Our stay-at-home order ends on May 30th, in one and a half weeks. According to the news (ha! the news!), it looks like we’ll be able to move on to Phase 3 of our five phased “Restore Illinois” plan then. In Phase 3, manufacturing, offices, retail, barbershops, and salons can reopen to the public with capacity and other limits and safety precautions. Bars and restaurants are open for delivery, pickup, and drive through only. Gatherings of 10 or fewer people are allowed. What about gyms? I had to dig deep to find those guidelines – health and fitness clubs can provide outdoor classes and one-on-one personal training with IDPH approved safety guidance.
I don’t plan on going to any of those places on May 31st. Or even in the month of June. I miss getting my nails done, but I can paint them at home. (Interestingly, I think Wisconsin is completely reopened… you probably all saw that in the news last week. We live really close to the border, and I shop in Wisconsin, but I don’t plan to visit any recently reopened dining establishments there.)
I am curious about “gathering” with folks… but kind of doubt we will. We’ll see.
Speaking of offices reopening… my work doesn’t plan to have us come back before October 1st. If we do have to go in for a required meeting, there won’t be anyone else in the office, and we can get a parking pass to park in our building in the city (which is a big deal – parking in the city is expensive!). I hope I don’t have to go in, but yesterday a client was requesting an in person meeting in late July.
Since I’ve never been one to take care of my hair, I’m not missing going to the hair stylist. However, I ran out of my nice Aveda leave-in conditioner and it’s too expensive to buy online, and I miss how it makes my hair feel! I’m using some Herbal Essences stuff now that does the job but makes my hair feel overloaded with product. So maybe it doesn’t do the job?!
Like everyone else, I’m doing a lot more video calls at work, and lately so many people have been commenting on Steven’s vest when they see him in the background! I asked him if I could get a video reenactment of him in the background of a call wearing his vest and he had some fun with it:
One of the big “tips” for working at home OR just being at home more is to establish a schedule/routine because humans thrive on routine (I sure do!). I didn’t put much thought in to this since I’ve been working from home for years, and it’s been fine. But last week, I changed my workout routine – just the days I did what – and it put me in a huge funk and made me feel guilty! Like, what in the actual F. I’d say that I should go back to my routine, but I really think I should be more flexible with when I do which workouts. And not feel guilty – I’m the only one who cares what I do!
I am not talking about it as much, but we are still meal planning our dinners – in that we make a list of ideas on Saturday and kind of follow which days to eat them on. And we’re still liking it!
One of my household jobs has always been shopping and keeping things we need “in stock,” but I’m feeling especially proud of being on the ball with it now. A few weeks ago Steven said to me “I opened the last tube of toothpaste today.” And I said “there’s a two pack arriving from Target today.” Ha.
Ha, last week Steven said to me “didn’t you wear that outfit yesterday?” And I told him this is how I dress at home all the time – I wear the same stuff days in a row until it’s stinky. That’s not new! He’d never noticed it before though, ha. Other normal things I am still doing during COVID-19 times;
- wearing jeans every day (but they have stretch in them)
- taking a long time to respond to long personal emails
- not wanting to read long work emails
- wanting to avoid the computer on weekends, or at least use it someplace else – like the kitchen peninsula
Starbuck loves it when my computer is on the peninsula
I’ve really been craving a vegan donut (from a donut shop/made by someone else). Not sure that relates to this post, but here it is.
I don’t blame you for not wanting to go out and do things right away. I’m really hesitant to as well. Restaurants and bars are back open for patio service now (it’s been raining every day since that started) and open for indoor dining tomorrow but I just don’t feel like it’s worth the risk. I’d be comfortable outside if it ever stops raining but not inside.
I don’t know if this will help or not but Aveda is having 25% off everything plus free shipping right now, ending today. Which leave-in do you use? I’ve been going to an Aveda salon here for a couple of years and LOVE the way my hair feels with their products. I used Herbal Essences when it came out in the 90’s and it feels gross. OGX and Pantene are good cheaper brands that you can get from Target.
Ugh, I am bummed you are getting all this rain too. I hope it clears up for you guys soon! I’d be okay outside too. Kuma’s Corner has an outdoor patio and I could totally see us eating there this summer. What are the restrictions with your indoor dining opening tomorrow? Any?
