (I heard that pizza is one of the safer take-out options these days since it is heated, and placed directly in the box).

We watched Max 2. It was pretty entertaining as family movies go.

3.23.20 (Monday):

The kids officially started their “online distance learning”. n’s teacher was on it, and had several assignments already lined up. His teacher also dropped off some of his notebooks and books to another classmate, who then delivered them to our house.

k’s teachers sent e-mails throughout the day. This week they are doing district-wide lessons, and next week they will start with individual classroom assignments.

We decided we should wake up by 7 a.m., and start schoolwork by 8 a.m. We are also making sure to change our clothes instead of sitting around in our pajamas all day. n did not finish his schoolwork until around 2:30, but that was with plenty of breaks.

In the evening, I walked while n rode his bike and k rode a scooter. We also decided that we are only going to watch movies on the weekend now. Instead, we watched a couple of episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives via our free Hulu subscription.

3.16.20 (Monday): Today was n’s birthday! We tried to make the most of it. D picked up the kids from my parents’ house. My parents and sister had given him his birthday presents (books about WWII and Legos), which were perfect for all of his time at home.

We had made camping reservations at Crystal Cove State Park when we realized that we would need to cancel our Seattle vacation. Since then, rain had crept into the forecast, but we did not want to cancel another set of plans. I will try to write a separate post on our trip. While we were on the beach, we received notification that the kids’ school (and my work) would be closed until April 10th. n kept on saying he would not believe our spring break was longer than a week until he heard it from the Superintendent. It was a relief to finally have a date to plan around. I was told I would still need to report to work next Monday in order to plan for online learning.

3.17.20 (Tuesday): We spent the morning at Crystal Cove State Park.

We picked up boba and popcorn chicken on our way home as n’s final birthday treat. The afternoon was spent doing laundry and putting everything away from our camping trip. I organized another shelving unit. I heard that I no longer had to report to work next week. A couple of hours later, we saw that Orange County was being told to shelter in place. However, by the evening, that message seemed to be retracted by the OC Health Agency.

3.18.20 (Wednesday): I had been putting off another trip to the grocery store, but I decided we needed to do some more stocking up. I tried to go just before 7 a.m. to avoid the crowds, only to see a sign that Ralphs was now open only 8 a.m. -8 p.m. I returned at 8 a.m, and there was a line of about 50 people. They were letting people in about 25 at a time, and people over 60 years of age were given priority (rightly so). This made my previous trip to Ralphs feel like a breeze. Anyway, I was able to buy some more toilet paper, milk, eggs, ground turkey and 4 chicken thighs (all of these items had limited supply). I was able to find pasta (hooray!) but they were all out of flour. I spent about $120 during that trip, which is double the amount I usually buy at a time. Hopefully I will not have to go for another week.

Back at home, I organized yet another shelving unit-ha! We went for walks (I have been successful so far in getting 10,000 steps a day). n watched Sully. Amazon delivered n’s birthday present from us (a teen/adult-sized scooter). D also bought one for himself, so two members of our family can go riding together.

3.19.20 (Thursday): It was a drizzly day. For breakfast, I made Buttermilk Protein Waffles with a mix from Trader Joe’s.

D had some phone-in meetings, so we all had to keep quiet. I organized my desk area where I blog. We threw out an absurd amount of old pens/pencils. I wrote a review for a couple of games, which also kept the kids entertained in the morning.

For lunch we ate quesadillas with cheddar, ham, and spinach. This cooking for four, three times a day is going to get old, fast. However, everyone has been pitching in to help cook or wash dishes, so that is good.

The kids and I did some GoNoodle (exercise videos) and started a new 1000 piece puzzle. k practiced her viola (I should see if she will let me post a video). D and n rode their scooters outside. In the late afternoon/evening, n and D re-watched one of the Star Wars movies that we have on DVD (don’t ask me which one).

While they were watching the movie, we received notification that Governor Newsom put all of California on lockdown (for real this time), for at least a month. This basically means that you cannot go out, except for essentials (food, gas, bank, doctor). We are the first state to do so; it will be interesting to see how long it takes for other states to do the same.

COVID-19 has officially disrupted our everyday lives, and I feel the need to document how it is affecting our family. Perhaps years later, my grandkids will be interested in hearing about what we did and how we felt while going through this time of so much uncertainty.

3.14.20: March, Friday the 13th, marked the last day of school before our district was scheduled for our one-week spring break. LAUSD and several other school districts in our area announced that they were closing schools. D received notification that he was to work from home immediately, until at least March 31. The kids and I left school not knowing if our break would be extended.

• We made Primo Pasta Pie for our Pi Day dinner with Kidstir. (Enter our giveaway here).
• The kids and I went to the public library and loaded up on books and some DVDs since I had a feeling all libraries would be closed soon.
• We watched Spaceballs, one of D’s childhood favorites. (Should be more of a PG-13 movie than PG, in my opinion-ha!)

3.15.20 (Saturday):

In the morning, I went to Ralph’s to do some grocery shopping. The pasta aisle was completely empty except for some gluten-free varieties that I am pretty sure my family would not enjoy. They were also out of meat and cheese. The store was crowded, but not too crazy. However, when I went to the check-out line, there were only two checkers, and each line was about 15-20 people deep.

We took a walk to a local park and hiked up a small hill. I wanted to make sure we all got some fresh air and exercise.

