a day in the life

I haven't done one of these type posts in FOREVER, so I thought I'd share about what a typical day might look like for me.

I woke up at 6:45 yesterday, not to an alarm, just because, but it was this time when I was finally headed downstairs.  I am so thankful that I got down at this time, too, to let the dogs outside, because right after this, the sky fell and it started raining in torrents.

It had also rained the day before, and when the backyard is wet, they have to be taken out on leashes in the front yard.  I do this one at a time.  Callie first, then Crash.

As soon as I'm back in with both dogs, I feed them and give them fresh water.

I love the one of Crash, with his little tongue out.  He's always starving.  These bowls look weird, I know, but we bought them on Amazon, to help them eat slower.  Crash literally swallows his food whole.  This forces him to actually chew and breathe while he eats, and he hates it.

Also?  You know those little dogs that linger over their food all day?  Mine do not do that.  They have never done that.  They both inhale it as soon as I put it down.

Finally, I get my first cup of coffee for the day.

I love the first cup of coffee everyday.  And this is mug is one of my favorites.

I took my coffee to the kitchen table, where I've been having my quiet time since we took the Christmas tree down.  (I still miss it.)

This is the exact scene I sit down to every single morning.  My bible, my journal, and my planner.  I write every little thing down in my planner, so I always check to see what's going on for that day.  I spent about an hour here yesterday morning.

I opened the dryer to find towels from the day before, so I started it for about twenty minutes to fluff them up again, so I could fold them when I went back upstairs.

By this time all the boys are downstairs, drinking either coffee or chocolate milk, and I sit down at the computer desk to check email, hop on social media for a few minutes, and read all my favorite blogs.

I usually read my daily list of blogs, then I write my own post.  Sometimes, when I'm super organized, I will think to write a post the night before and schedule it for five a.m. the next morning, but truthfully, I rarely think to do that.

The boys have gotten a start on school work by now, and once they're all situated, I usually take this time to start the dishwasher.

I paused to make Todd's coffee and say goodbye to him.

I sat down to read for a few minutes.

I got through the introduction and chapter one.

I got the load of towels out of the dryer to take upstairs to fold, then started a load in the washer.  Once I was upstairs, I made my bed.  I make it every single day.

I got dressed for the day and headed to Kroger for dinner that night and a few more things for the week.  This is where I failed to take pictures the rest of the day.  I called Mom on the way to Kroger to talk for a few minutes and to hopefully gain inspiration for dinner that night since the boys were no help, and it worked.  After Kroger, I went just down the street to Annie's to get my nails done.  I met two of the most adorable older ladies I have ever seen.  We talked about our dogs, and they told me they'd been best friends since high school.  They're in their seventies now.

By this time, it's lunch time, so when I got home, we unloaded the groceries and started lunch.  They were all excited because I got good things for lunch, like special deli meat and kaiser sandwich rolls.  They love good sandwiches.

Please excuse all the cans, but as gross as this looks, it is quite delicious.  Hormel makes tamales and chili and this is one of their favorite things that I make, thanks to my mom.  I'll tell you about it in a minute.

I ate lunch, put away the rest of the groceries, and came in to sit down for a bit.  I love Tuesday, because Fixer Upper is on all day long, practically.  I also fell asleep, I'm not going to lie.  I think I was asleep for half an hour before I woke up.  (I've been sick and it has drained me, being up all hours of the night.)  Usually during this part of the day, I read or watch tv.  The tv doesn't get turned on for most of the day, and there are some days it's not turned on until that night.  Lately, though, Noah and I have been watching reruns of Home Improvement together.

I switched the clothes over to the dryer, put away a few things, unloaded the dishwasher, and turned on the Roomba.  I hate dog hair.

The dogs HATE the Roomba.  Also, if you don't have one, and you have pets, you should consider buying one.  They're expensive, but they're worth it.

I cleaned up some in the kitchen and started assembling dinner.

We had tamale casserole for dinner last night, and though it doesn't sound that good, it's surprisingly yummy.  I use the Hormel cans of tamales (3 for my family) and chili (2).  In a 9 x 13 baking dish, I put a little chili in the bottom and then all the tamales.  (You have to unwrap them.)  I pour over them the chili in the cans with the tamales, then crushed Fritos, the rest of the chili, shredded cheese, and the rest of the bag of crushed Fritos.

Bake it on 350 for thirty minutes, or until it's hot and bubbly.  It feeds my family of six and we usually have a little left over.

While it cooked, I snacked a little before leaving for bible study.  At six, I pulled out to head to church with a bunch of stuff to carry in.  It was our last night of Lysa TerKeurst's Finding I Am, and we decided to take snacks to share.  I didn't get back home until almost nine.

I came home and put away what little was left out and made the coffee to make this morning, and came into the living room to talk to Todd for a few minutes.  While I was gone, Todd found a new leak in our ceiling, this time from our bathtub.  It's about to be a big ole mess up in my house, and I think he was trying to give me an anxiety attack.  I hate when things are torn up in the house, and I dread the thought of our bathroom being completely torn apart for who knows how long.

Also, our recliner is broken, but thankfully, it has a lifetime warranty on the part that's broken.

Oh, the joys of adulthood.

I went upstairs at nine thirty, washed my face and got in bed to watch Netflix.  I think I watched three episodes of Army Wives before I fell asleep.

Exciting stuff, huh?  (Sarcasm.)

I keep saying that I am at this weird stage in life of just waiting and faithfully doing what I'm called to do for this time.  The boys are all homeschooled, and I don't usually leave them during the day.  I don't turn on the tv a lot because I feel it's a distraction to them.  If it gets turned on, it's after they're done with their work.  I don't even talk on the phone that much, for that same reason...I feel it's a distraction to them.  It might not be, it's just a feeling I have.  I read a lot.  I study the bible a lot.  I find things to read online a lot, like blogs and articles written by authors I enjoy.  I clean a lot, because that's something I've always done when I'm bored.  I usually stay caught up on laundry, because I am home.  I also cook a lot, because they're not usually sandwich type kids.  I have all this time, and I try to make the most of it and use it as a good steward.

I do have thoughts and dreams about what my future looks like, but it's not the time for any of that.  For now, this is my job and what God has called me to do.  I keep writing on this blog, as I have for almost a decade now, and I keep praying about being open to what God wants for my life someday.  I always pray that He would use me in everything I do, say, think, and write.  And I think He does.  I am perfectly content with my life right now, and I know that comes from Him.  I trust in His perfect plan for our lives, and for now, I am so thankful for this time I have at home with all of my boys.

And bonus, every Monday almost is no makeup Monday.  :)  I only put it on when I'm leaving my house.

So that's a typical day for me.

Thanks for reading along and suggesting that I write this.  Love to all!