I wasn’t sure if I was going to put up my normal monthly recap because, honestly, what actually happened this month? Anything? The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that a lot actually happened during this weird month.
A Full Month of Working from Home
I wrapped up a full month of working from home in April, and I’ve gotta say, I am loving full-time remote work! Of course, it sucks that it’s because of a global pandemic, but I’m trying to find the good where I can. I love that I don’t have to wake up with an alarm anymore, that I get to spend all day with my kitties, and that I can wear comfy clothes. While I sometimes struggle with focus, I think that’s less because of my own failures and more because hello, global pandemic! I’m crossing my fingers that my company expands our WFH program once everything goes back to normal.
A Socially Distanced Birthday Celebration
One of my dearest friends celebrated her birthday at the end of April, and we arranged a birthday surprise for her on a Saturday afternoon, social distancing style. We all maintained proper distance from each other and many of us wore masks, so it was all on the up and up, I promise! My friend was legit surprised and it was lovely to do this for her. (Also, soooooo nice to see friends after six weeks of not seeing anyone!) It wasn’t the way we imagined celebrating her birthday, but I’m glad we were able to do a little something for her. And hopefully, we can really celebrate in the near future!
Weekly Writing Dates
My friend, M., and I got back into our weekly writing dates, albeit digitally! We started back in mid-April and it’s been so nice to have some dedicated time to work on my novel again. In February or March, I realized that my story was going to need to go through some major revisions so I’ve been mostly reworking my plot during these writing dates. I hope to get back into the writing soon, but I’m glad I have this time to spend working on my novel because it’s this little piece of normalcy in my completely abnormal life. It’s nice to dive back into my characters’ worlds where COVID-19 isn’t a thing and they’re just trying to find sweet, lasting love. Ahh!
A Broken Washer
My washer broke in April because what better time to not have a functioning washer than in the middle of a pandemic when you need to wash things more than usual? Sigh. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a big deal but it is a bit of a headache. Thankfully, my mom lives five minutes away from me and I’ve been going over to her apartment during the day whenever I need to use her washer. She’s been going into her office throughout all of this, so we can still practice safe social distancing. And it means I get to see my fur-brother, Chip! It’s so great to see him and play with him. I miss him a lot!
Supremely Lazy Weekends
I’ve talked about this on my Coronavirus Diaries posts, but my weekends have been intensely lazy. I remember in early March when I had a really lazy weekend and I was all, “Man, I need to do that more!” Annnd, well, I got my wish. Haha. I am trying to just enjoy these lazy weekends and not force myself to be super productive. Of course, I’m trying to keep on top of my cleaning and I try to exercise regularly, but I’m also allowing myself to take long afternoon naps and spend more time lying around reading than being productive. It’s been wonderful and I’m going to enjoy these lazy weekends for as long as I can.
Celebrating Eloise
Eloise turned two in April and we celebrated with some very sad salmon cakes. Neither cat was a fan, unfortunately. This means for Lila’s birthday, we’ll be celebrating with some actual cupcakes (sans frosting). I always celebrated Dutch’s birthday by giving him a vanilla mini-cupcake, and I’m not sure why I thought I couldn’t do that with the cats!
Favorites of April
- Favorite book: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
- Favorite romance: It Had to Be You by Jill Shalvis
- Favorite purchase: My desk and office chair! I am so glad I bought these items and now have a dedicated work area.
- Favorite podcast episode: Get Canceled with Natalie Wynn on Unladylike (a really interesting look into cancel culture!)
- Favorite post: My (Controversial) Bookish Opinions