Year 2, Week 40: Online Auction Week

Well, hello there! I hope everyone is doing well! We have had a good week, a few bumps in the road, but doing well otherwise!

Monday was one of the busier days that I had! I have been having quite a few skin issues and I finally reached a breaking point Sunday night, so I finally got an appointment with my physician and we are figuring everything out! It was my Monday off, so I went grocery shopping, then came home, made some muffins and put lasagna roll-ups together. It was Monday night, so we went to game night and took the lasagna roll-ups to share. I also made some double chocolate banana buckwheat muffins...which were absolutely delicious! Game night was fun...but we were a little bit distracted. There was an online auction going on that had an outdoor table and chairs that we wanted...and we won them! It was very exciting for us since we grill a lot and have already been thinking a lot this spring about how much we would love to sit outside and play some games!

Tuesday I worked, so Jonathan was home. He relaxed, played some guitar, watched TV and a movie and enjoyed some alone time. It was a big day for us, though, because we payed off Jonathan's student loans! One more thing crossed off the list!  Of course, my Wednesday is always my day off, so we got a lot of stuff done. I did some cleaning, completed some education that I needed to, called the airline to get our tickets refunded, then after Jonathan was done working we enjoyed the evening! Cajun pork chops for dinner, lots of dishes to do then played some gin rummy and watched The Masked Singer. Thursday I worked again, so Jonathan worked, then took a moment to chat with his family afterward.

It was my weekend off - which was awesome. We relaxed a lot and had a good time together! Friday was a slow day for me. After Jonathan was done with work we played some games, then I made skillet pot pie for dinner and we watched Thor: Ragnarok while we ate. Dessert was homemade milkshakes....always delicious.

Saturday we got out of Minerva. First, we filled up on french toast, then we headed to visit with the Landis' while totally maintaining social distancing, of course. The auction we got our table and chairs at was in Navarre, so we left, went to the Dariette for some ice cream (of course), then went to pick up our stuff. We took the long way home just driving around, picked up pizza, chips and dip then came home to eat. After we ate we realized how little we had to do...so we went to the Haas farm to watch the Zookeeper's Wife with them since they had never seen it. It was a lot of fun!

Now that everything is canceled, church is a little different. So we went over to Mom and Dad's for french toast and church in the morning, then came home and had leftovers for lunch, cleaned, learned a new game and relaxed. New recipe for dinner! We had chicken rollups and smoothies...which were both delicious. There was an impromptu Hochstedler family chat, so we joined in there and got to catch up with them. After that we went to bed to get some rest for this next week.

It is looking like the world is going to slowly begin returning to a semblance of order...but I sincerely doubt it will be soon enough. We are missing our friends and family and cannot wait to reconnect with you all...but will keep praying for everyone in this time of waiting. 

Love you all - stay safe!

Alli and Jonathan

Year 2, Week 39: An Unconventional Easter Week

Another week down of social distancing! No clue how many 
more to go, but we are just glad to have one less! We have been making the most of our time at home and have been entertaining ourselves learning new games, organizing and doing some projects.

Our local blue bird!

So I worked Monday and Tuesday, Jonathan went to game night Monday night and since it was super nice out they went outside and played a game! They had a great time. Monday was the first exciting mail day for me. We have ordered a few things since the quarantine started so it has been fun! Tuesday we didn't get anything fun in the mail, but Jonathan got the garage cleaned a little more, watched some shows and made a friend with one of the local geese! Apparently he had a run-in with mother goose, this goose stepped in, attacked the other goose, then followed Jonathan around the whole rest of the night, pooped on our patios and then came back in the morning trying to find him! It was really entertaining and next time you see him, you should definitely ask him to tell you the story in detail because it is way better than this!

Wednesday I was off, so that was helpful. I went to Mom's and made some masks for the employees in the pharmacy. They have been wearing them for when they go on the floor to help the customers, which helps keep everyone out there safe from anything we may have gotten. It is a strange world out there with everyone wearing masks, but I am glad that we are trying to keep each other safe...just looking forward to a time without masks. I worked on a few other things when I got home. Balanced our finances, ordered some new lunchboxes and started some rhubarb jelly (which ended up being too sweet), we had a fire in the evening and played a few games! It was a fantastic time and I actually ended up winning a few games.

New pants!

Gin rummy is our new game, so we played a few more games on Thursday and watched The Masked Singer. We had leftover chicken quesadillas for dinner and enjoyed time together. I did some winning of that game...finally, but it was not long lived. Thursday was crappy weather wise, so we drove to get the mail and got our Duluth stuff that we ordered! Jonathan got a new pair of special engineering pants and said they are super duper comfy, so he is all ready to go back to work whenever they lift the social distancing.

That day it snowed...

It was my weekend to work, so Jonathan was home all weekend. Friday he worked, then started working on the table. Fun story, when our next door neighbors moved out they left a table that they kept outside. We have had it in our garage and it needed a lot of work, but he did some fixing on it and it looks really neat! There are a few more things we have to figure out about what we want to do about it, but when we get it figured out and done we will share some pictures! 

I was too confident...

Saturday was one of my employee's birthdays, so Jonathan picked lunch up for us and came to say hi! He also surprised me with some ice cream when I got home...which was probably the best Easter gift ever. He worked on the table a little bit more and then worked on getting some dinner ready to go. We had leftovers again and played more gin rummy. Jonathan had a great comeback...as in...he was at 18 points and I was at 99, with the goal of having 100 points and he came back and won. It was a complete losing day for me but it was so much fun!

