QOTW 10/19 Now & Then
 

What is something you do now that you didn't do "then"?
Could by something scrappy, COVID related or lifestyle (or answer all three).

Lifestyle - now I eat tons of veggies/fruits/high carb meals. What a change for me b/c "then" (over the last 6 yrs or so), I've been following low carb meal plans. I recently switched over to a plant based diet (no meat/fish at all) and eat tons of starches and carbs. I feel good and although I did great on a keto/paleo diet, I never was really happy with it b/c I'm not a huge meat eater. I lost a ton of weight doing that but now I'm maintaining so am much happier with the food choices in a plant based/meatless diet. I'm not saying I'll never have a piece of meat or fish again in my life, I might every now and again (probably sometimes when I eat out) but I'm super happy without the meat and am loving making recipes with tofu and other protein sources.

Scrappy - now I'm trying to go back to (somewhat) minimalist page designs occasionally as opposed to filling up the whole page as I did "then" (the last 3-4 years or so). I like the variety of changing the style here and there. I love clustering and always will but I am working on not feeling like I need to keep adding more and more layers. I like to challenge myself.

COVID related - I'm watching tons more TV now as opposed to then (pre-COVID). Hubs and I are having fun binging tons of shows. Right now we're binging Star Trek Discovery.

Fun question, but so open ended. My brain wants a time frame and other limitations, LOL!

Scrappy-I'm still scrapping 2019 right now, but I'm beginning to think about how I'll handle 2020. For the first time since 2013, I may not do Project Life. Since March we've done so little that I'll probably want to scrap those few photos as their own pages. If I do weekly recaps, I suspect they'll be news-focused with info about the pandemic and politics rather than our family.

Covid-I've started sewing again. It's probably been 13 or so years since I did much sewing, but I re-started so I could make masks and have now finished a few other projects as well.

Lifestyle-I've been a pescatarian for more than 20 years. I only eat seafood once or twice a month, usually at restaurants. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian (dairy and eggs but no seafood) for some of that time. Lately fish is losing its appeal again, so I may end up back to full vegetarian. (I will never be vegan--I love my cheese way too much!)

I never go out. Like all we do is go to work, go home, work out outside (which will end soon as winter is here). The most I do is run errand really quick with a mask on. The best for fun that we do is get take out & bring it home. I miss date nights and going to the movies and hanging out at a coffee shop. It's what has to be done to keep people safe, but it's still sad.

We eat at home a lot more now than we used to. We had started to make that transition pre shut down. I think it was God's ways of preparing me for this...We were planning some family vacations so trying to save money and not eat out but obviously none of those vacations happened. I cook a lot more, groceries are delivered now. I will still run to the store or send the teenager on occasion but for big trips I order from Target usually. I got Costco once every few weeks for meats, cheese etc...

One thing I really missed this summer was Hubby and I usually have a long weekend getaway, nothing big but just a getaway. This year it was a staycation and it just wasn't the same. We did get to go see family and leave our boys there so that was nice. I missed not going to his annual conference too...he goes to conference in Utah and I hang out with some friends I met online years ago through digiscrapping.
So...changes...our travels are less not stopped but a lot less. Hubby is still working from home. Our high school is on a hybrid schedule so he goes to school every other day.
I am getting a lot more scrapping done since I am at home more as well as a lot more projects around the house...also feel like I am a tad more lazy...I find myself on the couch a lot more than I used to be.

Scrappy
I used to try and scrap my photos from the previous month. I find the challenges more challenging to try and incorporate my photos. I have to dig deep into my older photos to find things that match or even just take the photo for the purpose of the challenge. I have to say I preferred it then. I get more layouts done but less meaningful ones.

Covid
We don't see anyone... and rarely go on outings as a family. I go shopping alone once a week (beginning of Covid I went 2 weeks at a time). I had started exercising again and now I'm not doing anything and my body hurts and I feel weak.

Lifestyle
We used to do take out food more often. Now it's once a week. Sometimes we do "date night" with Taco bell lol (or something fancier if we have the budget), feed the kids their favorite hat pasta with peas and we eat after they go to bed.
My husband and I connect a lot better and have improved our relationship since he started working from home. We get mad at each other less. Which is really weird because you would think the opposite.

