A Day in the Life, in Photos
10 Apr 2014
I love doing a day in the life posts, even though they are a good little bit of work. They are so worth it. I did two of them in 2012, but haven’t done one since! I was inspired mostly by the idea of celebrating this special time. My life is about to change in a huge and awesome way, and I thought sometime in the future, I might like to look back and remember what these days were like. And maybe someday our children will want to know what Mommy did all day before she was rocking them and pushing them on swings in the park. I also wanted to try to get comfortable using the TimerCam app (free!) on my phone. Elise has been taking such great pictures of herself with her sweet baby, and I really want to be able to capture those moments when I am home with our baby too. I only managed to take two, but it’s a start! And so, without further ado, let’s begin the day!
This exercise makes me think of young Tolstoy’s first literary experiment, a short story called “A History of Yesterday.” It was unfinished and only fairly recently made available to the public (but not in English, sorry!). It’s a fascinating text–Tolstoy, ever the diarist, sets out to record the events of yesterday in full, only to find himself backtracking to the day before in order to explain the circumstances. He really can’t ever get to the present moment, which explains a lot about his future aesthetic and also probably explains why the story was unfinished. All this is to say: the same is true for me. My days depend on how the nights go. I am up at least once in the night to eat some yogurt or cottage cheese, and ideally it’s at 4am, so I can go back to sleep. But sometimes I wake up at something like 2 and 6, and I can never go back to sleep after 6. I end up sleeping late to try to make up for the lost time. And this day (last Tuesday) was such a day. But here is my breakfast, such as it was last week: a wheat bagel with cream cheese. For such a long time, this was the only thing my stomach would tolerate in the morning. Even the switch to wheat was an accomplishment. But now I’m happy to be eating oatmeal again, which I hope is a bit more nutritious. I like that my purple robe is in this picture because I put in on every morning for breakfast and catching up on the blogs I read. My parents gave it to me for Christmas when I was in high school, and it’s still going strong.
After breakfast, I got to work on the book proposal. Mornings are usually my best thinking time, so I try not to schedule anything before the afternoon.
This is a lot of what my life looks like right now, and I love it. These are some of the books that have been so helpful to me in putting my proposal together. (As a side note, Eric thinks I should write a post on which ones are particularly helpful. Would that be something you guys would be interested in?)
When my brain got tired, I got up and laid out a row of triangles for the baby’s quilt. Good to have a little change in posture too. (Also, color trouble: that’s not black, it’s navy blue!)
And then, lunch! This my leftover half of a burrito from Chipotle the night before. Not the healthiest lunch in the world, but I did get brown rice and extra veggies, so I can at least feel good about that. I was reading Los Angeles magazine, which is really great, and also a good accompaniment to a messy meal (wouldn’t want to get salsa on a library book!). I also had a Cara Cara orange, one of our favorites this time of year.
And then I flipped through this Paper Source catalog, which gave me the idea for my next quilt: solid color rainbow!
After lunch, it was back to work. Ah, not good posture. But I am happy to have this view of the other side of the office, which will soon be dismantled and reincarnated as the nursery. I like that you can see my word for this year, nurture, up on the wall, and my DIY mannequin for sewing. After another session with the proposal, I took my almost daily nap–usually about an hour.
This was my afternoon snack. Not my favorite flavor, but good in a pinch.
I headed out for my walk around 2:30. It was a gorgeous day, and I loved seeing the clouds above the mountains.
I always walk past Eric’s building on my walks, and sometimes I text him to come to window and wave. It’s one of my favorite things. I call this his “C for Cameron” shirt.
I was back home by 3:30, having done my usual 4-mile route. I am probably already embarrassing our child with my garish attire, but oh well! That little hand-held water bottle has been the greatest addition to the walking regimen. We got it on Amazon, and it’s great–not too heavy, not too big.
After a quick shower, I got to work on making dinner. On days when I cook, I have to get started by 4pm at the latest because I am so hungry by 5. Today I made cauliflower and quinoa chowder.
I used this pretty broccoflower, which…
turned the soup totally purple! It was pretty good, and it was chased by two clementines (I have to keep the citrus routine varied!)
After dinner I worked on some freelance editing. This little sheet is my constant companion.
Eric had some big proposals due today, so when he got home he decided to make himself a celebratory drink. He caramelized some oranges in brown sugar for a garnish.
The drink looked really beautiful, but obviously it was only for him! I think it was an old-fashioned, but I can’t totally remember.
By then it was time for my second dinner, just a few slices of fresh wheat bread and some cheese. (It’s funny how quickly you get tired of things…last week this seemed like an awesome treat, but this week…ehhh.)
At 10 to 8, Eric and I set out to go to a talk by three astronauts on the future of human spaceflight. It was so cold, and I was shivering in my coat. When we got there, the auditorium looked strangely dark, and we realized we had the date wrong! So here we are back home again.
Since I had the evening free, I finished laying out the quilt triangles. Huzzah!
Then I read a few lessons in my online painting course. My access to it expires at the beginning of May, so I am kind of in a crunch to cover all the material. It’s always uplifting, always inspiring.
While I was working on that, Eric was playing his bass. Adorable. That box on his desk for the iRig, which allows him to plug his bass into his computer.
