What's a typical day like for you?

[Polliwog]

I am retirement age but I still work. I'm a paralegal by profession but since I moved closer to family, I now manage the family buildings - 3 of them - a total of 78 apartments and commercial businesses. I actually love to work as long as it doesn't get too overwhelming, which sometimes it does.

Anyway, I get up around 8:00am, make coffee and toast for breakfast, shower, make bed, make a lunch and head out usually by 10:00 or so. (The good news about working for family is that I set my own hours). I try to leave the office by 5:00 and head home, about a 10 minute or less commute.

I look at my snail mail, change clothes and start dinner I look out onto a golf course and lots of trees from my kitchen and dining room windows. It is beautiful at this time of year, although hot. I posted before that I suspended my satellite service for t.v. so everything has changed for me. I take my time to make a nice dinner with lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, maybe a little meat or pasta. I no longer eat a lot of sweets after dinner and I stopped drinking milk (which I love) and I have lost weight because of it. I also sleep better.

After dinner and cleaning up the dishes, I settle down with laptop to check on these forums, Facebook (to see what my adult children are posting) and then I might knit and listen to Pandora radio on my I-phone. I have a nice chair in my bedroom so it is very relaxing. The last thing I do is read on my Nook before lights out somewhere around 11:30pm.

I also spend time with my grandchildren who live nearby (7 and 4); or I visit my dad who is in assisted living.

I pretty much love my life now because I don't have any real pressures. I'm 68 and in good health. I have enough money to take care of myself. Life is good!

[Tussiemussies]

Glad for you Polliwog, your life sounds really nice and fulfilling.

[catccc]

Do you launder diapers every single day? When diapers were still being used in our house, I laundered every second/third day. Even after daytime diapers were shed, and night-time diapers continued, every second/third day.

I wash diapers along with other laundry daily most of the time, maybe I skip a day once a week or so. I just do a rinse cycle on the diapers first, figure most of the pee is out, and throw in the rest of the laundry in with the diapers. We probably have enough diapers to last 2-3 days, but I just prefer to do a little each day and make it more routine, plus we have limited hanging space. So I just do a load every night that will fit on our drying rack.

When our 1st DD was down to only nighttime diapers, we'd just hand rinse it and throw it in w/ the rest of the wash, and maybe do laundry every other day.

With our older daughter, it was every other day diaper laundry and regular laundry on the non-diaper washing days. We were living in a tiny apt. and had 'portable' washing machine that hooked up to the sink- pretty limited capacity. We had lots of "regular" laundry to do because at the time I was a SAHM and DH did farm work. Farm work = clothes that need to be washed often. And sometimes the farm clothes had stuff on them that I did not want to wash with diapers, so it was segregated back then...

[Mrs-M]

What a great reading thread this is!!!

Catccc. Thanks for touching on your wash-method.

Hindsight is 20/20, but what I should have done Re: night-time diapers in our home, was hand-wash them instead of pailing them. It was a RPITA (royal pain in the you know what) to have two/three diapers always sitting in the pail. I could have easily hand-washed each night-time diaper (by hand) in my laundry room tub/sink, then hung to dry, eliminating the paling step, and/or, trying to pull together enough whites (panties/underwear/socks) to start a wash-load.

The things we think of "after the fact"! LOL!

[dado potato]

I have been out of the paid workforce for about 12 years. I live with my dear wife in a nice house in the Northern Highlands of Wisconsin. A typical day includes tending the garden (what the deer allow), picking blueberries, swimming in a nearby lake, catching bluegills, eating well (arugula, fresh fish, blueberry pie!), loafing, going to bed with the windows open and listening to the wolves howl (where there are deer...)

[awakenedsoul]

I didn't realize this thread was back up and running! It's so interesting to hear about everyone's daily life and routine. Thanks for posting. I had a lazy day today. Got up at 4:20 a.m. Had my coffee on the porch. Wrote in my journal, and then ran the dogs alongside my bicycle. (One at a time.) Came home and had breakfast:fruit from the orchard and our local organic co op, almonds, homemade french bread with butter, and some home brewed yogi tea. Did a few rows of knitting. Watered the vegetable beds and cottage garden. Harvested some vegetables. Had a nice chat with my knitting teacher on the phone. Read my library book while stretched out on my couch. Made a zucchini cake with my garden produce. Browsed through my emails and this forum. Life is good!

[ljevtich]

I'll join in too, even though I am late.
We have no kids, nor a house, and we are full time RVers, living and working in National Parks.
So my schedule changes a bit, and it is not a typical 9-5 job, but something that I love doing 6 months of the year. I work 5-4-9s which means I work 5 days on, 2 days off, then 4 days on, 3 days off. Nine hour days.

So what that means is I normally work 8-5:30 most days, except when I have a Sunset Program, then I work from 10 am - 7:30 pm.

A typical day when I work 8-5:30:
Get up at 6:30 am, put on the hot water for tea and coffee (for DH). Open up the laptop, to get the internet going on my computer. Set up my tea to brew.
Make breakfast: we do hearty shakes made of mixed water and dried milk, oatmeal, oat bran, dried fruit, flax seeds, almonds, and then fresh fruit of oranges, apples, bananas, and frozen berries. Try to have it blended around 7 am and then wake up DH (if that doesn't wake him up first
He gets awake, which takes a little while, while I am drinking the shake and tea. He then makes his coffee (a french press system as we do not have a coffee maker as there is no point!) and drinks it while he wakes up.
Once I have finished my breakfast (while looking on the computer, checking financials (I tend to buy bonds if the market is doing well) otherwise I play an online game called free farm game or check spaceweather.com, check the weather, and check what is going on in the sky that day.
By 7:30 am I am getting dressed in my uniform while DH makes my lunch for the day. Usually a couple of slices of ham or cheese, some tostados (hard corn tortillas) and some almonds or walnuts, chocolate piece and dried & fresh apples. Round out with a homemade gatorade and at least a Liter of water.
around 7:45/7:50 He then sets up my scooter (motorbike) with my hat box and lunch in the boot, while I get on my helmet, boots, jacket and gloves and head out the door. I get a kiss goodbye and then I head out. Either I am going to the office or to the visitor center so either a 3 mile or a less than 1 mile commute.
At work:
~ 30 -60 minutes of cleaning a museum or visitor center, then get on a computer to check email
give a program of 30 to 60 minutes, then swear in Junior Rangers, answer questions, walk back to office. Work on computer or do some writing up of a program, a training class, a night sky newsletter or health newsletter.
30 minutes of lunch
go back out with the public to talk about the animals in the park, or about the sun spots on the sun that day using a scope maybe give an impromptu program.
Head back to the office and give a short 20 minute program. Answer questions and swear in Junior Rangers.
Around 4:30-4:45 go to the museum to clean set up for cleaning the museum, then when the museum closes at 5 do the major cleaning, for ~ 15 more minutes. Head back to office, finish up stuff on computer, and head out at 5:30 pm

That is my day usually at work. My DH works 2.5 days - on Full Days on Wednesday and Saturday, half day on Friday. He works at the Visitor Center as a sales associate for the Grand Canyon Association. His day is from 9:30-6:30, with an hour for lunch, and two 20 minute breaks. On the half day, he works 11-3 with no breaks.

Once we get home, we surf, read online news, look at Facebook and post, or go onto forums. We have been working on our resumes because we are looking for a new opportunity this winter, instead of volunteering at Lake Mead. We shall see if that happens or not.
Then we usually have a shake and popcorn for dinner or sometimes a crockpot dinner (beans and rice with pork, veggies, etc.)
We then watch TV like catccc

...We might watch a movie or tv show (HDMI to TV, as we have no pay TV services)

We usually go to bed around 11 pm or so.

During the days off we may go hiking or camping or go into the village and work out. We have found that this year has been very wet, with thunderstorms and rain, right around the time that we are going out and about. So it might mean more time on the computer, me working on our website and DH working on pictures taken during our adventures.

Like this morning, I got up late, watching the hummingbirds, writing this post, working on our resumes, struggling with the internet (gave up pretty much!) and we will not have breakfast until noon (We are the Official Founding Members of the Crack Of Noon Club!)

If you notice - there are not too many chores. I hate to clean, and thankfully, in a RV there is very little. a swipe or two of the bathroom sink, mirror, and a scrub or two of the tub. DH does the laundry every two weeks or so, and I put away the clothes. Making shakes is easy, and clean up is easier still. I have a few herbs outside, that the elk do not seem to like, and they get watered from all this rain.

If we are lucky, we might go into the village today or we might not. Not sure, the day has yet begin for us.

[BayouGirl]

What a great thread. It's fascinating to hear the everyday details of everyone. It gives a much better picture of the person behind the screen name. I've enjoyed reading all of the responses.

My days vary by the season. I spend half of my time in the big city with my 92 year old gram as her caretaker. We just stay home and hang out. She just needs someone there to be home with her because of her age and her health. She still gets up and does some cooking and such. Mostly we just kick back and relax for about 3 weeks then I go home to my home in the boonies for a few weeks while another family member stays with her. The time I spend in the city only makes me love my home life even more!!

