View Full Version : A Day in the Life
I was thinking about Chicken Lady's dilemma with her current situation. And I thought maybe if we shared parts of our own lives, it might help her gain some perspective on hers. And it would be a fun thing to do for it's own sake. Sharing a day in the life of a regular person who seeks a simple life... whether we've achieved it or not. Since it's anonymous, we can be honest, no need to curate/gloss/embellish.
I'll start it off and see if there's interest. If not, then the thread will just die a natural death.
A day in my life: Friday, July 28th
7:14 am, get up, it's later than I'd like but last night I didn't get to bed till 11 pm
Walk with the dogs - 2 miles
Give med to dog and treats after
Go out to breakfast - make to do list for fri/sat/sun, bring leftovers home
Put bed sheets into the washer
Apply flea meds to the 3 pets
Request City service for neighborhood issue
Take food out of the freezer for dinner
Quick email to family member and friend
Pick up after pets
20 min play session with the pets (even the cat got in on the action!)
Put sheets back on the bed, pick up house in prep for cleaning
Clean house - thoroughly - 5 hrs - might do a separate post about this (eat breakfast leftovers for lunch)
4:30 pm - Gym - 75 mins, swim laps and jacuzzi
Feed pets when I get home
Shower
Eat dinner - from batch cooking - beef tacos and spanish rice
Post on Simple Living to keep myself awake - it's 7:50 p.m., too late for a nap and too early for bed
Later I will wash up after dinner (Dh working late), wipe down kitchen counters, prep coffee maker for tomorrow, give dog her meds, get ready for bed, and pass out! I forgot - I'm trying out the Crest Whitening strips and will pop those in for 30 minutes at some point.
early morning
7-29-17, 12:13am
Ok, I'll play.
Up at 5:30; wake up DH, who goes back to sleep
5:35: feed cats, start coffee, scoop litter, shower, dress in scuffy
6:00 start my breakfast, tell DD that DH will need shower, does she need bathroom first. She goes back to sleep. Eat, drink coffee. Lots. Check work email
6:30 wake up DH again; log into computer to ck banking/credit card balances, pay some bills
7:00 more coffee, pack lunch (and leave in fridge) as DD and DH sort of eat breakfast
7:45 follow DH so I can pick him up after he drops of truck for brakes, take him to oral surgeon ap't that I've taken a few hours off work to attend, drop him back home and pick up my lunch and more coffee
9:30 - finally leave for work
10:15: work, meetings for work, calls for work, reports, emails, another meeting off site
3:30: meeting over, head home a little early (one of the few meeting perks!) - errands: Aldi, Dollar General for small number of items
4:45: home - deal with VERY angry DH due to nasty snafu with washer repair people - try to calm him down, talk to repair people, complaint lodged with head company; check work email
5:30: DD home, cook supper, clear up, run dishwasher, wash pots that can't go in dishwasher, feed outside cats
6:45: pull some items to take to booth tomorrow, price, look up info on several items
8:00; collapse in chair, watch two episodes of Gilmore Girls, talk to my sister on the phone
10:15: clean bathroom (hit the high spots only!), get coffee ready for AM, plot out what might go into the new antique booth we're stocking starting next week, read for a while, get coffee ready for morning; read here
12:00 - get ready for bed - I get to sleep in tomorrow, until 6:30!! :~)
This makes me realize how serene my life is. Yesterday was a going out day. 7:30 up after a very rough night of sleep, dress
7:40 make coffee, do stretches, slice banana for DH
8:15 drink coffee, write in journal
8:50 slice peaches for breakfast, more coffee, eat
9:25 change clothes into "going out"
10:30 arrive at restaurant for breakfast and talk with college friend ( 45 years!)
2:15 head back home, storms coming and want to avoid flash floods- usually we'd keep talking until 3 or 4pm.
3:30 home and happy no trouble
3:45 check computer, spend way too much time
4:30 TV- Queen Sugar catching up
5:45 make dinner, clean up
7:00-10 read the paper, do the cypher, watch tv..computer...
10:00 water pic, brush teeth, take bath, clean tub, do neck stretches,
10:45 in chair reading
11:00 bed
Friday, July 28th: Happens to be a very light work day.
6:30 dog wakes me up. I check my phone (for calls/emails from kids) and sleep pattern on my Fitbit
6:32 rise, find I need to make another pot of coffee (one pot usually lasts 2 days).
6:35 take dog out on a walk
6:50 feed dog, cap it off with a home made treat of peanut butter in an old marrow bone.
7:00 internet time: browse around, plan day, make list, check on this forum, FB, NYT, WSJ, CNN. Watch a Brian Johnson video. Follow any other bunny trails around the web
8:00 wash & dress, make bed, do light picking up
10:00 chat with DH about stuff in general
10:30 note that a discussion guide came back from a client with a few minor edits. I make them and send back.
