Monday, December 21, 2020

Fall 2020 - Still Staying Home

Another quarter has flown by and it's hard to believe that 2020 is almost coming to an end. In a Covid-free world, we would have spent a week in Japan and traveled back to the US in JAL First Class this month but obviously none of these are happening. We're 9 months into the pandemic and despite the number of cases spiking to all time high in the US, it feels like nobody cares anymore. While most people are suffering from 'quarantine fatigue', I am perfectly fine staying home with minimal social interaction. I still get my daily dose of virtual interaction with my co-workers and family so don't worry, I'm not completely isolated. =P 

Fall 2020 came and left quickly

As I mentioned previously, our life hasn't been impacted much by the pandemic. The few minor adjustments we made to our routine since March - Grocery shopping with only recyclable bags to avoid using shopping cart or basket, stocking up when things are on sale, used free grocery delivery for limited stock items (e.g. disinfecting wipes) and non-perishables / heavy items, use gloves at gas station. As an added bonus, I received a $250 WFH payment, even though my job is already completely remote since last year.

Round 4 of Covid cancellations. 2020 is officially a 'cancelled' year for all travels. Fortunately, I was able to get all our miles/points and fees back with no penalty so it's all good. We've rebooked some trips for 2021 but keeping our bookings flexible for all uncertainties.

So what have we been up to without travels?

Oct 4 (Sun): Went fishing at MIL's pond and caught a bunch of fishes (25 crappie, 1 bass, 1 bream). I was super lucky that day and caught almost half of the crappie, while hubby caught the bass which I used to make Thai-style steamed fish with lime and garlic the next day.

Oct 12 (Mon): Hubby and I went for a short hike with MIL at Monte Sano state park. The last time I came here was back in 2008. The 2 photos at the bottom to show 2020 vs. 2008. =P

Nov 14 (Sat): Virtual celebration for mom's birthday.

Nov 22 (Sun): Thanksgiving lunch and baked cookies with the family. My first attempt of making 'char siu' was pretty successful.

Dec 13 (Sun): Christmas decorations at MIL's. 

Oct 13 (Tues): I had some free rental car days to burn before the year ends so we decided to rent a car for $3 and went on a day trip to Atlanta, specifically Ikea to pick up a shelf and made a quick stop at Super H Mart to stock up on some Asian groceries.

The new Kallax shelf we bought to display hubby's video game consoles.

Once again, we decided to move things around our work+entertainment room. So I sketched this out to make sure things fit before we started moving them around.

The end product. Right side of the room is hubby's gaming/entertainment corner, while left side of the room is my work/entertainment corner. Yes, we have many screens in this room.

My updated 2020 K-drama binge diagram....lol!

Went on a shopping spree the last few weeks. Got super lucky to get the very limited Xbox Series X on Walmart during the Thanksgiving release. Hubby was a happy boy. Also replaced some cooking appliances and dryer, which are both 12 years old. My work laptop was also due for a refresh so I got a brand new work laptop as well.

Speaking of work, I spent a good bit of time exploring and building stuffs with Google Sheets, formulas and queries over the last few months. I also learnt how to build Dashboards from scratch for data analysis and was glad others found it useful as well. I'm such a nerd...lol!

As usual, my collection of weekly meal-prep photos...

Sept 13 & 20 (Sun): Tomato soup with veggie medley, baked beans + potatoes + sausage, deviled eggs, fried rice, pasta with chicken, chow mien with tuna, egg sandwich.

Sept 27 & Oct 3 (Sun): Hokkien mee with mussels, potatoes + sausage, stir-fried veggies, deviled eggs, potato salad, chicken rice.

Oct 11 & 18 (Sun): Lu rou fan (braised pork rice), paste with meatballs, stir-fried veggies, seafood noodle soup with mussels, potatoes + sausage.

Oct 25 & Nov 1 (Sun): Steamed fish with lime and garlic, pasta with meatballs, potato salad, deviled eggs, lu rou fan.

Nov 8 & 15 (Sun): Chicken rice, chicken soup, deviled eggs, pasta + hot dog, stir-fried veggies, chow mien with mussels, pasta with meatballs, potato salad.

Nov 22 & 28 (Sun): Char siu (chinese bbq pork) with rice, stir-fried veggies, deviled eggs, Lu rou fan, potato salad, chow mien with hot dog.

Dec 6 & 13 (Sun): Ee fu mee (noodles with seafood and egg gravy), pasta with meatballs, stir-fried veggies, deviled eggs, potatoes + sausage, chicken rice.

Twincredibles at 20-22 months. Terrible two is coming soon! 

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