Did y'all have a good Valentine's Day weekend? Ours was so fun and I'm enjoying having the President's Day holiday as an extra day to recoup!
One of my favorite types of posts when reading other blogs, is a day in the life post. Natalie does these from time to time, as well as some other bloggers and it's fun to get a peak into the routines of others...I think the mundane, ordinary parts of our life can sometimes be the most special and it's fun to see what happens in a blogger's life outside of those "blog-worthy" moments and events.
That being said, last Wednesday I did my best to snap photos throughout the day to put one of these posts together. So here goes!
7:15 am
alarm #1 goes off
Does anyone else set multiple alarms each morning? I usually have 3, the first being 45 minutes before I plan to get out of bed. It's my way of attempting to trick myself into thinking I have time to sleep in. I always take a quick look at email during this time, to make sure nothing pressing has come in over night. When Bryce is home, the bed is more cozy and I have a much harder time motivating myself to get up and moving. On this particular morning, you can see I stay in bed a whole half hour longer than planned! Bryce was heading out of town that day, so I couldn't resist some extra time with him. I also knew I'd be working from 7:30 am- 8:30 pm the following day due to an early morning meeting and after work event, so I don't feel guilty taking a bit of extra time.
9:00ish am
head out the door for work
I make it out the door for work a little after 9:00 am-- morning cereal in hand (I've taken my breakfast to go each morning since college). It's a beautiful sunny day, but oh so cold and even snowed some over night! I am in the Valentine's Day spirit wearing pink for probably the 3rd time in the last week. I bought this favorite Elsa a few years ago during the Lilly After Party Sale, but they have the same color again this season here! I am wearing an extra small, for reference.
9:20 am
settling in at work
Luckily my office is only about 5 minutes from home. By about 9:20 am, I have finished my cereal, said my good mornings, and reviewed emails. Some donations have come in that I was not expecting (always a positive to have surprise donations), so I do a little digging in our system to take a closer look at the account before sending a follow-up email to my workplace contact for that account.
10:30 am
event prep
Tomorrow night we have an appreciation event for the volunteers that help us facilitate and run the fundraising campaigns within their workplace. We have selected a classic superhero theme for the event and are giving away treat bags of M&Ms as favors. I have been assisting my colleague that manages the event and help her to resize and print these thank you tags she downloaded on Etsy.
12:00 pm
lunch & learn session
Today we are lucky to have lunch provided as we have a special guest speaker! To read more about the specifics of my job, you can read this post, but in short, we work to improve our local community through grant-making in the areas of education, income, and health. During our new grant cycle, we noticed a trend across all of these areas, and that trend was the presence of violence. In each of our focus areas, we are funding programs to combat the effects of violence and trauma. The speaker today was talking about the public health consequences of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and how through trauma-informed care we can begin to build resilience in our kids. Her session was absolutely amazing and inspiring, and the entire time, I was thinking of former students and thought "Why isn't this required professional development for teachers?"
1:30 pm
more event prep
I've gotten a response from my follow-up email this morning regarding the surprise donations, so I finish the "paperwork" side of things and submit the donation for processing. My co-worker Joanne helps me start cutting the thank you tags out. We tag team the job. She cuts them into strips on the paper cutter and then I cut the strips and punch holes in the tags so we can tie them to the treat bags.
A little after 2:00, Joanne and I are grabbed for an impromptu meeting about our new website. Our organization launched a new website in December and we both represented our department. There is a meeting Friday morning for all staff to share feedback, and we are asked to attend a brief meeting with the committee to get thoughts together and prepare for Friday. The "quick meeting" ends up lasting more than an hour. It's interesting to see the different viewpoints about the functionality and purpose of the site according to the different "hats" those of us wear within the organization.
I also realize this is my last real night to prep for my Valentine Making Party on Friday night, since I probably won't make it home until after the appreciation event, close to 9 pm the following night, so I cancel my 5:30 barre class. The grocery store is calling (ugggh).