That totally helps! I hadn’t looked on their site for a while and I totally appreciate the heads up! YAY! I use the Smooth Infusion and really like it, although, I have not tried it in the summer yet! Hope it works well then too. I need to see if OGX has anything other than Shampoo and Conditioner cause I use them for that! LOL, that home salon I tried was like “What is OGX?” and all judgy about it. LOL. I got the Aveda from her and did NOT go back. 😉 (and why does Herbal Essences make our hair feel that way? Wah.)
I hope so too! The plan to see some of my friends before we move was a picnic! So a day or two without rain would be nice. I think the indoor restrictions are just keeping tables 6′ feet apart and groups under 10. A lot of places are requiring that you either make reservations or call ahead for seating (then they’ll call/text when your table is ready) to avoid having people wait. I hate waiting as it is so I wish places would have been doing that all along ha ha ha!
Yep, OGX definitely has lots of products! I love their dry shampoo and I use a few of their curl products too. That’s annoying that they were judgy! And I have no idea what’s up with Herbal Essences – it always felt like it was just stuck to my scalp. SO gross!
A picnic on non soggy grass would be nice 😉 That is a great idea to require reservations and like you, I would not mind if that trend or a version of it stayed! 😉
Oh yeah, I remember seeing their dry shampoo! I will have to browse next time I am in a physical store! I had a really bad experience with that lady. She was mean about the state of my hair and the length I want to get it too, etc. OMG, TMI, but I have noticed I’m accidentally scratching my head more, and I think it’s from the HE buildup! YUCK!
We don’t have to go back until at least October 1, either. They’ll allow people to come back starting on June 1, but with strict capacity limits and they’re really discouraging people from coming back unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. The CEO even sent out an email yesterday emphasizing how much they’d rather we stay home if at all possible. I was nervous they were going to try to make everyone come back as soon as offices were allowed to reopen, so I’m very relieved that’s not the case. I don’t plan to go back until they make me!
I totally get what you’re saying about the workout thing. It wasn’t until last year when I stopped scheduling workouts for specific days, and even so, I’d still almost always do them on the day I was “supposed” to do them based on how they would’ve been scheduled (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). Like I could list the workout as “workout one” for the week, which in no way meant it HAD to be my first workout of the week, but it still always would be – even though I specifically called it “workout one” instead of “day one” or just straight up “Monday” to not feel like it HAD to be done on Monday. I’ve tried to be more flexible with my schedule recently, partly due to quarantine but partly due to not really having any reason why a particular workout needed to be on a particular day, but I still almost always follow the same pattern and think it feels really weird and off to mix what day I do what.
Oh good! I am glad you don’t have to go back until then too! And if people need to stop in for something or go in for a day or whatever, it won’t be as bad, since not everyone is there.
YES. You totally get me. What a weird thing, right? Like it absolutely doesn’t matter and yet, I’ve gotten so in to this routine right now, that it messes me up if I change it!
Ha ha – love what Steven was doing in the background of your video!
No, I will not be going back to the gym anytime soon and am seriously thinking of cancelling my membership – I’ve gotten so much better about getting my workouts in at home that I feel like I could do without it (that is, until the weather gets bad in the winter – but then I could rejoin if I wanted, right?)
He’s such a goober! I love that about him.
That plan makes sense and I bet A LOT of people will be doing that! And even in the winter, I bet you could make it work at home to some extent… it’s nice to have an indoor track or treadmill in the winter though!
Ugh, I wish my work would let us know what’s going on with our WFH order! I know they aren’t interested in all of us rushing back into the office, so I doubt we’ll be forced to come back to work anytime soon, but I would just like to know if there’s a date they are eyeing to start transitioning people back to the office. During our last company-wide call (which was sometime in April), they said they might start having managers come in for meetings in May and *maybe* bringing people back in June, but I hope not! That seems way too soon.
I use TreSemme for my hair and I love it! I cycle between their keratin smooth line and color protection line (depending on what’s available, haha). Just an option if you’re looking for something in between Aveda products!
I’ve been wearing the exact same pair of pajama pants since this whole WFH order started, haha. They’re my “fancy day pants”! And then I just throw on a tank top, usually. Thankfully I don’t have video calls to worry about. 🙂
That does seem soon. What prompted the company wide call before? They need to have another to tell you what’s up! I like being informed and I appreciate that our company has kept us over-informed 😉
Oh thanks! I forgot about them but remember I love the way it smells! I can get them at Target, right?
Ooo, that sounds hella comfy! I can’t wear stuff like that cause it makes me sweat (which I am fine with at night)! Doesn’t that suck? Sigh.