This week’s post will be short, because I spent entirely too much time helping get folks signed up for their vaccines online and it’s time for me to take a break from screens. I’m tired and need a rest, but helping others get vaccinated against COVID-19 is such an important endeavor, so I keep saying yes.

(I will be going back to counting the weeks by COVID-19 weeks again soon, as we are about to hit week 52…… a whole year of living in this pandemic life. Hard to believe, but also a year ago feels so far away and so foreign at this point).

Friday’s Frugal Five

1. I’m not sure that getting people signed up for vaccine appointments is necessarily a “frugal” thing, except that if I’m hanging out by the computer to jump on appointments as they show up, I’m not spending money elsewhere? That, and clearly the more people in my area that get vaccinated, the closer we get to somewhat normal life, which is a positive for our economy as well.

As of this writing, I believe I’ve signed up somewhere around fifty folks for their first (and some second) vaccine appointments. Once my parents, grandmother, father in law, and husband’s godfather their appointments, I decided to turn my sights outward. I had friends of neighbors and friends’ parents’ friends sent my way, and I’ve tried to help everyone I can.

After that, I decided to be more intentional and reach out to help get appointments specifically for POC, as they have been harder hit by the pandemic and it feels right to help them get access to vaccines now. I share all this in hopes that maybe I can help spark the idea in others; you don’t need any money to help, but helping disadvantaged folks get vaccinated is maybe one of the most important and fulfilling things you could do this year.

2. Oh, and apparently I ticked over another month of my clothes buying ban, which means I’m in the “final” stretch to the four year mark (March 1st). Like I’ve mentioned previously, pandemic life makes this feel like I’m coasting in cheat mode.

Will I feel like I need new clothes when things go back to “normal” and I’m out and about more often? At this point, I think no. Ha. (That and I do have some fabulous hand me downs from more than a dozen people at this point).

3. Speaking of my clothes buying ban, my mother handed me a pair of brand new shoes this week. Apparently they are her standard trail running shoes, but for whatever reason they fit smaller than her normal pairs that she’s purchased a number of times before.

She *says* that they are past the return date and she can’t send them back, but part of me wonders if she just wanted to get me a new pair of shoes that I would accept as a gift. If that’s it, thanks Mom. 😉

4. The kiddo’s birthday is on Saturday, so we celebrated in small ways with both sets of his grandparents this week. We had dinner with my parents and my grandmother one night, with homemade pizza and cake, per the kiddo’s request.

Another day, we had lunch from a local restaurant with my in laws and hung out for a good while on their porch afterward. It might have been a masked up, cold time (my toes were starting to freeze by the time we went home), but it does my heart good to spend time with loved ones in a safe way.

5. I continue to harvest kale and herbs regularly from the garden, even in the coldest, darkest months of the year. This was the first year I had a more intentional winter garden (with Brussels sprouts and carrots I need to harvest any day now), and I love it.

There’s something extra special about picking food out of the garden to add to meals during the cold wet winter versus glorious summer days. Now to finish building the dang chicken coop so we can go pick up some chicks in the coming months…

Exercise Update

Friday we decided to mix it up and went for a long walk along the Edmonds waterfront and then went out to eat at our very favorite Thai restaurant – Thai By Day (they now have individual greenhouses with tables set up inside them for a very COVID-safe dining experience and it was great).

Saturday we went for a hike on another new to us trail, this time at Yost Park. When I looked it up, I didn’t think it had quite as many trails as it does, and it made for a great hike within a short drive of our house. Sunday I went for a 5k run by myself, but somehow it was the only run I managed to squeeze in all week. Thursday was the 3+ mile walk around Greenlake in Seattle while I attended a board meeting. Virtual does have its perks.

How was your week?