3:30 pm
prep for Thursday's meetings
Our biggest corporate campaign of the Spring officially launches today, February 15, so the calendar is full of meetings and events across the company's many locations in our area. On Thursday, the downtown location is hosting 3 meetings and I am speaking at each. Each meeting will have around 50 attendees, so I grab brochures and marketing materials to take for the audience. I have to be there at 7:30 am, so I won't be coming to the office beforehand, and need to take materials with me when I leave. I also tweak my speech and spend some time reading over it. Most of our campaigns run between September and December, so I haven't spoken to a crowd in about 2 months and want to avoid coming across as rusty!
4:45 pm
grocery shopping
Those that know me, know how much I loathe grocery shopping. It seems like such a time suck, and you never get out without at least dropping $50...I also really miss Ukrop's. Those that know Richmond will likely agree with me. Ukrop's was a locally owned grocery store chain that was the best. When I was in college Giant/Martin's bought them, and it just hasn't been the same ever since. Tulips are a must on the list for my party. I also get the fixings for mac & cheese bites, mini chicken & waffles, strawberry cupcakes, and champagne punch. I want to get a pre-made veggie tray, but of course they don't have one....again, I miss Ukrop's!
5:30 pm
unload groceries & make dinner
I get home and start working on unloading groceries. Whenever I have big housework tasks ahead, I struggle to remain focused. I pull out the tulips and immediately start arranging them before unloading the rest of the groceries, next I start unloading the dishwasher and pulling out what I need to make dinner, only to remember I want to wash the hand towels in the powder room, so I stop what I'm doing and start a load of laundry...you catch my drift.
Bryce isn't the biggest fan of zoodles and we have zucchini that needs to be eaten, so I whip up a quick zoodles shrimp scampi with roasted tomatoes. It is delicious, but as I'm eating, I think "Why didn't you just microwave the leftovers in the fridge?" Now I have additional kitchen clean up on top of party prep. Ahhh...I have a big night ahead, and really just want to sit down and watch the latest episode of The Bachelor On Demand.
7:00 pm
cleaning & party prep
I decide that next on the party prep agenda, is getting the kitchen set-up. I need a food and drink station, and also somewhere to set out some candy and my fun cocktail napkins. First up, though, is cleaning the countertops. I'm not a fan of our granite. It is black with flecks of browns and tans, and never seems to look clean. Over the weekend we came across this Be's Wax Furniture Polish which is supposedly amazing and works on all surfaces. I decide to give it a try. After struggling to open the dern can, and thinking I've broken the spray lever, I eventually clean the granite and am delighted! Highly recommend this product! The granite actually looks clean and shiny! Yippee! Am I getting old if these are the things that excite me?
I start to get an idea of how I want to set things up! I play with how to set up the little kitchen table, wanting that space to look extra cutesy, and ultimately decide to put the plates and cups with the punch bowl in another corner of the kitchen.
8:30 pm
crafting prep
My co-worker Joanne was kind enough to bring me a bunch of her crafting supplies as a contribution to the party. I pull out my supplies and go through hers and start setting the dining room table up with supplies. Around 9:00 Bryce calls and I tell him I'm almost done for the night. By now, I've given up on watching The Bachelor.
9:30 pm
pinterest search for inspiration poster
I think I'm finally done, only to remember I want to make a poster full of Valentine inspiration. Why do things like this always take longer than expected? I get on the black hole that is Pinterest and start saving photos to print for my poster. I print the photos, but decide that cutting can wait.
10:45 pm
bedtime...finally
I make my way upstairs and am happy to see that Bryce made the bed before leaving town this morning! Yes...I am 27 and still sleep with a stuffed bunny named Easteregg. Often Bryce will pose him when he makes the bed. Tonight was a simple pose...other times I've come up to find Easteregg reading a book or wearing my sunglasses.
I turn down the bed, propping up pillows all around me, call Bryce to say good night and attempt to read without falling asleep. Lights are out by 11:15, as I have to be downtown by 7:30 in the morning!
So there you have it, a day in my life!
How is your routine similar to mine? Different?
Have a great day!
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