Day in the Life- Fall 2022

Okay, in my little blogging community that I'm happily part of, all the bloggers swear that Day in the Life posts are hands down their favorite to read on other blogs. I am very much in that camp! I love a good Day in the Life post.

I can read them over and over, I can return back to them when I'm craving summery or cozy, winter vibes, I can relate to them, I can be inspired by them...basically, I can just appreciate so many things about them!

So, I'm jumping on board, and I'm starting off a new series on JenerallyLemonade with my own Day in the Life posts. I can't promise you that it's as easygoing as Mr. Lemon Guy as pictured above, but it's reality! 

Now, these posts are going to seem extremely pointless, boring, and unexciting to many, I'm sure. There's NOTHING exciting or special about my day-to-day routine, but I know that not only do I love reading others', but I will love returning back to my own in a few years and reminisce over the little day-to-day moments that might not be around any longer. That's the beauty of a blog- being able to reminisce over the big moments, the little moments, and all the in-between.

Some bloggers try to post these a few times a year; I thought I would put my own little spin on it and do them once a season. We'll see how that ends up panning out.

So let's get right into it! Here was my day yesterday (Wednesday, September 14, 2022). It was a pretty normal day! Some days, of course, have more work than others, more errands than others, more blogwork than others, or more dog activities than others, etc...but this is a pretty accurate picture of how most of our days look, especially while we have slightly different lifestyles here in the temporary apartment. (With this being the first one, this one is a little lengthier than I usually plan on them being! I had to set the stage.)

With Shane already at work, I usually wake up somewhere between 6:45-7:30ish lately, and that's the only time of day I allow myself for reading blogs/social media time. (I went cold turkey with my endless scrolling about a year ago after a sermon at church and shockingly have been really good about it since.) I love laying in bed, cuddling with the dogs, and using that time to check in on all those that are close or interesting to me. It helps me gradually wake up and get going with my day. However, apartment living without my sound machine has me in kind of a weird, terrible habit some mornings. When I hear Shane getting ready super early, I have a hard time falling back asleep until he leaves, so I use that time as my daily blog/social media time. Here I was up and scrolling at 4:45AM...

At 5:13AM I was still going strong haha. I was checking in on my blog to make sure everything published correctly as scheduled and was checking out some other blogs/Facebook/Insta/GoodReads.

Right after this, I fell back asleep (thankfully) until about 7:30AM. As soon as I start waking up and moving around in bed, the dogs know it's game time and Cash and Caylor immediately start climbing directly on top of me, all excited to see me again, and pawing at me telling me to get the show on the road.

Once they see I'm actually awake and reacting to them, they'll usually sweetly cuddle and lay by me until I really get up, but sometimes they decide to husky talk, wrestle and fight each other directly on top of me instead, such as on this glorious morning.

So I decided it was time to get up up and make the bed after snapping this pic. Believe it or not, Shane makes his side of the bed every single morning (while I'm still in it on my own side), since I don't make a bed according to perfect military standard, but their morning wrestling match clearly got his perfectly made side of the bed a little messed up.

I go open the sliding door so C&C can get a little morning fresh air while I get ready. They usually wait patiently...

...but Caylor specifically keeps checking in on me to make sure that I don't forget that I know what I'm getting ready for (their first walk).

A standard transitional fall outfit for me- a comfy, lightweight shirt in a fall color and jean shorts! Good enough for a day of work from home, a few laid back Zoom calls, a few errands, and dog walks. (Please notice our random unused end table in our bathroom because the movers accidentally delivered it in our partial delivery and there's really no other place for it...)

I then take the dogs on one of their walks around the apartments and townhomes. We no longer did morning walks in NC, but I've gotten them back into our routine while we are in our temporary apartment. I do love walking past the pool in the morning though. It's super peaceful.

Back inside and time to unload the dishwasher and then load it with the few items that didn't fit the night before...if I don't do it first thing, it hangs over my head all day, so I prefer to just get it done…as does my husband.

It was then time for me to get my morning set up (water, coffee, and a little breakfast if I'm feeling it that day) and to meal plan. I usually meal plan at sporadic times- whenever I'm in the mood for it and whenever it needs to be done. I usually try to do it the day before grocery shopping, but as you'll see, grocery shopping was on the to-do list for today too. I usually pick out one cookbook a week, use that cookbook to pick out what sounds good, and list the groceries needed as well. This is usually a fun task for me!

