does anyone else have a blood coagulation shaving stick?

alrighty then, hello saturday! feels like a sunday, but then again, who knows!

i tried to get out to one of the preserves today- in fact i did, but it was further than i expected. duette preserve is about as far to the other side of the county as one can get, and i didn't realize that they are only open certain hours. that was a bummer because when i got there the picnic area was open, but all of the trail entrances were closed. i was SO not happy..i mean, i had already doused myself with the skin-so-soft i mentioned receiving a couple days ago, in hopes i could give it my stamp of approval!

the trip there was an adventure unto itself. as i was driving out, i should have known better than to take the water. i mean... i drank about a liter more than i should've. ugh. you know what that means- stop to use a restroom, only i had passed the last opportunity about 10 minutes prior.  i know this about me, i hydrate and need to dehydrate quite a bit, so this wasn't a surprise...always pushing the envelope. and then, almost like a unicorn, i saw a small country service station, so i decided it was the last opportunity! so i made a purchase, and saw the sign on the door said restroom closed, but there is a porta-potty...**closes eyes, sighs, and realizes the options are slim**. so i did it. yep. pulled out the lysol, used my own kleenex from the car, and made it happen. ignore the flies, think happy thoughts...lysol myself and get back into my car. but it was the relief i needed, because i THOUGHT i was going to be walking/hiking at the preserve. so disappointing- i didn't even get out of the car once i got there! boo.

should not have partaken in so much of this! i KNOW better.

i've exposed myself to so much, that my immune system is super hero power status

new addition to travel supplies in the car.

on the way home i had to stop at the store for some necessities. i also had to stop at the gas station, because the orange light came on. so thank you, circle k for providing 'fuel gloves'! i didn't see them until i'd already used the kleenex to input my pin and begin pumping the gas. so pulled one out, only luck would have it, 2 came out! so i put the extra glove in my car for later use! (i mean, not a hoarder...it's just one, take a breath). does anyone work for circle k, or are frequent patrons? because this doesn't look like something they just threw together, have they been doing this forever?? if so, i'm super impressed, and could easily be swayed to doing more business there in the future!

these beauties and sanitizer as well!

and speaking of kleenex, still no tp at the stores (at least not when i've gone!)...so i do purchase kleenex whenever i find them! and since they only allow you to buy one item, i try to purchase the bundle sets.

#gamechanger

yes, tp still an issue. amazing. in the USA. somehow i wait often wait longer than i should to get new razor blades because they cost so much...anyone else with me? anyhoo, so i broke down the other day and bought new cartridges. well, in my excitement over having smooth legs in record time, i nicked my ankle- WE'VE GOT A BLEEDER!! so i finished my shower, wishing i had one of those special sticks my dad had for shaving- you know, the ones that help the blood coagulate! i mean, the nick left me with two choices: use a treasured tp square or use the towel and hope the blood stain washes out...OR just bleed out (too drastic?) so i used the tp square. we good. but that cannot keep happening! so i ordered the stick! i looked up: blood-coagulation-stick-for-shaving. (what did we do before google?!) drum roll, please, it arrived today!! super excited! now there will be no more close calls with life-altering decisions due to small cuts!

this past week was a busy week. i know a lot of people may be in kind of a holding pattern with working from home, especially if it's new for you, and workplaces not really knowing how to navigate or set expectations. i am especially fortunate that the company i work for is an ed-tech company, meaning this is our time to thrive because we have been able to help our clients- from the parent and teacher side of the spectrum and help them make sense of the current reality that is happening. we have been working so hard to get creative and meet unique needs. it has been an exciting time, and unconventional...but hopefully we are able to shine brightly and this will be one of those special moments in time for istation! i know several of my colleagues have been putting in lots of extra time and brain-power, and the next couple of months will be interesting and i'm sure very busy. things that were already in the works on hold to meet changing needs. i feel fortunate to be a part of the #redcapenation ! that said, HUGE shout-out to those who have been doing the night-before things, the rearrange-your-schedule things, the putting-fires-out-that-no-one-else-knows-about things.... to you we raise our glass! 

