7:10 a.m.: Wake up before my alarm and laze around in bed. I snuggle the cats and scroll through Instagram.

7:35 a.m.: Time to get up! I feed the cats and then make breakfast (eggs and toast with iced coffee). I read blogs while I eat breakfast and then start working on yesterday’s blog post.

8:15 a.m.: I do my full morning routine today. Yay!

Cleanser, toner, niacinamide, vitamin c serum, and moisturizer 

9:00 a.m.: Working block. I do my morning tasks and then have an hour-long leadership meeting that runs over.

11:15 a.m.: Lunchtime. I heat up hamburger stew and eat it while watching an episode of Friends. Then, I clean up my lunch dishes, clean up the girls’ food area, and give them fresh food.

12:00 p.m.: Working block. I deal with emails, have a short meeting with some of the other managers to play around with the poll function on Teams, and then start auditing a website.

What my face looks like when I don’t fill in my eyebrows, sigh

1:40 p.m.: FaceTime with Mom because I had to tell her about my crazy dream last night (I moved into a different apartment!)

1:50 p.m.: Back to work!

2:05 p.m.: Speed around the house because I need to leave for my chiropractor appointment ASAP. I change my clothes, pull up my hair into a high ponytail, and pack my backpack.

2:15 p.m.: Drive to my chiropractor’s office and leave a Marco Polo for Mikaela on the way.

2:35 p.m.: Everyone is running behind at the chiro, so at least getting there 5 minutes late didn’t mess anything up. Whew! I have a quick adjustment session and talk to my chiro about Thanksgiving plans.

3:00 p.m.: Drive to a nearby Starbucks and park myself at a table with a peppermint mocha. Mm! Work time! I mostly work through some content editing tasks and keep an eye on my email.

4:45 p.m.: Leave Starbucks and drive to physical therapy, which is only a few minutes away.

5:00 p.m.: Physical therapy! This is my last scheduled session, so I have to decide if I want to keep doing PT or do the exercises on my own. I have been seeing improvements and the PT sessions are free, so the answer is probably to schedule more sessions. But still, I’m on the fence!

5:50 p.m.: Done with PT! I drive to Publix and pick up a few things. On my way home, I realize I’m driving behind my mom’s car! I text her a very creepy, “I’m right behind you.” Muahaha! (She’s driving to dinner with Robert, and I might have invited myself along if I didn’t have ice cream in the car!)

6:20 p.m.: I’m home! I give the girls some treats and then take a very relaxing bubble bath.

6:50 p.m.: I get into my pajamas and then sit down at my laptop to do some blogging work. I take a short break at some point to empty my dishwasher and throw a frozen pizza in the oven.

8:00 p.m.: It’s time for Survivor! I watch it on my iPad at the table while eating pizza and finalizing my blog post that will publish tomorrow. I also do some coloring!

10:00 p.m.: Still watching TV! After Survivor, it was time for The Amazing Race. However, I move myself over to my couch and put the show on my TV. I use the heating pad and then the massage stick on my aching hips/IT band.

11:00 p.m.: I call my mom once our shows are over and we chit-chat for a while.

11:35 p.m.: I clean the kitchen and do an abbreviated nighttime routine.

11:50 p.m.: I’m exhausted, so it’s right to bed for me! No time for reading.

END NOTES //

• Sleep score: 100 (!)
• Apnea score: 5.2 per hour
• Sleep duration: 7 hrs, 50 min
• Podcast episodes: 4 (American History Tellers, The Friendship Paradox, Pod Save America, and The Popcast)
• TV episodes: 3 (Friends, Survivor, and The Amazing Race)
• Facetimes with mom: 2
• Reading time: 1 hour, 51 minutes (Generations – audiobook); 13 minutes (The English Experience)

wednesday in the life: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014

5:15 a.m.: My alarm goes off, I snooze it. Lila and Eloise jump on the bed for morning cuddles.

5:25 a.m.: Second alarm goes off and I’m up. I get dressed, brush my teeth, pull my hair into a bun, and fill up my water bottle.

