Help Amber Take a Break for Her Birthday

So in case you didn't know, we've been in a pandemic! And my extroverted self has been in a personal hell I never thought could come to be... I can't travel, can't spend all my time with all my friends, can't go out to eat at all the places I'd love to visit, and I can't even LARP or do the other activities that help me unwind from my stress and get out of the house for a bit. I want to, but I'm trying so hard to be careful in this pandemic and mitigate risk as best I can.

All this caution, though, has led to something I didn't really plan for... burnout.

I am burned out on everything, from work to hobbies to games to video calls to even text messages. I have no bandwidth for anything anymore, and I think some of it stems from just not getting out, not making time for self-care, and not really leaving the house much. I love my day job, my team, my hobbies, and my kitties, but sitting at home for as long as I have with no real plans for outings has left me in a level of depression I haven't felt every before in my lifetime. I have no motivation, no drive, no focus, and no ability to even stay in touch with friends. It takes everything just to wake up and get out of bed to log on. I need to do something for me, I need to get away, and I need to make sure I actually take time off.

So that leads us to now!

My birthday is in a month, and we'll have been dealing with a shut-down for almost a year. I'd really love to be able to splurge and do something just for me. I'd love to get a cottage in a faraway (yet drivable) land, have a large tub to soak in, and spend a long holiday weekend just with me, myself, and I. I'd like to eat good food and have freedom to splurge on nice meals, and I'd love to splurge on a self-care kit that I can bring with me to unwind (including things like masks, bath bombs, solo activities, supplies to binge feel-good movies, and things like that).

I have a plan for something, and while the ORIGINAL place I looked at was way way way outside my budget (wow I wish I could afford $2,000 a night plus fees, but I can't), this new plan is way more feasible, and I could get a LONG weekend out of it (likely over a holiday weekend), with all self-care things included, for less than $2,500. I put the total at $2,750 because I don't know how much the fundraising fees come out to be. xD

So yeah, the money would go towards lodging, gas, food, the self care kits, and everything I'd need in order to have a fantastic birthday getaway mid-pandemic.... done in a manner that let's me keep social distancing, make sure my cat's are taken care of while I'm gone, and not add to other peoples' risk along the way. The place is booked ON my birthday, so it'd likely be the latter half of the month, but I'd document everything and post on my social media so that my friends can see what they helped me achieve, and so that others can maybe steal my ideas lol. I'm trying to raise birthday funds for it because then I can have less stress on my finances in order to make it happen, especially since I've had a lot more extra costs come up since we started this pandemic. So trying to raise the funds to pay for this helps me relax without my anxiety putting guilt in my brain for having spent money I should be using for my bills. Look, I'm trying. <3

Please don't feel like you HAVE to donate, but since enough people mentioned I should, I figured I might as well put one of these up. The goal should get me everything I need. Anything past that (if the goal is even met and all my expenses get paid for) will go towards me paying it forward and helping supply some self-care kits to friends of mine who have been struggling in this pandemic.

Thank you so much in advance!