April in Review

I did something bad on April 1.

I posted these to my stories on Facebook and Instagram:

Then I waited an hour and posted these...

My cute dad even called since he saw the posts before my April Fool's reveal. He was sorely disappointed, and bugged with me. Love you dad.

I ordered take out from Waffle Love that evening and watched Walking Dead. I'm just so much more interested right now than I have been in a long time!

Thursday, April 2, I got some odd assignments at work, as usual. DMV title transfers in another state, etc. 

April 3 was an evening of indulgence for me. I got myself In-N-Out, watched TV, and ate popcorn while reading in the bath.

April 4, I made breakfast for me and Matthew (bacon, eggs, potatoes, cinnamon rolls). We watched conference but slept through most of afternoon session on accident. We ordered some food and watched Wonder Woman.

April 5, I made breakfast again with pancakes instead of cinnamon rolls. I went on a walk. We watched conference, watched Onward on Disney+, and watched Mad Men. After Matthew went home, I started watching Little Fires Everywhere. If you've read the book and watched the show, let's talk. The portrayal of Mia isn't thrilling me. 

April 6 was another evening to myself (mostly because Matthew likes a couple of evenings to himself, so I try to keep myself busy). I got Megaplex popcorn (you all don't want to know how many popcorn buckets I've gotten this month) and watched Walking Dead, Talking Dead, and Little Fires Everywhere. "Stay home. Stay safe" is making for an action packed time in our lives. 

Tuesday, April 7, Matthew got some bad news about his job that was supposed to start the following week. I had a new tenant come to look at the vacant room in my condo. 

April 8 was a spectacularly beautiful day. Matthew came down to Draper. We picked up Even Stevens for curbside, and ate lunch together in a park nearby. 

April 9, I picked up Waffle Love for me and Matthew, and also some Megaplex popcorn. We watched Mad Men. Busy life we have, you know. 

Friday, April 10 was the worldwide fast for relief from the Corona virus. I had to have breakfast because of my antibiotic, but I skipped snacks and lunch until dinner. And I also fasted from social media from 8-5. I picked up Mo Bettah for our dinner and Waffle Love for dessert. We watched Mad Men and Booksmart. 

Saturday, April 11 was just a day of normal adulting. I did all my normal things, including client check-ins, and I tell ya, these ladies amaze me every single month! Especially during a freaking lock down pandemic. I boiled eggs for egg wars, and made bird nest cookies for Easter. In the evening, I picked up scalloped potatoes from my grandma, and apple pie from my mom. Since we couldn't have Easter dinner as a family, they wanted to give us food to have a bit of normalcy. 

Baskets for roommates

Basket for Matthew

Bird nest cookies

Easter Sunday, April 12, I watched church on Zoom. Matthew came over and set up a scavenger hunt for me to get my Easter basket, which I hadn't expected him to do at all. It was so fun. He also brought me some lilies and sunflowers, which was really sweet. I had requested a $5 flower set from Smith's to put on the dinner table for us, but he went above what I asked for. The lilies smell so good. And everyone got a great laugh out of the scavenger hunt he set up for me. We also dyed eggs and did egg wars (I won). Our dinner was: green beans, salad, rolls, scalloped potatoes, macaroni salad, and ham. It amazes me how quickly food gets cold. We finished Mad Men! I still don't see what all the fuss was about. 

Easter basket from Mom & Grandma

Easter basket from Matthew

Monday, April 13, I found out that I fell victim to a scam via an ad on Facebook, so that was stressful. And I watched Richard Jewell, which was good, but also stressful. Thankfully not as sad as Clint Eastwood's other movies. 

Tuesday, April 14, I picked up Legends for me and Matthew for dinner. We watched Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, since we finished Mad Men on Sunday.

April 15, I cooked dinner for us, and we watched Mrs. Maisel. I had a new tenant move in that day. She already seems super conscientious, letting us know who would be in our condo and when she's moving big stuff in. Matthew had a phone interview with the HR guy at my company for a customer sales rep position at our Murray store. Matthew stopped by the store before his phone interview to check it out and meet the manager, who ended up really liking him (of course). He sent an email to our HR guy and said he would push to have Matthew hired. So that was good news!

April 16, I noticed I got my stimulus check in my account a couple of days before. Since I'm fortunate enough to still have a job, and have a way to pay my bills and mortgage, I'm using it to stimulate the economy accordingly. I ordered myself dinner from a local place, and a boba drink from another local place to pick up after work. I watched Riverdale and finally took my gel nails off from when I got my boudoir shoot done two months ago. I also sewed on a snap that fell off of one of my jumpsuits. It's the ONLY snap on the upper half, so I wore it with a safety pin before sewing my snap back on. And that evening, I noticed Max had a bald spot and a scratch on the back of his neck. Very strange, but he wasn't acting funny or mad about me touching it. 

On April 17 I put some Neosporin on Max's cut after work, and by Saturday the 18th, it was worse! The bald spot was bigger. Matthew and I are just confused as to how it even happened. He hasn't been outside, and nothing new for him to scratch himself on has made its way into my house. That evening, Matthew and I got sushi. And I also had picked up popcorn and Crumbl for us. 

Saturday, April 18 was another standard day. I lifted weights long, hard, and heavy for the first time in a long time. I did my cleaning and laundry, and also called my nanny and my grandpa. Matthew came over around 5. We ordered pizza and watched the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I also purchased wound spray at the pet store, and Matthew and I put on this too small jacket that an old roommate got for him so that he wouldn't scratch his cut. I was dying laughing when we first put it on. He was quite unhappy and was pouting heavily.