to you, to me, to the both of us!
julie

don't touch me, don't breathe on me...i mean just don't even look at me!

oh goodness...well, just washed my hands, lysoled everything in the room...noticing how much gravitational pull my face has in relationship to my hands.

so much going on! what a strange time. i suppose with that, there will be plenty of time to go back and do some catching up, but for now, let's try to start with today and move our way back-with what i'm sure will be some time hiccups, because it will be current events mixed with past events, but i will do my best to not confuse you with the timeline!

so starting with today, it is monday again. does this work from home gig remind anyone of groundhog's day? just checking, i'm used to it, so perhaps there will be a tips corner to come... the difference is i enjoyed saying, "i GET to work from home!" and that has changed for everyone to: i HAVE to work from home...it just doesn't have the same ring! but some of you are, i'm sure, enjoying not putting on the make-up, doing the hair, etc. or you may be like one of my friend who can't help but dress up and always be 'on' (karla, lookin' at you! i'm just jealous that you have that much motivation! ALWAYS! #yougogirl)

so, i think florida has done an unofficial lock-down, or then again, maybe it's official, i did see that it was one of the few states that showed red on the map, but that could mean anything when you have the sound on mute. could mean: lock-down, most cases of the virus, most idiots out on the beach from other states invading the beaches and spreading the virus and infecting others because they have no clue they're asymptomatic carriers....like i said, could be pretty much anything.

even before the POTUS made the STAY HOME suggestion, i was trying to be mindful. i'm pretty good at isolating myself, and avoiding people. i tend to do this naturally when i shop as well (dodging people, looking for empty aisles to avoid traffic..) i did my last big 'shopping spree' last week, and i'm not one of those buy everything people. in other words, you wouldn't look at my cart and roll your eyes, i'm fairly practical and rational. besides, i have a bunch of the perishables, as that is part of hurricane preparedness. and i'd already gotten my 12 rolls of tp the week before everyone started panic buying (because i was legit out). and i'd gotten the multipack kleenex boxes before it was the 'in thing' to do. so yes, i have my emergency manwich, cheerios and tuna, which for real won't get eaten until the gates are padlocked and aliens are hovering over the community pool...

i knew that our county parks and preserves are still open, so i decided to get up early this morning to walk the track over at Robinson Preserve. it was a beautiful morning with a slight mist when i arrived. exercise is still a permissible 'get-out' so i got out early, as there are so few people wanting to venture out at that hour. the track there is about 10-12 ft wide, so plenty of distance if people are passing by. and i am always on the awares to make sure i run the opposite direction if i see anyone cough or sneeze! seriously though, i have yet to come across anyone who seems to have symptoms of such. i know, i know that doesn't mean they aren't 'carriers', which is why i haven't been going up to randoms and collecting their sweat, or wiping my brow on their shorts... #takingprecautions so yes, it was a gorgeous morning, and i may make this a routine since the beach is shut down. i may intermittently get over to cortez village and walk the empty streets over there and do the bridge if i can find parking at the museum park. that's really the only getting out that i've been doing. so yes, taking it seriously. in fact today i almost called out a group of 'walkers' i mean, there were like 6 of them in a cluster 2 ft or less! ugh. and they were 60+ ...do they not watch the news? let's not go blaming just the millennials! i DID give them a dirty look...or maybe i just thought it.

look at that mist!

watch with sound on!

as my cousin suggested- zen and calming!

i will say that i've been able to participate in one of my favorite pastimes- letter-writing. so that's fun too...the only thing is i don't have much in the line of great stationery stash at this time, and when i was at the store the other day, i couldn't find any covid19 cards, so i decided too bad, so sad, it may just end up being legal paper with donut stickers ore something fun like that. and i'm getting a little nervous looking at my stamp-situation...i may have to go to the post-office, if i can find an off-time...i mean, since anthrax scare isn't a thing anymore.

i may have to make my own COVID19 cards...

so, for the time being, lysol your life, take your temperature and consider all you can do to stay safe!

julie