5:40 a.m.: Drive to the gym.

6:00 a.m.: Spin class! My first one in over a month, so I wasn’t sure how my hips would respond. Unfortunately, things were not as easy as HIIT class yesterday. It didn’t feel good to cycle out of the saddle, so I either stayed in my seat or went verrrry slowly. This instructor also likes “jumps” where we sit, then stand, then hover, then sit, then stand, then hover, in quick succession, and I was unable to do those movements. But I still got a great workout! Slow and steady, as I ease back into my exercise routine.

6:50 a.m.: Drive home. I’m tempted to stop at Starbucks for a peppermint mocha (I am soooo sleepy), but I tell myself I have coffee and peppermint mocha creamer at home.

7:10 a.m.: I’m home. I feed the cats and take a shower. But before I step into the shower, I spend far too long scrolling on Instagram, oops.

7:45 a.m.: I make coffee and oatmeal for breakfast and work on yesterday’s blog post.

8:15 a.m.: Quick morning routine.

8:35 a.m.: Morning working block. Except the Cloudflare outage means Salesforce is down for me, which is where I do the majority of my work. Wah! I chat with the other managers about it. I’m able to do some contractor editing, but I’m just so sleepy and this outage is ruining my normal morning work routine, so I decide to take a nap.

9:10 a.m.: NAP TIIIIIIME!

10:00 a.m.: My alarm goes off. Sad! I scroll on my phone and work on a graphic for the podcast episode that was released today. It takes longer than I expected because I paused my Canva premium subscription, and have to update our podcast logo on the post, since it has premium-level graphics. Ugh.

10:20 a.m.: I should do some work, right? Right. Saleforce is working for me again, yay! I work through my morning tasks and then realize I’m getting hungry and need to prep dinner in the Crock-Pot so I take a break. Lolz.

11:15 a.m.: I start prepping dinner, which is going to be hamburger stew in the Crock-Pot. I like my Crock-Pot meals to be super easy – basically just adding everything into the pot, mixing it up, and letting it cook on its own. But this recipe had so many extra steps, and it took me forever to do them: peeling and dicing the potatoes, peeling and dicing the carrots, browning ground beef on the stove. (And that’s with me buying precut onions and using jarred minced garlic—there was more prep!) Halfway through, I tried ordering lunch through Ubereats but the app wouldn’t work. LOVELY.

I need to figure out something to have for lunch at home because my blood sugar is dropping quickly. I can feel the symptoms of a hypoglycemia episode coming on (overheating, shakiness), and all I want right now is sugar. I have healthier snacks available, but once I’m in this state, my brain shuts down and I reach for the quickest way to boost my blood sugar, and today, that’s chocolate chips. Yep. I start gobbling down handful after handful of chocolate chips as I continue dinner prep. It is not my finest hour.

(Mom also calls me when I’m nearly done with the prep to see how my body is doing after spin class. So sweet! Luckily, no aches or pains.)

12:15 p.m.: I am finally done prepping this stupid Crock-Pot meal, and the best I can do for lunch is fish sticks, rice, and green beans. Semi-healthy? Ish? Whatever. It’s food. While it’s cooking, I clean up the kitchen because it’s a mess from all the food prep.

12:45 p.m.: Time for lunch! I eat while working on blog posts and fiddling with some Apple Health stuff.

1:30 p.m.: Okay, serious working block commence! (I love that my job is flexible in that I don’t have to be in front of my computer from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day—I can take these long breaks when needed, but it also means I’ll be working late today.) Here’s what I get done:

• content edits
• posting QAs
• back-to-back 1:1s (same as yesterday – 4 in a row – but most are 15 minutes or less)
• clearing out my email inbox

3:45 p.m.: I take a short break because four meetings in a row are very draining. I put up some travel photos on one of my walls. I’m still deciding if it’s the right layout. I want it to be a little asymmetrical.

Then, I poke around Wayfair, looking at nightstands (the one I bought is smaller than I expected, and I’m going to need something bigger at some point). I add some more Christmas decor to the apartment. I give the girls some treats when Lila starts meowing at me. And I call my mom, but she doesn’t answer.

4:30 p.m.: Another working block! I do more content editing and work on December assignments for our content team. I also work on some boring Salesforce report things (it’s a part of my job that I love, but I recognize it’s hella boring to most people). My mom calls me back at some point, and we chat!

6:00 p.m.: Dinner time! Even though the Crock-Pot meal took forever to prep, at least it’s easy to dish out. I give myself a big bowl of stew and eat it while watching a few episodes of Friends. I also eat ice cream straight from the carton because hey, I live alone and I can do things like that.

7:00 p.m.: I set a timer for 30 minutes and do some blogging work! I finish writing yesterday’s post and start working on inserting photos. I also read and comment on blogs. (I am so behind, you guys. So behind.)

7:30 p.m.: Back in my office to get some work done. Mostly content editing and posting.

8:00 p.m.: I scoop the litter boxes (I’m very excited that my new Litter Genie has arrived so now I have one in each litter box location—in the previous apartment, both litter boxes were in my bedroom walk-in closet. In the new place, one is in the walk-in closet and one is in the living room, so I decided to treat myself to a second Litter Genie so I don’t have to keep lugging the one I have from the bedroom to the living room every night.) I also start my nighttime routine, going to do the full skincare routine tonight!

Cleanser, liquid exfoliant, toner, niacinamide, and moisturizer. (I need to add retinol back into my skincare routine; I can’t remember why I stopped.)

8:30 p.m.: More blogging work. I get my blog post scheduled for tomorrow morning and then read some blogs.

9:00 p.m.: Baaaaack to the office for one last working sprint. More boring work stuff happens, but I feel like I’m in a good spot to shut things down after 45 minutes.

9:45 p.m.: I finish my nighttime routine, clean the kitchen, and set up my new silverware organizer. (It’s so pretty!)

10:05 p.m.: I sit on the couch with a heating pad that I use on both hips/IT bands. While I’m doing that, I call my mom on Facetime and we chat for a while.

10:35 p.m.: I use my new massage stick on my glutes, hips, and IT band. I feel a lot of tenderness right below my hip (Google tells me it’s the “tensor fasciae latae” muscle), which makes sense with all the hip and IT band pain I’ve been having. It feels good to massage it. Afterward, I do my PT stretches in bed, which also feels really good.

10:50 p.m.: It’s so late. I want to read my book, but I am so tired. I play Happy Color for a few minutes and can barely keep my eyes open. I ask Alexa to turn off my light, as I make sure my alarm is set, put on my CPAP mask, and turn on an ASMR video.

END NOTES //

• Sleep score: 84 (high) <– I don’t trust this new Apple watch sleep score
• Apnea score: 3.4 per hour
• Sleep duration: 5 hrs, 51 min
• Podcast episodes: 5 (Oh God It’s Friday, Maintenance Phase, Faith Adjacent, Stuff You Should Know, and Beach Too Sandy Water Too Wet)
• TV episodes: 2 (Friends)
• Facetimes with mom: 3
• Reading time: 1 hour, 44 minutes (Generations – audiobook)

tuesday in the life: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014

5:15 a.m.: Alarm goes off. I snooze it, rip off my CPAP mask and throw it on the floor, and then Lila jumps up on the bed. I pet her while half-asleep and she purrs oh-so-loudly.

5:25 a.m.: Second alarm and I’m up. Eloise jumps on the bed after I get up and meows good morning at me. I tell her good morning and pick her up for morning cuddles. Then, I get dressed, brush my teeth, fill up my water bottle, and say goodbye to the cats.

5:40 a.m.: Drive to the gym while listening to a podcast.

6:00 a.m.: HIIT class! My first one in well over a month. It went well – no hip pain or IT band pain! I’m hoping extra movement will help the healing process. I was also surprised that I was able to keep up during class. Maybe not at my previous intensity, but not too far off from it, either.

6:45 a.m.: I leave the gym and drive to Publix.

7:00 a.m.: Grocery shopping! (I love a Monday morning grocery shop right as the store opens. So peaceful!)

