With February finally at a close and March beginning, I couldn’t help but feel remorseful. It has been a year since COVID started with no end in sight, and it’s definitely depressing. Although some of my relatives over 65 have gotten the vaccine, I cannot help but feel fearful for those I know who are at risk, or those who even work at super spreader areas and yet still work minimum wage to make ends meet.
There’s not much I can do on the matter, other than wait patiently and hope that myself and my loved ones don’t die on the way there, or at least not be covered in debt by medical bills. The worry lingers in the back of my mind like a bug that just won’t die, and I hope that I don’t say, “oh god it has wings,” at it right before it kills me.
So for now, I will carry on doing what I have been doing: wake up for school, eat breakfast, go out occasionally for fresh air and doctor’s appointments, stay at home for the zoom appointments, check in on friends and family occasionally, write, read, play my video game, sleep, repeat.
And all the while, I decided to do something new every month since December 2020: a Project Pan.
Project Pan
I’ve talked about this on my blog previously, but Project Pan was originally created by makeup collectors and lovers who wanted to use up their products and avoid the clutter, or in other words, “hit pan.”
This term has spread to other areas as well, and to be honest, I can’t help but apply it myself.
Yarn
So far for February 2021, I have used eight balls of yarn. Yes. Eight. And they aren’t small either. I got a majority of them at Michael’s, where they had a combination of sales upon sales, which were too good to ignore. I also finished one from Walmart. I personally am not a fan of Walmart, I always feel like I’m about to witness something strange there, and most of the time that’s true. But, Walmart was on the way while I was on my walk and I figured, “why not.”
If you are interested in any of them, here is the list of what I’ve used up:
- Red Heart Super Saver Ombre Deep Teal Yarn (found at Walmart)
- Caron Cake Rainbow Sprinkles
- Caron Cake Melon Ice
- Caron Cake Bumbleberry
- Caron Cake Pandan Pudding
- Sugar n’ Cream Psychedelic
- Caron Cake Sugared Cherry
- Sugar n’ Cream Fleur de Lavande
- Caron Skinny Cakes Rainbow
Bath and Body Works
I also had a goal to finish up this candle I had from Bath and Body Works. To be honest, in most cases I probably would’ve finished it last Winter. But inconveniences kept happening. First it was misplacing the lighters. Then trying other forms of flame that also did not work. Then I realized my house didn’t even have lighters, and were thrown out. Then I had to wait until I was able to buy some, and even more inconveniences along with that.
It’s a very nice candle, especially since it was a good size, scent, and price. I would suffer with some sort of guilt if I ever paid 25 dollars for a candle, no matter how good it smelled. I could get FRIED CHICKEN with that. I could get A BOOK with that. But to be quite honest, I need something new to smell. It’s not like it smells AWFUL, I just get bored easily.
[ADD CANDLE PIC HERE]
The fragrance notes are Cinnamon and Clove Essential Oils with a hint of Warm Apple Brandy. It reminds me of the winter time (or as winter as Florida gets) when I would get a massive cold while stressing for my midterms, and my mom would make me a hot toddy while I was having a Ny-Quil induced drug trip. I struggled to stay awake during those times but the tea definitely helped matters.
Unfortunately I did not finish it, but I’m at least 60-70% done with it.
Surprisingly, I also managed to finish a body spray. Not that I don’t like to use their body sprays, they’re great. It’s just that they tend to take me longer for some reason. I used this one every morning on my bed.
The fragrance notes for Beautiful Day are daisies, pink peonies, and sun kissed apples. I’m normally not into floral scents, but this one was an exception for me and I think it’s because of the apples. The fragrance gave a clean scent, like laundry fresh from the wash. Hence why I put it on my pillows rather then my body. It was one of the mini sizes, but I’m still proud nonetheless.
Lip Gloss + Chapstick
If you’ve ever seen me in real life (without a face mask which is nearly impossible at this point) I always make a habit to bring lip balm and gloss. One of the ones I wanted to finish up using was a gloss that someone from my college gave me as a birthday gift. It’s from a small business called, “The Audacity Cosmetics,” and is in the shade Passionate. It has more of a lip oil texture than a gloss, but the color is great on my lips and it has a nice taste to it too. There is some glitter of some sort in it, but it doesn’t apply on the lips. I tend to use glosses and oils as lip treatments as well overnight while I sleep. I definitely recommend it, but be sure that you prepare properly so that the color doesn’t get on your pillows.
Reading Progress
Part of the reason I joined yet another literature class besides filling out the requirements to get my Associates and study to be an English Major, was because I wanted to win my Goodread’s Reading Challenge. Is it stressful to read for a grade? Yes. But I’ve had this professor before and most of his choices, albeit wouldn’t be books I would pick up, but are good. The fact that my GPA is on the line forces me to read more and open up my horizons. So here’s some of the books I wanted to read in February.
“The Plague,” by Albert Camus: 76% Completed
So far this is the most heavily annotated book I have ever read for a class. I definitely like the style of writing, but the amount of annotating I have been doing has definitely affected my progress through the book and has even tired me out. I think it’s almost scary how on the nose this book is, especially since it was originally published in 1947. I’m excited to see how this finally ends and be free from the stress of annotating this book.
“The Kill Order,” by James Dashner: Completed
I’m not sure what to rate this novel as of yet, seeing as I have yet to find time for the review. However, seeing as I hid in my room, curled up into a ball, and hugged my squishmallow over it, I think it is safe to say it’s at least 4 or 5 stars. I haven’t read any of The Maze Runner Series, and I was definitely nervous about reading it for my class. Even though it is a prequel, sometimes books are meant to be read in the order they are published in. Unfortunately on Goodreads, not a lot of Maze Runner fans liked it, and were hoping for backstories on the Maze Runner characters instead of focusing on a different set of people. But luckily for me, I didn’t know any of the original characters or storyline, and loved it all the same.
Goals for March
- Make a habit of using my candle every single night
- Get back to using lip balm and lip gloss every night
- Finish reading, “The Plague,” by Albert Camus
- Survive Midterms
- Have a good start to my classes starting in March
- Read, “The Andromeda Strain,” by Michael Crichton
- Read, “The Children of Men,” by P.D. James
I always forget how long wrap up posts take me (which is why you don’t see them much on here) but it’s always nice to see the information all together and see what I have accomplished. If you would like to share what you have gotten done or anything you’re proud of from last February or even March, feel free to share! I’d be glad to read it! If you have any current goals, I’d also like to hear it as well. I hope you all have a good weekend this week, and those who are on spring break, happy spring break!
With love,
rachel hall
rachel hall 