Disneyland may be closed, but n wanted to play his Disneyland game on Xbox. I usually do not play with him, but decided to try it out. I ended up feeling dizzy and sick after playing Pirates of the Caribbean.

Luckily I found some heavy whipping cream at the store, so n helped me make a chocolate pudding pie (also with Kidstir).

I am trying to organize our house by organizing one area at a time. I tackled this shelf area and decluttered.

At night we watched Groundhog Day as a family. Again, it seemed more like a PG-13 movie to me than a PG. Am I just getting older, or were guidelines less stringent back then?

3.16.20 (Sunday): Since there was a California ban on gatherings of 250+, our church decided to hold an online service. (We also have a lot of seniors in our congregation, so we wanted to exercise an abundance of caution). We watched our service online and also some of Rick Warren’s message on Coronavirus. Both messages urged us not to be fearful during these times and reminded us that GOD is still in control.

I made a Dutch Baby (German pancake) for breakfast. I feel like I definitely have more time for cooking these days. It is just a matter of being able to find the ingredients!

We brought out our folding table and set up a puzzle station. D implemented his organized puzzle piece strategy.

Later in the afternoon we took a walk near my parents’ house and dropped the kids off for an overnighter. I think it was good for all of us to have a little “break”. D and I did not really want to venture out (most places were closed anyway) so we just did take-out from Piadina and watched Sully at home. (This movie is rated PG-13, but I thought it was more like a PG! I might let the kids watch this one later).

What are you doing to keep busy?

Last week I had the privilege of attending ShiftCon 2018.  I volunteered during the conference in exchange for an Influencer ticket, and the experience was definitely worth it.  The conference itself took place Thursday morning to Saturday evening at Hotel Irvine.

I have passed by this hotel countless times, but had never been inside.  After spending three days here, it was starting to feel like my second home.  Attending this conference was so convenient since it is less than 15 minutes away.  However, other attendees came from Canada and the east coast, so it was a real getaway for them.

I am grateful to have been able to take off two days of work to attend, as well as have my parents watch the kids while I was away.  It felt good to have some individual time and just soak in a lot of information.  It would have been nice if I knew someone else there, as I was completely out of my comfort zone.  I am not good at small talk like D is, but I managed to make some connections.  Volunteering actually helped me in meeting people.

My first job was to hand out the swag bags on Thursday morning.  I was actually supposed to help stuff the swag bags earlier in the week, but they were already done by the time I arrived.  This was a fun job because who isn’t happy to receive swag?  I plan to do reviews of some of the products we received, so be on the lookout for that.

Inspired to Live Greener

There were so many inspiring speakers during the mealtimes.  One highlight was Ed Begley Jr who gave a keynote address entitled “Heal the Planet”.

After listening to his speech, I concluded that he is a great example of a Hollywood actor who is also a true environmentalist.  It seems that these days, many celebrities tout environmentalist causes mainly for the attention it can provide.  This is not the case with Mr. Begley, who has been living “green” before it was trendy.  He was very encouraging in urging all of us to start small, by doing things such as changing to LED light bulbs.  He also is a confessed cheapskate, which resonated with me–ha!  Although there is some truth to the Whole Foods = Whole Paycheck joke, being green can actually save you a lot of money too.  This is something I always knew in the back of my head, but now I am intrigued and inspired.  I hope to share some of the tips I find in my journey to living greener in future blog posts as well!

Inspired to Eat Healthier

The food that was served at the meals was also inspiring.  In a room full of people with dietary restrictions, it was quite impressive that the food still tasted delicious.  The organizer of the event said that the kitchen staff felt quite challenged by all of the high standards that ShiftCon had regarding the food.  The food was organic, local wherever possible, humanely raised, non-GMO, gluten-free, you name it!  Part of me was wondering where are the dinner rolls, but I realized that I needed to “shift” that expectation too.

Loved these centerpieces!

Loved the presentation!

Inspired, I made this rice/quinoa/ground turkey bowl for dinner the other night with the help of Revolution Foods.  Surprisingly, n ate everything, including the quinoa and spinach.  This was proof to me that our family can eat healthier, and that I need to branch out more in our food choices.

This was a glimpse of the Expo time, where several brands introduced their products to the influencers.  I volunteered a little bit during this time too.

Inspired to Learn

I recently hung a children’s poster by our kids’ desks that says “Try Something Challenging Today”.  I really like this motto, as too often I become complacent because it is easier or I feel like I am too busy with other things.  Going to ShiftCon helped me realize some ways in which I can challenge myself.  During the speeches and workshops, I realized how much I have to learn about the environment, our health, the chemicals that surround us everyday and how they all interact.  (There was one workshop on curing children’s nut allergies that was really eye-opening!)  I loved hearing from brands that have challenged the way their products have traditionally been produced and have found a better way.  I was also impressed by the pro-bloggers and influencers who have built their own businesses and have used blogging as a platform for their message to the world.  I left challenged to continue to develop this blog, to overcome the learning curve and to not become discouraged by roadblocks.

Before I attended this conference, I was not really sure it would be for me.  I do not do yoga/meditation, nor am I vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free.  When another attendee mentioned thoracic chakra and tapping, I had no idea what she was talking about.  However, there was so much that did speak to me directly: the importance of living green for our own health, our children’s lives, and for the planet.

Thank you, ShiftCon, for letting me be a part of your community even though I have a long way to go in living green, and for inspiring me to take the next steps on my green journey.