7:22 a.m.: Done and driving home. Then, I put away the groceries, feed the cats, and sit down to eat breakfast. I also start writing my blog post that will be published tomorrow (about our last day in London).

8:00 a.m.: I spend far too long trying to figure out why my Apple watch won’t let me check for updates, which is when I discover I need to update my iPhone. The new iOS 26 is wild. Everything looks and feels different on my phone now!

8:30 a.m.: Take a shower and do a quick morning routine (take my meds, deal with CPAP, empty dishwasher, and brush out my hair).

(current meds: turmeric, anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxer, fish oil, vitamin d, iron, prozac, vitamin c, multivitamin)

9:00 a.m.: It’s time for my morning working block. It’s a busy one:

• morning tasks (sort through emails, divvy out editing assignments, check on my contractor reports to ensure nothing needs to be responded to)
• pull a Salesforce report about delayed tasks to send to some of our content writers
• side chat with another manager about a troublesome account
• reply to emails
• edit content from one of our contractors
• do some website posting/QA
• resource plan for December content assignments

(I like to bounce around different tasks. It works for my brain!)

11:42 a.m.: I’m starving, so it’s time for lunch. I have a Pub sub and then two gingerbread cookies I made yesterday during family time. I watch an episode of Friends and finish a coloring page.

12:17 p.m.: Chore time! I vacuum my room and then put up a few more pictures – gallery wall is almost complete! I also clean up the girls’ breakfast dishes and give them fresh food and water. Then, I swipe a straightener through my hair, draw on some eyebrows, and put on mascara since I have meetings all afternoon.

12:40 p.m.: I call my mom to tell her how weird the new iPhone update is because that’s an important thing to interrupt her workday for.

12:50 p.m.: Afternoon working block! Let’s review:

• internal meeting to talk through some next steps for a troublesome client
• 4 back-to-back 1:1 meetings with my writers – some of them last the full 30 minutes and others are quick 10-minute check-in sessions
• editing contractor content
• posting/QA
• email cleanout

I also do a Target curbside order in between my 1:1 meetings.

4:30 p.m.: I’m done with work for the day! I get dressed for physical therapy and tell the kitties good-bye. While driving to therapy, I send Mikaela a Marco Polo video.

5:00 p.m.: Physical therapy! I do a warm-up on the bike and then some stretching and strengthening exercises. My PT also uses a massage stick on my hips, glutes, and IT band, which feels oh-so-good. We talk a lot about books during the second half of our appointment, which is a topic I can chatter on about for a long, long time.

5:53 p.m.: Done with PT! I drive to Target to get my pickup order.

6:17 p.m.: Home sweet home. I give the girls some treats and then start making dinner (homemade nacho night!). I eat dinner and watch three episodes of Friends. I also have a bowl of ice cream at some point.

Proof that Lila doesn’t always look supremely photogenic, ha

8:15 p.m.: I call my mom for an evening chat. Lila sits behind me on the couch and swishes her tail in my face the whole time, ha.

8:50 p.m.: Blogging time! I’ve only written 25% of my last London recap, oops. I finish writing the recap and then work on inserting photos. I take breaks here and there to complete a modified nighttime routine (taking my nightly meds, filling my CPAP humidifier, tidying the kitchen and starting the dishwasher, brushing my teeth, etc). 

10:50 p.m.: Blog post is scheduled to publish tomorrow morning, and I am so very tired. But I can’t go to sleep just yet – I need to read for just a few minutes to keep my Bookly reading streak alive. I haven’t read at all today – not even my audiobook! I only make it one chapter (8 minutes) before I call it a night. The book goes on the nightstand, the alarm is set, the CPAP mask is on, and I turn on an ASMR video to lull me to sleep.

END NOTES //

• Sleep score: 83 (high) <– this seems inaccurate, since I slept less than 6 hours!
• Apnea score: 2.6 per hour
• Sleep duration: 5 hrs, 42 min
• Podcast episodes: 5 (two episodes of Rob Has a Podcast, Book Riot, Behind the Bastards, Good Hang)
• TV episodes: 4 (one episode of Friends during lunch, three episodes while eating dinner)
• Facetimes with mom: 3
• Reading time: 8 minutes (The English Experience)

monday in the life: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2015. and 2014

Do you take more or fewer meds/supplements than me?

