My Happily Ever After 3.0

Married. Mom of 2 dogs, 7 cats, and 2 humans. Loves writing, creating art, books, Spotify, Netflix, and all things pink.

[mrslesteryong]

Life in Quarantine During Covid 19

This has been my hashtag for the past weeks.

People keep posting this status thing in Facebook about the general mood of the period. So I'm going to do something else.

This is my documentation of the things that have happened since this all began.

Day one for me began the week my kids' classes were suspended. And since this is on-going I suppose I'll write recollections I'd the past weeks until I catch up with my now.

I've also decided that I'm probably not going to stick to my daily topic mission. It just made it harder for me to manage blogging, to be honest, and I'd like to write more regularly rather than push myself to stick to daily subjects that I often post up to weeks late. It just feels too strange.

So... There we go. It's April and we're going through another reset. Hopefully I can stick to my blogging better this time around.

[mrslesteryong]

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Not quite what I had in mind

I thought I'd be writing more since we're in quarantine, practically a lockdown, honestly, but here I am, SILENT.

It's not for a lack of activity. Frankly, I don't think I've been this busy in a while.

I started with this.

I was preparing some items to product shoot for Anique-Anique MNL. It was one of the biggest ironies of this week because being in quarantine meant I had the opportunity to really just figure out my set up and even leave things as they were set up because I was shooting.

But then this happened.

Our hospitals ran short of protective gear for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the hoarding of face masks that happened weeks ago.

So what do the Anique-Anique girls do? Yep, I volunteered us to do something about it and now we're helping produce these makeshift masks to help protect our frontliners--our very precious healthcare workers.

This doesn't mean the homeschooling has stopped though. It's going strong, actually. And my 7yo has finished the chapter he's supposed to complete. Now he just needs to finish his next project.

It's only been a week since the community quarantine was announced and it's worrying how we are not coping well, locally. Caught flat-footed, there are a number of factors that brought us to this point, not the least of which is the poverty that is spread all over the country.

It's going to be a long 3 more weeks.

[mrslesteryong]

A Change of Lifestyle

So the quarantine finally happened. It was anticipated, not quite wanted but necessary anyway.

That means a change of lifestyle for everyone.

This is ours.

Yes, this mom who insisted that I'm not a homeschooler is now homeschooling.

I have to give a shout out to Aubrey Hargis for emphasising that yes, all parents are absolutely capable of teaching their children.

We can do this.

We're doing half days of work. It's easier on me because it allows me time to clean up a bit around the house and gives them plenty of rest, ergo, plenty of energy for their work.

I believe we can do this.

[mrslesteryong]

Old School Charm

Shawls have begun to amaze me. Like massively amazed me. I still haven't figured out how to make my own pattern but I'm studying those made by others and it's just a fantastic bit of artistry.

This first one that I've completed is the Lapping Waves pattern shared by Fiber Spider on YouTube.

Made with fine cotton yarn from Yarns by Angel in "Never Give Up", this gorgeous textured piece really does remind me of waves, especially when it starts waving a bit when it moves.

I'm almost done with my second shawl, Victoria's German Shells as shared by Jonna Martinez, again on YouTube.

The name of the gradient is "Exceeding Joy", also a fine cotton from Yarns by Angel. Honestly, I'm kind of favouring Yarns by Angel's fine cotton for these bigger pieces at the moment. Fingering weight yarn means I can do these things but still keep it light and easy to manage. And while they may look delicate, I promise they do the job!

And since this is almost done, of course restless me is already starting another pattern. No preview yet as I'm playing around with the pattern a bit but here's the yarn!

This beauty is "Blushing Bride", again from Yarns by Angel. I've started working on the basic pattern--it's called Lunar Crossings shared by CrochetKim. I've played with it by adding a little texture similar to the "This is Me" shawl by Wilma Westenberg.

I can't believe that this is my new happy place, actually. I used to hate crocheting. But now it's been a way for me to focus and center myself.

Anyone else using creative pursuits to clear their heads?

[mrslesteryong]

Living in the Now

In the realm of choices, really, everyone has plenty of those. Some of mine have included old timey concepts like my decision to, as much as possible, use fountain pens.

I am by no means living a zero-waste lifestyle but I have been maintaining a less waste one. At some point, I hope to be zero-waste, though. It's really just the better choice, I believe.

Also in the realm of wasting nothing, I have chosen to share these pillows with my sons.

They've recently started enjoying the Harry Potter series and i love that I am now able to share the world with them. Of course, they know that these are still mom's pillows, therefore, they must be appropriately cared for and not used for pillow fights.

Old timey me has been learning to knit too. So I leave this gem right here.

I got into it because I found knitting materials among my aunt's things when I was clearing her closet. She tried to teach my when I was 6, upon my own insistence. I had a small pair of plastic knitting needles that I almost immediately poked myself in the eye with. Didn't touch them again until this year. Hoping to make lots of pretty things the way I've managed to with crochet.

This was originally a much longer post but having lost the draft, I can't seem to make anything that is not this lackluster to replace it. Hazards of technology, I guess.

Perhaps my next one will be a little peppier.

