When I asked for suggestions about topics to visit (or revisit) on the blog, a common denominator was requests for more Day in the Life/behind-the-scenes posts.
I took those comments to heart and immediately documented my next day. Ironically – and without me looking back at previous posts – it turns out I recorded April 10th (a Wednesday) in 2024. This year, Wednesday fell on April 9th, and that’s the day I tracked.
If these posts are your cup of tea, I also wrote one last October. April and October happen to coincide with our Cool Bloggers Walking Club, so perhaps I can intentionally pair the two moving forward?
As always, I’m amazed by the interesting overlaps. Last April, I wore the same black pants I wore this year and volunteered at our evening youth group. It’s been a whole year since I last volunteered, and I didn’t get the request until lunchtime – so it’s not like I planned for both Day in My Life posts to include that!
Okay – let’s get started.
6:46 am – I’m awake. I text John (he’s in Finland this week), remove spam blog comments, check my e-mail, and look at my sleep score. It was an unusually good night of sleep, which I’m grateful for as I’ve had some sub-par rest lately. I’ve been enjoying waking up early and fitting in a bit of my morning routine before the kids are up. Today won’t be that day.
7:02 am – Time to get moving. I look outside. It snowed! I check my phone to make sure I haven’t missed a school cancellation notification. I haven’t, which is ironic – the kids had a snow day on Tuesday and the weather looks worse this morning.
7:08 am – Teeth brushed, bed made, curtains opened. Ready or not, it’s time to prep the troops for school. On my way down the hall I pop my head in Indy’s room. He wants oatmeal, so I microwave a bowl for him. Belle wants one too.
7:11 am – While the oatmeal is cooking, I prep the Bible and devotional for our morning discussion. Truthfully? It’s been hit-or-miss lately about whether I get around to doing this with the kids. This week I switched to using The Message translation. The reading for the day is some verses in Isaiah 43 which happens to be one of my favourite passages in the whole Bible. Definitely a FIG! The whole thing takes less than 10 minutes and we talk/discuss while the kids eat.
7:22 am – The kids are fed, they’ve suggested prayer requests for people we know who are going through tough situations, and now it’s time to clean up. They scatter to brush their teeth.
7:56 am – After coordinating lunches and ensuring everyone has the proper footwear – why is there always drama over shoes, especially when it’s SNOWING? – they head to the bus. Ahhhh. Silence.
8:01 am – While water boils for coffee, I skim news headlines. *Sigh*
8:11 am – I’ve finished my pour over, and since I’m drinking my coffee black today, I let it cool while I head to the bedroom to get dressed.
8:19 am – I am dressed and made up – this is as good as it’s going to get!
8:22 am – A final tidy of the bedroom and I’m officially ready for the day.
8:24 am – My morning corner is ready. On days I wake up before the kids, this part happens earlier. Today I needed sleep.
8:34 am – Settled in. I read the day’s Bible passage, then the corresponding overview in The Bible Recap. I use my beloved Mr. Pen highlighters to mark anything that stands out.
8:57 am – Bible: read. Coffee: finished. Texts: sent to Kae and Lisa. Now it’s time to eat. I prep my go-to: plain yogurt + cottage cheese + a spoonful of drippy peanut butter, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, raisins, fruit (banana slices today), and a giant sprinkle of chia seeds. I take my bowl, planner, and other paraphernalia down to the office.
8:59 am – I’m in the office, but I want to do… nothing. The snow day threw off my weekly rhythm. I have two phone calls I need to make. I hate phone calls, but I power through. Turns out one is automated – bless.
10:14 am – For some reason, I start looking at old pictures. I find one of Belle being picked up by her uncle and send it to the family chat. How were they ever this little?
10:37 am – Joy arrives for a walk! I stop to take a photo of a snow-covered bush and again for a yellow door that looks cheerful. She is very patient about these detours.
