This was a hard, hard week. Just when the air quality finally cleared up and we could venture back outside, the news broke that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. May her memory be a blessing.

Add that to continued pandemic stress and concern over the elections, life just feels hard. I almost skipped this week, but instead, here’s just a very short update for posterity.

Friday’s Frugal Five

1. Kristy and her family parked out front of our house for a few days and left on Monday. Their son Owen and our kiddo were fast friends, and my heart was so happy seeing them together. But they had to move on, and it’s amazing how quickly I felt that hole even though they were here for less than a week. The thing I miss most in 2020 is people.

So of course, Purple retires next week (!!) and consequently is leaving Washington tomorrow. I’m simultaneously so excited for her but also heartbroken that she won’t be nearby any longer.

2. With the unsettled state of things lately, we’ve continued our preparedness focus. Here’s your reminder that if you’ve consumed down your stockpile since I suggested you have one back in March, it’s probably time to revisit that list. No one knows what this fall and winter might bring, but it’s always better to be prepared.

3. We “went” apple picking at the in-laws. My mother in law has a few dwarf apple trees that she’s made sure to stay pruned / covered from bugs, and she had a serious bumper crop of apples this year. As part of a kindergarten day, they read books about apples, played apple games, and then we picked apples and pressed them into cider.

4. To be honest, homeschooling has been the bright spot as of late. It’s been fun to see the kiddo’s handwriting and letter recognition improve by leaps and bounds in just the last month. My mom has been making awesome worksheets based on his interests (Pokemon, above all) and she’s been making enough to share with us for our days with him.

This week, I created an “S” (“Soggy”) Nature Scavenger Hunt that we took on a walk through our woods, and I plan to make more for other letters. Thanks to Julie always being in my head, I’m considering turning these into printables, but maybe setting up an Etsy shop won’t ever happen, because I definitely don’t need another thing on my plate right now. (But if you do, she has some fabulous courses on how to do it!)

5. I’ve started making homemade bread regularly. It’s actually much easier and faster to do than I thought, and cheaper/lower waste than buying it in the store, let alone so much tastier. Part of a loaf did get pretty stale this week though, so I turned them into croutons to add to a homemade corn chowder. I definitely don’t want to buy store bought croutons any more either now.

Exercise Update

Thursday marked the 4th day in a row where I’ve been perfect tracking my food and exercise via MyFitnessPal. I’m not sure why the switch happened, but I finally feel like I’m in the right headspace to tackle my weight and take my fitness and food to the next level. Perhaps because it feels like the only thing I have full control of right now?

I went for a soggy run with the kiddo on Saturday, rejoicing at the clean air. Monday and Tuesday he didn’t want to join me, so I went by myself after dinner. Wednesday I alternated playing cards with the kiddo (he’s learned how to play War courtesy of our roommate) and doing a minute of jumping jacks at a time, and then we finished up with wall sits and some dancing. Thursday was an arms day for weights, after I was somewhat sore from Wednesday.

How are you holding up this week?