What Are You Doing for Yourself in Quarantine?

Woman holding a growing plant
~ DGGYST

What good things have come out of your time in quarantine?

I bet it’s something and I want to know what it is. Did you learn how to play the ukulele? Have you finally mastered the perfect ratio of bubble bath to water? Did you learn something about your partner you never knew before? Was it that he is actually a ghost from the 1970s and has been dead this whole time? Because obviously, we all want to hear that story so stop being so selfish and tell us. Or maybe you organized your pantry or whatever.

Regardless, I want to know what you have learned, started learning, excelled at, or changed during this most unusual time in all our lives. Here’s mine:

Working on my splits

I am going to get into my side and center splits for the first time. As a dancer and lazy yoga participant I’ve always worked on my flexibility, committing to long daily stretches for sometimes months at a time, but I never really had a goal. My time in quarantine has allowed me to solidify a goal and a plan and has given me the time to actively work on it.

More than that, because my ambitious nature has nowhere to go, it’s gone all the way to Costa Rica. I have decided to treat myself to the Blue Osa Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica the second my crotch touches the ground.

Now you can follow my crotch and my progress on Instagram to splitsville and beyond.

DGGYST splits progress

A SIDE NOTE: using a pilates mat instead of a yoga mat has made a world of difference in my practice. It’s infinitely softer and denser than a yoga mat and is great for my knees, hips, wrists and elbows. I like this one to start because it’s a good price point and is made from non-toxic, thick material.

Growing out my roots

I am not a natural redhead. I’ve color treated my hair religiously for going on a decade and it shows. I am milking the absolute shit out of the time that I have no one to see and nowhere to go by growing out my roots. You might be thinking, “Wow, DGGYST, you mean your hair and nails continue to grow?”

You bet your ass they do.

DGGYST mask reveal

Sometimes appreciating the passive benefits of things out of your control can make all the difference in your mood.

Spending this time doing oil and deep conditioning treatments and simply not curling, spraying, or dyeing my hair has its rewards and I’m going to appreciate that.

In fact, all kinds of great passive things are happening. My elbow is healing from my forced break from three times a week Jiu-Jitsu classes, my eyelashes are thicker than ever after a long hiatus from mascara, and my body is healing in all kinds of ways I never had the time to let it.

20,000 steps per day

I should preface this with the fact that I was Elizabeth Bennet in my last life and love to go on walks come rain or shine regardless. I have been taking an extra-long morning, afternoon, and evening walk, sometimes even a late-night one on top of that. My little step tracker tells me I have racked up about 20-22,000 steps a day for the last month and it has been glorious.

There is so much more to walking than left foot forward, right foot forward, repeat. From burning fat to opening up my creativity, having this time to get outside and walk has been the highlight of quarantine for me.

I am actually going to do a whole post on walking, and you will read it and you will like it.

Go on, then

There are a lot of sucky downsides to this scary, uncharted time, and we bitched about that last week. This week I want to know what intentional or incidental benefits you have reaped from your time in quarantine.

Leave your Instagram links below so that I can follow you! Nothing would make me happier, so link away!

Follow me on Instagram!

56 thoughts on “What Are You Doing for Yourself in Quarantine?”

  1. I LOVE THIS DG! I’ve always loved your singular voice, and no shit has your evergreen post about how to KEEP toxic people in your life if you have to is my my bible right now. Hey, is it okay if I borrow a bit of your intro to ask my library customers in a twitter question? I’d credit you of course. Insta: @thebibliad @lexlibrix (I’m tryinta transition my personal page to my blog page and what a nightmare. Also starting a new blog is a nightmare for someone afraid of a blank page) THANK YOU AGAIN for your posts. Every time a new one comes up it’s like Christmas. Xo

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  2. I’ve been taking advantage of being away from school to Marie Kondo the ever loving hell out of my space. Since I live with my mom, I can’t touch most of the apartment, but my bedroom is the best its looked in years.

