A Day in the Life

Trish over at Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity is hosting A Day in the Life Event today at her blog. I spent all day yesterday taking photos throughout my day, and now I will try to share them with you in a way that doesn't bore you to tears! I present...yesterday...

I started my day the way I always do, with a quick wash-up and then some gentle yoga stretches in front the the Today Show. I try to time it so that I catch the top stories summary, but it doesn't always work out that way. Then, I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Ready for the day!

I love the total silence of the house on weekday mornings when I am home by myself. I made my usual breakfast - scrambled eggs with lots of veggies (onion and zucchini today, plus crumbled bacon) while singing along to the radio at the top of my lungs (another benefit of being in the house alone!). We switched to a Paleo diet (no dairy, sugar, or grains) about a year ago due to mine and my son's chronic immune disease. It has definitely helped us, and I actually enjoy it now.

After breakfast comes my favorite part of the morning: I settle into the sunny spot on the loveseat (though it's gloomy out today) with my laptop and a steaming mug of Tangerine-Orange Zinger tea next to me. We recently switched to family room furniture where every seat is a recliner, which works out great for us because keeping my feet elevated gives me more stamina. I take a quick peek at blog comments and Facebook, then close them both so that I can focus on writing. I finish an essay I started the day before for the website The Mid and submit it. Fingers crossed!

I reluctantly leave my favorite spot and my favorite job (writing) for more mundane tasks - today is errand day. I pull together a quick grocery list, fill out deposit slips, and make a list so I won't forget a stop. Finally, about 10 am - later than I'd hoped - I head out the door. First stop is Walgreen's to pick up prescriptions, then into town to the dry cleaners, through the bank's drive-through, and finally to the grocery store.

Normally, I would stop at the library while I'm in town, but it's closed on Thursdays - so sad! I can't pick up my holds today, but throughout my morning errands, my iPod keeps me company with my latest audio book, Mosquitoland by David Arnold, a quirky teen/YA novel about a girl making an impromptu bus road trip to visit her mom.

Yup, our local grocery store chain is called Acme...but, no, they don't carry rocket-powered roller skates or magnetic birdseed, alas. Grocery shopping has become much simpler and quicker since we switched to a Paleo diet - loads of fresh fruits and veggies, a few meats (organic or grass fed), eggs, coconut milk, and just a few items from the center aisles, like chicken broth and herbal tea. I do grab a few extras for my 17-year old son and his friends, like tortilla chips with salsa and queso sauce - he is decidedly NOT Paleo! Before long, I am finished.

Back at the car, I encounter the one thing I don't like about my beloved '92 VW Cabriolet: trying to stuff a whole cart of groceries into the tiny recessed trunk! It definitely makes grocery shopping a challenge. Somehow, I manage to squeeze it all in and pop my iPod back into the dock and listen to more of my book (I just upgraded from my old cassette stereo to a new one with an iPod dock last summer - I feel so modern!).

I arrive home as the rain starts to fall - doesn't that always happen on the day you go to the grocery store?? I carry in the stuff that needs to be refrigerated or frozen and leave all the rest for my son to bring in after school - there are benefits to having teen boys.

That was actually a LOT of activity for me to tackle in one day, so once I get the urgent grocery items put away, I collapse back into the recliner loveseat and try to get through my e-mails as quickly as I can. I also sneak another quick peak at Twitter, my blogs, and Facebook, though I generally try to leave social media for the end of the day - that one habit has given me a lot more productive time.

Lunch time! Another favorite time of day for me. I make my favorite Chocolate-Banana-Sunflower Butter Paleo smoothie. It tastes like a thick chocolate milk shake but is very good for me, and the whey powder in it helps my poor mitochondria create more energy. My older son and I love these smoothies and ate them every day while he was home during winter break. I have some veggie chips on the side for salty, crunchy goodness.

Best of all, I usually watch a TV show at lunchtime - something that my very male-centric family would never watch with me. Recent favorites are Parenthood, Glee (both of which just wrapped up for good - sniff, sniff), The Amazing Race (which we used to all watch together, but eveyone else got sick of it), and The Mysteries of Laura. I have also been making my way through season 1 of the Gilmore Girls, inspired by this awesome Rory reading list, and enjoying it very much. That's what I watch today.

After lunch, I am more than ready for my daily nap. People always tell me how lucky I am to "get" to nap every day, but it's not nearly as much fun when it's necessary - I feel like an over-grown toddler! Still, I do appreciate the required downtime in one way because it gives me a break in the middle of the day to read a little bit. I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon for my neighborhood book group and enjoying it. I read for about 20 minutes and then fall asleep for an hour or so. During my nap, I vaguely hear my son come home from school, run up to his bedroom, and slam out the door again a few moments later.

After my nap is my designated blog time. I settle back into the recliner to write a review of the graphic novel Here by Richard McGuire, which was unique and absolutely fascinating. My favorite sunny spot is actually sunny now!

My husband comes home which signals that it's time to put away the laptop and make dinner. This is my lowest time of day, energy-wise, so he comes into the kitchen to help me. Since our younger son is taking his girlfriend out to dinner tonight for their 6-month anniversary (and our older son is at college), it is just the two of us, so we make something the kids would hate: Red Curry Shrimp and Asparagus over Coconut-Lime
Cauliflower "Rice" (basically grated cauliflower with some extra flavors added in that makes a pretty good rice substitute). We cook the meal and then sit down to eat at the kitchen table. It's delicious!

After dinner we clean up together, but then I feel all that standing catching up with me and head back to put my feet up again. It has miraculously turned into a nice day, with temperatures actually in the 60's! This is amazing, since we got a big snow storm last week and predicted temps in the 20's this weekend. So, I take my laptop and a reclining chair out onto our back deck to soak up that warm air while it lasts! This is the time of day when I finally forget about the to-do list and being productive and just play a little. I check Twitter and some blogs and catch up with my family and friends on Facebook.

OK, this is going to make us sound really old, but...at 7:00, we watch Jeopardy! It's actually a new habit, since our sons are rarely around now in the evenings, and it's a lot of fun. We have the daily calendar of Jeopardy questions, too - yup, total geeks.

At 7:30, I put the laptop away - another new habit that has worked really well for me. I actually aim to put it away by 7 pm, but tonight I was running late from the busy day. The evening is family time, and I also feel better physically if I stop all computer work and lie down by 7 pm. I settle into my evening spot - lying down flat on the longer couch, with a cup of Raspberry Zinger (or sometimes Mint Medley) by my side and a square of dark chocolate - ahhhh! The reward after a long day. My husband and I choose our two TV shows for the night - this time, we catch up on episode of The Good Wife and Perception.

We head upstairs at 9:30 and get ready for bed, when our son again runs into the house, grabs some stuff from his bedroom, yells through the door that he's spending the night at a friend's house, and runs out again. I haven't actually laid eyes on him all day! Normally, he's home for dinner and the evening (no homework tonight since he has the day off tomorrow. We settle in to read in bed until about 10:30. We both love to read, so with this routine, we get some shared time with our favorite TV shows and also some reading time. We try to turn the lights out by 10:30 pm because he has to get up early for work, and I need a lot of extra rest. Tomorrow is another full day. Good-night!

So, that's it. A Day in the Life...albeit a rather busy one. I'm not always able to do so much in one day, but I've been feeling pretty good this week. I hope I didn't bore you!