morning // I have a GREAT night of sleep, and my alarm wakes me up at 6:30. After one snooze, I’m up. After giving the girls some attention, I put on workout clothes and then go for a long walk. It’s a nice morning (mid-70s) and I enjoy being outside, but my lower back starts hurting after my first loop (about .75 miles). Ugh, I should really make an appointment with a chiropractor! After my walk, I take a shower and then make breakfast before logging onto work. It’s going to be a busy day, for sure. My morning is spent posting content to one of our development sites and making sure everything looks A-OK. I run into a few issues and have to talk with the developer, but it all gets sorted out easily. I’m also able to write two pages for one of my monthly clients, so it’s a very productive morning for me! Of course, I take a few breaks throughout the morning to get up from my desk and stretch my legs. I read a little bit of my book (What You Wish For by Katherine Center—not really enjoying it, the tone is such a departure for her and feels rather… silly) and wash the breakfast dishes.

afternoon // Around 11:30, I make a smoothie for lunch and then start adding content to the dev site I was working on earlier. Then it’s time for VIRTUAL TRIVIA! We just started doing this and it’s so much fun! We get together on one big Zoom call (we had about 30 people today) and the host organizes us into teams. During each round, we’re sent to a breakout room with our team to discuss the questions and send in our answers over a Google form. My team, sadly, came in last place but it was still a fun diversion in the day. (Plus, I was pretty proud to recognize the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication album cover in our visual round, pictured above. Three cheers to my brother for having that CD, haha.) After trivia, I finish up the dev site work and then take a break to read on the couch (I read more of What You Wish For, and decide I can’t handle the silly writing anymore—abandoned) and make a pretzel for a snack. Then, it’s back to writing for me. I write three pages and log off at 5:45. A good day!

evening // After logging off work, I remember that there was noise right outside my door earlier and wonder if my Warby Parker package arrived—it did! I finally ordered my sunglasses try-ons, and they got here fast. I have fun playing around with them and I have a few favorites already, but I’m planning on wearing them while out and about on Friday and Saturday (with contacts in) to see how I really feel about them. Anyway, then I FaceTime my mom and we chat for a little bit. Then, instead of doing anything productive like cooking dinner or working on my NaNoWriMo plot, I put on a podcast and multitask between playing Candy Crush and coloring for about an hour. Oooooops. Ah, well. It felt good to shut off my brain for a little while! Eventually, I make dinner (frozen pizza) and watch an episode of The Good Place before turning over to CBS to watch Big Brother and then the season premiere of The Amazing Race (!!!). This season of TAR was filmed before covid, so it will be a beautiful remembrance of the time before, ahhhh. I eat dinner and also an ice cream cone while watching TV. In between commercials, I work on this post and clean the kitchen. At 10, I do my nighttime routine (litter boxes, brush teeth, wash face) and then crawl into bed to read for a bit. I started another romance (40-Love by Olivia Dade), so let’s hope it’s more my speed!

Wednesday in the life three years ago, four years ago, five years ago, and six years ago

morning // I have big plans to wake up early and go for a long walk this morning, but I had a hard time falling asleep last night. My brain just wouldn’t shut off, eventually causing me to get up and try to read on the couch for a bit. I finally fell asleep around 1 so when my alarm goes off at 6:30, I promptly reset it to 7:45. I let it snooze once before getting up. I make breakfast (eggs and sausage!) and then log onto work. My morning flies by! I have a 9AM call to discuss upcoming projects that I just have to listen in on and answer any questions if asked. I spent the rest of my morning editing and sending content to clients. I take a break at some point to fill in my mail ballot.

afternoon // I decide to run some errands around lunchtime. I go to the library to drop off my mail ballot but they aren’t accepting ballot drop-offs until next week—argh! Thankfully, the post office is right around the corner so I swing by and drop my ballot in the mail slot. I head to Target to return an item and then buy some toiletries (body wash and toilet paper, so glamorous!) and then go to The UPS Store to return an Amazon item. Last stop is Publix for lunch—a sub, yum yum! (I was really exhausted by the time I got to Publix—not sure if it was all of the errand running or I was just hungry, but man, I totally ran out of steam.) Then, it’s back home and back to work. I answer emails and then get to my to-do list: writing two pages, finalizing the notes from the meeting I sat in on yesterday morning, and working on post-launch tasks for a client’s website that just launched a new design.

