Blogging in the Time of COVID-19

Hello there, dearies! How are you all doing?

Well, it's been two and a half years since my last post! So much has happened since then but I'm almost always too busy with life hence the writing hiatus. Now with Corona Virus Disease 2019 taking over the world (and our normal lives), suddenly we all have too much time in our hands. And so I thought of resurrecting this old blog in the hopes of documenting what I got myself busy with in the confines of our home. It's actually mostly cooking and giving in to every craving, watching my weight increase by the day but eating just the same, some try-hard doodling in my planner (which by the way, finally got to be used after xx years), silly and sometimes heart-breaking conversations with my 6-year old daughter (yes, time flies!) and in between those, random musings and daydreaming about life in the time of COVID-19.

The past 2 months have been very challenging for myself and my husband not only because we are stuck inside the house but also because since end of February, we have been away from our darling Madison. As the numbers rose in Singapore, we have decided to leave her with my mom in the Philippines after our vacation because we felt at that time that our family home is a tad more safe for her. In case things get worse (and boy, did it get worse here!), at least she is not exposed to health hazards and she has her aunties (aka her most favorite people in the world) to keep her entertained while in quarantine mode. But then, the hard part is that we are missing her all the time! Our only consolation is that (1) there's Facetime to keep us up to date on what's going on with Maddie; and (2) we have each other to battle the loneliness in a far away land. 

So to keep looking at the brighter side, I wanted to take this moment to write about all the things I am grateful for despite the virus situation. Here goes:

1. I, my husband, Madison and our families in PH are all safe and healthy. While more than three million people have been infected around the globe, we and our loved ones are COVID-free. So for that alone, thanks be to God!

One of our Facetime sessions with our unica hija.

2. We are able to keep our jobs despite the looming recession and mass layoffs. I work in a French bank as a Business Analyst while J is a Purchasing Manager for a cleaning service company so we've been working from home since Singapore started its circuit breaker measures (that's already a whole month!) Fortunately the internet here is super fast and reliable hence "telecommuting" as they call it has been so far, so good! We received our month-end pay as usual and we don't have to worry about bills and debts piling up. We are lucky, indeed!

Hubby set up work desks in our living room complete with 23-inch monitors,
swivel chairs and even a laser printer! It's a legit home office, I tell you! :)

3. We have well-stocked fridge and pantry. Some people worry about their next meal but us, we only need to think about which craving to satisfy first! I have this long list of what to cook and bake and even though I have to pretend I'm on a Tetris game just to make our food supplies fit in the freezer, I acknowledge what a blessing it is to have a full stock!

(L) One of our kitchen cabinets finally organized according to food groups -- canned goods, spices, baking ingredients, pasta and sauces, etc. (R)The contents of our snack drawer in the bedroom! ;)

4. We have a roof over our head. We and our loved ones back in PH are in the comfort of our homes throughout this difficult period. We have comfortable beds, a/c rooms, a spacious living area and a well-equipped kitchen. And even though our real family is miles away, Jhay and I are together and we are at least able to keep each other sane until everything goes back to normal :)

Who said you cannot party while staying in?

Yesterday, we celebrated Labor Day via a BBQ sesh with our 2 fun-loving housemates.

5. We have friends and the power of technology to seal the distance. Yes we are 3,000 miles from home but we have iMessage, FB messenger, Viber, WhatsApp (name it, we have it!) to make us feel we are still close-at-heart. One day (and I'm claiming, it's soon), we will all be together in our favorite restos or each other's homes and laugh and eat and drink wine and talk about everything under the sun, but for now, our exchanging of foodie pics will have to suffice :)

I miss you, ladies! This is obviously an old photo (look, Maddie's

with me there!) because we don't get to take a decent one these days!

6. I am working on a new hobby. I still have a long, long way to go to master modern calligraphy, but this is a good start. And oh, a valid reason to hoard multi-colored pens! LOL!

7. In this trying and uncertain year that is 2020, one thing remains: our faith in a Divine Power who will make everything better in His own time. Our faith does not falter, in fact it has grown ever so strong as we face this pandemic. We may not be able to physically partake in church service every Sunday but we are thankful that we still have online Mass streaming to give thanks to God and continue praying for healing and providence and good health and inner peace.

There you have it, folks – my short Gratitude List. I hope you are all safe and in perfect health as well, and if you also have some spare minutes, you may want to come up with your own list! Let's all count our blessings, shall we? =)

Now please excuse me while I go prep our dinner. Will post my kitchen adventures next. Ciao!