11:00 Putter
11:30 Have a text convo with my DD about whether or not she should purchase a certain dinnerware pattern. I tell her I need more (free) cleanser from the high-end cosmetics firm she works for.
12:00 more puttering--I actually have no idea WHAT I did for the next couple of hours. This is NOT typical on a working day, but it sure is nice!
2:00 DH alerts me that the lawn mower brake cable is broken and wants me to help diagnose the problem. We determine it needs a new one, so we find the part on Amazon and order it.
2:30 go to the farm stand to buy Jersey corn and tomoatos (mmm).
2:45 get home to hear the lawn mower going: DH was able to jerry-rig something to get it working!l
4:00 respond to more work emails
4:30 order a rain jacket online from a gift card I have
4:45 peruse recipes for a zucchini/cucumber dish for dinner--see I need olives so..
5:00 go out to a Walgreens and buy olives (the Friday night traffic on the Main Street through town was ridiculous)
5:15 prepare dinner for me--DH plans on eating a Bubba Burger
6:00 tend to garden, help DH re-place the lawn furniture
7:00 sit down for dinner while watching Jeopardy
8:00 go for a walk to the church at the end of my street as a multitasking endeavor: I get in 2,000 steps on the Fitbit and when I get there I spend 20 minutes meditating/praying
8:45 return home. Debate whether I should eat the other half of a black and white cookie. I eat it. There go the calories I just burned.
9:00 DH scans movie options on Amazon Prime. We decide on Gone Baby Gone GREAT movie.
10:40 do a plank. Go to bed. Read a bit of St. John of the Cross, a little of Melissa Coleman's book about her family.
11:00 lights out.
Geila: I'm doing the Crest whitening strips, too! Let me know what you think!
This is so interesting to read! To do this, I will have to start tomorrow and try to keep a time map, which is something I have been wanting to do anyway. Right now, it's all kind of a blur. I need to start in the am, so I will try to begin tomorrow.
SteveinMN
7-29-17, 10:33am
Yesterday was my first "normal" day after several days of traveling, so let's see how "normal" it was:
6:30 Alarm goes off. Ten minutes extra sleep for my wife; ten minutes of petting for the dog.
6:40 Feed the dog. Prep something for myself for breakfast (I find I'm better off eating soon after I awaken).
6:50 Start catching up on the email blizzard I passed over while I was on the road and had only cellular data.
7:30 Get wife ready to leave for work, verifying her schedule and weekend commitments.
7:40 Finish breakfast, empty dishwasher, and start refilling dishwasher.
8:00 Back to the stuff I missed on-line and take a look at the local papers (on-line). Jeez, I wish some companies realized I like to hear from them, but I don't need to see the same tweet four times in three days and I don't plan to buy hundreds of dollars of electronics Every. Single. Day. Time wasting... I'm also icing down a toe that feels -- broken? The pain comes and goes. Today is not a good day to be off my feet.
8:30 Shower/shave/etc. for volunteer work at Second Harvest.
9:00 Out the door to drive to SH.
9:30 Move boxes of frozen food around. Good crew; I move more than 5,000 pounds of food from pallet to sorting table to pallet.
12:30 Didn't have anything at home ready for lunch, so visited the Chinese Buffet restaurant. Not that I eat a lot there, so it's kind of expensive for lunch, but I'm tired, I don't have to prep, they serve me iced tea right away, and I can pick and choose from the offerings at my whim.
1:10 Drive home.
1:30 Back home; shower and change after working. Take the opportunity to put away my traveling bag and its contents.
1:50 Check email again and check voicemail and make a couple of follow-up calls to people. One of them is my mom. There's a "bug infestation" at her house (turns out that means more than six houseflies). Try to call her back to find out when I can come over to address the issue but the phone is always busy because she forgot to shut it off after talking on the phone. This goes on for almost an hour while I'm noodling along on the computer, checking Facebook and craigslist. More icing of my toe.
2:40 Finally decide the phone will never be on-hook until I tell her it's off and go to the house. Pick up some items which we've amassed for the next time we see her.
2:45 Get to the house and find out my mom is worried her five-pound dog has been trying to eat the bugs which have been sprayed with about half a can of Raid. I go outside to see if there's an entry point for them. Also diddle with a "universal" garage door opener I got on ebay to replace the one she can no longer find, only to find that the opener in the garage is apparently out of this world -- and universe -- since no combination of button pressing and clicking teaches it the right combination to work. I'll have to come back with a ladder so I can unplug the opener to power-cycle it and maybe spray the Learn button that hasn't been pressed in about a decade.
4:40 Finally get out of the house after drinking a cup of coffee while telling my mom about my trip (to see relatives for a funeral), fending off more home redecoration ideas for which there is no budget, getting an account of what's not working well in her life (largely because of choices she's made which now cannot be un-made), and hearing for the umptieth time how terrible politics are (preaching to the choir here).
4:50 Empty the mailbox, which apparently has not been touched since I left Tuesday afternoon. Sort out the recycling and the mail that's not even ours and work on the stuff that's left.
5:00 Feed the dog. Let the dog out. Let the dog back in.
5:05 Keep going through the mail.
5:30 Start making dinner. Frozen pizza for my wife; a piece of pizza and salad for me.
6:00 My wife comes home and we eat dinner while watching the news and catching up with each other.
6:25 Clean up after dinner and do the washing the dishwasher doesn't (the "good" knives and some plastic for recycling).
6:45 More catching up on-line and listening to a call-in request show run by the DJ who did the music for our wedding. Catch up on some paper magazines and catalogs which have come in and pay some bills on-line. I also come up with a list of groceries to be procured today.
10:10 Show's done. And so am I. Get the dog outside, make sure things are off and/or locked, and head to bed.
Well, no day is typical. I don't do Second Harvest every week. But if it isn't that, it can be something else. Housework. Errands. Didn't walk with the dog, but that would be a more typical day if I felt up to it. I probably spent more time on-line than most days because I was catching up. But that's as typical as days get here.
How do you all know these details? Do you write them down?
Am I developing Alzheimers? I don't remember this kindof detail.
ApatheticNoMore
7-29-17, 11:11am
7:30 alarm
7:35 get up
7:30-8:10 take bath, get dressed, do late minute prep on food to take to work (had done most prep the night before)
8:10-9:00 drive to work
9:00-1:00 or so, work at one point take brief break to eat breakfast
1:00-1:30 lunch
1:30-5:30 work, on one point take walk break
5:30-6:30 drive to see bf
6:30-10:00 see bf and his mom, go out to eat with them, get into a bit of an argument with bf
10:00-11:00 drive home
11:00-1:00 process pain, cry a little
1:00 bed, so it's late, it's not like tomorrow is a work day or anything
how do I remember, the times are approximate, my memory is not that perfect.
How do you all know these details? Do you write them down?
Am I developing Alzheimers? I don't remember this kindof detail.
On busy days like this I write down a to-do list and check things off. Other days I don't. I only keep track of time if it stands out for some reason. You can share your day in any format you like. It doesn't have to be as detailed as others. In fact, it might be nice to have some contrasts.
iris lilies
7-29-17, 11:46am
How do you all know these details? Do you write them down?
Am I developing Alzheimers? I don't remember this kindof detail.
I dont either, and I wont be writing anything down because THEN it will be staring me in the face how much i sit around. :)
catherine
7-29-17, 12:39pm
How do you all know these details? Do you write them down?
Am I developing Alzheimers? I don't remember this kindof detail.
The times are kinda-sorta approximate--best guess. I did consult my email to get some idea as to when I did things like respond to clients, talk to DD, etc.
I cannot imagine taking 5 hours to clean the house. Not nearly enough energy for that. I do jobs in little spurts. Dust, rest, dry mop, rest, vacuum, rest....Like Iris Lily I am surprised at how much time I waste on tv and computer. Reading isn't wasting time! We just spent 3 hours clearing out under our porch and repairing the screen to keep out the groundhog who has decided it might be a lovely new home....We keep way too much stuff that we think will be useful. That space is clear now and will NOT be utilized for anything.
Teacher Terry
7-29-17, 3:35pm
On a typical day the dogs wake me up around 7:30. I take them outside and then in for am treats and meds. Then I make coffee and read the paper. After that I go to the computer with my breakfast. By 9 am we are out the door to walk our big dog because it is hot and he has a big, black coat. We take him to park where he swims in river first and then we take an hour walk. We are home by about 10:30. Since we eat a small breakfast I start making lunch which is our big meal of the day. I check to see if anything needs grading and work on that. I also set up robots to sweep and mop. I usually spread out the cleaning in small chunks over 3-4 days/week. One day/week I run errands. A few times/week DH and I go out to eat or go to festivals. The remainder of day I am on forums and then at 5 I watch news and knit scarves for the homeless. I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal for evening meal and DH eats a salad. Once/week I have my kids over for dinner and every few weeks one of my friends. Sat's we are usually gone for the day with some event.
Gardenarian
7-29-17, 3:43pm
Okay...
7:30 - wake up, make bed, have tea, read the paper and do the crossword, check email
8:30 - water the garden
9:30 - go for a walk with my dog, make rice and beans for later.
11-1- ride my bike to library, workout at gym, window shopping
1- 1:30 - salad with rice and beans
1:30- 3 - physical therapy
3-5 - reading and snacking on raw veggies and hummus
5-7 - pick up DD at friend's house, go to grocery store. Spend a lot of time debating various curry powders, pastes, and mixes.
7-9 - play with dog, do dishes, sweep house, tidy up
9-11 - reading
11 - lie out and watch the stars for a bit.
11:30ish - bedtime
I couldn't recall all these daily details either unless I wrote it as it happened but I suppose they follow a general pattern. Either crows or roosters wake us up around 5:30. Feeding cats. Two cups of coffee while perusing internet or paper. Breakfast mid-morning. Errands on some mornings since I like to avoid traffic times. Laundry, dishes, vacuum etc. Weeding. Walk the park or neighborhood daily. Various home improvement chores such as this week, ripping up old carpet so hardwoods can be refinished in two weeks. Trying to figure out where to put all the furniture when floors get done. Bills and or paperwork. Brief chats with neighbors. Emails to friends or family back home. I think if we are trying to take note of stress though, my last week was very stressful. In between all the normal stuff, I had out of town family here for five days along with multiple trips to a faraway vet with a very sick cat. Then having to drive guests to airport in Denver and back during heavy rainstorms and rush hour traffic. It always seems to be all or none.
Teacher Terry
7-29-17, 3:52pm
Now that I am semi-retired and work from home about 10 hours/week i have a very low stress life. The college I work for is very hands-off so actually I don't have a boss which is wonderful. Probably the most stressful thing that happens is when one of my old dog is sick and needs to go to the vet. One of my rescue dogs is 20 and was sick this week. Did lab work and found out that her kidneys are failing. She had been shaking so they gave her meds for pain which are working. Her quality of life is high and she has plenty of energy. I am sure that will change soon. 2 months ago I lost my 12 yo favorite doggie to heart failure and strokes. WE also have a 12 yo husky/shepherd mix and a 13 yo Maltese.
rosarugosa
7-29-17, 6:38pm
I don't think I can bring myself to do a step-by-step accounting with all the minutiae, but I do think it's interesting to see that at least so far, I get up earlier (alarm goes off at 4:11 AM) and go to bed earlier than anyone else (9:00 PM on average). On the weekends, it might be more like 5:30 Am - 9:30 PM. Clearly living the wild life here. :)
Most of my days are pretty standard. Get up around 7:00. Shower, shave, and eat Breakfast.
Then it's either a golf day, airplane day, range day, boat day, or work around the house day.
generally around 7:00 I like to watch shows on Netflix.
around 9:30-10:00 I'm usually back in bed.
there is some internet time, and meals in there also.
How do you all know these details? Do you write them down?
Am I developing Alzheimers? I don't remember this kindof detail.
Detail is my life. I'm the one who notices typos in signs and superimposed text on the TV news. I'm the one who notices that one of the four bulbs in the light fixture has a different color temperature. I'm the one who notices that the car is making a new noise. I'm the one who notices advertising nonsense terms like "farm-raised chicken" and wonders how else a chicken can be raised for food-production purposes.
It's a curse.
Chicken lady
7-30-17, 9:49am
Geila's day would kill me. I can't imagine cleaning for 5 hours.
Teacher Terry's day would also kill me, but for me it would be inactivity (i'm seeing an hour of dog walking as the only significant movement?) combined with misery (cooking, events, socializing)
i asked the the butcher where they raised the non-farm raised beef and he named an inner city neighborhood (joking of course)
M-F are so different from Sa/Sun.
Friday:
0400 awake. Make coffee, drink coffee, surf the net.
0520: shower for work, get dressed, pack my lunch and drive.
0605: arrive at work, meetings, staffing a sick call, complete a performance appraisal, eat my own lunch and give 2 lunch breaks, conference call x2, work on reports
1450: change clothes and leave work
1505: have 1 cocktail with 1 of my 3 favorite bartenders because i had 20 minutes to kill and didn't want to stay at work
1530: 90 minute massage
1715: home
1730: head to local Thai place for dinner (it's 2miles)
1830: back home, surf a little and watch National Geo channel with hubby
2000: to bed and slept a very magical 9h which is super rare for me!!!!
Most of my work days are longer not leaving till 4-430 and sometimes 6:(
Teacher Terry, your day sounds great to me--I also teach online, knit,and have dogs, so we must be kindred spirits!
Chicken lady
7-30-17, 11:01am
I wasn't objecting to Teacher Terry's day for herself, nor to Geila's, I assumed that both are happy with their days, I was just amused by the variety.
i'm too fidgety and unfocused for either.
