365 Days About J: December 2020

"The Year of the Pandemic"

Blurb to be added!

January

We started the year off with a big remodel to our master bathroom! Mike did everything himself, of course. ;)
We celebrated our 5th relationship anniversary! We got dinner at BD's Mongolian Grill & saw a movie at the iPic in Bolingbrook...very similar to our celebrations from our very first anniversary!
Religious Education resumed for the spring semester.
I had a girls night (dinner & movie!) with Laura & Charlotte.
For Mike's 25th birthday I treated him to a fun day painting pottery, axe throwing, seeing a movie, & gaming late into the evening at Game Works!
We enjoyed a lovely birthday brunch with our Aunt Mary. :)
I finally gained a new coworker at work: Julie!
"Enjoyed" one Saturday morning completing a CE webinar for work.
My early birthday present arrived: we upgraded our queen-sized bed to a California king!
We enjoyed takeout Chinese food, played plenty of games, and then conquered an escape room for Mom's 51st birthday!
And then there were three! Ashley started at the office as well.
My in-laws treated me to dinner & cake in honor of my birthday the next day!
On my 25th birthday, Mike spoiled me with breakfast at my favorite spot, gifts from Jared, a movie date, glow-in-the-dark mini golf, & tickets to Disney On Ice!

February

More birthday excitement: my family took me to Medieval Times!
My dad took Mike, Jax, Mitch, & I to the Chicago Auto Show.
The glass was installed in our master bathroom shower, completely finishing our remodel!
Valentine's Day = being spoiled with flowers, sweet gifts, & dinner by my hubby :)
Charlotte, Mike, & I continued our annual monster truck rally tradition: this time by attending Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live.
My family's dog Charlie turned 4!
My Dad's retirement party was a huge success! So many friends, family, and coworkers (current and past) came out to celebrate over 25 years of his hard work & dedication!
Mitch's 20th birthday
Fat Tuesday / Pzacki Day fell on the same date as Charlotte's recital, so we got to enjoy delicious Polish pastries while also hearing one of the most beautiful performances ever by my sister-in-law.
I got my ashes on Ash Wednesday!
We attended C2E2 for the second year in a row! This time we went for two days and actually stayed downtown at the Hyatt at McCormick place! On Saturday we dressed up as Star Lord & Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy, and on Sunday we dressed up as Ness & Zero Suit Samus from Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
It was a Leap Year, so we had 29 days in February.

March

We had the best puppy party EVER for Ryder & Nessie's 1st birthday!
COVID hit full-force in the United States.
The annual St. Patty's Day parade in Plainfield was cancelled for the first time in decades due to the pandemic, so we had our own celebrations at home in protest: I made corn beef and cabbage for us & my family to enjoy.
I began working from home due to the quarantine stay-at-home mandate put in place by our Governor.
On the day of St. Patrick's Day, we enjoyed another yummy Irish feast at the Donelson's home.
We celebrated the 2nd anniversary being in our home! :)
My family's dog Sookie turned 10!
I got Animal Crossing: New Horizons to keep me sane during quarantine. ;)
Mike put rocks & lights in our dog run.
Celebrated our 1st Gotcha Day with our furbabies! I can't believe we've already had them for a year!!

April

Mike found some 65" 4K TV's for sale that still had Black Friday pricing...so naturally we bought two to replace ours in the living room & bedroom, because COVID.
We had my Grama over for dinner at our home.
We enjoyed a quarantine Easter featuring virtual church services, brunch & an egg hunt with my in-laws, and a feast & puppy fun at my parent's home.
I went all out for Jax's (golden) 18th birthday! I decorated in all things gold (complete with a golden cake) and then our friends came over for games and a bonfire!
Somehow, no one killed one another OR flipped the board during our Monopoly game night at the Donelson's.

May

We headed back to the office to work in person (but with restrictions on walk-ins).
I celebrated National Dog Mom Day with my babies.
On Mother's Day, we had a painting party at my in-laws & a game night at my family's!
My sister-in-law Rachael turned 27!
We invited a bunch of our friend over for a game night at our home!
I celebrated my 12th Friendiversary with my best friend Angie.
My dad treated us to a feast from Red Lobster for Jax's high school graduation party!
I held the "Quarantine Olympics" at my parents home! It had around 25 social-distance-themed games & prizes!
On Memorial Day we went to my family's house for a BBQ & croquette.
On the last day of the month, I officially opened my Etsy shop to sell amiibos for the new Animal Crossing game!

June

I worked from home again on the first two days of the month due to all the rioting.
haircut
Mitch & Jax slept over... naturally the boys stayed up super late playing Minecraft Dungeons.
A hot Saturday called for a pool day with friends at my parents' house!
My nephew Matthew turned 1!
Zack grad party 13
Midsommar
Father's Day
Charlotte's 22nd birthday
I ended my first month with Etsy with 5k in sales!!

July

Pool day
Independence Day
New carpet 10
New car 11
Hypothyroid 21
White Lake Vacation

August

With the fad finally dying down I closed my inventory for amiibos on Etsy. I ended with over 10k in sales for just two months of business! Maybe I'll list some new products in my shop sometime in the future! :)
Ferragosto
Zack's 22nd birthday
7th Friendiversary

September

Labor Day
National Wife Appreciation Day

October

Water Lantern Festival
Sweetest Day
Winter Thanksgiving
Dad's 51st birthday
Halloween

November

Second anniversary as a married couple!
Laura's 54th birthday
Peter turned 6!
Third engagement anniversary!
Thanksgiving/Black Friday

December

St. Nick's Day
IBC Christmas Cantata
Christmas Eve
Christmas
Mike Sr's 56th birthday
New Years Eve

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Books

My goal this year was to read twelve books—aka, one book a month. I ended up reading six, or half, which is far better than I did last year...but still not where I wanted to be. Plus, three of the six were graphic novels so... BUT ANYWAYS, be sure to check out my Goodreads account for more reviews and such!

The 7 1/2 Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton (5/5)
What To Expect Before You're Expecting - Heidi Murkoff (3/5)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise - Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino (3/5)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search - Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino (4/5)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift - Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino (3/5)
The Devil And The Dark Water - Stuart Turton (4.5/5)

Movies/TV

Thanks to COVID, we only saw a measly five movies at the theaters before everything was closed down for the year. And then only four more when they very briefly reopened. :( We still watched a bunch of stuff at home (and were so thankful to all the companies that did straight-to-digital releases!) so be sure to check out my Letterboxed account for more movies, ratings, and reviews. In the meantime, here's our teenie weenie list: