Wednesday, March 23, 2016

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!

14 comments:

  1. This is so much fun,checking in on other's lives. so glad you got your washer fixed!!

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    1. Me, too! It's been running nonstop!

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  2. I so relate to the happiness of getting your appliances fixed! My dishwasher was broken for a while and I was so, so thankful when my husband figured out how to fix it!

    Will you link to your FamilyFun article when it goes up? I would love to read it!

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    1. Sure, Lindsey! I'll do that. I've written for them for about 10 years now, but they just had a complete change in editorial staff.

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  3. I bet you were thrilled to have your washer working again. What an annoyance that would be. LOL

    That gumbo looks wonderful and a piece of dark chocolate in the evenings. Perfect. I'm interested in Ann Hood's new book too. I've read others by her that I liked. Thanks for sharing your day with us! I loved reading about it.

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    1. Thanks, Kay! The gumbo was good - even better at lunch the next day!

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  4. I love oatmeal, too, but even more, I loved Cream of Wheat, and we have a gluten-free kitchen now for our daughter with celiac disease so no more CoW! Restaurants don't make it the way I liked to make it, with milk and extra farina to make it thick and maybe a tiny bit lumpy. I eat a fairly healthy diet, but can't get rid of my sweet tooth, but I'm seeing a lot of healthful snacking on these Days in the Life posts, so maybe I'll get inspired to follow suit!

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    1. Good luck with the healthy snacking! I can't eat sugar because of medical reasons, but I have a sweet tooth, too! I have a piece of extra-dark chocolate (very little sugar) each evening and sometimes sugar-free chocolate treats! I find fruit helps satisfy the sweet tooth, too :)

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  5. I know what you mean about the naptime. I don't have chronic illness but pregnancy (especially the third time) left me so exhausted that I HAD to nap on the weekends. I still do occasionally. But I think about all the other things I could be doing with that time. Not sure why people think it's a luxury.

    Oatmeal is one of my favorite meals and that gumbo sounds great! I've only tried to make it once and should add it back into the diet again. Sounds like you had a really busy but great day Sue. Thanks for joining. :)

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    1. Yes, exactly, Trish! I hate to stop when there is so much I'd like to be doing! But I do need the nap...and it does feel good once I lie down and give in :)

      Love this event - thanks for hosting!

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  6. Hope the PT helps your shoulder. That sounds painful.

    Yay for a working washing machine!

    The Americans is such a good show. We're totally hooked.

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    1. PT is helping!

      We love The Americans, too!

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  7. Anonymous5:34 PM

    Hi Sue!

    I've been all over your website and we have more in common than you know, though I can't imagine how difficult it has been for you and your boys. I could not find your email anywhere so I am posting here! Back in November of 2007 I was a healthy college athlete and after a weird flu and those antibiotics, life changed drastically. I developed a severe case of CFS and it turned my life upside down. After an incredibly difficult ten years, today on most days I'm 90% better, but there are times when symptoms can flare up, particularly around times of stress. I've seen over twenty MDs, several "healers" and many other health practitioners—while none were able to provide a cure, I have collected a specific library of useful information that I credit with my current good health. Throughout the last ten years, I managed to start and build two successful online businesses. So I decided to take my software skills and combine it with my knowledge of CFS and create an online guide that can help other people get to the level I am at now. I would love for you to check it out and consider blogging about it.

    Here is my website: www.projectholos.com

    Cheers!

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    1. Nice to "meet" you! I actually have a whole separate blog about living with chronic illness:

      http://livewithcfs.blogspot.com/

      Congratulations on improving your health and on your successful businesses! Sounds like you are doing quite well for yourself.

      This is a post about the treatments that have helped my son and I the most - maybe something here will help with your flare-ups:

      http://livewithcfs.blogspot.com/2015/08/effective-treatments-for-mecfs.html

      Thanks for sharing your website - I will take a look at it!

      Sue

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