Hello all, I know many parts of the world are either on lockdown/quarantined. Well, in Malaysia, the Movement Control Order (MCO) which was initially supposed to be 14 days is now extended to another 14 days making it a full 28 days quarantine.
Many are frustrated, overwhelmed, depressed, bored, and it is understandable because this has never happened before. This is also my first time experiencing such lockdown and though it was hard to adjust in the first few days but I'm starting to accept the fact and the faster we try to adjust life and to adapt to this quarantine, the faster the virus can be contained. We must do our part as we have frontliners risking their lives to do their part. If we all work together to fight this pandemic, we can all go back to our normal lives(though I don't know what normal means anymore LOL)
I must say that being creative is the key point in this quarantine. Parents are being creative on what to do with their kids, people are getting creative on how to entertain themselves, teachers are being creative on how to do online classes etc.
Myself, I also had to crack my head on what I can do to maintain my sanity in this quarantine period and I have listed down a few things to share on how you can get your creative cap on:
1. Trying out new recipes
Now, this is something I have been doing mostly in the past 2 weeks. I have been googling up new recipes and trying them out. Why? Because, there are 28 days to be at home and best case scenario, cutting out breakfast, tea time and supper, we have 2 main meals a day which equals to 56 meals!! Yeap, 56! *gulps* Being creative has its limits too hahaha. So far, we have only ordered Grabfood twice because for one, I think taking away is not as nice as having fresh home cooked food and I can't really quality control the hygiene in the process so I rather whip up my own meals for my husband and I. Luckily, there are only 2 of us at home because that's my cooking limit. Cooking for more than 2 takes up wayy to much creativity juice. For 2 people, it can be as simple as an egg sandwich sometimes.
I have made some new dishes which I myself am surprised because I was never good at cooking/baking. I only started when I got married less than a year ago. But, due to this quarantine, I thought well, now I have the time to learn cooking properly. I used Youtube videos for recipes and then try to make them at home. I also find that because I have more time, so I can properly defrost my meats, marinate them and have time to cook and simmer my dishes. On working days before quarantine, I normally rush my cooking as I come home from work then only cook and sometimes don't even have the time to properly defrost my food.
So far, I have been:
Perfecting my baking skills and baked cookies...
...honey cornflakes,..
...and crabsticks
Perfected making chilli crab as well. Superr yummy!
First time stir frying beef. Need to buy more tender parts.
Made Dalgona Coffee after 3 tries LMAO.
Made Sweet Potato Balls from scratch.
Oven baked satay chicken.
Spicy clam soup.
First time making fried bihun (why haven't I learnt this earlier, it was so easy!)
First time making burnt cheesecake (the top is overly burnt I think hahaha)
Ayam Masak Merah.
Failed milo ice cream >.< to go with the cheesecake.
There were a few hits and misses but it really kept me occupied haha
2. Exercise at home
We try our best to keep fit since we can't go out and all we do is sit down and eat. So, to enable our muscles to have movement and to stretch, we actually bought a Nintendo Switch right before the MCO happened. Best.Decision.Ever.
This Switch really made us sweat! For a few days in a row, we played until our arms were sore. Very good workout. Though pricey, must say this came in very handy during this quarantine.
But if you don't have a Wii or a Switch, search up workout videos in Youtube and do your own exercise at home. Don't be lazy! Muscles need to move otherwise we'll get lazy and you don't want to be gaining weight at the end of the MCO.
We also do couple's HIIT by following a Youtube video and although HIIT is only 10 minutes, it's the best workout for beginners like me hehe
3. Watch a series/drama
This is what most people are doing now I reckon. The best is to find a new series and binge watch during the weekend because it really keeps you occupied especially when you're hooked.
I totally recommend Crash Landing on You.
We were hooked on this one weekend and finished watching 16 episodes in 2 days. We binged watch until 3-4am hahaha
It was really good. I cried so much and Hyun Bin is sooo freaking handsome. My first ever Korean drama and I'm so glad it's this. After that, we tried binge watching others but none came close to this.
4. Read a book
I just finished reading this book and it gave me different insights on household duties.
This book is about turning around the social conditioning that women have more to do at home in terms of chores and taking care of children. It teaches women to delegate, have your partner help you and be in a team to make the household work.
Why don't you try picking up a good book which have collected dust in your room and finish reading it once and for all. I know many who bought tons of books from book fairs but never had the time to start/finish reading them. Well, this is the time!
5. When you go to sleep everyday, try listing out 5 items you are grateful of.
In this hard times, positivity is what keeps us going. It can be as simple as being grateful for waking up alive today. We need to stay positive at all times otherwise, people can fall into depression. I heard so many divorce cases happened in China after Covid19 quarantine. Luckily, my husband and I have yet to come to the 'killing each other' phase and I'd like that to remain hahaha
In item 4, 'Drop the Ball' book even asked couples to tell each other 3 things they want to thank the other half before going to bed each day. I think it's a very good practice and we try doing it at home as well to keep the gratitude and in a positive atmosphere.