I don’t wake up to an alarm on Sunday, which is very nice! I wake up around 9:45 and I’m happy that I’m feeling good—no side effects from the shots. My arm isn’t even sore! That’s a win. I snuggle with the girls for a bit and then get up, feed them, and sit down at my laptop to finish up yesterday’s post. It takes me longer than I expected (because I hadn’t written most of it, oops) and I finally finish things up around 10:45. Then, I gather all of my CPAP equipment so I can do my weekly washing (humidifier, mask, gear strip, and hose). I have a big tub that I fill up with warm water and unscented dish soap and let the humidifier, hose, and gear strip soak for 30 minutes. I also have a smaller bowl for my mask, as I soak it in a solution specific to CPAP masks. Once that’s done, I start getting ready for the day (no skincare routine this morning, there’s no time!). Before I leave, I take out all of my CPAP equipment from their little baths and let them air dry (I put my hose over my shower rod so it can drain), insert images into my post and publish it, and then gather up all of my things. I’m out the door by 11:45.

I pick up my mom at her house and we stop at PetSmart to pick up a few things for Cici, my brother’s new dog! We buy some treats and teething toys. I also peek in on the cats available for adoption and my mom tells me to “walk away,” haha. There won’t be a third cat for me, as much as I’d love one! But I think two is a good number for one person.

After PetSmart, we stop by the store to pick up a few items for football, like subs and chips. Then, it’s back home for a day filled with dogs, football, and food!

Honestly, not much happens during the day! These are my days to mostly be a lump on the couch, watching football and being around my favorite people. My older nephew came over this time, which was a nice change! Lately, my brother has been coming alone so we had a full house this afternoon.

I spend the day watching football (the Dolphins play tonight so at least I could watch the games without nerves!), reading my book, playing games on my phone, and chit-chatting with the family. I also add a few items to the Christmas list I have set up for Eloise and Lila. Oh, and of course, I snuggle with the dogs!

My nephew leaves around 6:30 (his mom picks him up) and when she arrives, he asks if we want to come out and see the puppy! OF COURSE WE DO. Cici is so sweet and cuddly – she lets both my mom and me cuddle her and doesn’t make a single sound. I’m completely in love with her.

I leave my mom’s before the 4:00 game ends (since it’s a complete blowout) and arrive home around 7:30. I give the girls some treats, feed them dinner, and then hop into a bubble bath for myself. I read on my Kindle and then continue reading on the couch while I wait for the Sunday Night Football game to start. I finally got some good reading done today, something I haven’t had much time for this past week. Once the game comes on, I eat dinner (the second half of my sub; I ate the first half while I was at my mom’s) and then it’s time to get some stuff done around my apartment.

First, I make my snack packs for the week and separate all of my pills into my day-of-the-week container. I take out the trash, unload the dishwasher, and scoop the litter boxes. I do my skincare routine, brush my teeth, and tidy up the apartment. Finally, I set my schedule and to-dos for the week, catch up on my One-Line-a-Day journal, and make my schedule for Monday. I also work on this post!

I watch the SNF game until the end and then go to bed around midnight.

sunday in the life: 2023, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014

My alarm goes off at 7 a.m. and almost immediately, I recognize that I’ve got some serious muscle soreness from yesterday’s workout. Like, did you know everytime you play with your hair, whether you’re flipping it over your shoulder or tucking it behind your ears, you use your triceps? I do now because everytime I try to do anything with my hair, my triceps scream at me. My trapezius muscles are also unhappy with me. I guess yesterday’s workout was a good one!

Once I’m up, I feed the girls and then sit on the couch playing my NYT games. Then, it’s time to get ready for the day. I do my morning skincare routine, tidy the apartment, take my meds, get dressed, and do my hair. I also pack up my backpack for today. Around 8:25, I’m out the door and driving to Starbucks to meet Mikaela for a writing date. When she arrives, we spend the first 10-15 minutes venting about the election. We both needed that for sure.

