2020 resolution - shopping my own bag and wallet collection. Any one else?

[ElainePG]

I have also become a more positive person through this. I feel like a positive attitude can make situations like this more bareable and improves my own mental health. I have to actively do this. I am not a negative person usually, more neutral. But I am really feeling the effects of purposely thinking and seeing the positive if that makes sense!

That makes a LOT of sense!

 

[papertiger]

Love this...I think. It’s in German (?) so I can’t tell what the goal is. Where did you find this? I’d like to try to get the English version.

———

And, one bag out! Yay! It’s my least expensive bag so the $$ are inconsequential. But, at least it it will no longer be lurking in my closet unworn and unloved.

You could try the French version!

 

[papertiger]

Thank you so much for this. I really needed it. I've been really demotivated about everything, just because I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I had hoped to work in radio (behind the scenes) but now I'm second guessing everything.
I'm not someone who thrives off of working remotely. I am very introverted, and whilst working from home is not a challenge in terms of getting things done, it is a challenge for me emotionally because it means I will turn into even more of a hermit.
Working in a professional setting, donning my suit and grabbing one of my beautiful bags, commuting and seeing other people working...it's important to me and forces me out of my shell.
I hate offices, I hate office politics, the endless gossip, and boring long meetings (can you tell I've worked in toxic environments? LOL) and I actually speak very little during a typical workday, but the routine of going to work and working with other people is good for me. I'm missing that a lot now, partly because I just spent some time back in hospital and partly because this virus has killed any chance of me being "a normal human" anytime soon.

Sorry, this is unrelated to bags and has turned into a confessional!
I don't even have pictures of my bags to post in here right now, so imma exit stage left...

Don't exit.

None of us are really using bags right now so don't worry

 

[ElainePG]

Hi everyone, another few weeks have passed and I’ve not been on here due to everything that’s going on. Just popped back to see how everyone was doing. I’ve got about 40 pages of posts to read to catch up.

Thanks for all the good wishes for my siblings. My sister is mostly recovered and back at work (she’s an NHS DR but probably caught this from her kids via school before they closed). She’s constantly tired 3 weeks after the initial infection but otherwise ok. My brother has been a lot worse but is generally better although left with chronic asthma now so still can’t do much. Hopefully that will get better with time. He’s only in his mid40s.

I’ve had a couple of weeks “off work” for the Easter break. Been gardening like mad and having lots of family time. Mostly eating outside when it’s warm enough, family walk/runs/cycling, playing board games and watching movies. School goes back for the kids in Tuesday so back to “work” then.

I’m in a routine with remote shopping for my 3 families. It’s a lot of work but we are getting there. Income isn’t an issue for us at the moment fortunately. I’ve been doing some online shopping for more Tshirts and other comfortable casual clothing, hobby activities for my family (I’ve taken up adult colouring which is very relaxing), board games (highly recommend “Ticket to Ride”), garden items and technology (Laptops from the children). While delivering is still allowed it seems like it might help the economy to spend a bit.

Currently we are still allowed out for essential shopping, exercise etc but that is it. My Mini Mulberry Cara is my faithful companion for walks, effortlessly worn on my back containing my phone, wallet and keys plus a tiny bottle of hand gel. However, I’ve made more use of an tiny running pouch (Week 3 of C25K) and a big reusable garden rubbish bag for weeding! My garden now has a massive compost and pruning heap as we can’t get rid of that.

I see everyone else is keeping busy and look forward to reading your individual posts to catch up. Meanwhile, I’ve missed black and grey weeks so I’ll try to post some pictures soon.

Take care of yourselves!

Great to hear from you @Katinahat . I'm so glad that your brother and sister are both pulling out of their COVID-19 infections, though it sounds like a verrrrrrry slow process. Are they quarantined for the immediate future, or are they past that period?

Your 3 families are fortunate to have you to do their remote shopping for them. And your hobby activities sound so creative. Is the "Ticket To Ride" game about The Beatles? I may have to check it out!

 

[ElainePG]

No bowls. I have been cutting my husbands hair for twenty years. I just watched his hair dresser cut it. Then one day when he did not have time to go he asked me to trim it. That was that for him . I would have been more then happy if he had gone back. You could always watch some videos on it.

Brilliant idea!

 

[dcooney4]

Thank you for checking in with us, i'm so happy to hear that your siblings are doing much better, and you are spending time with your family.


Same, our family will be getting together on zoom as well, i'm s excited to see and chat with everyone. Congratulations on the 10lb weight loss! that's fantastic!


I love this! really good tips on staying positive!

Your BBQ night sounds divine! I love Steak, and that martini, yum! i spent my Friday night having dinner with my mom on zoom. mom was finally able to get a test for covid. She tested positive, and i'm happy to report that she is doing much better this week. She had soup while i had a pokay bowl.

So glad she is doing better.

 

[More bags]

When I have negative thoughts or am frustrated I try to think of actions I can take to change the situation if within my control. If not in my control then I ask myself how things could be worse and why the situation is not so bad. It is partially just about changing perspective, especially now with all that is going on. I am finding thinking more positive gets me to not dwell on things that don’t go as well. I have always been able to do this at work - use failures as a learning opportunity and move on - but not my life in general. Whereas my husband is a glass half full person. He is rarely sad or stressed and I believe he lives a happier life being able to see the positives and move on from set backs. I am trying to train myself to be like that too and I actually believe it is working!