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  5. Let’s see…. I’ve learned how to ration toilet paper, discovered 101 ways to cook chicken and mastered the technique of not strangling my always home husband. Not very interesting, but all quite helpful.
    And while I thank you for the invitation to follow your crotch’s progress? I think I’m going to have to pass on that.
    😉

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  7. Love this, and that GIF wins the day! I’ve been taking this time off work to heal myself. Fibromyalgia and trauma healing. So, I’ve been glad to have this time even though I’m going a bit stir-crazy. 🕉️

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  8. I’m making approximately ten thousand flowers for my wedding, and at this point I’ve gotten rather good at it lol

    I want to start up a workout routine again, and I’ve done several yoga workouts. Trying to keep my house clean. The normal quarantine resolutions, ya know.

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  11. Improving my budget-constrained cooking skills has been fun. Volunteering a couple of short shifts at a local grocery store has been fun, too. Do you know how many steps you can put on pushing a shopping cart for three or four hours? Plenty, but I retired my Fitbit a couple of years ago.
    Joining Instagram might be worth it just to follow your crotch. It’s a comforting thought for an old geezer like me.

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  13. ‘the moment my crotch touches the ground’

    Girrrrrl, that ain’t happenin for me right now!

    I never got the center split, only side. But only til recently was I able to put my palms flat on the floor with knees locked. Always proud of that for some reason. Maybe I’ll practice that way so I can be buried folded in half.

    I just started shadow boxing with Mike Rashid on Youtube. One of these days I’ll put a bra on.

    Toodles love! Always love your posts! xoxox

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  14. I’m loving the time. The time to do two way prayer in the morning. Writing gratitudes. Being in the garden. Started couch to 5k….
    Love, light and glitter

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  15. You GO girl! I am still working more than ever. (I do the finances for a huge church, a tiny church and a large nondenominational ministry, so I am still going to work every day. One of the things my hubs and I are doing is cooking a shit ton more than we normally do through our catering company. We have been feeding the masses, including first responders and it’s been fun. I will definitely follow you in the IG! Follow me back! @bahbahloo ❤️

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  17. I haven’t accomplish a blessed thing that is new and exciting. Just waking up, working from home, working out, eating dinner, watch something on the tube then go to bed. Replace going to work with chores or errands on weekends. It’s pathetic, really. Sometimes I feel like Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender”. Just a happy idiot, struggling for the legal tender

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  20. Wow! The only split I’ve done was champagne. Ever! And 20,000 steps. Maybe last year! Maybe not. lol I miss my water aerobics. Himself, who I live with said to a friend on the phone one day, “Good thing I like Mary.” That carries me a little. A grown son bought a ukelele and is getting pretty good. I’ve learned how to use the video feature on my new laptop and am posting an almost daily, silly video on Facebook. People are getting a kick out of it. Sometimes Himself does magic or tells a joke. It’s a blast. Then the almost daily blog keeps me almost sane. But the best is the long facetime chats with the teenage grandkids and the family Zoom from 6 states away! In person those teenagers are too busy, but now they have time. For me! That’s the best.

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  22. I have started baking again, begun a compost bin, and enrolled in a “Write Your First Novel” course through the University of Michigan. I literally already had everything I needed for the compost bin, and just finally put it together!

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  24. Just followed you! I’m @laughingatleighann. This is hilarious an awesome and has me inspired to work on my flexibility… and my step taking lol. I have perfected pancake making and picked up a paintbrush joyfully for the first time since college, and that has been so nice!

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  26. Hello from Dublin and Zany Mountain-DG_I’ve thrown out my back on top of it all so am trying to relax my clearly stressed body and undo this bloody tense spasm. Goals have narrowed to a tiny space!

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  27. There’s so much I want to do, but I really haven’t accomplished anything yet. I’m getting bored while I wait for my seedlings to grow big enough to put them in the garden, and getting depressed while looking for a new job. But I have started my own blog, and hopefully that will make me get my a$$ moving and boost my spirits.

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  28. Let’s see…well, I’m definitely NOT logging 20,000 steps a day. Not even close. Not even a teeny tiny itty bitty measure of close. Gonna try not to feel bad about that.

    I’ve kept up with my writing and yes, it’s true, embraced the cooking and even a little bit of baking. Cliché I know, but it works. Spending lots of time loving on the fur babies and doing a hit or miss job on getting out into the sun. I guess that kind of sums it up.

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    1. I have been hit and miss with the cooking. I had popcorn and an apple and some nilla wafers and a spoon of peanut butter for a meal yesterday so I’m gonna try to cut that out!