Teacher Terry
7-30-17, 1:18pm
Tybee, yes we are very similar. I get 10-12k/steps every day so I am not inactive at all. I wear a fitbit to make sure I keep moving. Last night we went to a free jazz concert downtown which was nice. We walked the 2 miles home.
rosarugosa
7-30-17, 1:22pm
Hey Steve, you sound so much like my DH. I tease him about shouldering the burden of being in charge of QA for the universe.
Chicken lady
7-30-17, 1:41pm
Ah. I live in a place where going somewhere involves being in a car, it did not occur to me that "going" could be physically active.
Teacher Terry
7-30-17, 2:02pm
Yes 5 years ago we moved back into town. WE love the new location because we can walk downtown where all the festivals, events, movies, theaters, restaurants are. They are in other parts of town too but where we live has things going on all the time. Interesting the young people do not want to live in the burbs so they are buying up these old homes in our neighborhood when they become available.
Catherine - Yesterday was day 3 of the strips and I think my teeth might be a bit more white and bright. I'm going to do it for a week and see.
On the cleaning... I prefer doing big chunks and then being done with it. I'm like that with most projects. After deep cleaning the house, which was hard work, I want to keep it nice. The week before I didn't get a chance to clean and I was disappointed.
Saturday: (this day was harder to remember because it was less structured. I broke it out into chunks to help jog my memory.)
6:14 am - get up and walk our 2 miles with the dogs
Breakfast - coffee and bagel, internet time
Pick up after pets
Appx 2-3 hours outside - watering, sweeping, scrubbing porch
11 am - feeling tired so I have an early lunch
Dog grooming - brush cat and boxer (both girls love it), poodle got an all over trim with the razor with scissoring around the eyes/feet, trim nails (he hates it)
20 min play session with dogs
Bathe both dogs (dh helped dry the poodle while I bathed the boxer). Realized my scheduling of the dog baths the day after the bathroom scrubbing was not ideal.
Dh played with the dogs while I tidied up the bathroom.
1:40 pm - head to gym for pool and jacuzzi
3:15 pm - back from gym, take shower
Feed pets
Eat early partial dinner - 2 beef tacos
Join the pets on the sectional couch for a couple of hours of rest and relaxation. Not able to nap due to coffee, so I just enjoy the garden views and a farmer's market nectarine.
6 pm - movie time - The Ghost in the Shell - eat rest of dinner: big salad, corn on the cob and popcorn.
Evening (maybe 8:30): Pop in Crest whitestrips and set timer for 30 mins
Wash dinner dishes/pots/pans, wipe down counters, prep coffeemaker, take out trash, quick vacuum with cordless: kitchen and high traffic areas - total time 20 minutes
Surf net while waiting for timer to ring
Enjoy some time sitting in the dark before bed. Pets and I lay on the sectional and enjoy the cool evening breeze while Dh watches Netflix in another room with headphones one. This reminds of childhood evenings and is always relaxing.
Shower, do the getting ready bit: brush, floss, rosacea cleanser, rosacea topicals, moisturizer on legs, etc.
10:30 pm - bedtime. Enjoy the sound of the water fountain outside my bedroom along with the gently snoring dog inside my bedroom. Asleep by 11 pm.
Mood:
I was surprised at how tired I felt by 11 am and I assume I was just hungry. And the dog baths always remind me that I really want a dog washing station in the garage. Doing it on my knees in the tub is hard work. The rest of the day was very pleasant and relaxed. The morning was very cool and the rest of the day stayed very nice despite hot weather predictions. The evening was lovely, in the low 70's and cooling down overnight to high 50's. We leave all the windows open and I got great sleep.
Detail is my life. I'm the one who notices typos in signs and superimposed text on the TV news. I'm the one who notices that one of the four bulbs in the light fixture has a different color temperature. I'm the one who notices that the car is making a new noise. I'm the one who notices advertising nonsense terms like "farm-raised chicken" and wonders how else a chicken can be raised for food-production purposes.
It's a curse.
OMG me too.....all these things make me nuts. Hubby who remembers all things trivial, isn't annoyed by any of these!
You are all inspiring me to get myself better organized each day which has been a goal for a while.
You are all inspiring me to get myself better organized each day which has been a goal for a while.
For me, organized is a way of life. I think what is most helpful is to do things that you value and letting the rest go. Mom and I were talking about "life" one day maybe 12y ago (she's been gone nearly 10). She said "you girls have all these machines to do things and I think it makes your lives more complicated." She had 1 household chair per day 6d per week plus meal prep for 7 each day. She says her life was much more relaxed than ours. Her work was at home whereas we all leave for paid employment. I haven't walked her shoes so I don't know if she's right. But I did grow up with the ringer washer/clothes line day, the housework day, the laundry day, baking on Saturday and I don't remember her 5th day.