Saturday before putting on the jacket

April 19 was a pretty normal Sunday, but my ward is only doing church every two weeks on Zoom now. So I went on a walk, did Re-Vibe and Freestyle Flow workouts from Morning Meltdown (Sunday is my stretch day). And I picked up my groceries from Smith's. I hate doing that because it's so specific. Like yeah I want frozen broccoli and cauliflower, but I'd get green beans if those are out. Or I want chicken breast, but I'd take thighs or grab some turkey if chicken was out. As you may have guessed, those things were out when I picked up my groceries. And this is why I insist on doing my own shopping and not using pickup services. Also, I took my last antibiotic this day, but still have mucus issues in my face. I'll have to wait until I'm insured to figure out next steps. 

Monday, April 20 I woke up to some text messages sent at 1am from Matthew that his cousin and best friend Alex had passed away the prior evening in a motorcycle accident. By 9:30am, he was on his way down to his brother's house to ride with him to California. I had a super fun afternoon of Facebook arguing, with someone who chose to be super disrespectful. That kind of stuff raises my blood pressure and heart rate to unhealthy levels. But at least I got to have Capriotti's with my mom and grandma.

April 21 was a pretty ordinary day for me. Went to work, went on a walk and did a core workout, ate dinner, and watched This is Us. Matthew called me a couple of times to update me on everything. I went to bed early because I've been so tired. I finished my audiobook (Wild Game) and was finally able to listen to the Happier podcast episode related to the book. 

Wednesday, April 22 was hard because I was hit with the realization that Matthew would have to quarantine after getting home from his trip. I didn't know when we hugged goodbye on Sunday that it would be for two weeks. I started recruiting people to eat with me 6 feet apart. 

Thursday was another ordinary day, with work, a walk, and some shows. Except I was up late on the phone with Matthew after he went and talked to my dad. 

Friday, April 24 I picked up groceries and got myself a boba smoothie and dinner at Mo Bettah. I was a little sad about it. The chicken portions were smaller than usual, and my rice and chicken were both cold, even though I had gone straight home. These were first world problems, since Matthew's whole day was spent at a funeral and various memorial services for his cousin Alex. It was a long, emotional day for him. And I was spent due to allergies and not sleeping well, so we didn't get to talk that day at all. 

Saturday, April 25 was the birthday of so many people, namely my sister Shivani and my friend Joyce. Matthew didn't leave California until almost 3pm, which was a little stressful for him. And after stops in Provo to drop cousins off, and another stop in Lehi to get him to his car, he wasn't home until 2am. That day was pretty standard for me, minus seeing Matthew like I normally do on Saturday. I went to Petsmart and Petco in search of a new snail for my fish tank to no avail. I picked up my sushi burrito and boba tea from Hanaya Poke and headed to Sugar House park to have a socially distanced lunch with Ashleigh. It was nice to talk with her for a few hours. No hugging, but just to have plans to look forward to was a huge deal for me. With park bathrooms closed, I had the unique experience of hovering over the curb between my passenger car doors to pee. Twice. And it was like I hadn't gone potty in years. Trust me, I'd have done no such thing if it weren't urgent. 

I also made new tooth powder on Saturday.

After leaving the park, I drove up to Matthew's house and left him a bucket of Megaplex popcorn and a card on his bed. I chatted with his cousin for a while. 

Sunday, April 26 I went on a walk, foam rolled, cleaned my kitchen blinds (so gross, and I hate cleaning blinds), and watched This is Us. I went to my grandma's at 4 to hang out with my mom and grandma. And I talked to Matthew for the first time in a couple of days, so it was a long conversation. In the midst of all of his own heartache and grief, he asked me how he can love me better this week. I love when he asks me this question, but especially when it should be him receiving the love, not giving it. 

Don't worry, I finished the job. It was gross.

Monday, April 27 I had socially distanced dinner with Joyce in American Fork. I picked up Cubby's for us, but she ended up working late. So I ate and hung out in my car for an hour or so until she got home. We ate and chatted on her lawn before the breeze got to be too much. 

Tuesday, April 28 I had socially distanced dinner with Brionna, Matthew's best friend's wife. We picked up Village Baker and ate at a little picnic area near the Jane building. It got cold there too, but we had a great talk and connected on a lot of levels. Sadly, I forgot to take a selfie.

Wednesday, April 29, Matthew had another interview at my company that went really well. That evening, I sat as far apart as I could from Matthew's siblings and cousins as they had a campfire memorial for Alex in American Fork Canyon. It was so, so hard not to hold his hand or hug him or touch his back when I saw him get emotional. He shared a lot of thoughts about loving each other, being there for each other, and reaching out when you feel alone. I'm grateful I have someone who is open about expressing his feelings in the midst of a big loss, and who is trying to take lessons from it, to live his life a little better. 

And today I plan to pick up Crave cookies after work, do some laundry, and pack up to go to St. George for the weekend with Matthew. It'll be our first actual time together with contact in almost two weeks. I'll be nice to be somewhere besides home! 

Overall, this month was not my favorite. I'm grateful I had people step up to hang out with me in the midst of unexpected loneliness. I didn't expect to go almost two weeks without a hug from a single human, and I know many have gone much longer than that at this point. I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with relaxing regulations. I hope all my lonely family and friends can get hugged soon. 

Books I read (or finished) in April:

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan

The Diary of Anne Frank (audiobook)

Fat Loss Forever by Dr. Layne Norton

Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me by Adrienne Brodeur (audiobook) 

Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski (audiobook)