Highlights
♛ FaceTime hangouts + Zoom birthday celebrations (not mine) with friends. I miss them so much, so seeing their faces is a balm to the soul.
♛ Making trays of food at work once a week to help feed and express gratitude for the UC Davis and Sutter hospital doctors and nurses.
♛ I've been utilizing the cloudLibrary app more as my library adds more ebooks and audiobooks onto the catalog, as well as the Kobo Audio subscription which is super convenient since I read ebooks on my Kobo already. Having both ebooks and audiobooks on one device/app has been a godsend. It helped me get a lot more reading done this month.
♛ Though work hours are still reduced, I got one of my days back onto my schedule. It may be a weird thing to be happy about but bills still need to be paid.
♛ With a bit more time on my hands, I've been creating new Adobe Lightroom presets and getting back into freelancing. I didn't realize how much I've missed it.
♛ Washable, reusable cloth mask orders arrived for the family and I so we're more protected and protecting others whilst out.
♛ The garden is thriving and it's been refreshing to be outside tending to it under the sun and beautiful blue skies, and taking breaks in between to soak in the sun. Luckily allergies hasn't been that bothersome so far.
♛ To keep sane with extended stay at home orders, I've been decluttering, reorganizing and redecorating to make my place a sanctuary that I love to come home to or wake up in. I'm a homebody at heart, but this is one way to keep quarantine fatigue at bay for those who are not. Instead of going out in crowded areas and risk spreading/catching COVID-19, I recommend trying to make your home a place you enjoy to be at.
♛ Coworkers are slowly coming back to work and I'm excited to have the whole crew back together again. While it's been nice (and tiring) running the place with just 2 workers at a time and getting all the tips, I've missed my coworkers I'm blessed to call friends.
♛ EDD (unemployment) is giving us additional funds due to the CARES Act, and though it's taxable, it is definitely helpful and something to be grateful for.
♛ I will be participating in the A Song of Wraiths and Ruin blog tour that will take place in June. This will be my first blog tour in five years, y'all.
Lowlights
☽ My Medi-Cal (low/no cost health insurance) expired this month, and when I tried to re-enroll with my decreased salary due to reduced hours, I got denied for some reason??? They tried to get me to choose plans for $300+ a month. In this economy? In the middle of a pandemic? It's been nothing less than frustrating, especially when you get the run around after so many phone calls and emails.
☽ Only having two of us running the place at work this month has put more tasks on our shoulders, which has been more than exhausting. It's weighed on my health and body, the same for my coworkers as well. We need hazard pay for working on the frontlines and certified (pay raise) for all the stations we had to cover after this. As well as access to testing - I mean we're "essential" (see: disposable) afterall.
☽ Shelter in place orders has been extended as expected since we can't seem to put in the effort to slow the spread. And people wonder why we have the highest COVID cases in all of Northern California. 🙄
☽ Job rejections and eARC rejections from Edelweiss. You'd think you'd get used to it after many years of the same, but nope, it still stings.
☽ On top of not having luck getting health insurance during a pandemic, I've also not had any luck in contacting EDD with errors that need correcting.