11:59 am – We’ve been back from our walk for a while, but the conversation keeps going. When we get cold, we move inside and still can’t stop talking.
12:45 pm – We finally part ways and it’s back to reality. I chat with John (he’s heading to bed in Finland) while I heat up leftovers (deconstructed Shepherd’s Pie) and head back to the office.
12:47 pm – I answer blog comments for a few minutes while I eat. Our youth pastor messages to see if we’re available to help with children’s ministry this evening. John’s on another continent so he’s out, but I say yes. I always dread it… and always end up loving it.
2:56 pm – Time to shut things down – the kids will be home any minute. I head upstairs to welcome them. Both have friends with them (planned in advance), and Belle requests crepes for supper. I get started on that.
3:03 pm – Wednesday afternoons are full, so I dive into crepe-making right away. Indy bought a rock set at the book fair and left it sprawled all over the counter. I work around the mess.
3:45 pm – Crepes are easy to prepare, but time consuming. It’s 3:45 pm and time for me to take Indy and his friend to an extracurricular two towns over. As always, their conversation in the back seat is HILARIOUS.
4:38 pm – Drop-off done. I swing by the grocery store: fresh salmon that needs using ASAP (no problem – I have plans), frozen salmon with just salmon (it’s so hard to find frozen fish that doesn’t have phosphates or tocopherols added; bonus because it’s the store brand AND it’s on sale), apples on a great deal, reduced cheese, coffee creamer, and two green bananas (I try to get a few green bananas every few days so we always have some perfectly ripe ones).
5:14 pm – I cook the salmon, set out cheese (and ignore Belle’s grumbling about the dill weed in the spiced Havarti I just bought for $2 off), prosciutto, and fry a few eggs. My crepe: salmon, egg, mayo, Dijon, salt, pepper, and a tiny drizzle of maple syrup. Delicious.
5:34 pm – I’m wiped. The girls are on cleanup duty and need to prep a crepe for Indy. I head to my room with a book. The family I carpooled with might need me for pickup, which would mean leaving at 5:45. I pray they don’t. A text comes in – they’ve got it. Phew.
6:01 pm – Book down, teeth brushed. Another teen arrives (he walks to our place and rides with us to youth group). Belle forgets her phone after we’re already in the car. While she runs back in, I slowly drive down the street. She bursts out the door and starts running after the vehicle. We all laughed until we cried so I’m going to say it was worth it.
6:20 pm – The three kids with me head into church. Indy gets dropped off from his extracurricular, hops into the front seat for a quick supper, and then we head inside together.
6:27 pm – Pre-service fun includes epic Minute-to-Win-It games. Indy gets called up right away but loses to a friend. It’s intense.
7:47 pm – I’m with the Grade 4s. It’s organized chaos: they’re talking, laughing, barely listening. But when you ask questions? They give the most thoughtful, surprising answers. They have been listening. I take the pot of dirty water from our object lesson on Naaman (the Syrian captain with leprosy) outside to dump in the garden. Parents waiting in their cars probably wonder why a woman is dumping dirty water out of a casserole dish into the bushes while balancing two eggs with red Sharpie drawings on them.
8:27 pm – Indy doesn’t want to leave. He plays in the gym with his friends and helps clean up. By the time we get into the car I’m tired, but one of his favourite songs comes on as we pull into the driveway, so I crank the volume and we rock out before heading inside.
8:59 pm – It’s honestly appalling how many days it’s been since I last showered. The long, hot shower feels amazing. Indy asks me to come into his room and record him singing one of his choir songs. This turns into five songs. His voice is sweet and I enjoy it. Belle gets dropped off, says hi, and heads in for her shower.
9:54 pm – The kids are settled and I’m in bed and think I should try to write this post while it’s still fresh. I make it to 8:24 a.m. and give up.
9:55 pm – I read a few chapters of the Stanley Tucci book.
I want to keep reading but I’m exhausted so I turn the light out at 10:17 pm and, as far as I can remember, am asleep before my head hits the pillow.