I find I have way too much time for the internet :(
Teacher Terry
7-30-17, 6:24pm
I remember being a kid and seeing all the work my Mom had to do. Housework was much more work then it is today. I was a SAHM for awhile but I had a dishwasher, washer and dryer etc so things were much easier. Now I have robots that sweep and mop.
Chicken lady
7-30-17, 7:22pm
So, on Sundays I am not responsible for any food prep (they eat leftovers or cook for themselves and they get takeout for dinner, I graze)
I am sick. I am tired. I am trying to rest.
this is the day I planned:
sleep late (woke without an alarm at 7)
coffee, Internet, news, planning with dh, breakfast, paying my bills (I have some that are seperate from dh) (check)
Morning chores (check)
help dh install new oven (check)
Eat other food (check)
many rest breaks for tea (check)
Housework:
catch up with dishes (check)
compost out (check)
4 loads of laundry (last load in washer, one other not put away yet)
make three beds with clean sheets (check)
extra barn work:
move broody hen and chick to new cage (check)
Unplanned things i did:
Pick up some recycling in the construction area
cut dh hair
catch loose buck who got in with does and may have messed up my breeding plan
planned, but not done but going to happen:
evening chores
shower
set up coffee for tomorrow
if it is not on this list, I didn't do it, as in, didn't brush hair all day.
SteveinMN
7-30-17, 10:23pm
Originally Posted by SteveinMN
Detail is my life. I'm the one who notices typos in signs and superimposed text on the TV news. I'm the one who notices that one of the four bulbs in the light fixture has a different color temperature. I'm the one who notices that the car is making a new noise. I'm the one who notices advertising nonsense terms like "farm-raised chicken" and wonders how else a chicken can be raised for food-production purposes.
It's a curse.
Hey Steve, you sound so much like my DH. I tease him about shouldering the burden of being in charge of QA for the universe.
OMG me too.....all these things make me nuts. Hubby who remembers all things trivial, isn't annoyed by any of these!
I will hasten to add that, while I notice so many of these things, they don't drive me crazy. Most of the time, anyway. They're just observations. And sometimes it is helpful to be able to pick out "which one is not like the others". :D
(And, yes, I noticed that my quote in this post is not formatted like the others. I didn't feel the need to fix it.)
I've been enjoying reading about everyone's day. I get a much stronger sense of the person behind the screen name.
Why don't we just continue it and do a week in the life? It would be nice to get a feel for the rhythm and flow of a life, versus just a random day. It might also help us examine whether we are using our own time as well as we'd like.
ApatheticNoMore
7-31-17, 12:45pm
that was a pretty bad day in the life. So I don't keep very exact times on weekends but Sunday: woke up about 8ish, went to a grocery store, went to the bank, went to another grocery store, visited my mom and chopped green beans while there, gave her a pair of pants to mend the button on but it didn't really have a button but some confusing thing so she wasn't able to mend. Went home put away groceries. Went to two more grocery stores plus pharmacy (I know kind of excessive, got to buy food for the entire week but not well planned if I'm going to 4 different grocery stores). Made roasted green beans, did a few dishes, wasted time on internet. Bf came over, cooked salmon to go with green beans, and then we ate the food I had made. Went to coffee house with bf to read, read for awhile. Made out with bf for a couple hours. Bf went home, went to sleep like 1am - too late.
Sunday
A day of R&R here at our house.
6:30ish am - dogs wake me to go out and play. I put them out and close the bedroom door to give DH some more sleep.
The dogs come back in and play a bit then settle down for a nap on the couch and I do the same.
8:30ish am - DH gets up, dogs run to greet him, I wave to him and fall back asleep.
10:30ish am - I get up for breakfast and spend the next couple of hours hanging out, relaxing and having lunch.
Afternoon - Adult play time, shower, another nap
4:30ish - 6:30ish pm - Relax, eat dinner in various sittings
6:30 ish to 9 pm - Relax, internet time looking at utility sinks for my future dog washing stations, refrigerators, check in here for a bit, more R&R
9 - evening prep: wash dinner things, wipe down counters, pack DH lunch, prep coffeemaker, take out garbage
Shower and get ready for bed (I always sleep better when I shower before bed, so I do it most nights)
10:15 - bedtime
Mood
Relaxed. Very relaxed. DH picks up after the pets most Sundays and Saturdays, which is very nice. No coffee today so was able to take lots of naps.
catherine
7-31-17, 12:55pm
I've been enjoying reading about everyone's day. I get a much stronger sense of the person behind the screen name.