night // Right as I’m logging off work (around 5:30), my mom FaceTimes me, so we chat for a bit. Then I decide to take an early bubble bath. I am so ready to wind down and say goodbye to the craziness of today! I play Candy Crush on my phone while listening to the latest episode of The Baby-Sitter’s Club Club during my bubble bath, and it is so relaxing. Afterward, I sit on the couch with my laptop and work on my NaNoWriMo plot for a bit. My plan is to outline two chapters per day before the challenge starts, and I’m definitely behind on that goal! I get my two chapters done, and then at 7, I turn on my CBS app to watch the football game. (There are a ton of downsides to covid, but being able to watch NFL football on a random Tuesday night isn’t one of them.) I eat the second part of my sub from earlier for dinner and do some coloring while watching the game. I leave the game on in the background while I do my nightly routine (tidy apartment, clean out litter boxes, brush teeth, and wash my face). Then I outline one more chapter for NaNoWriMo, finish up this post, and at 9:30, I crawl into bed to read for a bit before calling it a night. Let’s hope I sleep better tonight!

Tuesday in the life three years ago, four years ago, five years ago, and six years ago

Heyyyyy! Remember Week in the Life? I haven’t done this blog series since 2017! I was planning on doing it in 2018, but then Pops died and I just didn’t feel like it. I forgot about it in 2019, but I’m bringing it back for 2020! I’m excited to bring you all through an average week in my life. I actually have more plans this week than usual, but that should make for an interesting recap at least. 🙂

Here’s what Monday looked like in my life!

morning // I wake up at 7:45 and spend some time scrolling through my phone before getting up. I feed the girls and then make myself a breakfast of scrambled eggs and turkey sausage. While I eat, I log onto my work VPN and figure out my to-do list for today. I spend part of my morning working on monthly content for one of my clients. I also start editing content from one of our contractors. Then, it’s time for a discovery meeting with a new client! For me, this entails listening in and taking detailed notes about the company and its products/services.

afternoon // After the meeting, I make myself a protein shake (I apologize to the girls before running the blender – they go running under the bed every time!) and then sit down to edit a batch of content. I’m feeling sleepy, so I decide to use my lunch break to take a little one-hour siesta. Ahh, so nice! I live for these afternoon naps now that I work from home. Then, it’s back to work! I write four pages of content (these pages are 250-300 words, typically) and continue editing the contractor’s pages. In between all the writing, I take a break to make a pretzel for an afternoon snack and also wash some dishes. Shifting the focus to practicality, a virtual office setup is more than just an address. It represents a bridge connecting remote work with traditional business norms. For those looking to establish a strong business presence without the cost of physical space, a professional postal address in a notable city like Manchester offers privacy and a prestigious location for home-based workers. It’s an investment in your business persona that pays dividends in credibility and client trust.

evening // I finally log off work at 6:45, which is way later than I normally would stop working if I was in an office, but it’s hard for me to stop! Plus, I have set up my schedule in a very specific way to get everything done on time and I needed to knock out 5 pages today, which I did, but I also had lots of other tasks pop up that delayed getting my pages done. Anyway! After logging off, I make dinner (baked chicken, brown rice, and peas) and clean up the kitchen while my dinner is cooking. Then, I eat dinner while watching a few episodes of The Good Place. At 8, I move over to CBS to watch this night’s episode of Big Brother. I make break-and-bake cookies to eat during the episode and also give the girls their nightly treat. After the episode is over, I take a bubble bath, which felt soooo relaxing, and then sat on the couch afterward to finish the romance I was reading. The ending makes me cry! I don’t know if a romance has ever made me cry, but oof. This one was a doozy. Then it’s time to clean out the litter boxes, brush my teeth, and wash my face before hopping into bed to read until I’m sleepy. 🙂

Monday three years ago, four years ago, five years ago, and six years ago

8:30 AM // I wake up naturally and lay in bed reading until Dutch wakes up and lets me know he needs to go out and he needs to go now. We go on a morning walk and it’s another beautiful day – in the low 60s and sunny. This weather feels so amazing. I want it to stay around forever.

