Since I've Been Gone....

Dear Diary,

I apologize for not writing in two weeks. Plain and simple, this "shelter in place" thing has made me a bit lazy. That's why I haven't checked in with you in awhile. A lot and not much has happened in the last few weeks. Evan broke her ankle again. Second time in two years! Well, technically she didn't break it this time. She severely sprained it. But, look at it!!! Looks broken as heck!

She is hobbling around on a boot right now. The people at Rady Children's Hospital were great, as usual. Thanks to them, we were in and out in no time, x-rays and all. They really took great precaution as far as this Corona Virus thing goes. We felt very safe, She cracked it while showing me a Broadway dance number on the patio. Poor girl. That night, tho, she was busting out TikTok dance moves on her knees. Can't keep that one down.

She and her step-sister had a fun girl's photo shoot this weekend. Look at how old she's getting! Like, full-on young woman right now. This is Ev at 15 years old.

She sent me this on Easter. I didn't have her or Charlie this year. Charlie is in Oregon still. He just got a job as a cashier at Albertson's in Eugene. I made him take a picture of himself yesterday so I could be with him, in a sense. Here's my sweet boy, who I miss with all my heart.

He bought that hat as a joke from Amvets, btw. haha. Anyway, in other big news....

Antonio moved into Charlie's old room. I was going to rent it to a traveling nurse, but then the virus hit. Plus, Evan is a loud kid, and a spirited one. She's not bratty and stuff, but she bounces off the walls and sings at the top of her lungs and I was worried that a nurse might have a problem with that. Considering they work 12 hour shifts, I would hate to deprive them of much needed sleep. So, Antonio came into the picture. He got a new job, too, and it's close to my place. It's great and weird at the same time. I mean, I am living with my boyfriend...but, we live in separate rooms. I gotta do what I gotta do to survive, ya know? Plus, he is the greatest guy. He's respectful of Evan and my time together, he cooks for us, he's a neat freak and he's handsome to boot. What more could a girl want, right?

Look at this awesome sashimi plate he whipped up last night.

I, like most of you, am working from home. It's fun on the rainy days, but on the nice days, I feel like I want to go into work. I miss my girls in the traffic center. I miss everyone in the halls. I do go in on the weekends to do my shifts at Star 941, but no one is there. Weird.

Another big thing, for me anyway, is that I chopped my hair. I've had extensions in my head for almost a year now. They were so loose that I just ended up taking them out. Then, when Linda came over to record our podcast, she brought her sheers and cut it. I love the way it feels. So fresh and so clean. I am a little self conscience because I thought my hair was part of my look. Now, it's not there. Here's before.

Here's the pile of glorious locks.

And here's what it looks like now.

So short. But Linda did a great job, as always.

Since we've had so much time cooped up inside, Evan and I have been doing at-home beauty treatments. One of the things we did...DIY lash extensions. I bought this kit at Target for $7.99, along with other "essentials" of course. Evan did these for me. Such a good job!

Before. Scary

After.

They looked great for a day. Most of them fell off in the shower. It was fun to do, though. We also used a new fake tanner which really works great..also from Target. I think it was $13 or something like that. I'd show you before and afters of my legs, but it seems like these days, self-tanner only brings out the age spots on my body. I hate it. Evan's tan turned out great, though. This is what it looks like.

I have to tell you about how I've been making extra money during this stressful time. I've been selling clothes that remind me of another time in my life. Nice clothes, but clothes I don't want to wear anymore. I put them on my Instagram story and my Facebook story....a Shop My Closet type deal. I make a few hundred bucks. I paid my SDGE bill with that money! Thanks to everyone who bought something. I made sure to wash the items (most of them were in dry cleaner bags) and spray them down.

I, like you, have been cleaning stuff out, organizing things, watching TV, eating...a lot, and checking up on people daily. I try to connect with two people each day to see how they are doing. This hasn't been easy for a lot of folks. I am not a big phone-talker so this has been challenging for me. I am always happy I made those phone calls, though.

I've been attending Zoom meetings to keep my sobriety in check. And, Erik, Linda and I have been doing weekly Zoom "buddy checks" for people who listen to Laura Cain After Dark. I love to see your faces...and the inside of your homes! haha. We do them every Thursday night at 7pm, if you feel like being a part of it. Just go to Zoom.com and click "join meeting." The number is 216 618 9841.

And, Laura Cain After Dark has a TikTok page, much to the horror of my kids. It's so bad that it's funny. I've included the link to our podcast, just in case you wanna binge them. In the meantime,

Love you guys. Stay safe and sane. This too shall pass.

See you next week, Diary.


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