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  29. Well the first week of Lockdown DH and Eldest son dug up the front garden to widen our driveway as we sometimes have to park five cars (!). Then they built a retaining wall, put down MOT so that is all done and we are waiting now to be able to tarmac the new bit so that is all done. We have done a lot in the garden, trimming trees and plants, tidying up borders, I have planted veg and flower seeds, pressure washed everything in site etc. I also got all of the Spring Cleaning done. DH and Eldest tidied the garage and a storage room off of it then tidied the attic. I have been baking and trying different recipes for dinner (although I think they are getting fed up with my cooking now!!!) and I also quilt so have been lots of projects for that and sorting out memory books for our Boys. I don’t see why people say they are bored in Lockdown!!!!!

    As we are still in Lockdown at the moment I will continue with the Boys memory books and my sewing projects.

    Stay safe.

    Hugs & Love Susie xx

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  30. I loved reading this! I’ve been finding it so interesting reading about what people are getting up to to keep themselves entertained during lockdown. I wouldn’t say I’ve learnt anything new but I’ve definitely been improving my baking skills, as well as doing daily yoga to stay physically and mentally healthy!

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  33. DGGYST thank you for liking my blog post last week! That is my goal for Quarantine 2020 – become more blog-active, gain me some followers and do what I love… talking about my family and our goon tendencies. I hope it’s ok if I drop my link here? http://www.the5is.com (I’m learning… slowly… I wish I could make that an easy link to click on). Oh! and I am going to check out your link for the mat – it sounds like it would be perfect for me (I’m old, not very bendy and my spine groans every time I curl into a ball and start to rock). Thanks for the info and for the smiles!

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  34. So far the only thing I’ve learned in quarantine is that you have facial hair. 🤷

    But seriously, folks. Is it wrong to be just a little jealous of other’s quarantine? Is that selfish? Short-sighted? Hypocritical? I’ve been at work more than normal and so has the missus. I mean, we’re blessed as hell for that, and I wouldn’t really trade it, but I am little put out that some of you have time to chase my lifelong dream of doing yoga on a Pilates mat and learning the ukulele.

    Instead, it’s 50 hour weeks in the store, with 4 minute lunch breaks and weekends of pressure spraying and beer, with the occasional Facebook argument about how lousy or great our political leaders are during this time.

    In other words?

    Status quo.

    So what have I learned so far from quarantine? Damn, girl. You have facial hair. 🤷

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  36. My son’s father didn’t visit him for ten weeks. Which sounds hellacious, but it was glorious! I got my little four year old monster into a great routine and we have had so very much fun. He’s always been my sidekick, but the extra time has been so much fun. And now that I have strong armed his father to not be useless, he sees him two Saturdays a month. It gives me enough time to clean up the house and before I miss my kiddo too terribly, he’s back home!

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  37. I’m so happy you’re writing again. I love your witty prose.

    I cleaned and exercised for like the first two weeks before realizing I’m just not an active, motivated individual. 😂 (I still clean on occasion and I’m trying to walk again. Slowly.) I’ve played a ton of Terraria!!! It’s a “sandbox” game, and I literally just create new worlds so I can build new houses for the townspeople. 😂

    I’m reading straight through The Adventures of Tintin comic books. I treated myself to the FULL, HARDCOVER, COLLECTORS EDITION on my quarantine birthday. And Hubby and I have worked on some small, creative projects around the house..

    Also, croquet. Can’t forget that. We discovered a love of this old fashioned yard game.

    Also, also, it’s better with alcohol.

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    1. What kind of exercise did you do the first two weeks? I am absolutely terrible at follwing at home video workouts so I am not sure what to do when its gets to be about 300 degrees outside and my outdoor walking takes a dive. I love that you play drunken croquet! haha! That is both classy and histerical.

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      1. Walking and yoga (I found a video for yoga IN BED!) I’m a very sporadic exerciser anyway so this is no surprise I fell off the band wagon. I try to at least maintain a conscious awareness of my body, foods, nutrition, etc. I seek balance in all things.

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  40. Pingback: What Are You Doing for Yourself in Quarantine? — Damn, Girl. Get Your Shit Together. | The Saltbox's Blog

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