My March 2020 Quarantine

Who would’ve thought that 2020 would be going like this? It’s one of the last things I expected, that’s for sure. It reminds me of a short story I had to read in high school, and I’m sure you know the one I’m talking about. It’s not exactly the same thing, but I was so fascinated with the “Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe and there are some similarities.

If you haven’t read it, here’s the synopsis found on Shmoop:

Sounds a bit familiar, right? I need to re-read this short story again because it’s just too good not to during this time. I wonder what Poe would think about what’s going on today.

Despite being able to work from home as my normal routine prior to the virus, it’s definitely an adjustment for my restless self having to stay in and not explore like I used to do. It’s funny how you start to think of the little things that you not necessarily took for granted but you just didn’t give much thought about. I never thought that my beloved ramen noodles would be out of stock, [still upset about that] and that I could do the simple action of being within a few feet from people as I’m passing them without worrying about infecting them with something.

The Olympics has been postponed as well, which I’ve always looked forward to the gymnastics portion, but it’s for the best. It’s crazy how we are living an event that will be talked about in history because it’s affected us so much already. I’ve always pondered how later generations are going to talk about this time period like we look back on 100 years earlier to now. Such a strange concept.

Anyways, I’ll get back on track. I’ve been a total bore the past couple of weeks, so this is what I’ve been up to since my last post. For the weekend of March 20th, Stephen got the day off from work! I was not focused on my work, so I baked brownies instead — which was a better alternative, right?

I wrote up the draft of my first album review of Kelsea Ballerini’s third album: kelsea that released that day. It’s been a little over a week since its release and I’m still in love with it. I didn’t post it until Saturday, but I hope to roll them out the day that the album releases, if possible.

I really want to support small businesses, especially during this time, but I didn’t strictly abide by that a couple weeks ago because we ordered Domino’s for dinner due to them having a deal on pizza and Stephen wanted some. I suppose that’s how these corporate chains get you.

We did swing by Smoothie King, [does that counts as a small biz?] and I ordered something different than my Mango Kale smoothie, not that you can tell because it’s also green, but I ordered the Apple Kiwi Kale this time.

The kiwi and apple were refreshing because they add a tartness to the smoothie.

I ordered the Specialty Chicken – Spicy Jalapeno – Pineapple because I was craving those. I thought it was ironic how on the box that there’s Betty the Hen on it. Way to put a damper on my eagerness over the meal I’m about to devour!

That still didn’t stop me. There’s something so delicious about the combination of pineapple and jalapenos!

Here’s Stephen’s regular order of a Pepperoni Pizza:

Also, he ordered a Banana Boat smoothie.

Last weekend, I finally watched Love is Blind and it was interesting. We did go play Pokemon at the little park near us on Saturday, but kept our distance from people, of course.

On the plus side of this time, I’m getting to write a little more poetry, so I’m pretty excited about that!

Last Week

Work has been a bit slower due to the current situation, so it’s worrying me, but God’s got this.

I did try a new recipe last week, but I will admit that the recipe I used could use a few personal edits. It was supposed to be a Pepper Steak with Tomatoes, but ours is minus the tomatoes because we both don’t care for them. I’ll save the recipe for a FWMD post later on when I try it again with a few adjustments and a better outcome. I’m sad that there weren’t any onions in the store when I went because I would’ve loved some in the dish! I improvised and used carrots at least, so I’m getting our veggies in there.

I became a brand ambassador for Le Petite Boutique and ordered a couple pairs of earrings from them a couple weeks ago before the virus outbreak. They arrived in the mail last Monday and I was super thrilled to wear them!

They are the cutest pairs of earrings that I own now. It was hard to pick just two, but I had to limit myself.

Yes, I’m still terrified of all bugs, but the Nepal Gold Butterfly Earrings were too cute to pass up! I needed a good pair of hoops as well that were thin. Hands down, the Melbourne Gold Sun & Moon Dangle Earrings are my new favorites. You should definitely check the boutique out because they have unique jewelry that I haven’t seen anywhere!

Just to share a few pictures of my mini photoshoot wearing them — these weren’t posted on my Insta, so you all get to see these for the first time! I wanted to show on the blog a couple new pics that haven’t surfaced on the Internet before, so there’s some excitement! Haha.

Also, if you’re interested, I have a discount code you can use to snag yourself a new pair of earrings. Plus, they offer free shipping, so that’s a win! You can use: Stephanie15 when you’re checking out to receive 15% off your order.

Last Tuesday, Alexis and I FaceTimed for about three hours! We had a lot to say to one another that was way too lengthy for texts. We’ve been having friend withdrawals because we haven’t seen one another since the Dan + Shay concert. During this time, call your friends and catch up with them! Thankfully we have the technology to stay virtually connected at least.

I took this photo in November, but I thought it was fitting [and poetic time] to share last week.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-HwComJh7b/

I’m all about the symbolism and hidden meaning in literature, so pretend you’re the leaf in the picture and the background represents the current situation of how the world is. While the world has shifted, the leaf is aligned. Just like the picture, that’s what I’m planning to do during this time and focus on the things I’ve been putting off.

Wow, this shows how much I miss writing essays and dissecting a piece of work’s meaning. I was the weird person that enjoyed writing essays. Did you like them as well?

If this was some magical story, you could say that I saved this picture from November as a foreshadowing of what happened this month but I’m not, so don’t burn me at the stake, please! All right, I’m almost done being silly in this post. You’ve got to find some humor to keep yourself sane in some circumstances.

I forgot to include in the post before I published, but here are the homemade fries that Stephen and I made:

I didn’t save the original picture but whatever I post on my Insta story automatically saves in my camera role. These were so good. We devoured them and they save me so much more time than making chips! We like our fries thin and crispy the best, but I’m not picky on them. How do you like yours?

This past weekend, Stephen and I watched Tiger King and played some Minecraft. Wow is all I can say about that show. I’ll talk a little more about it whenever it’s in my What I’ve Been Watching post, but it was definitely a shocking, crazy show to watch.

With all my joking aside, my mom’s a nurse, and I am especially thankful for those in the healthcare, grocery, and food industry during this critical time. I realize this is a serious situation and I am trying to do my part as well by staying isolated. By now, I hope you all know that I’m not lightly brushing off this situation since we’ve been connected for a while and are getting used to my personality on here.

• How is your quarantine going?
• How has your routine changed because of Coronavirus?
• Have you read “Masque of the Red Death” by Poe? Such a classic!