Book Haul
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown [eARC for blog tour]
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia [eARC from Netgalley]
My Heart Underwater by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo [eARC from Edelweiss]
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn [eARC from Netgalley]
Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke [eARC from Netgalley]
Blades of Magic by Terah Edun [free on Kobo Audio]
Kiss and Cry by Mina V. Esguerra [free from Bookfunnel]
Rebelwing by Andrea Tang [free on Kobo Audio]
Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles [listened to on cloudLibrary]
We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia [borrowed from cloudLibrary]
Vlog Like You Love Me by Clarisse David [gifted]
All the Words Unspoken by Serena Kaur [bought on Kobo]
A Phoenix First Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell [audio on Spotify]
The Silence of Bones by June Hur [free on Kobo Audio]Soul Makers by J. Guibone [free on Kobo]
Spellbound by Allie Therin [bought on Kobo]
What I Read
📖 A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
📖 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
📖 Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
📖 Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke
📖 Wayward Stars by Mary Fan
🎧 Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco [re-read]
🎧 Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri [re-read]
🎧 Malice by Pintip Dunn
🎧 The Silence of Bones by June Hur
🎧 A Phoenix First Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell
🎧 Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles
🎧 Blades of Magic by Terah Edun
📖 Kiss and Cry by Mina V. Esguerra
What I Listened To
Virgo Tendencies // Keke Palmer
Remember Me // Dove Cameron x BIA
i think too much // Christian French
lessons // mxmtoon
Chosen Family // Rina Sawayama
Nothing Compares // The Weeknd
Out of My Life // Ghita
Six Feet Apart // Alec Benjamin
[Full playlist on April Playlist]
April Purchases
Cloth face masks from Etsy ($4.95) | Since surgical/medical masks are for single-use and would not cut it if we're to use face masks for a period of time, so I searched for washable reusable cloth face masks with filter pockets online and found a few on Etsy. I ordered a 3-pack for $15 for my family and bought coffee filters to insert in the pockets. These masks are an okay fit, but it's made of cotton so it's comfortable, breathable and non-irritating.
Love, Beauty and Planet 2 in 1 Shampoo & Conditioner Bar ($4.99) | This is a repurchase. I've been using shampoo bars in a personal effort to cut back on plastic waste, but with the pandemic thing going on and trying to limit going to the store, shampoo and soap bars will go a long way. Since this brand is cheap and works pretty well for my hair, I bought a few so it should last for a while. The bars works as great as their liquid counterparts.
Dove Gentle Exfoliating body soap bar ($3.47) | Growing up, I used to use bar soaps as body wash until it irritated my eczema. Like with the shampoo bar, I switched to bar soap in efforts to reduce plastic waste (and now to reduce going to the store), and so far it's worked well for my skin. I specifically looked for a soap that is for sensitive skin and so far this bar soap from Dove (like their liquid products) has not irritated my eczema. I bought a 3-pack and since bars last longer than liquid, I'll be set for a while. If you use a bar soap or shampoo that works well and is eczema-friendly, let me know!
nuun Hydration Immunity tablets ($6.99) | These are my go-to for hydration in the summertime, but this time I've invested in the immunity ones as well. They're so easy to take on the go if you're on a time crunch, and you can just grab the little tube and drop a tablet in your reusable water bottle and shake until its dissolved. It's an addition to my immune health regime and just a good immunity booster in general. Vegan and gluten free.
Cera Ve Moisturizing Cream ($13.54) | As the days are getting warmer, it's time to switch up the skincare routine to fit the season. The hotter it is the more we (and our skin) needs more hydration, so I switched to a thicker moisturizer such as Cera Ve. It has hyaluronic acid and 3 ceramides that work to hydrate your skin in the heat. This is also sensitive and eczema-friendly, and keeps your skin nice and smooth for much of the day.
Elf Precise Brow Pencil ($5) | Shade: Cool Brown. I usually use Medium Brown or Deep Brown shades depending on my hair color and the color matching of both were pretty good, but I wanted to try a different color as I don't want my brows to be too dark this summer with my dyed hair. Cooler tones work better if your eyebrow hairs are dark.
Posts in April
April 2020 Playlist
Asian Readathon 2020 TBR
7 Reasons to Read Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Bit, Incendiary, & I Think Too Much
{Watch, Read, & Listen} 3 Will Be Free, The Silence of Bones, & Remember Me
March 2020
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Tigertail, Mad, Bad & Dangerous To Know, & Virgo Tendencies
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Portraits of a Lady on Fire, The Empress of Salt and Fortune, & Chosen Family
{Story Diary} The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Looking Forward To in May
- Everywhere Book Fest
- The Half of It on Netflix!
- Mothers Day and my mom's birthday
- Seeing more of my coworkers again
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