As I settled on the couch, it was time for a little Bible Study/Christian nonfiction book time.

Right after that, it's time for me to jump into my planner, my to-do list, and to crank out some of my work. I usually start with the easier, quicker tasks (even though that goes against what the pros say!) just to make my list shorter and less overwhelming looking. Today's list was super short compared to almost every other day, but it's because a few of those work tasks are super lengthy, and I knocked out the easier/quicker tasks the day before to allow for more of that focused curriculum work. My planner is also about 95% more empty than it was when I was teaching at public school and when I'm involved with friends, workouts, church, etc.! I guess I need to enjoy it while I can.

Before I really get into the nitty gritty of work, I allow myself a few minutes every single morning to clear out my personal email inboxes, check out my library holds/checkouts on my library account (it's interesting and soothing to me), look at my Amazon account to see if anything will be arriving, and scan Marshalls and TJ Maxx New Arrivals websites (as seen below) to see if anything catches my eye to go in my cart. I'll then go through those carts about once a month, decide if the items are ones I still really want, and then make a purchase. I am who I am...

Then it's getting into the full blown worktime! This usually gets started around 8:30AM, although sometimes it's definitely earlier. I work best in the morning...that's when my mind is fresh and I'm at my most productive. There's fewer distractions too! If my work doesn't require too too much focus, I almost always have an easy movie or tv show on in the background. It has to be something that doesn't suck me in or require much attention, but I like the background sounds and often seasonal vibes. My main job is admin. for a virtual school and we're working on getting accredited, so I was leading the charge with that.

I took a pause at about 11AM to run an errand with the pups and go grocery shopping. Sometimes I'll do errands later in the day when my work to-do list is no longer hanging over my head, but I do prefer late morning errands. I had later meetings this day and NOVA traffic is pretty bad in the late afternoon/early evening, so I knocked these errands off my list earlier as opposed to later. The beautiful, wonderful flexibility of working from home!

I ran into The UPS Store for Amazon returns. Stephanie and I were texting during these errands. I think this was our first time of the day texting? We'll have another text session each day in the afternoon as we wrap up work and also evening. 😅

I then went a few stores over in the same strip mall to my recent grocery store. Okay, I am really liking this grocery store called Shoppers here. I don't know why, but I get simple, 1950s vibes when I'm in it (even though it's new and updated, so I'm not quite sure why), and it's almost always like completely empty. They have a huge, huge selection BUT they don't have the besttttt selection of gluten free, but it's more than good enough for my basics. When I was working in public schools and seemed to have no time to spare, I did grocery pick-up right after work and that was LIFE. CHANGING...but in this season of life, I enjoy grocery shopping and it's a nice little break for me to get out of the house and out in the world. (PS. Yes- I'm the 33 year old going on 75 year old who has a paper list and highlights each item as I get it...)

Back to "home sweet home"...

...where my helpers helped me unload the groceries. At our old house, they used to love going back and forth with me to the car to "bring the groceries in." Lord bless us once we eventually have kids that will want to get it on the action too.

While I was up and moving, I cleaned out some containers of old leftovers from the fridge.

Since I was still up and moving, I decided to put away some of my laundry that was in the dryer. Shane is very particular about his laundry, so he chooses to do his own! 🙃 Once again, I have my helpers with me. Do you notice a theme here? They have to be involved with anything and everything! I’m never in a room alone!

Since we were on/near the bed, aka C&C's self-made wrestling ring while we're in the apartment, it turned into an impromptu wrestling match.

Before I settled down to do the bulk of today's work with writing 5th Grade ELA assessment stems, distractors, and rationales, I threw together a Chipotle Cheddar Chopped Salad with some of my g-free chicken on top, in one of our cheap temporary bowls. There was no leftover brisket from dinner that I made the night before, so this did the trick. Quick, simple, delish!

I got a recent pic in our family thread of T. Brecks! Bridget and Brian are great about sending multiple pictures and videos to us a day.

I worked until 1:45ish (with some minor distractions of husky talking, them climbing on me, and pawing at me) when Cash & Caylor now know it's their potty-break time in apartment life. These dogs have always worked like clockwork to the EXACT minute in regards to their schedules, I kid you not. 