And that’s a Day in My Life!
- Questions or comments?
- What time do you typically go to bed?
- What’s one thing you never fail to do in your morning routine?
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Kyria @ Travel Spot
That sounds like a good day. So I see that you are reading two different books (well three if you also count The Bible) at the same time! I usually do that, but one is generally an audio and one is a regular (e) book. Are you liking (or did you like) the Tucci? I read it a few years ago and thought it was okay but it did not wow me to be honest. Sorry if I dampened your mood if you love it.
You know me; I am normally up early and to bed early, but lately I have been staying up until maybe 11 pm and sometimes later, and getting up around 6 am. I still like the early quiet morning before the noises start, and I like to get out for a walk/run before it is crowded or hot. However, I am kind of just going to bed when I feel like it and waking up when I feel like it, so it is nice not to “have to” get up at a certain time.
Elisabeth
I like having a few books on the go. This is actually the newer Tucci one (came out in 2024). Are you thinking of Taste? I did really enjoy Taste, and this one is fine. It’s nothing earth-shattering but I find it relaxing to read about what someone else ate. I think of the two books I preferred Taste, though.
I love how you’re leaning into your natural rhythms with wake/sleep! 11 pm does sound VERY late for you. I wish getting up early was necessary to beat the heat. It has been sooo chilly here lately. I’m living vicariously through your sunshine and beach access.
nicole orriens
I loved taking a peak into a day of your life. It must have been a lot of work to document everything. It’s like being a fly on the wall, and being the fly ; )
Elisabeth
I often say I’d love to be a fly on the wall at my kids’ school for the day. Maybe I need to get them to do a DIML post just for me 🙂
Sharon
Whew, a full, rewarding and busy day! I wonder if you can share what you use to track your sleep? It’s an area I’m working to improve (I’m a miserable sleeper!), and I love the detail what you’re using provides. And thank you for making my next book selection easy! Love your posts!
Elisabeth
I’m so sorry you’re struggling with sleep.
I am tracking it with an Oura ring. I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to buy one – they aren’t cheap! – but the battery life on my husband’s first Oura ring wasn’t amazing (4-5 days instead of several weeks) and he had his replaced under warranty and I inherited the older one. It just means I have to charge it a bit more.
Lisa (Lisa’s Yarns) has recently purchased one and I know Coco (Our New Journey) has one as well. I’m a big fan, and I LOVE the period tracking. I also appreciate knowing when I’m getting sick. It will tell me if my resting HR is up or my temp is up and it’s astonishingly accurate in terms of catching early symptoms. It makes me feel better to know when I feel sick I actually have reason to be!
In terms of sleep, it’s a great tracker. It will start to suggest bedtimes. You can look at trends, see how much of each level of sleep (deep, REM etc) you’re getting. It will automatically capture naps and exercise (I get “credit” for all the housework I do).
I recently listened to a podcast episode all about insomnia. I’m not a podcast listener but someone recommended it to me and I’ve been finding it interesting. I haven’t necessarily changed anything in my sleep habits – but I don’t have insomnia – but you might find someone useful in there.
This is getting to be a LONG comment, but if you DO end up buying an Oura Ring, let me know and I can give you a 10% off code. I don’t have any affiliation with Oura, they just have a “refer a friend” and I discovered this yesterday…after Lisa had already bought her ring.
Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
coco
I love this post Elizabeth, it’s so interesting! You had a great sleep!!! I love your morning corner. I love you get a friend to walk with you, for me I can “only” get Sofia. I love that you have an earlier dinner and still get things done after that. Usually after dinner, my energy level is so low. I need to go to bed by 8pm, often read less than 10 min and too sleep to go on.
I will try to do a day in life post soon too.
Elisabeth
I don’t actually know when my “high-energy” time of day is anymore. When I was younger it was 7-8 pm. That was when I felt my most alert. Now I mostly have low-level fatigue and brain fog pretty much all day and after years (over a decade) of trying just about everything to combat that – diets, different forms of exercise – I just have to accept that for now I have low energy and will always feel at least a bit tired. And I just carry on!
I know you have such great runs with Sofia; she is an exercise partner extraordinaire.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
To me it sounds like a very busy day. And you are up so early. Or rephrase you have done so many things before heading to the desk. I feel I only sit and read and do some exercises. But you planned a whole day. It reads exhausting.
I am so envious of your 8+hours of sleep. I am often time waking up too early (4-6am) and then try for ours to get back to sleep. Mostly it doesn’t work and I get up at 7 or 7.30 am. Sometimes I do fall asleep again and then it is suddenly 9 or so. It throws all things off. But I have the flexibility and I prioritize the sleep I can get (if I don’t have meetings).
Thank you for sharing your day. How crazy that there have been the similarities.
I should sit down and do a post like this. I usually only do one during NaBloPoMo but having one during spring would be fun too.
Elisabeth
Ha. Maybe that’s why I do always feel tired? I don’t think I SHOULD because compared to women who work full-time outside the house my days should be a cakewalk, but golly I battle with fatigue during the day.
I know you’ve had such a long and frustrating battle with insomnia, my friend. I hope things continue to improve <3
mbmom11
What a full day! Your church’s youth evening sounded like a lot of fun.
I’ve been going to bed about 9 or 9:30. I sleep better than if I try to stay up late. ( or at least get more sleep before I wake up at 2am!) If I have something good to read, I might go later.
My morning routine- I always feed the cats. I usually make lunches for boys and prep breakfast for girl. ( she gets lunch at school.) The word games come next, if I hadn’t already done them at 2am. Personal hygiene if there’s time.
Elisabeth
My Oura ring recommends I go to bed between 9-9:45 and I ignore it every single day. I really SHOULD start doing that and then maybe I’d wake up alert at 6ish (which would be nice). Most deep sleep happens before midnight usually, I once read.
I love how word games come before personal hygiene! That sounds like a good hierarchy of priorities.
Ally Bean
What a fun post. You look happy as can be documenting your day. Nice photos. I go to bed around 9:00-ish and read for a while. In the morning there must be freshly brewed coffee. I’m nothing if not predictable on these points.
Elisabeth
I think routines make the world go ’round. They’re satisfying and comforting and a steady place to land when the world is in a tizzy. At least you know with confidence you will have fresh coffee in the morning. And that can be disproportionately grounding.
Michelle G.
This was so much fun to read! I love getting a peek at your life and seeing all your photos. I’m envious of your 8 hours of sleep – but it’s a good thing you got 8 hours because that was a busy day! But you’re so organized, it didn’t feel like a frantic day. Well, at least not for me sitting here reading this! The evening activities would do me in, I’m afraid. I like to be in bed by 8:00, if not before. What thing do I never fail to do in my morning routine? I do my stretches and breathing exercises after breakfast, and then I sit at my desk and draw.
Elisabeth
I am horrible at stretching, so I need to emulate you, Michelle. HORRIBLE. In fact, other than brushing my teeth at least twice daily, I can’t think of anything that I never, ever skip. My FIL does 20-30 minutes of intense stretching and exercises every single morning and hasn’t missed a day in years and years. I am always so impressed. I feel like Nicole and San are the same with their daily exercise routines.
There are some days I would gladly put myself to bed before 8 pm. Sadly, now my kids are up until much later. While I *can* go to bed before them (and often do, at least Belle as she has hit her teen stride with staying up later), somehow it just never feels like things are shut down properly before 9:30/10ish.
Birchie
Yay for DITL! I always love reading these. It was a long day, but I love that you made the time to meet with your friend for a walk.
Elisabeth
It was a long day, but satisfying. Good food, friends, exercise, some work…and a long sleep.
