A Day in the Life 2016

Trish over at Love, Laughter, Insanity is once again hosting her A Day in the Life event today! I participated last year and really enjoyed it - both documenting a typical day for me and also taking a peek into other bloggers' everyday lives. As Trish explains on her blog, everyone thinks their own Day in the Life is boring, but what's routine for you is interesting to other people! So, I carried my camera with me yesterday (most of the day - I kind of got distracted once the family got home), and here is the result - My Day in the Life 2016:
 I started my day with a special treat - a bowl of oatmeal. My son and I switched to a Paleo diet (no dairy, grains, or sugar) a couple of years ago for medical reasons (it's supposed to be good for immune disorders), so I mostly don't eat grains...but I really like oatmeal! So, once a week, I treat myself to oatmeal for breakfast, made as Paleo-like as I can, with loads of coconut, walnuts, flax seed, and blueberries. Mmmm...

Next comes my favorite part of the day: sitting in the family room (the sunny spot near the window) with a hot cup of Tangerine-Orange Zinger Tea and my laptop. I take a quick peek at my blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, then close those windows to get some real work done. Yesterday, I was working on editing an article I am writing for FamilyFun magazine. We are at the final draft stage, and the editor asked if I could make it "snappier"....hmmmm.

Soon, it is time to go to physical therapy. I somehow hurt my right shoulder at the beginning of the year - no idea what I did to make it start hurting. The PT says that's common, but I suspect it means I'm getting old! They think it is a bit of tendinitis in the tendon that attaches my bicep to my shoulder, so I've been going to PT twice a week. I love when the PT stretches my shoulder manually - works out all the kinks & makes it feel better! The best part of PT, though, is the last 15 minutes spent lying down with an ice pack on my shoulder, listening to my latest audio book. This one (that I just finished today) is Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in South Bronx by Sonia Manzano, a YA memoir by the actress who plays Maria on Sesame Street (whom I grew up with!) about her childhood. What an amazing book! And perfect on audio - I loved listening to her oh-so-familiar voice.

After PT, I rushed home to find the washer repairmen had already arrived. Hurray! Our washer broke almost two weeks ago, and we had to wait for a part, so I am thrilled that it is finally getting fixed. The laundry has really been piling up - this photo is just one of my son's piles, but we were all getting pretty desperate for clean clothes. They fixed it, and I immediately put in a load of clothes. Ah, clean towels, clean shirts, and underwear without rips! This is the life.

As soon as the repairmen leave (and I put in that first load of laundry), I hurry outside to squeeze in a quick walk around my neighborhood before lunch. My activity level is quite restricted due to my chronic illness, but I have gotten to the point where I can manage a slow walk most days, and I really enjoy it. It was nice and sunny, though still pretty cold out, and I enjoyed seeing all the early signs of spring in my neighborhood.

Back home for lunch, my favorite time of day. With all the men in my house (we have two teen/young adult sons), I look forward to watching a TV show all by myself at lunchtime, something the rest of my family won't watch with me. Often it is something girly like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but today I caught up on an episode of The Amazing Race, a show we used to all love to watch together when our boys were younger. They all got sick of it, but I still love seeing all the incredible places the teams travel to. In today's episode, they were in Colombia, a first for the Race.

For lunch, I had another treat - leftovers! With all those hungry appetites here, we don't always have leftovers, but today I had one of my favorite comfort foods, Holubtsi in a Pot, my own version of deconstructed Ukrainian cabbage rolls (recipe at the link). We will be eating all of our favorite Ukrainian foods this coming weekend for Easter - I can't wait!

After lunch, I took my daily nap, a necessary evil with my illness. People always say, "you're so lucky you can nap every day!" but it's not all that much fun when you have to nap. I feel like an overgrown toddler! But I definitely need it to get me through the day, so I try to relax and get the rest I need.

When I get up, my son and his girlfriend were home from school and doing their homework in the family room. He had soccer and she had dance last night, so I get right to work preparing dinner. Since I knew we'd have a full house for dinner (often these days it is just my husband and I), I made a big pot of Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo (recipe at link), a recipe I created based on the wonderful gumbos we ate when we lived in New Orleans...only quick and easy for weeknights. After the chilly day, gumbo was perfect, and we all enjoyed it. Then, the kids rushed off to their activities.

After nap and after dinner are when I focus on my blogs (now you know why I am always behind!), so I wrote my TV Tuesday post after dinner. This week's featured show was The Americans, one of our favorites, just back for its fourth season. By 7pm, with that posted, I was out of energy for the day and settled in for our evening routine.

I got myself a cup of tea (Raspberry Zinger or Mint Medley in the evening) and a piece of dark chocolate and spread out on the couch. Ahhh! My husband and I always watch two shows together in the evening. Our selections last night were Quantico and Madam Secretary. Both were excellent, as always. By the second show, I was feeling a little hungry so fixed a snack for myself - cut-up apple and a spoon of sunflower butter - and another cup of herbal tea. Our son came back home during the evening and excitedly told us about his first soccer practice. He hasn't played in a while and signed up for the local rec league this season just for fun. It's his senior year, so this will be his last season playing for school or the local rec league.

My husband and I headed up to bed at 9:30, after folding the towels (clean towels!). After getting ready for bed, we enjoyed an hour of reading. We both love to read, so this nightly routine gives us some together time, watching TV and then reading next to each other. I am currently reading The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood, my latest review book for Publishers Weekly. They require very detailed page citations in each review, so my book is filled with little Post-it tabs, labeled with important events. I wasn't sure I'd like this novel, but it is growing on me, and I'm enjoying it now. Lights out at 10:30!

That was my day? How was yours? Head over to Love, Laughter, Insanity to share your Day in the Life!