whether we want to or not

We can all agree that this self-quarantine status of things is not ideal. At all. But it is necessary. And, honestly, I don't want to get into all the things about it or around it because unless you are living under a rock, you them and you hear it on repeat throughout the groundhog day we are living in. And if you do live under that rock, just stay there for a while and you won't know a difference.

I do think that there are some small ways that we can do things within our home that can make us better for when we can be social and when we can work again. And for those of you who are still able to work, I cannot thank you enough! Each and every one of you, whatever you are doing is obviously essential to keep our basic life moving forward safely and you are so appreciated.

Hone in on your style

Do you even have a style? I don't think I have ever had a style that I could label. But with age, you figure out what works for you and what does not on many levels. In one way, that can be what you wear and how you present yourself on a regular basis. Personally, if I had to, my style would be casual/beachy/artsy? Is that a thing?

When all of this news of the pandemic and shut downs, restrictions and life altering things started coming out - I was really flustered. I still am, as we all are. But I tried to think of some way to feel a little better. I clean out my closet often and donate clothes I don't wear anymore or that aren't my favorite. I follow a few influencers on Instagram and LikeToKnowIt that always have great clothing ideas and they try them on and say how they fit, how the sizing is, and you can see that color on a person. This is super helpful for this chick who hates to try on clothes and isn't a fan of going to the mall or a store. Also, with the closing of so many malls and boutiques, a lot of places are doing big online sales right now. So I got a few staple items for Spring and early Summer. It sounds so lame to me to focus so much on clothing, but if I am not comfortable I am in a bad mood. And if I feel insecure in my outfit, then I am uncomfortable and again, bad mood. So if you are looking for a way to brighten your wardrobe, make you feel good, and not spend a fortune - I would look into your favorite boutiques and stores and see what they are offering online.

purchase a gift card for later

A lot of your favorite local businesses are struggling right now. If you are sitting here reading this and thinking maybe when I am able to, I will...

  • get a gym membership
  • get a massage
  • get my hair cut and colored
  • get my nails done
  • get my eyebrows and lashes done
  • buy a new top or shoes
  • get a tattoo
  • take guitar lessons
  • learn to swim
  • get ready for fishing and crabbing season
  • buy new home decor
  • treat my spouse or partner to a date night
  • get family photos taken

And really there are so many other things that I could go on forever, but what I am saying is that if you are able, purchase a gift card now that can easily be sent to you electronically or via snail mail and you will be helping a small business and the odds of you following through with that self care or that date night are going to be higher because you already invested.

help a family in need

There is a small group of amazing, selfless individuals in Queen Anne's County that are going out of their way to help provide meals to students while they are out of school. They are delivering two meals every day to students whose parents still have to work or for whatever reason, they can't make it to the school each day to pick up their meals there. If you are looking for something to do with this time off and you are able, pick up a few extra items when you do your own grocery shopping and you can drop them off at one of their three drop-off locations on Kent Island and Centreville. You can find more information on Facebook, Feed QAC Kids #FeedQACKids. They also were just interviewed on local news station, WMAR.

that one thing

That one thing that you always wanted to dive deeper into but never had the time or the focus, now is a good time. There a ton of online courses being offered through various universities, sites like Creative Live, MIT OPENCourseWare, Carnegie Mellon OpenLearning, Stanford Online, Harvard Online, Open Culture Online Courses, and professionals on their websites and social media. Whether it be art, writing, web design, photography, videography, calligraphy, or you can learn about gardening, running a business, floral design, the ideas are endless. I am hoping to sign up for a few online workshops.

We all want the same thing

We all want the same things right now. No matter how different we are, we all want the same.

We want to be healthy and to see our family healthy.

We want to have financial stability and be able to safely work the jobs that we love, to keep the lights on.

We want to spend time with our loved ones and enjoy life carefree just for a happy hour or two with our friends.

We want to come out of this better, stronger, and more focused on the good.

I want all of that for you.