9:07 AM // Once inside, I feed Dutch and then make coffee and eat a bowl of cereal. For the next hour or so, I just putter around the house. I finish yesterday’s Week in the Life post and publish it. I also make my grocery list and set my football picks for the week.

10:20 AM // I take a trip to Target to pick up some stuff for the apartment, but I get sidetracked by looking at winter clothes. It’s actually not going to be too cold when I’m in Asheville (highs in the upper 60s/low 70s), but I have thin Florida skin, so I want to make sure I am ready for any temperature dips, haha. So I end up buying a cozy hoodie, a long-sleeved tee, and a sweater, along with a few toiletries and necessary cleaning items. My total comes to $125. Oops.

11:15 PM // I fill up my car with gas and then do my weekly grocery shopping at Publix. I don’t need a ton of stuff this week, since I’ll be having pizza leftovers for lunch and have dinner plans for three out of the five days.

12:05 PM // I get home and find that Dutch has had two accidents in the house while I’m gone. I probably should have taken him out before I left, since he ate breakfast, but it slipped my mind. Oh well. Thankfully, he did it on the hardwood, so it’s easy to clean up! Then, I unpack my groceries and Target bags.

12:35 PM // I drive to my mom’s with Dutch in tow!

12:50 PM // I arrive at my mom’s and find a parking spot and then slowly walk with Dutch to her apartment. Dutch is very, very slow on these walks because he has to sniff everything! It takes us about 8 minutes to walk the 100 steps into her apartment.

1:00 PM // Time for football! My brother is here, so my mom, my brother, and I all settle in for a few hours of sitting back and watching some football! It’s a lovely afternoon with just the three of us. (Sometimes, my older nephew joins us, but he had a playdate planned this afternoon.)

5:00 PM // We order pizza and my mom bakes pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies as our treat for the late afternoon game.

7:15 PM // After a long day of watching football, Dutch and I head home. It’s perfectly chilly outside – 61 degrees – and feels like “football weather,” as my brother and I call it.

7:30 PM // We’re home and I give Dutch his nightly meds right away. Here’s hoping this helps him settle down quickly tonight!

7:40 PM // Time for a hot, relaxing bubble bath and reading time. So, so lovely.

8:00 PM // I get into my jammies, turn on Sunday Night Football, and settle in for some more football watching. While the game plays, I also try to take care of some tasks, like working on this post, sweeping and mopping my floors, and washing my rugs (Dutch had an accident on one of my rugs today, so into the wash it goes!).

9:30 PM // Dutch is getting antsy, so I bring him to bed and rub his neck until he falls asleep.

10:00 PM // I leave Dutch sleeping on my bed and go into the living room to continue watching the game. And not five minutes later, I hear Dutch whining again, so I go back into my bedroom to lay on the bed and rub his back until he falls back asleep.

10:20 PM // I leave Dutch sleeping on my bed and hope the second time’s the charm. I go into the living room to watch the football game, but I’m pretty tired at this point, so I decide to shut the game off halfway through the third quarter, do my nightly routine, and then read for a bit.

11:00 PM // Lights out!

And that’s another Week in the Life in the books! I’ve had so much fun taking you guys along throughout my days and hope it’s been fun to read about. I can’t wait to do it again.

Sunday a year ago, two years ago, three years ago

7:30 AM // My alarm was set for 8AM, but I wake up naturally around 7:30 and use the extra time to read and scroll through Instagram.

8:05 AM // I take a shower and get ready for the day while listening to an episode of the Book Riot podcast.

8:40 AM // I wake up Dutch and we go on a walk. He’s super slow this morning! Silly munchkin.

