Keep your spirits up (& wash your hands)
Today marks day 14 of quarantine after returning from our holiday in Costa Rica. It was like being in the ultimate lock in, during this time I did not leave my apartment at all. I have never been more grateful for having a lovely home with space to swing a a couple of bulldogs in (before the JSPCA turn up, we have never done this, I am just trying to be clever) a balcony for fresh air, Nude Food deliveries and friends for their random acts of kindness. We are now out of quarantine and into self isolation, so not much change really, but at least we can leave the house to get some exercise, walk the dogs and get a weekly shop in...so a suitable life upgrade! It’s amazing how much we usually take these things for granted.
Has anyone else had a realisation about how much loo roll they use when going to the toilet? Now that toilet paper is a rare commodity, I have to be much more careful with it and have become mindful of how much I use, which will make a difference…one sheet at a time ;-)
I have also had a bit of a wake up call in terms of how much ‘stuff’ I have. I will think twice before purchasing something now…it turns out you can have enough clothes.
I have just returned from a long cycle ride up the cycle track, it was so nice to see people’s faces, other than my handsome husband Steve’s and to smile at them from a socially accepted distance. Don’t get me wrong I love my husband, but our marriage works well when we don’t spend a lot of time together; after two weeks away and 2 weeks in isolation, it was nice to get some space.
I have had ups and downs over the past couple of weeks. Pops of positivity and energy followed by periods of overwhelming anxiety and a lack of energy. I look forward to my weekends so that I can switch off for a couple of days, focusing on rest and recharge for the week ahead. One thing which I am sure has helped is that I am not drinking my way through this pandemic. I know that in the past I would have used this as an excuse to drown my feelings with alcohol. Maybe the world would look better through Rose Tinted Glasses? I’d be asking myself daily if it was too early to crack open the wine/beer/left over port from christmas...I’d be looking for reassurance as to when it was socially acceptable and my Facebook feed would reliably tell me that it was in fact ‘Wine O’clock’...there would be that sense of camaraderie, EVERYONE is drinking through this together, so it must be OK.
My anxiety has mainly come from the uncertainty of what is going on, I can’t control this situation and this is hard to come to terms with and accept. It’s important to focus on the things that I can control, I can choose every day not to drink a bucket of wine, to fuel my body with a healthy and balanced diet (with a few chocolatey treats thrown in along the way - It wont be long before I have to socially distance myself from the fridge) and to move as much as possible, taking advantage of my new found freedom stretching my legs and feeling the endorphins during my two hour leave the house break.
I have enjoyed having more time on my hands, not having to travel to and from work has presented a couple of hours a day for doing something new. I have been taking part in the daily Art House Jersey Isolation Creation drawing challenge which has got my creative juices flowing, I have taken the time to meditate and to sit by the window and do nothing, enjoying the feeling of the sun heating my face through the window. I think I have been more in the moment than ever before, relishing in the simple things in life.
I’ve loved all the live music that people have shared on Facebook. Steve and I tried to do a live stream of him DJing, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get the sound to work properly, he’s ordered some kit online which might help, so fingers crossed we get it working and we can have a little virtual party...speaking of virtual parties, how fun is the app House party? It has been lovely to see faces that you haven’t seen in a while and to check in on how they are doing. We have played drawing games and trivia and danced around (our own) kitchens.
The gorgeous Will at Love Wine invited me to a Brewdog Virtual Bar Alcohol Free event with Sober Girl Society. I was intrigued to see the format of the event. We connected on ZOOM and they shared The Old Street Alcohol Free Brewdog pub background to get everyone in the mood and tasting notes for each of the Brewdog AF Range of beers. We waved if we wanted to comment on our beer and our microphone was turned on and we were given the opportunity to talk to the group, it was good fun...I learnt about a couple of beers that I’d not heard of before which I am really looking forward to trying. It has inspired me to do a Virtual Sober Session to get everyone together...watch this space!
I tasted their Sour beer the other day and recorded a little video review below. I am going to do an alcohol free beer order soon and will review them too.
I try every day to keep my spirits high, minus the alcohol.
Remember to stay home, stay safe, stay sexy and stay sober X