Katy @Practical Walk
I love the brightness and tidiness of your house! It’s inspiring me to get my house tidied up today after we’ve had guests.
Elisabeth
Thanks, Katy. My favourite feature of our home is, without a doubt, the amount of nature light in our main living area. I really, really struggle with dark spaces (my mother too), so finding a home with so much light is a true gift!
Trust me – the house ebbs and flows in terms of tidiness and if you could zoom in on the floors they’re in desperate need of mopping. But I do find that having outer order helps with some inner calm!
Katie
Agree, I was going to say, your house looks soooo neat and tidy for having children!
Elisabeth
Oh, Katie. I always feel bad when people think my house looks overly tidy. I promise you it is not always so. (And the kids’ rooms are not great at the moment). I will say that I do appreciate order AND trying to lean into minimalism helps. But there is still plenty of clutter.
Jan Coates
Busy mama! A problem I have is that I end up in bed too early a lot of nights (before 9) – which means I’ll be awake for at least 2 hours in the middle of the night. But once I start reading, I usually am ready to turn out the light within 15 minutes. I need to find something to do to make me stay up longer. But it’s sunny today:)
Elisabeth
My issue is wanting to take a nap at like…4 pm. I CRASH in the afternoon. When I do nap in the afternoon, it tends to mess up my evening sleep. It is forever frustrating to me that I don’t naturally feel like an Energizer Bunny, but I make do and boy howdy we have some great family memories because of it.
The sunshine really helps and I find I naturally have more energy in the summer. I think all the cold, dark, and rain has really worn me out. Bring on the sunshine. And, hopefully, warmer temps. I am DESPERATE to go outside and actually feel warm!
Jenny
Well, you know I love a DITL!!! I love seeing the differences between your life and mine- your morning is MUCH more peaceful, but my evenings are more chill. I mean I know you don’t do this every evening, but after dinner I’m usually puttering around the house and getting ready for bed.
I’m so envious of your sleep. I need eight hours so badly! I get up at 5:30 at the latest (thank you, early high school start time) so I’m in bed reading the night before anywhere between 9-9:30. Last night I turned off my light at 10:20 (I so wanted to read one more chapter but I forced myself to stop) but then I lay there awake for a long time. Arg.
Elisabeth
That is SUCH a ridiculous high school start, Jenny. I know we’ve discussed this before, but seriously? Who sets these schedules. I am beyond relieved and grateful that when Belle starts high school next year she will actually begin almost an hour later than she is now (in middle school). Also, you would think for parents a later start/later dismissal would work better for work schedules? I AM TRULY SORRY!!
It is so hard to put down a book. I will fight tired eyes for an inordinate amount of time just to read one more chapter. I have cut myself off from fiction in bed though. It’s definitely easier to put down non-fiction. My mom had some go-to books of short stories from LM Montgomery she used to read over and over and over before bed. She knew what happened. They were short. Nothing was too exciting. And they were the perfect pre-bed launch point.
Nicole MacPherson
I love these posts! Why are our lives so fascinating? I don’t know but I’m here for it!
“no because you ruin my life” lolololsob teen girls, what are you going to do?
Anyway, I love seeing your day and thanks for sharing!
Elisabeth
I think it’s so unusual to actually be inside someone’s house and routines. We are with people all day at work and extracurriculars, but everything stops at the front door (for the most part). There is something fascinating about seeing how other people do things, how their schedule is arranged, comparing our own and maybe sometimes even getting ideas for things we’d like to do ourselves.
Doesn’t a recent trip to Paris just SCREAM “ruining her life.” Sigh. What to do? I laughed it off. If she ends up having kiddos of her own, I can’t wait to see her recognize the realities of parenting.
Also, I remember years ago my dad saying about my kids not knowing how lucky/fortunate they are…and then he said something like: “And that’s why they complain about all the little meaningless things.” I think some kids are in such profoundly horrible situations they can’t even complain (they’re so beat down by tragedy or trauma). So I’m learning to see the complaints as a positive sign that my kids have a great life.