Excellent tips, thanks for sharing.

 

[More bags]

Sent a bag out this morning, so at least I am now even for the month so far. Though thank goodness I don't count shoes. I ordered quite a few sandals . May need to order more pants soon if I keep sticking with my diet. It seems to come off so much slower than it did when I was a bit younger. Ten pounds down so far though .

Also, congratulations on your sale!

 

[More bags]

Thank you for checking in with us, i'm so happy to hear that your siblings are doing much better, and you are spending time with your family.


Same, our family will be getting together on zoom as well, i'm s excited to see and chat with everyone. Congratulations on the 10lb weight loss! that's fantastic!


I love this! really good tips on staying positive!

Your BBQ night sounds divine! I love Steak, and that martini, yum! i spent my Friday night having dinner with my mom on zoom. mom was finally able to get a test for covid. She tested positive, and i'm happy to report that she is doing much better this week. She had soup while i had a pokay bowl.

keodi, I am glad your mom was able to get the test. Sorry to hear the outcome. I hope she has a full recovery and is able to get some rest.

 

[dcooney4]

I am wishing everyone with sick family and friends speedy recoveries. My sisters in-law are doing slightly better now too.

 

[whateve]

I placed my order on Wednesday morning, and it took until last night (Friday) before the shopping was done. Once he shopped, though, he was at my house in 5 minutes. I didn't mind the lag time, because I wasn't in a hurry, but I can see how backed up they are. Now I've learned! You can specify either a range of days, or a specific day, and next time I'll pick a specific day if that option is available.

I was very pleased with the service. I had my phone with me, and it pinged when Justin wanted to ask me a question about a substitution. He even sent me a photo when there was some confusion, which I thought was very nice! I only ordered a few things, but I have a longer list for next time.

They tip the shoppers next to nothing, but gave me the option to increase the tip, which I absolutely did. They also let you rate the shopper, and I made sure to give him 5 stars plus some extra comments. These InstaCart shoppers are working VERY hard, keeping those of us who are at risk the security of sheltering in place. (I was also glad to see that he was wearing a mask and gloves when he came to our door. At first, I read that the InstaCart shoppers weren't being given protective gear. But this is obviously being fixed.)

Are you and your DH going outside for neighborhood walks, @whateve ? We think we should, since we are in such a spread-out area and exercise is good, but we will wear face masks. What's your thinking on this?

We haven't gone out for walks but I would encourage you to do so if it is safe. DH tires very easily and he is panicked about catching covid-19. We're in a neighborhood near a dead end so no one comes here except those who live here. We go out in our back yard. I've been meaning to start exercising but haven't been very good about it. In a few months I'll start swimming. I need to clean out the pool filters though, and I'm dreading that. I probably would have hired someone to do it if it weren't for the current situation.

 

[keodi]

keodi, I am glad your mom was able to get the test. Sorry to hear the outcome. I hope she has a full recovery and is able to get some rest.

Thank you!

 

[keodi]

I am wishing everyone with sick family and friends speedy recoveries. My sisters in-law are doing slightly better now too.

I'm glad to hear they are doing better!

 

[keodi]

I placed my order on Wednesday morning, and it took until last night (Friday) before the shopping was done. Once he shopped, though, he was at my house in 5 minutes. I didn't mind the lag time, because I wasn't in a hurry, but I can see how backed up they are. Now I've learned! You can specify either a range of days, or a specific day, and next time I'll pick a specific day if that option is available.

I was very pleased with the service. I had my phone with me, and it pinged when Justin wanted to ask me a question about a substitution. He even sent me a photo when there was some confusion, which I thought was very nice! I only ordered a few things, but I have a longer list for next time.

They tip the shoppers next to nothing, but gave me the option to increase the tip, which I absolutely did. They also let you rate the shopper, and I made sure to give him 5 stars plus some extra comments. These InstaCart shoppers are working VERY hard, keeping those of us who are at risk the security of sheltering in place. (I was also glad to see that he was wearing a mask and gloves when he came to our door. At first, I read that the InstaCart shoppers weren't being given protective gear. But this is obviously being fixed.)

Are you and your DH going outside for neighborhood walks, @whateve ? We think we should, since we are in such a spread-out area and exercise is good, but we will wear face masks. What's your thinking on this?

I'm not @whateve but when I went out for a walk yesterday in my subdivision, I wore a mask. Thank you for sharing your experience with instacart, I will have to figure out a service such as Instacart, as very soon we won't be able to go into the grocery store.

 

[ElainePG]

Even if you have to FaceTime people individually for him to be able to say hi! That could be enough and would make me very cheerful! Or you can try to find something on the computer (just in case you don't have an iPhone) that will allow you to do this with many people at once. I've done Google Hangouts and Zoom.

Oh, I definitely have an iPhone! I got the iPhoneX from Mr. PG as a birthday present when it first came out, and it works just great for me (haven't felt the need to upgrade since then). Until recently I didn't have a million apps on it, but now that we're sheltering in place I'm making use of lots of them to keep us safely in touch with the outside world.

I use Zoom, but I don't know about Google Hangouts. I'll check that out!