I wrote my blog post for the next day, which I always do before going to bed. I wish it weren’t so impossible to take a picture of a computer screen! Ah well.
And then, since it was April 1st, I changed my calendar page. This one lives on the ledge of our kitchen chalkboard, and I love it.
And, of course, I was hungry again. This is my totally uninspiring bedtime snack, a PBJ. I am not a huge fan of them, but when you’re hungry, you’re hungry. At least it had some protein! (As a side note, I had my glucose tolerance test the next morning, and I didn’t fast. I am now even more overjoyed that I passed because I had a lot more bread and sweet stuff than usual on this day).
Finally, bedtime reading. This is Great with Child
. I loved this passage and found it so apt. And I am happy that our sweet baby is in this picture. I hope some years from now, I will show him this post and say, “Look, there you were!”

Apr 10, 2014 @ 04:02:42
I loved this post! I felt like I got to spend the entire day riding along with you as a little observer on your shoulder. And that quilt is going to be absolutely beautiful.
Apr 10, 2014 @ 21:45:41
Thank you, Daddy! I am so glad I did it, even if I forgot some things between last week and this week! It makes me happy to see how much I actually crammed into a day! Wish you were here for all the festivities, but I know you will be soon!
Apr 10, 2014 @ 05:43:25
I love it, and wish I could have been there for every bit of it! It’s so wonderful to see you back to your busy (but hopefully not too busy) self. Re how hard it is to take a picture of your computer screen, your computer can take a screen shot. Ask Eric. Next, yes I would be interested in your post of what has been helpful. Also, I had NO IDEA Eric had a bass! No one ever told me! I can’t exactly choose a favorite shot bc I loved it all, but the pic of Eric waving to you is pretty darn sweet. Just like you.
Apr 10, 2014 @ 21:47:10
Ah yes, a screen shot! That’s the kind of thing a pregnant woman can’t be expected to remember! Of course, my lovely, I wish you were here too, whirring away on your sewing machine or typing up your book proposal next to me! Why must you live so far away? Glad you liked the post! It was fun to write;)
Apr 10, 2014 @ 06:54:43
I’m feeling hungry now!!! This is awesome. I will try doing a day in the life as soon as I start my maternity leave (my days are pretty boring right now!)
Apr 10, 2014 @ 21:48:22
Oh, that would be awesome! I would love to see it!
Apr 10, 2014 @ 12:36:09
fun seeing your day! I hope your book gets accepted and published π
Apr 10, 2014 @ 21:48:37
Thank you so much, Karen! Fingers crossed!
Apr 10, 2014 @ 13:56:16
I really liked seeing your day; it’s funny, I love and remember your big purple robe and am excited to hear about the book progress. It looks like you must be an expert by now and I imagine that’s half the battle (plus, you can write and know basic grammar, two things that can only help you)!
Also, I love that that Luna Bar flavor isn’t your favorite; that’s the very one I always reach for. Call me the Queen of Coconut. xo
Apr 10, 2014 @ 21:52:17
You remember my robe? Oh, that’s so funny:) Well, I like to keep a good workhorse around! Thank you so much for your encouragement! It has actually been really fun and exhilarating learning how a different field works. Ah well, about the Luna bars, I guess opposites attract! The lemon is my favorite;)
Apr 10, 2014 @ 16:32:57
The quilt looks amazing! Loved seeing the day in the life!
Apr 10, 2014 @ 21:55:25
Thank you so much! π
Apr 11, 2014 @ 05:14:00
Wonderful post! I felt like I spent the day with you. And that quilt?? Amazing!
Apr 14, 2014 @ 22:54:55
Thank you so much, Sandi! You are so sweet! π
Apr 11, 2014 @ 23:39:27
I love that you have such a schedule for your day even when you don’t have a physical job location you have to be at at a certain time. Do you get what I mean? Sometimes I struggle with planning my day if I don’t actually have to be anywhere. Writing a book proposal looks like a lot of work. I’d be interested in reading about it. I don’t really know what all goes into making a book happen on your own. (And who knows, maybe one day I’ll have a book to propose. Lol. Most likely a children’s book…hehe.). Your quilt is looking amazing!!! I can’t wait to see it all quilted up. A lovely day in the life! (I haven’t done one since November, in my PL. I should do another one soon!)
Apr 14, 2014 @ 22:59:23
Oh yes, I know what you mean! Some days are more of a struggle than others, but I definitely do wrestle with that too! Especially if I am feeling tired or unfocused. Something about pregnancy has pushed me into some kind of overdrive, though. I’ve never felt so driven to do so many things in such a short amount of time! Nesting, I suppose:) But I am so totally impressed with the amount of things you get done in a week. Especially while working and taking care of Luna. You are a true inspiration! Oh, the book proposal, yes–it was almost more intimidating than writing the book itself! But I feel so good about getting all of my ideas for this project down in one place. Oh yes, I would love to read any book you wrote and would totally love to see a day in the life!!
November 2014 Goals
Nov 02, 2014 @ 14:22:09
[…] of daily photos and words. It’s a lot of work, but what a rich reward! I haven’t done a day in the life since April, and it’s something I’ve been wanting to do. I think a week would definitely cover all […]