44 (pandemic) favorite moments

A year ago, this was my birthday week, and it was the last normal week and nobody knew it.

My birthday marked the last day of 2020 when Jon and I went out to dinner at a restaurant. I remember that people had started talking about the Coronavirus and that things started to feel a little weird. Everybody seemed on high alert. 

A week later, the world shut down. 

Yesterday was my birthday again. My first “official” pandemic birthday, if you will. I wish it didn’t have to come to this, but here we are. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I am all about celebrating birthdays and being thankful for all the wonderful moments that each year has to offer. Is it always perfect? No. We faced some particular challenges this last year. But I still choose to focus on the good things and so I will, as I did last year and the year before look back and share my favorite – big and small – moments with you, in no particular order. 

(as always) moments lots of time this year spent with this guy (minus the beard, which became a victim of mask-wearing protocols. This photo was taken on my birthday last year.)

my morning coffee routine

working from home

trying (many) new recipes

writing more handwritten letters

homemade sourdough bread

running a sub-2 hour (virtual) half-marathon

FaceTime with my parents

closing out the month in YNAB

sunrises at the American River

reading in bed

keeping in touch with my gym buddy 

electing Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice-president

seeing DJT leave the White House

BBQ in our back yard

trying new workouts on the Peloton app

reading and educating myself about systemic racism

baking Spritzgebäck (German Spritz Cookies) for Christmas

spinning with Tanja 

problem-solving anything

watching shows with Jon

Saturday morning blog reading with my first cup of coffee

coffee from a new mug

reconnecting with an old friend

connecting with friends here and on Instagram

bi-weekly Target and Trader Joe’s runs 

watching “The Never-Ending Story” with Jon

being a MudLOVE wayfinder

visiting my giraffe friends a few times

sweet yeast bread for New Year’s Day

take-out pizza from our neighborhood café

baking sourdough discard waffles

more quarantine baking

going for walks with Jon

our little Christmas tree 

our fake TV fire place

receiving Christmas cards

buying a new planner

morning breaks in the backyard 

knitting a row (or two)

virtual runs and high fives

cheering on friends

getting a good deal

afternoon naps

  1. Happy belated birthday!! I guess we all have to have a pandemic birthday. And some will have 2. I am glad you could still come up with a long list of good things from the past year. It was a tough one but I feel so lucky that I came out of it healthy and with a healthy baby boy! I’m also feeling very relieved as I got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday. I was eligible due to my immune compromised state. Sooo excited that I will be fully vaccinated by the end of the month!!

    1. Thank you, Lisa. So glad you got your first shot!

  2. Happy Birthday San.
    Love the coffee mug ;)

  3. Happy Belated Birthday! I love that you came up with a list of good things from the past year. Even the little moments should be remembered.

    1. Thank you for stopping by Emily!

  4. Happy belated Birthday friend!

  5. Happy belated birthday, friend! Who knew that we’d still be in this thing a year later? It’s odd to think that some people will have had TWO pandemic birthdays.

  6. Happy belated birthday! That sourdough does look amazing

    1. Thank you so much, Tea!

  7. Happy (very) belated birthday! I am so happy that you have so many good things to look back on this year – although I noticed that coffee figured prominently in there. ;) I hope that the next year is filled with even more joy.

    And, on (or, well, after) your birthday, it just feels like the right timing to say that I have truly enjoyed visiting your blog since I found it. Thank you so much for writing here, and for continuing to do so.

    1. Aww, thank you Anne. That’s really sweet. I’ve also been very glad to have found your blog and I’ve very much enjoyed getting to know you! :)

  8. It’s so good you focus on the good moments. Hope this year will be a good one and with many more fun memories ahead.

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