I was never a fan of hand sanitizer because I felt people were using it to replace soap and water a lot, but now I have it hooked on my belt loop, in my purse, the kids' backpacks, all the cars, etc.

Now- I live in Alaska, I homeschool one of my kids (we're on week 2 ;) ), I am staying current on my Project Life (2 years ago at this time, I think I had finished 8 or 12 weeks!)

Scrappy- Then I was about 3 years behind on my scrapbooking, now I'm caught except for this month.

Covid- Then I was working in schools and with adults 3-4 days a week, now I'm working from home and we're struggling to get participants for our programs.

Lifestyle - I've gained about 7 lbs since March, which is totally stressing me out, but I can't seem to get my act together. I get a good routine going and then something comes up. I miss the movies. The kids miss their friends.

I'm with you, I too love cheese but am eating it sparingly, most of the time I get cashew dips/cheese but will indulge in cheddar sometimes. I have to be careful b/c cheese can be my downfall, I can easily overdo it. I have gone back to eating low fat sour cream and cream cheese in a recipe but for a bagel I'm happy with tofu cream cheese spread. I also started mixing a bit of light half & half cream into my oat/almond creamer. So I think I'm striking a good balance.

Speaking of cheese...this wk is my b-day and I'm going to enjoy a burrito bowl dinner with nachos/cheese. I can't wait :)

We've been out for dinner a few times for special celebrations but for the most part we avoid it. Too risky. I really miss going to the movies.

Scrap-related: I'm scrapping a lot less not only because I'm now working full-time but I was already mostly caught up pre-COVID & I've taken a lot less photos since then.

COVID-related: TikTok has been my saving grace. I am working from home & the kids are schooling from home so the only people we interact with (aside from when I go to the store once a week) are my parents and my sister and BIL. TikTok has been my only immediate link to the outside world & a great way to learn about & get to know different types of people, cultures, and ways of life.

Lifestyle-related: I had been working out and eating better pre-COVID. I let that all go to survive the pandemic, and I'm not sorry or ashamed about it but I also need to get back on track. A lot of big things are coming down the pike soon, and I want to be in better shape --- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually -- by mid-2021. I have a dermatologist appointment next week that I hope will give me some hope for my PCOS-related hair loss as well as remove a skin tag on my foot (thanks, PCOS!) that has really started to negatively impact my quality of life and kept me from being as active as I could have been during all of this.

That does sound like a good balance! Happy birthday!

Scrappy: It used to bring me joy; now it often causes me stress. I think it's because I don't take pictures often & my kids are big. I used to make a layout every day when my boys were little, but now I average one a week.

Lifestyle: I eat a lot of beans now & try to include kale, amla powder & flaxseed in my diet. I read How Not To Die by Dr. Michael Gregor, and while I'm definitely not following his advice 100%, I do try to incorporate more of the things he recommends. I only eat meat once a day, where as before I ate it at every meal.

COVID: The kids and I are home 24/7, which has taken a lot of getting used to. I hate teaching online, and I hate supervising Ariana's school. I used to love my life, and now not so much.

I stopped scrapping for some years and now I am back to it, so I suppose scrapping itself would count.
For lifestyle, I work out 3x a week and a year ago I had basically never worked out at all.

scrappy-not taking as many pictures due to illness but I am starting to get back into it.

lifestyle-big changes as I have been undergoing treatment/surgery for cancer since May. Hasn't changed my eating just what I can do on certain days and where I am in my recovery. Starting to get back out and do long walks with Harlow. I miss being at work.

COVID-our area is doing ok in terms of numbers. I don't go out just to get out of the house as I used to in terms of wandering around stores.

I'm sorry to hear of your illness. :( I hope the worst is behind you, and you are on the road to recovery.

for me my life hasn't drastically changed on the surface but when I think about it a lot has changed in the past year thanks to my health

I used to try and go out somewhere at least once a week, now I barely go out at all
I care more about my health and wellbeing than I did before - two major life affecting conditions and an absolutely horrible photo will do that.
I've applied for less jobs in the past year than I have in a long time....part of that is thanks to COVID, part is thanks to less jobs in general and part of it is over time I've become pickier
I've become more of an introvert due to health issues...its not what I want but until I'm fighting fit again its just how it is