Ernie
I have a similar wake and go to bed time as you – at least that’s my goal. I do end up staying up too late sometimes when I feel like I haven’t gotten everything done, or when I know I’m not gonna have time the next day to accomplish what I want to do. My kids all do their own breakfast and make their own lunches for school. Years ago, I often ‘surprised’ them and whipped up pancakes before school. With the daycare starting at 7:30, I don’t usually have time for that – but Coach will make eggs on his late days. I related to the driving away while waiting for a kid to go retrieve something. Kid conversations in the backseat are so entertaining. My morning routine almost always includes – working out before daycare drop off followed by my favorite protein bar and a quick shower. I rarely skip a workout, but I did today. I didn’t get enough sleep while in Indianapolis with Curly for b-ball over the weekend. I went to bed early and slept until after 7 today. Totally worth it to skip the workout. My question: do you still work at the university? Is that something you do from home? Or do you go to work on set days?
Elisabeth
Belle makes all her own lunches. Indy can…but it’s a mess so I tend to just do it (second child always gets it easier, right?).
I do still work for a local university, but since the pandemic I work exclusively from home. I had a second, much bigger role at the university (so I had two separate positions), but I dropped that 1.5 years ago and have NEVER regretted that decision. I also do all the back-end work for our small business. My university job is also very seasonal – I only get paid for 2 hours a week in the summer, so it’s down to almost nothing (which I love). I’m enjoying the fact it’s final exam season and the demands on my time are plummeting.
Alexandra
Oh, I love getting a sneak peak into other people’s daily lives. It’s a reminder just how similar and yet, so diverse our lives are.
You’re definitely an early riser, I usually get up around 7:45. But I also cheat in an afternoon (not all afternoons) where I have a nap of around 45 mins. Otherwise, some days, I wouldn’t make it to 10:30. Personally, I would get up earlier and go to be bed earlier, sadly the OH is the opposite. They like to lie in (if they can get away with it) and then go to bed after 11pm (or later some times).
Oh, and that yogurt breakfast? Sounds delicious.
Elisabeth
In my perfect world I would get up at 7:30 am every morning. That’s what I did all through university and it was perfect. I am a high sleep needs kind of gal.
SHU
I love day in the life posts ALMOSTS as much as I love goals lists 🙂 Appreciated the level of detail!!
Those crepes look amazing and I am so impressed you just whipped them up spontaneously.
Elisabeth
I am letting you down this year with no official goals. But that reminds me that I really should revisit my progress on my “fun ideas” list. Which, let’s be real – are not all that different from a goals list.
Crepes are SO easy to make…but they do take forever. So spontaneously saying Yes was easy, but then it took 45 minutes to make 12 of them!
Lisa's Yarns
My mornings routine is so set in stone so I do the exact same things in the exact same order. But order is different for week days v weekends! On weekend mornings, I wear my glasses until Phil is up for the day – then I go into the bathroom to start my morning routine. On week days, I go right to the bathroom and do my morning routine (putting in contacts, brushing teeth, etc).
I go up to bed at 8:30-9 depending on how long I watch a show with Phil. Then I read until 9:45-10! I used to always stop reading around 9:30 but my bedtime has been slipping to around 10 most nights.
I love day in the life posts as everyone’s days are so varied! And reading this post reminded me that I haven’t told you that I really like the tubing mascara you recommended! I was reminded me when I saw it in your little bathroom caddy!
Elisabeth
I do not have a set routine at all, but not working outside the house and basically getting to set my own schedule plays a huge role in this, obviously!!!
I love not having glasses now, but contacts never worked for me so the first thing I did in the morning pre surgery was make sure I had my glasses on.
I also love DITL posts! It was fun documenting it in more detail as I paid attention to different things. I’m so glad you’ve liked the tubing mascara.