Products I'm loving lately

 Another round of stuff I'm loving lately:

-Olay Glow Boost mask. I found this on sale, but when I run out I'm going to buy it again full price. I love that it's in a stick so it rubs on easy with no mess. It's less harsh than some of the other charcoal masks I've tried. It washes off easy with no residue. I've been putting it on every day after I come home, and my mask-related irritation and breakouts have diminished. 

-Dawn Powerwash. This stuff is cool. It's like a degreaser but not as harsh. I've used it to clean greasy dishes, but really, it's good for cleaning anything that's really dirty. I've used it...
-In the bathtub to clean bath oil residue.
-Grimy blinds. After they were removed, I laid them down on the pavement and sprayed it on, scrubbed them with a broom, and used the hose to rinse. Sparkling clean.
-Super old grease on kitchen cabinets.
-Filthy AC vents.
Next I'm going to try it on some patio furniture.

-Stovetop Espresso maker. So simple, makes the super strong coffee that I like. I use it whenever I have a mellow morning or need an afternoon perk.

-White cotton gloves and vaseline. My hands have been beat up lately because of moving and various home repairs, cleaning, etc. I rub some neosporin on the cuts, coat my whole hands in vaseline, and sleep with the gloves. FG thinks it's a little weird but it has seriously helped keep my hands from becoming chapped, cut up messes.

Duane

He was my sister's father-in-law. Not sure what that makes us on a family tree, if anything.

Over the years, I somehow managed to show up to a lot of my sister's husband's family's events, and they are the kind of people who welcome everyone. I developed a friendship with my brother-in-law's family, to the point that I was eventually included for things like Easter dinner and Thanksgiving.

Which is why I'm very sad that my sister's father-in-law passed away unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. It's taken me a while to write my thoughts. 

My heart breaks for his wife and my brother-in-law, and my sister and my nephews, who lost a grandpa. I feel like I lost a friend.

Duane was a very sweet man. I think when he saw me struggling with my marriage to a mean person, it must have struck a nerve because around that time, he started to make an extra effort to be nice to me. It wasn't his responsibility to do that, he did it because he's a good man. People like that help restore a jaded person's faith in humanity. He probably touched many lives like that, in a small but meaningful way.

He was a good dad, a good husband, a good grandpa, and a good friend. He was a mellow guy, always even-keeled and had a clever sense of humor. His wife would get drunk on ladies nights and talk about some of the funny, off-color things that he said. You'd never guess looking at him, which made them all the funnier.

He wore cool socks and a visor and was one of those people who quietly deserved respect, for no other reason than it was the vibe he gave off.

I'm sad that I'll never show up for another Sunday dinner and walk outside on the back porch to find him in the rocking chair, with a glass of wine or maybe a little whiskey, ready to chat about traveling.

I'm sad that the world lost a fantastic person, that people I love are grieving, and that my friend is gone.
Rest in peace, Duane.

How is it already 4pm

Hi there.
I've been running around doing stuff all day and finally ran out of steam and had to sit down.

It was a good weekend. Got some errands ran, got to snuggle baby Emma, got to go clothes shopping, got to go to a party, and things felt normal for a little bit. I only had to wear a mask while I was inside stores, which was so nice after wearing one for 8 hours every day at work. My face feels so free.

The house, of course, is still chaos. They painted FG's office and the enclosed porch yesterday and things are soclose to being done. Next weekend they paint the kitchen so that should be absolute madness.

Oh, I now have a clear direction when it comes to the storage units. I don't want to pay double rent in September, so my goal is to move it all into one. Saving $100 a month is pretty motivating, which is why I sweated my ass off stuffing my car full of boxes in the massive heat today. I brought home whatever I could that isn't kitchen stuff. 

I'll unpack these at some point. 

We will also probably hang the tv back up one day. Probably.

(FG spent the day hungover on the couch. The next time he wants to take shots and I need his help the next day, I should definitely consider intervening.)

I really really wanted to get a pedicure this weekend but ran out of time. As of right now, I have some office days this week so maybe I can squeeze one in during the day. Work has been so busy and there's something about conference call pedicures that really help me appreciate my job.

Planning a trip to Destin at the end of the month. We don't plan to do touristy things, just lay on the beach at the hotel. I think that's a pretty socially distant way to take a vacation. I am really, really looking forward to it and hope we don't have to cancel it like San Diego and Vegas. 

I have a whole other bunch of thoughts about how FG and I are adjusting to living together, but I think I'm too tired to put them into words so that will have to come later.

Stuff.

Stopped by the storage unit today.

You know, besides the furniture, I think 3/4 of it is kitchen stuff and seasonal decorations. 

We wrote down a timeline for when the rest of the rooms will be painted, so I know how long I have until we can start going through it all. 

There is an end in sight, but there is lots of work ahead of us.

We decided to keep one of the storage units to store things destined for the lake house. We figured that the cost of a storage unit for a year or two is way cheaper than buying everything new for the lake house, especially furniture like the kitchen and patio tables, a grill, and the bed. Have you priced mattresses nowadays? Sheesh.

I like having a plan. It makes the chaos seem slightly more managed.