[mrslesteryong]

My Kids and Covid 19

Perhaps the best thing about Montessori is that it welcomes truth and knowledge. There are no kid gloves here, just simplified explanations to help kids process things better and easier.

My older son has been duly taught about the virus and though he occasionally asks me if he can die if he gets Covid 19, there's actually little to no fear in his voice. He finds hand washing fun, is conscientious about wearing his mask, and always remembers to sanitise his hands.

My younger son leaves much to be desired. Both my boys are prone to allergic rhinitis like me so sneezing and mucus are par for the course with us. But my 4yo hates his mask. I'm still not sure how to make him understand the necessity of it. Still, he is very good with the washing, especially since he's the one who is almost always playing in the garden. I suppose this is a good thing because I deem him to be the trickier one when it comes to respiratory ailments--he already had a bout with primary complex before he even turned 1.

I've taken this opportunity to teach them about viruses. I found a nice channel on YouTube that talks about medical stuff on a fairly easy to understand level. I find it comforting in a way--it reminds me of how my aunt used to teach me about medicine.

I'm a little glad she passed before Covid 19 became a thing. She was immunocompromised so it would have been immensely stressful for her. The weight of missing her is heavy though, especially during this time when sound medical advice is so important.

[mrslesteryong]

Time really flies.

I wish it were because I was having fun but it wasn't, unfortunately. It was really all madness.

So here's what I'm doing today.

I was never good at this but I suppose I need to get my life in better order somehow. It's about time, hahaha.

[mrslesteryong]

Because I remembered to check this yesterday when I made my post about reusables.

[mrslesteryong]

Some things can last forever

I'm not sure when or how my mom taught me that it should always be quality over quantity but it is something that has always been part of how I seal with a lot of purchases.

Recently, though, this has shifted somewhat. Now I choose things not just for its quality but also for its "reuse value".

Growing up, the idea for environmental conservation was "Reduce, Reuse, Recyle". Simple, short, catchy. It made a lot of sense. Then in college, something just clicked in my head and I realised the first step was actually not to accept anything that you don't really need.

REFUSE. Refuse refuse. (/rəˈfyo͞oz/ /ˈrefˌyo͞os/)

I started bringing my own reusable bags so I didn't have to accept plastic or paper ones at the grocery or department store.

I started bringing my own drinking bottle (and got P5 off my drinks at Starbucks and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf).

I looked at our groceries and chose items that had potential for a second life.

Here's one example:

A peanut butter jar. Or cup. Whatever it should be properly called, it is now my overnight oats container. It's not spill-proof but all I really need for it to be is be enough for my breakfast oats.

And because reusable is now the "in" thing, it became easier to lug around my own spoon and fork set. (My thanks to The Eco Filipino for this. Find her on IG!)

I realise my image caption actually goes two ways and both are illustrated in the pictures I posted.

The best things and the worst things. Because we already know plastic waste does last almost forever, too.

So here's today's Tuesday thought: it doesn't take much to make that step towards being eco-friendlier. And I am certainly aware that my lifestyle is not absolutely zero waste. But making that conscious effort to do your best? That's one of the drops in the ocean that we need to effect and effectively change.

[mrslesteryong]

Breakfast Choices

Monday mornings are the craziest for me.

Number coding¹ means we have to get out of the house very early so the kids can get to school before coding starts and I really don't have time to get myself awake enough for proper function beyond driving.

This is why I decided to try out a new old thing: overnight oats.

(Aside: to simplify things for me, I have decided to use the same images here and on my Instagram account, hence the frames.)

Overnight oats are actually as yummy as they claim they are, "they" being the million and one people I chose not to believe, LOL.

Letting the oatmeal soak up the chosen liquids overnight means I get oatmeal that is super soft but still with some bite.

Couple it with my new favourite, "better than coffee" power drink, the Kyäni Sunrise, and I can function without hurting anyone.

Remember: looks can be deceiving! My skin has been breaking our badly so I used a filter to smoothen and improve my skin texture.

Here's hoping this new practice helps get me into a better mood and mindset moving forward. I could use all the help I can get!

[mrslesteryong]

Crafter Problems

I cannot work on just one project at a time. I think I've mentioned this before.

So these are the shawls I'm working on while working on crochet orders.

The shawl on the left is Fiber Spider's Lapping Waves shawl (using fine cotton in Never Give Up from Yarns by Angel) and on the right is Jonna Martinez's Victoria's German Shells (using fine cotton in Endless Joy from Yarns by Angel). I'd say the Lapping Waves is about 75% done while German Shells is 30%.

I had to relearn how to make cheerleading pompoms last night, though, and to help me out, I got this.

It's a very lovely, very sharp pair of scissors. But I almost wasn't able to use it yesterday. Can you spot why? LOL

I'm trying to get my schedules straight as I'm back to writing regularly for two websites. What? Yeah. It's very exciting and the topics are quite close to my heart!

I'll be sharing my work for the websites at some point. Maybe I'll make them my Saturday posts. Hmm...

I hope everyone is keeping well. Or at the very least, hanging on for the weekend break!