Our part of town is pretty elevated on a big hill, so you can see lots of other neighborhoods way down below way back there. This is from the view a few steps outside of our apartment, so it doesn't make for too terrible of potty trips!

I came in to a nice Amazon birthday surprise from Anne! The most clever, creative, funny gift. I burst out laughing and smiling...it's a nod to The Parent Trap. 😉 I'm blessed with extremely thoughtful friends that show that in such a variety of ways.

As I mentioned above, they have a few intervals of loudly playing together, fighting over a toy, or being needy to me throughout my workday...but they've gotten a ton better and most of the day they lounge or cuddle by me as I work.

Then it's usually more work until 3:30PM when it's time for me to get Cash and Caylor's 2nd walk in. What was my life before they dictated my daily schedule? No one remembers. 

And so begins the witching hours at 4PM. Their (Cash's) energy and neediness amps up tenfold from 4PM to 8PM, hence why they absolutely need two walks and playtime with us and each other within this time period. Cash demands it, and we can’t blame him…because he’s a typical husky. As it gets darker earlier in the winter, the witching hours shorten a bit, but it always arrives at 4PM on the dot to no avail. Walks help IMMENSELY, hence why we are on a at least 2 (or 3 in the apt.!) walk a day schedule every. single. day. rain or shine!

I come back to tutor my student in NYC (who I've had virtually for 2 years now!). I used to tutor her in the morning, but she recently returned to traditional public school during the day, so we're trying out this later tutoring time this week. Thankfully the dogs have learned to be quiet when I'm talking to the computer! I'm office-less, so have been tutoring from the couch for now!

I had 30 minutes between that and a meeting with a teacher who wanted to chat with me about some issues she was having while onboarding a new teacher, so I called my parents, fit in a few easy work tasks, and caught up on some texts...with a dog bottom and leg on me...typical.

After my final work meeting of the day, I used this little pocket of time to sneak in just a few pages of reading, working on this post, and some playtime on the patio.

Then it was time for me to walk the dogs again.  (The witching hour and Cash whining for his walk continues...) Usually Shane or I do it after dinner lately, but it was approaching 7PM and Shane still wasn't home from work yet, so I went ahead and did it before dinner. We used to do family walks in the evening but there's just too many walks required that each of us wants a break sometimes haha.

It was then time for me to make dinner for us- which has become one of my favorite times of day since getting married! It's a somewhat calming "end" to my day. I often put on seasonal music, Frank Sinatra, oldies, or cooking music or an older sitcom tv show. #oldsoul. Tonight I made Tomato Mozzarella Pesto Chicken bake that I've shared on this blog before...with a side of sweet potatoes and a veggie. This one is so easy that I’m not even sure it counts as a recipe. 

Shane got home, I basically talked to my first in-person human all day besides my grocery store cashier, the dogs absolutely lost their mind and went frenetically psycho when they saw Shane per usual, we chatted about our days, and he showered as I finished up making dinner.

Then it was dinnertime! In "real life" we eat at the kitchen table during the week and then let ourselves use tv trays or eat on the couch while watching something on weekends, but with this apt. living we are either at the barstools or on the couch.

Next, Shane cleans up dinner and it's usually time for me to shower, read, get in my pajamas and robe, and cuddle up on the couch while Shane and I talk, read, watch tv, and/or play with the pups as Cash demands it...usually a mix of all of that! 

You guys would NOT believe how Shane throws these dogs around, tosses them, flips them, wrestles them, chases them...it's madness! I'm usually the observer during this unless it's an evening where I'm "single dog-parenting" and I have to fill in as the wild one. 

This night, Shane had to do more work on his laptop while I read and we had a show on in the background. We might grab a dessert from the kitchen if we’re in the mood for one.

We do one more potty break and then we usually go to bed around 9 or 9:30 and put on an I Love Lucy episode (our new weekday routine as of the past few weeks!) to enjoy together before finally falling asleep. Caylor sleeps on the bed with us and Cash on his dog bed next to us, since he can’t go under the bed anymore with our bed currently on the floor, poor guy.

Whew! That's an average day in my life- at least in Fall 2022. Hope you enjoyed, could relate to some parts of our day, or felt inspired to write your own day in the life! You know I'll be happily reading it. 😉

Make this Thursday the best one yet! Thanks for joining along for a (unexciting yet usual) day in my little old life.