I’ll admit I had to look up the date and day of the week while writing this post. I’ve been at my parents house in North Carolina for a week now and finally took out my laptop to get some writing in. I took some time to just settle in and unpack, enjoy the pool and grocery shop. My visit was a surprise for my dad for Father’s Day which he loved and was very surprised. We had to do some grocery shopping and such so I could get my favorite snacks. It’s something silly but my dad and I would always go grocery shopping together at Wegmans and we would act shocked when the other person added something to the cart that was not on the list my mom made for us. It was fun to do it with my dad because he got to take me to his grocery store down here and complain that they always move everything and can never find what he needs. You don’t realize how much you miss being home until you’ve been away for a long time. My mom and I are spending time together by the pool chatting and catching up. My parents gave me a few projects around the house because they know I like to stay busy and I’m young so I can do some heavy lifting. Earlier this week, we went to Walmart to buy plastic bins to put all of my stuff that has been sitting in all of the guest room closets since the move to put in the basement. I’m starting to make my room here a little more cozy. While we were out, we bought a few things to turn a previous play room into a craft room for my mom. It was where the movers put all of the boxes during the move so now that most of their stuff has been unpacked, I spent two days deep cleaning and building furniture to make it a practical craft room for my mom.

After months of just sitting, I’m excited to get busy with projects around the house and take a quick dip in the pool to cool down. I’ve been spending my mornings drinking coffee outside by the pool and then spending my nights in the screened in porch at night watching tv or relaxing. It’s definitely been a nice change of scenery even though I miss my two boys back home in Philadelphia!

I’ve enjoyed the break from tv since I’ve been down here. I’ll watch some Real Housewives for some noise in the background while I clean or work on a project. My parents finally watched Frozen I and II with me and now my mom understands my obsession with all things Olaf! She even surprised me with an Olaf loofa the other day which I am obsessed with! My dad has the news on 24/7 so I’m back to sitting with him watching what is going on in the world. I already stay informed with The New York Times on Twitter and Huffpost news alerts on my phone but it’s nice to sit on the couch with my dad and complain about morons denying the existence of the coronavirus.

I brought a ton of books and magazines to read while I’m here so I’m excited to lay out by the pool and read. My dad took me to Ollie’s, a store down here that is like a Big Lots to get some pool floats and such. They have a huge book section with books for under $5 so I was able to buy all of Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbooks and Goop books. I’ve officially turned into my mother with collecting cookbooks because they are pretty!

Since I knew I would be in North Carolina for more than two months, I over packed on things I may need while I am down here. My goal is to use up everything I own so I brought every face mask, half used lotion and hair product I have. I’m taking my vitamins each day – hair vitamin, b-12, daily and melatonin. I’m also really committed to using a moisturizer while I’m down here to keep my face hydrated even with all of the time in the sun. At night after I shower, I like to use this face mask set while I tidy up the kitchen and run the dishwasher. I’ve noticed a big change in my skin texture since I a doing masks more often.

Drinking coffee outside in the backyard, front porch or screened in back porch
Dad making dinner every night
Having a car
Safely shopping at stores while staying far from other shoppers and wearing a mask
Visited my brother in Raleigh for the first time in more than a year
Long walks with mom
Pool days
Making my new parents house a home
Designing a craft room for my mom
Cocktails
Hanging with my parents
Change of scenery
Getting a daily work out in because of all of the steps at my parents house

I hope you are doing well during these challenging times that seem to be longer than we all thought. Take care of yourselves, friends!