2020: A year of opportunity, Sarah Style!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Okay, so this is going to feel like a New Year's wrap up, and maybe it is, who knows.  I mean, I haven't had a lot to blog about this year, not that people are behaving themselves around me more than normal, but because I just haven't gone anyplace this year.  Who has?

But, I was thinking the other day about the Christmas letter I'm not going to get out on time...again.  Typically we have a theme.  This year, for all it's bumps and bruises, I had to think of as a year of opportunity.  But, you know, in my brain, 'opportunity' isn't necessarily the same thing as it is in a normal brain.

So, to end 2020, and to sort of combine a Christmas/New Year's Five for Friday all on a Tuesday...or Wednesday (By the time I get this finished), let's just go at this:  2020, a Year of Opportunity!

An opportunity to return to the basics:

So Christmas 2019 was the year Hubby and I decided not to get each other STUFF, but instead to get each other "experiences."  You know, concert tickets, tickets to plays, that sort of thing.  We stuffed our 2019 Christmas stockings with all kinds of fun little mini trips to one theater or another.  

Well, we did get to see PIFF the Magic Dragon in Skokie, IL and TOBY MAC in Milwaukee just before the world shut down.  The rest of the great concerts and plays, however, were put on hold, some until 2022 (Which made Skippy wonder aloud: Will that guy even be alive in 2022?)

And thus, Christmas 2020 will be a return to basics, at least for me.  I'm getting hubby a whole bunch of stuff.  Just, you know, stuff.  Stuff cannot be cancelled. It was be eaten, it can be watched, it can be worn, but it most assuredly cannot be cancelled. Therefore, this is a chance to return to our basics!

Not one single ticket for one single event in the bunch.

An opportunity for discovery:

 I've discovered something more interesting than documentaries about World War II:  Injury and death on mountains!  Do you have any idea how many shows and documentaries there are about dying on Mount Everest?  I DO! 

Thanks to the many streaming services we have, I've also discovered that sitcoms from the 80's are now pretty much unwatchable, and many from the 90's are just...not funny.  (WOW...the whining that goes on in some of those. I know the 90's were the grunge era, but seriously, "Mad about You" is literally two people whining.)

Also, "Animal Crossing," who new chopping down trees and digging up fossils to build an island community for a bunch of weight lifting/fashion obsessed animals could be so relaxing? It's like being a mom in real life...you get a mortgage, you have to clean up the island every day, the other island inhabitants do nothing for the benefit of the island, but they passive aggressively tell you about birthdays and Christmas and what they might "need" at the store.  And yet...thanks to Skippy, who thought this game would be a nice relaxer for me...I'm now addicted.

I've discovered that not even my great love for Russell Crowe is gonna get me back in a theater.  ("Unhinged" was a GREAT movie, BTW.  I'm never EVER honking my car horn again!_

Oh, and hey, "Legends of the Fall" and "Royal Tennenbaums" are still horrible movies. I didn't discover that, I just figured I haven't mentioned it in a while.

An opportunity to get creative:

My Nanowrimo brain center!

Those of you who familiar with my author page on Facebook:  Sarah the Author, know I participated in "Nanowrimo" again this year.  It's been a long time since I sat down and attempted to write a full length (over 70000 words) novel in a year but I managed it!  AND, I "Won" Nano, by completing 50000 words in November alone!  The first draft of "Deal with a Devil," which will be the fifth book in the Rock Harbor Chronicles series, is done and the second draft is under construction.  Release date?  Summer 2021-ish.

But writing wasn't the only place where I got funky with it:  I started opening some of the cook books people keep giving me and I started cooking!  I had a chance to discover cooking with meats that weren't beef, chicken, or pork, and I have had fun doing it!  Bison is my new favorite protein, but I've also had fun with lamb, goat (so yummy!) and yak.  Yes, I have a yak guy.  I can hook you up if you want to give yak a try.  Meanwhile, in an effort to cut carbs, I've also gotten brave and experimented with alternative "Pastas."  Helpful hint:  Most are just not worth it.  They cost a fortune, and taste like paste.  However, there is one that actually works.  shirataki mushroom "pasta."  (There are a number of brands. Look for them in either the international/oriental foods section OR the gluten free section of your mega mart.)  Warning: These "noodles" stink like rotting shrimp when they come out of the package (Peaches and I discovered that unpleasant fact the first time we tried it).  However, under a pasta sauce...they are a really good substitute.  Next up, I'll be trying the "orzo" shape of this product as a replacement for rice since the riced cauliflower pretty much evaporated when I put it in my gumbo.

Yes, Peaches gave me this book last year for Christmas. And if I cook like Padma...I'll look like Padma...that's my hope anyway!

An opportunity to do...whatever this was:

In a moment that was truly "It can only happen to Sarah" I managed to get a yeast infection.  Now, okay, that might seem gross to those of you who know what that typically entails (And those of you who don't...look it up I'm not explaining that here.)  BUT in 2020, this was not an ordinary yeast infection. Nope...I got it...in my ARMPITS!

You read that correctly.  A yeast infection. In my armpits. During a pandemic.  So while other people are losing their sense of taste and their ability to breathe, I'm sitting there scratching my pits which smell like a bakery.  (Which would be a good thing, you'd think...but no.)  