6. Learn from online courses
There are many online courses and some are even free. If there is some short courses to take which you really wanted to learn but didn't have the time to, well, what else? You have all the time now. Learn something new, pick up a skill, a language etc.
My learning is cooking/baking.This is the skills I intend to sharpen. To cook more efficiently so that when I start work outside, it is easier to cook. I used to be so slow in cutting my onions, garlic, condiments and sometimes I can take up to 2 hours to cook! *slaps forehead* So, I must quicken up my cooking skills so that I don't waste so much time.
Another skill is makeup! I have been learning through makeup videos on how to do makeup so that I can vlog better for brands. I have also done a short tutorial on my instagram. I rarely manage to get the courage to do such videos, but since it's quarantine time, we have to get creative to get going so I did!
7. Spring cleaning
Yes, this one is what most people always said they have no time to do. This is THE time for spring cleaning. If you're a hoarder, you need to use this time to throw things away, tidy up your rooms and organise things neatly. Since, I just moved into my new house not too long ago, I didn't really do much spring cleaning this MCO. I just needed to control myself not to hoard things so that things don't pile up.
8. Online shopping
I know this is the time to save money because we don't know what our future will be like but a little shopping doesn't hurt, does it? Haha Well, I'm guilty of this especially when Lazada was having its birthday sale! But shop wisely! Especially, when jobs are uncertain, there are pay cuts, retrenchment likely and not knowing when this quarantine will end.
9. Self pampering
We can't go to spas, saloons to do our nails, hairs and beautify ourselves and most likely after MCO, all saloons will be fully booked *laughs* Well, in that case, it's time to do some self pampering at home.
DIY your own facial, wax yourself, moisturise thoroughly after each bath, do a hair mask, do a feet soak and there's a lot you can DIY at home. If you think you're feeling suffocated, just take a breather and pamper yourself. Lighting up a scented candle can even lighten the mood in your room.
I know it's tough but we are almost halfway through *yay* *pat yourself for going this far*. There's 2 more weeks of quarantine. We need to stay sane and positive, aight! There are things that I am also happy about staying at home such as:
1. Spending quality time with my husband
We have never spent the entire day together during working hours unless it's the weekend. So it's nice, to have the husband beside me while both of us are on our own laptops doing work. This also means that any problems that didn't get to talk it out, now we have all the time to do that HAHA. I also have a companion to play Nintendo, workout, and work together. It's sometimes nice to have your own house =)
2. Sleeping late and waking up late
It was during high school holidays that I got to do that last! As I'm a night owl, I never really gotten to do much stuff at night because I have to work the next morning. Now, I can blog in the middle of the night, read a book until 3am, talk to my husband until 4am *laughs* and do whatever I want because I don't have an alarm next morning. This really got my creative mind moving. I get to find new recipes at 2am so that I can wake up next day knowing what to cook for brunch. Loving it!
3. Having time freedom
As my work does not require me to have any con calls at 9am or answer to anyone, I can reply my emails any time I am convenient, send out whatsapp and draft letters when I am free. My work is flexible so having this time freedom makes me feel, well, free! I can schedule my cooking time, working time, social media time, vlogging time and work within that.
4. Working with pajamas
This is the best! *laughs* I don't even need to change when I come out of bed. Just brush my teeth and I'm off to my laptop, defrost food, start cooking, reply emails, blog, all with my house clothes hehe My skin feels better because it is not exposed to sun, no makeup but just skincare skincare skincare and masking at home.
5. Personal time for learning
Since now that I'm stucked at home and after working, I don't have to be stucked in jam and rush back home, I have more time for some personal learning. Personal development is crucial in everyone's life but sometimes we are forced to learn at work. Now, I get to voluntarily choose articles to learn from. I have been reading about finances and how to earn more money in this difficult time, where to put monies in(not all in one basket), where's the best to save and basically be more financially sound.
I reckon after the MCO, people will still be very wary when they go out. Social distancing will still be practised. People won't know whether you're smiling at them behind every face mask. Lesser communications and exchange of greetings will happen. People will still be cautious, businesses will try to revive, people trying to keep their jobs and it will take a long while before we go back to being us. Despite it all, we must stay strong. We must weather the storm together. The government has tried their best to assist us financially. We must be prudent in our spending and lastly, we must be kind. Be kind to our frontliners, be kind to people and say 'thank you' behind the face mask because you never know, it can make their day, be kind to your parents and check up on them, be kind to your spouses and don't 'kill' each other. Bottom line is Be. Kind. Kindness goes a long way and with every act of kindness, you can make a tremendous impact on any one's life.
Stay safe and stay positive xoxo
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