Home is a 20 acre place where our nearest neighbors are half a mile away (BayouBoy's parents). Our property all runs together with property owned by his parents and 3 brothers, although only we and the parents live on it. Beyond that is more family owned property, protected woodland areas and other undeveloped properties. So we have so much privacy and wilderness around us.

BayouBoy is an early riser and he goes off to feed the cows (5 of them), his horse, the cowdogs and the pig. Then he is off to go do whatever he has planned whether it is a making hay, hunting alligators, harvesting pecans, fixing the tractor, working cows for his friends, doing a home repair for cash for someone, etc.

As for me, I am a nightowl who loves to stay up all night and then go to sleep after watching a sunrise. So there is no telling what time my day may begin or end. I usually get up, make me a cold coke (my vice) and then go to feed the population of my "kitty city" which is currently about 7 cats. Most are rescues or strays who showed up and as long as they follow the rules, they can stay. The rules are no fighting and you have to get spayed or neutered. We have lots of room on the property with sheds and outbuildings for them to sleep.

Then I get around to doing the domestic stuff like laundry, housework and making a gallon of tea each day cuz BayouBoy loves his iced tea. I check online to see if there are any article or rewrites I feel like doing. (I work online writing website content and article rewrites.) It gives me spending money to buy things online. Sometimes I go and work with BayouBoy too.

This past month was alligator season so it meant I was up at dawn with BayouBoy going into the woods to the water where he has tags to hunt gators. I go along to film it, take pictures, for ballast and for companionship. (I uploaded some of the pic in an album here, it is beautiful out there!). He spends the day baiting the hooks and catching the gators that have taken the bait while I take pics. Then we go sell them, eat at the small diner in town and go home to relax.

Up next is pecan season where we all gather and harvest pecan. BayouBoy and his brother clear the ground around the trees with their tractors then run the pickers around the trees then bring the pecans to the hopper where they go through a blower with throws out the bad pecans and debris (well most of it) and what is left comes down a conveyor belt. Then we ( me, Mawmaw, Pawpaw, kids, grandkids, friends, whoever is on the crew that day) stand on either side of the conveyor belt and pick out the bad pecans, dirt clumps and occasional shotgun shells, frogs, snakes and other unexpected things. Then the remaining pecans go up into a bag that hold about 2000 lbs of pecans. We use the money we make harvesting pecans for Christmas. We harvest pecans on our property and others property also. Mawmaw usually brings us food or we gather at her house to eat and get back to picking.

If it's hurricane season (we just experienced hurricane Issac) then we may be doing a roof. Friends and family need roof and we know how to do them. BayouBoy, me and his brother make a great team of roofers who can get the job done! I'm the gofer and shingle slinger. I'm not afraid of heights and get up there and place the shingles and they come behind me and nail them.

No matter the season, dinner is often a crowd scene at our house because one of our DS has a girlfriend who is an awesome cook and they come over and cook. They all take turns cooking (BayouBoy, BB jr, and his gf love to cook, yayyy!!) and I am the happy dishwasher. The GF has 3 little children so it is a bit crowded as all 7 of us gather around the table in our small 600 sq ft house. We may not live in an area where we can order food and have it delivered but we have kids who come and cook for us and that beats restaurant food any day. They are thrilled to be able to cook and not have to clean, I'm thrilled not to have to cook. it's a win for everyone!

But at anytime, day or night, in any weather, the pager could go off (we are first responders) and BayouBoy and I are scrambling to get dressed, pull on boots and jump in the truck and speed to the fire station to get the firetruck or rescue unit. It could be a fire, a vehicle accident, a medical call or it could even turn out to be nothing much at all. It could be a false alarm or it might be a call that we are out on for hours. We live in a small town so often there is nothing going in for long periods of time.

And so our life goes......

[citrine]

I am a massage therapist with my own studio, hubby to be is a service manager at a local garage and puts in 50 hrs a week. I wake up by 7am, have coffee with him and then drive him to work. Then is laundry, cleaning litter boxes, dishes, and making the bed. By 9am is second cup of coffee and reading forums/blogs. Monday to Wednesday are slow days in terms of client appointments so I do a lot of my cooking, baking, and crafting then. Thursday to Sunday are pretty hectic with at least 2-3 appointments a day, errands, and pickup/dropoff and hanging out with dear step son to be. We also do a lot of furniture refinishing then since he refuses to let me use his saws without his supervision.