The treatment for a yeast infection is a series of cream applications, which you can get at your local health and beauty department. Not mine. Not a pit infection. Nope.  After trying to self treat for a couple weeks (and again, this was a super itchy thing, so thank goodness we were in lock down) I called a dermatologist.  I haven't been to a dermatologist in years, so I was a NEW patient. 

See, doc, my armpits itch...so...whatdya think?

How does a new patient go about seeing a dermatologist during a pandemic?  VIA Internet video call.   Yep.  I had to show this complete stranger (She said she was a doctor, but she was in her home and I was in mine...) My naked armpits (did I mention the infection also spread to the underboobal area?  I didn't, well, yeah, that also happened.) on a video call.  She prescribed a couple creams that worked like magic, but still...there I was in front of my computer's webcam, baring parts of my body for a stranger. My mother is actually worried there's some kind of "sexy tape" on the internet featuring my armpits now.  (I don't even want to meet the fetish group that would find that sexy.)

An opportunity to be supportive at all costs:

We've been told to support our local eateries through this pandemic, (not that the Bradley family really needed any encouragement that way), but there are so many places, and honestly, I was trying to cook healthier, more interesting meals!  WHAT TO DO?

If you've read this blog more than twice, you know that ordering take out is on my top five list of stuff to do in a day.  (The other four things are: taking naps, watching cooking shows, watching movies, and watching American Football.)

We basically picked our places, the four of us, and we've done our level best to keep them in business.  Here's a list of the places in the Waukesha/Pewaukee area we order from...a lot...

The Steaming Cup  (Coffee, oatmeal, fun breakfast sammies, and a great bakery)

 Dave's Restaurant (Best double cheeseburgers in town.  Really great breakfast options.)

Taqueria Guadelajara #2 (Legit Mexican food that's a little adventurous.)

Spring Garden (Excellent Chinese food)

Skippy's List:

Sobelman's Pub and Grill  (Great burgers and chicken sandwiches.)

Mod Pizza (really funky pizza)

Peaches' list

Fengs kitchen  (Long time Waukesha Family owned Chinese place)

The Twisted Vine Wine Shop  (Local Wine shop offering charcuterie and desserts.)

If you live in the Waukesha/Pewaukee area, check out these places. If not, look around to your independent, local eateries. They are suffering right now and need your help! It's a struggle, ordering out food,,.Not cooking dinner for yourself every single night of your life. I know, I know...but we must support them at all costs!

An opportunity to look outside ourselves:

This has been a rough year for a lot of people.  While we've had our share of bumps this year (and yes, Skippy had COVID back in early March) the four of us have been blessed to be able to keep working through it all.  Skippy and Peaches, working in different areas of the food industry, are considered essential workers and Hubby and I are able to work at home.  (Well, I've been working AT HOME for almost 6 years now, hubby has been working FROM HOME for 6 years, but this year he worked AT HOME.  That might seem like I'm saying the same thing...but it's not.  Nope.) We've been blessed to stay in our jobs, and to stay healthy (Skippy's case of COVID was relatively mild. He was hard down for three weeks, and his lungs are not the same, but he's recovered).

We're not jerks...we donate clothes and household goods to St. Vinny's.  We volunteer to help out at our church.  We donate food to the local food pantry. You know, we do the stuff everyone does.  But this year we looked around and realized that was not enough when so many people have lost so much. This was the first year in a very long time where we've been in a position to help anyone in a financial way.  Now, some would say, "You should save that money...take care of yourself...pay off some debts."  2020 has been the year we realized that we are always going to have debt.  But others around us weren't worried about paying a credit card bill, they were worried about paying the heat bill.  So...in large part thanks to our church, whose leaders look for ways to reach out to the community and help anyone in need, whether they are members or not, we've been able to help others in a tangible, practical way.  

What is it they say about candles?  Candles lose nothing when sharing their light.  Something like that.  

Yes, this!

Well, we've lost nothing in looking outside our own needs. In fact, we've gained a tremendous amount of joy from looking outside ourselves and donating to causes we've only thought about before.  (You know those catalogs you get at Christmas where you can send a cow or some chickens to a poor family in a third world country?  Yeah...we sent a goat and a couple chickens and some Bibles to a couple villages. a GOAT! I'm having a blast just thinking about the family that "gets my goat." LOL)  We've net so many great people we would NEVER meet otherwise and we've seen miracles and angels every day now that we've opened our eyes.

So friends, what I'm trying to say is this:  yes, 2020 was the pits.  And who knows what 2021 is going to bring us?  But forget the noise of politics. Ignore the fact that the ultra wealthy are never going to do their part like they should.  We regular people...if we pull together and keep our sense of humor...and if we keep praying...we can not only get through this, we can thrive.  We don't have to just sit in our houses and wait:  the opportunities are there for all of us to laugh, and grow, and help others.  

Of course, yes, I am hoping we get back to normal so I can once again watch humanity in action in line at the pharmacy...but here's to 2020...a weird year full of opportunities!

So Merry Christmas, happy holidays, enjoy the last few days of this year...and let's look to the lessons we've learned in 2020 and take the opportunities in 2021 to really make this world better!  

And hey, if you do see a picture on the internet of my armpits...please don't tell my mother.