Sunday was Easter...which was a very slow day at work, but a good day! I woke up and hid some things for Jonathan to find for Easter! Honestly - he got some candy and some flower pots, but he also got to search for them! So, please appreciate his confused moment to the left. Throughout the day, while I was gone, he talked to his parents, did the dishes and made steak and potatoes on the grill for dinner! I got home at 5, so we relaxed, watched church and then Mom brought me some ice packs in the evening. I have been having a lot of trouble with itching, we are getting through it, but the ice packs were very necessary for me to get some sleep that night! 

This week is off to a great start and we are looking forward to what is coming up! Hope to see you all soon and give you big hugs!

Love you all,

Alli and Jonathan

Year 2, Week 38: The Beautiful Outdoors

What a week last week was! It was a light week for me, so we had a great time together! We are so thankful for the nice weather...that's for sure! 

Monday I spent time grocery shopping and getting everything we need for the next two weeks. We went to game night in the evening and played "BANG". Tuesday I worked all day, so Jonathan swept, did dishes and talked to Dillon a little bit. I was pretty sick most of the day...it slowly got better, but made for a pretty long day. Everything is still going well, but it slows down a lot at night, so we have been getting a lot done.

When I was home on Wednesday I did laundry, balanced some finances and went to get allergy shots. For dinner we had creamy sausage pasta, which was delicious and made a great set of leftovers. I ordered a few things which are slowly coming in, so that is fun! Jonathan got to chat with Tim for a little bit while I did some organizing on the computer and they caught up. I worked on Thursday, Jonathan spent some time putting things away in the office after work, then practiced guitar, worked in the garage and did dishes for me! 

The weekend was amazing...we were both off, it was beautiful outside and we made the most of it! Friday Jonathan worked, so I cleaned a little bit and organized the freezer. After Jonathan was done working, we ordered dinner from Classic 57, went on a walk and then went to pick it up. We hung out, watched a show while we ate and then read before bed...of course...Jonathan read until he was ready for bed...I read until I finished the book (1:30), then I went to bed. 

Saturday we slept in, had breakfast enchiladas, then went to the nature center for a walk. It was absolutely beautiful! We walked, we talked, we soaked up some sunshine. After our walk, we went on a long drive until we finally made it to DQ, got some ice cream and ate it by the river in the park! Once we got home, Jonathan mowed while I cleaned up the house and put the humidifiers away. We had southwest crispy wraps for dinner, then had a fire in the evening and finished a great day up with even more quality time together! 

The one bummer on Sunday was the fact that Sloppy Joe died. Apparently there was a weird accident and he ended up not making it! So that was really sad!

Sunday we had house church and went on another drive. We had leftovers for lunch, watched some TV and chatted with the Landis'. After we put a few things away and straightened up the house, learned how to play gin rummy, and then had Ritz chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner! The evening was spent watching Spiderman and hanging out at home. It was a great evening, a nice time at home and we had some quality time together. 

I hope everyone else is finding good things to do while at home. The nice weather has been so helpful...we hope it will continue, but if not, we will still make the best of it. We cannot wait to get back to visiting people and social interaction! Have a great week!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Year 2, Week 37: Continued Coronavirus Adaptations

Hello there! I hope everyone is doing well in quarantine. We are doing pretty well, getting a little bit stir crazy at times, but adjusting! Jonathan has gotten a lot done at home and I have been going back and forth between working and recovering for the most part. 

Last week was a big work week for me, so Jonathan was home a lot. Monday he went to game night, they played a lot of "BANG!", which is a new game he got for Christmas. They had a lot of fun with it! Tuesday he did some organizing...we had one especially disorganized closet, so he tackled that and now we can actually find stuff in there! My days Monday and Tuesday were good. A little bit crazy, but we are getting through it. Our hours have changed a little bit, now I get there at 8:30, we are open 9-9 and then we stay and clean until 9:30. So I get there a little earlier, but I get home before 10, to that has been really nice.

Wednesday we hung out at home. I made some phone calls, paid some bills, meal planned for April and did some laundry. We had sausage gravy, biscuits and mashed potatoes, spent the evening hanging out together and watched "I Can Only Imagine", which was a fantastic movie, highly recommend. Before we did that we made a lot of butter...over 3 pounds of it...which is helpful since the store is running out of a lot of stuff! Thursday evening we relaxed a lot, watched some Masked Singer, had chicken and wild rice soup then played some Bura before we got ready for bed. 

Friday Jonathan was not feeling well, I had to go to work, but we stayed in contact and he kept feeling better as the day went on. After work he took a 3+ hour nap and felt a lot better when he woke up! By the time I got home, he was basically back to normal. Saturday he was perfectly fine! Ran to grab some milk for us, did some cleaning and started organizing the garage...which definitely looked worse before better! By the time I got home there was stuff everywhere! He ordered Grinders for us and I picked it up on my way home, so that was delicious and we ended up just chatting and spending time together for the evening. Sunday, while I worked, Jonathan chatted with both sides for his family and worked on the garage a little bit more. Once I got home, we ate leftovers, watched church and then relaxed the rest of the evening. 

I hope everyone is staying safe...looks like we have a few more weeks of staying at home, but we can't wait to see everyone once we are allowed! Love you all!

- Alli and Jonathan