8:55 AM // I pack up my laptop and head over to Starbucks for my weekly writing date.

9:10 AM // I order a dark mocha Frappuccino and a breakfast sandwich and then try to get to work on my novel, but it’s quickly apparent that it’s going to be a struggle. It’s funny, my writing partner, M., and I have been doing these writing dates for years, but it’s only in the past year that we’ve actually started opening up to each other and now we spend half of our writing dates just chit-chatting and catching up. Ha. I only manage to write about 150 words today, so it’s a supremely unsuccessful writing date, oops.

11:10 AM // I leave Starbucks and drive to get my car washed. I just go through one of those car wash machines that does all the work for me while I sit in the car. I’m being lazy today. I also return a few books to the library.

11:40 AM // I’m at my hair salon for a hair appointment. I’m getting my roots touched up and also a trim. The next time I get my hair cut (which will likely be at the end of February or beginning of March), I’m going to be chopping it all off to donate it, so we don’t do anything exciting this time around.

1:15 PM // After my hair appointment, I had planned on going to Target, but I’m tired and need to check in on Dutch, so I opt to just head home instead.

1:25 PM // I’m home and excited to see that part of my Amazon order arrived while I was out. This includes a few things for my Halloween costume and some new markers for coloring. I’m mostly excited about the markers.

1:30 PM // Dutch and I go for a walk outside and he’s a bit more chipper and energetic on this walk.

1:40 PM // Dutch and I come inside and I decide to experiment with feeding him a few spoonfuls of wet food mixed in with his dry food. He hasn’t been eating much lately (about half of what he normally eats) and I usually have to hand-feed him, and he’s lost about 1.5 lbs in the past few months, so it’s concerning to me. So I am pleased as punch when he chows down on the wet/dry food combination. He even licks his bowl clean! Hooray! This is the solution, I think, to his food problems. I am so, so relieved.

1:55 PM // I take off my makeup and get into comfy clothes. And then I bring Dutch up to bed with me and read my book for a little while.

2:10 PM // I turn off my Kindle and plug in my phone. Time for a nap!

2:20 PM // Just as I begin to drift into dreamland, my mom calls me. We have a lot to talk about, though, so I answer her and we chat for a while.

2:45 PM // Nap time, take two. This time I fall asleep and stay asleep.

6:30 PM // I wake up from my nap and feel so refreshed. I love really long naps – this one was almost four hours long! Decadent. As I wake up from my nap, I read my book and scroll through social media.

6:55 PM // I take Dutch out, but it’s raining so he doesn’t want to go very far.

7:00 PM // I feed Dutch dinner (more wet/dry food!) and he scarfs it down like it’s going to disappear any second. While he does that, I order a pizza from Dominos. I have a free pizza that I can redeem, so it’s a cheap dinner for meeeee.

7:10 PM // I start working on this post while I wait for the pizza to come. Hurry up, pizza. I’m hungry!

7:35 PM // Pizza is here! I decide to turn on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as tonight’s entertainment. A comfort movie watch is the perfect option for this rainy, Halloweeny night. While the movie is playing, I eat pizza and do some coloring. I also pause the movie halfway through to take Dutch out when he gets a little antsy.

10:15 PM // Movie is over and it gives me all sorts of happy feels. And then I do my budget for these next two weeks and the happy feels dissipate, ha. Oh, budgeting. I also work on my fantasy football lineups, so those are ready to go.

10:45 PM // Dutch is whiny and barky, so I bring him to bed and he takes forever to settle down. I didn’t give him his anti-anxiety pill until 8 tonight, so I’m hoping that’s why. I need to set a reminder to give him his pill by 6:30 because I think that does wonders at helping him settle down quickly at night.

11:15 PM // I pick up around the apartment, do my nightly routine, and settle into bed with my book. Dutch finally falls asleep around 11:45 and I am so grateful for it.

12:00 AM // Lights out!

Tell me something great about your Saturday!

Saturday a year ago, two years ago, three years ago