Then, we get to work. She works on her book and I finish up yesterday’s post, publish it, and start on today’s post. Around 10:45, we stop working and Mikaela reads what she’s written today. As always, it’s incredible! She’s written 71,000 words of her book and she’s close to the end. Eeks!

I leave Starbucks a little after 11 a.m. and take Ruby to the gas station for her first fill-up! (Well, from me, anyway.) What a beautiful milestone.

Then, it’s off to Target! I go directly to the pharmacy so I can get my flu and Covid shots. They don’t hurt at all and now we wait and hope I don’t have a reaction. I take my $5 off $20 coupon that Target is giving to everyone who gets their flu shot and then do some shopping. I have a headache and don’t have any ibuprofen with me, so I pick up some Advil (as well as Tylenol so I can start dosing myself as a preventive measure. Does this work? I have no idea, but every since I started doing this, I haven’t had any reactions from the shots.) I meander over to the books section because this is my deal with myself: If I get my flu and Covid shots, I can pick out two books. I’m happy with my choices!

I meander around Target for a little while longer, but I stay far away from the Christmas section because I’m scared of what will happen to me if I do. (Chaos, that’s what.) I pick up a bag of cheddar and caramel popcorn to munch on, and then pay for my things and head out. This could have been a much more dangerous visit to Target so I’ll take what I can get.

I drive to Tampa for my haircut appointment and I eat the popcorn on the way there. I’m also drinking an orange soda. This is my very healthy and balanced lunch, by the way. I’m here for all of your nutritional advice needs.

My hair salon is in the very cute Hyde Park Village, which is one of my favorite areas of Tampa. It’s this cute little spot that has tons of shops and restaurants. After parking, I’m happy to find that the salon is only a five-minute walk away.

My hair appointment goes well! I really like the stylist (we bond over the fact that both of our cars flooded during Helene, sigh) and it feels so good to chop off my split ends. She takes about 4 inches off, which is exactly what I wanted. She also adds some long layers and trims my bangs. I feel lighter and happier after leaving the salon! (Side note: I also noticed a sign on every mirror in the salon that said, “We will not discuss politics. Please respect the privacy of our staff.” Interesting!)

After my hair appointment, I stop into Paper Source to poke around. I was hoping to find a few Christmas gifts, but nothing really caught my eye (well, aside from the tuxedo cat LEGO set that I really want, but I’m not willing to spend $100 on that) so I leave without buying anything. And then I head back home! It has been a busy Saturday already.

Once home, I give the girls some treats for being alone for so long (the travesty!) and then get into comfy clothes and settle down in my bed. I set an alarm and take a wonderful two-hour nap. When I wake up, I see that my brother has texted me: They adopted a dog today! Her name is Cici and she’s a golden retriever and I cannot WAIT to meet her!

I laze around in bed for a while and eventually get up, feed the girls, and leave to go to the grocery store. Nothing exciting to report here! I put things in my cart, pay for the things, and drive home. Easy-peasy.

I put away the food that needs to be refrigerated and then sit on the couch to play some phone games. My mom Facetimesme and we chat for a while, and once I hang up with her, I start making dinner. It’s another homemade nachos night! I eat dinner while watching this week’s episode of The Floor, which is a game show I am currently obsessed with (and not just because Rob Lowe hosts it). When I finish the episode, I Facetime my mom again because I forgot to talk about a few things during our last phone call. We chat for a while and when we hang up, I sit down at my laptop to read/comment on blogs and work on this post. Then, I take a bubble bath, which was very nice! Afterward, I sit down on the couch and start to read my book, but I have been feeling “meh” about it so I decide to abandon it. Onto the next one!

And then I scroll through social media a bit (mostly Reels, and the algorithm has been beautifully curated to show me mostly dachshund videos and cat videos) and then I’m feeling tired so I decide to abandon all semblance of a nighttime routine and go right to bed. Oops.

saturday in the life: 2023, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014