I agree.. really fun. I wish my day ended like ANMs.. with my husband of course. :~)
My Sunday:
6:30 up and ready + a few minutes on the back porch with the feral kitty and my coffee
7:45 leave for church (I work for our church so Sunday mornings are always busy)
10:15 scoot out of church early and rush home
10:45 drive son#1 to job
11:15 convince son#2 to go try a new Noodle restaurant (my 3rd trip to town for the day and it's not even noon and it's 12 miles one way!)
12:30 stop at a yard sale (no prices on anything, guy talking on phone, so we leave) son#2 leaves for work/he'll pick up son#1 (this car sharing between them is getting old)
1:00 a glorious nap where I flew and had quite the adventure woke at 3 in a sweat
3:15 made a BLT, did laundry, changed into work clothes
4:30 moved rocks, dug dirt, took resting breaks with a bottle of water on back deck, fed pets, painted a shelf and some old sewing drawers
9:00 shower some Rum/Coke (ok I had 2) and a little TV news followed by BigBang
10:30 bed
Teacher Terry
7-31-17, 1:46pm
Spent part of yesterday and will finish today with loading our motorhome for a 5 day trip with friends. The dogs are quite excited as they can see me pack their stuff too. We get back on SAt and then on Sunday leave for a 6 hour drive to pick up our new puppy. I have rescued dogs for years and decided I wanted a young dog. Because of my allergies/asthma I can only tolerate certain breeds and have been unsuccessful in my search for a young rescue. So I decided to buy a puppy from a reputable breeder. She sent me a video and I am in love. It is a 3 month old boy Maltese. So today I will go to the store to buy a harness and leash in blue of course. I have a ton of small pink ones but can't do that to the little guy:)) When I cook I always make enough for a few meals so no cooking for me today as we can eat leftovers. When we camp with 4 couples each couple makes one dinner. I made homemade spaghetti sauce a month ago so today I just pulled it out of the freezer. I will buy some good bread and my camp meal will be super easy to make. The dog use cloth pee pads so I had to wash them today. At one time I used disposables but now only do when on trips. I just find it bad for the environment to use the disposables and of course it saves $. I have never carried pet insurance before and we have paid out a lot on vet bills. I am thinking I might get some for the new little guy.
Chicken lady
7-31-17, 8:55pm
So Geila's days vary a lot! Lol!
today was a more "normal" Monday.
Planned stuff:
woke to the alarm at 6:00.
Made breakfast and packed lunch for dd, but not dh because we are out of the bread he likes
coffee, conversation, breakfast, Internet, news, fed cat
morning chores
dishes
spent an hour getting ready to paint.
painted for 4.5 hours interrupted by a 45 minute lunch break and a 15 minute snack/water break
groomed rabbit
put away last of laundry from yesterday
showered
Not as planned:
dh stopped at the store and bought bread and stuff to cook for dinner because I didn't make it out for groceries.
he cooked. I assisted, set the table, and cleaned up.
dishes are not caught up because they wouldn't all fit in the dishwasher.
extra unplanned thing - burned burn bag because dh fried fish - burn bag is a paper bag in which I collect food and wax contaminated paper and random bits like toothpicks. I burn it (legally) every few weeks.
back to plan:
evening chores
need to set up coffee.
Planned things I didn't get to today:
drop recycling and trash on the way to grocery store
buy groceries
studio time
they will get bumped to the (top of?) the list for tomorrow
i am exhausted. It's not even 9.
So Geila's days vary a lot! Lol!
That's the beauty of being home and being your own boss! :D
early morning
7-31-17, 11:27pm
Today was a fairly typical week day:
5:30 - up, feed cats (inside and outside), start coffee, shower
6:15 - start breakfast, wake up DD, fend off cats, drink coffee, eat, pack lunch, read for a few minutes, start dishwasher
7:00 - change clothes for work, grab work cup of coffee
7:10 - leave for work
7:50 - no traffic snarls so early for work - work, lunch, work, etc - NO meetings today!!
4:30 - leave for home
5:20 - home, change, move cars when DD gets home, feed porch kitties, get mail
5:45 - start supper, eat, talk
6:15 - ask DH where he put the book for the washer. need the receipt, which should be with book, for warranty repair guy. DH swears he never saw a book, there was no book, just a website. Start going through piles looking for receipt - side tracked by some pictures of Mom's I found, laugh and cry...
8:00 - find receipt. Magneted to the side of the fridge. In a baggy with the book. Where DH put it.
8:15 - sit. watch episodes of Gilmore Girls, even though I have much to do.
10:15 - work in kitchen, put away clean dishes/load dishwasher, fix coffee pot, remind myself that I start tomorrow with an off-site meeting;
11:00 - visit here, play a few games, get ready for bed
by midnight, should be in bed so I can do it all again tomorrow!!
Yesterday:
6:30 Up. Doesn't seem to matter anymore if I set the alarm or not. Coffee and email. Serve the dog's food.
6:50 Make breakfast for Mrs. S. (she's home from work today) and then for myself.
7:20 Spend more than half an hour on Facebook; a group I administrate seems to have hit some new threshold of popularity and requests to join are coming out of the woodwork. There are requirements to join, however, so I have to evaluate each request. This also entails cleaning up requests from a month ago which never received a response.
8:00 More coffee. On-line research on a new image-manipulation I'm looking at.
8:55 Give the dog her antibiotic. She's gotten wise to it so we have to find interesting foods in which to hide it. Today's choice is leftover mac-and-cheese (she rarely sees "people food"). Yes, this takes five minutes of prep and cajoling.
9:00 Go out to mow the lawn and edge before it gets too hot and humid today (a relative term in Minnesota).
10:10 Get back in after doing that. Sit in front of a fan with some cold water for a while (more than a few minutes). Catch up on email and Facebook.
10:40 Shower and shave.
11:00 Prep tomorrow night's dinner, which needs to marinate for a day (oops; should have read the recipe before this morning).
11:20 Hungry, so it's time for lunch. Pre-cooked chicken breast and a plastic clamshell of organic "spring mix". DW isn't hungry yet.
11:55 I do the dishes the dishwasher does not.
12:10 Check email again and get sucked into reading articles in (on-line) newspapers.
1:15 Check physical mail, sort and recycle, and pay a couple of bills.
2:00 Go with DW to DD/DSiL's to watch our grandkids while DD goes to an appointment.
5:30 Appointment and chat is over so we leave. I didn’t have time to prep anything for tonight's dinner, so we go someplace decent and cheap in our neighborhood. (In the past I've had a stock of prepared meals I could thaw and reheat quickly but I'm drawing down the freezer stocks and we're changing our way of eating as well so we don't have much in the house.)
6:30 Home from dinner. I get the trash and recycling out of the house as tomorrow is pick-up day for both.
6:45 Done with most of the night's chores. Back on-line to catch up and to do some research on a new med my doctor is suggesting that I start. I'm not having that conversation with her "cold".
9:30 Get the dog outside one last time, prepare coffee for this morning, and close down the house.
10:00 Bedtime.
Kinda tired even just writing it all down...
Williamsmith
8-1-17, 10:40am
M-F
Up at 6am small breakfast, out the door and arrive at the gym by 6:30 ish, work out until 8:15 ish.
Monday evening ....golf and adult beverages. I might some days get started a little early on the beverage thing and stop a little too late.
Saturday and Sunday whatever the wife wants to do....it's her weekend.
Every other weekend some time with my granddaughter.
I have a pretty rigid house cleaning routine, laundry and grocery shopping plan. I plan and cook all the meals. I handle all the finances. I am a damn fine house husband.
Otherwise.....I do whatever the hell I please. I live such a simple life, people who knew me before I retired can't believe I'm not looking for work. I've declined an offer of deputy sheriff, chief of police and special investigator for the District Attorney, security for the energy sector and even help at a local funeral home. I'm not looking to extend my legacy......I am looking to extend my life.
Monday
6:30 am - get up and do my walk w/ dogs
Start the JM 30Day Shred
Go out to breakfast, plan day
Put kitchen towels and napkins in the wash
Make bed and tidy bedroom
Pass out flyers on my block for National Day Out
Pick up after pets
Do some online tasks
Clean out the fridge and freezer
Tomorrow is garbage pick up - take out trash, recycling, garden clippings
Go to Sears and buy a fridge
Post on here about angst regarding fridge purchase
Make a batch of hard boiled eggs for later use
Eat a late lunch
3:40 - head to gym
5:20 - back from gym - stopped at store on the way home and picked up some romaine lettuce
Feed the pets
Make a big salad for dinner
Eat dinner while surfing online
Watch an hour of Netflix with headphones on while DH naps
Evening cuddle with Dh and pets on the couch
Evening routine - washing up, wiping counters, pack dh lunch, prep coffee maker
Move a few things that are where the new fridge will go so I can clean the area tomorrow.
Shower - bed prep
10:30 - bedtime
Mood:
Jitters and nerves about the large purchase. Hoping I will like how the fridge looks in the space. Making a commitment that if I don't like it, I will try different things until I find an arrangement that works. So glad to have the pool and jacuzzi! I felt so relaxed being there and for hours afterwards. Grateful to have the life and resources that I do.
I'm not looking to extend my legacy......I am looking to extend my life.
This place needs a Like button. :)
I'm very well treated by family and friends, in part because my lifestyle lets me be there for them when they need someone. I figure the family and friends will remember me when I'm gone. Work? Most of them have already forgotten me. 's okay...
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