Story Play | Day In The LIfe™ | Ali's Day
When I first sat down today to get my Day In The Life™ photos into this post I was thinking I hadn't taken that many but I actually took a good representation of my day. Initially I thought I'd use my big camera for my documenting but pivoted to use my phone + watch for easy timer shots. I'm happy with that choice! As you'll see below I ended up getting myself in a lot of the photos by using the timer - I just set my phone down on a counter, table, etc and then use the timer function on my Apple Watch. It makes it so easy to get yourself into the photos.
BACKGROUND ON TODAY: When I picked this day for documenting I thought that this would be a pretty regular day at home sitting at my computer, working at my table, etc. It ended up that I had a bunch of things going on that were wonderfully representative of this season of my life (it just happened that it was all going on at once). Aaron has been out of town this week helping his Mom remodel a bathroom at her house. The kids are at their other houses but all three boys ended up here at different points throughout the day. The only kid I didn't see was Audrey. Some weeks when the kids are at their other houses I don't see them at all but in this season there's been a lot more flexibility based on their unique high school + post high school schedules.
Here's a look at September 18th, 2024:
My day begins with pets. Today I woke up to one of our cats gagging which woke Betty up and at that point the day begins (yippee). The cats have an auto feeder but they always seem to be at least 30 minutes ahead of the food distribution. Betty gets her food and her dental bone and vitamins and then heads outside. I usually stand outside on the porch and take a few deep breaths.
Today was a shower day and Betty is my shadow.
As I was taking photos today I can't help but think of all the times I've done this project before. I've taken this shot - or something similar - for many years now through different seasons of my life. Our room is a bit of a disaster right now with lots of things to be put away - feels like it's part of the seasonal transition.
This used to be a photo of kid toys. Now it's dog toys.
At my desk for a few minutes to check email and see what's in store for the day. I usually have a list of work things that are in progress. In this season I'm making a lot of "pacing" choices to reduce overall stress. I'm saying no to things in order to say yes to other things (like going to all Anna's volleyball games).
We are out of coffee beans but we had a little jar of ground beans leftover from camping so I used that to do a pour-over. While waiting for that I did the dishes from the last few days.
And emptied the dishwasher.
Next up was a walk with a friend and Betty. I try to do walks with a friend at least once a week, sometimes more. It's always a good time to check in and reconnect and get outside early in the day.
This is Ernie. He is basically Aaron and Isaac's cat. He's fierce and particular and a major hunter and Aaron and Isaac give him a ton of cuddling attention. He comes to me when he can't find them.
After our walk it was time for Betty to go to the vet for a tech appointment and vaccination. She's not a fan of the vet and gets a little medicinal assistance to help ease her anxiety. She did just fine.
Back at my desk for lunch and work. Today included some leftover chicken, grapes, olives, and fizzy water. I needed easy.
One of the projects I'm working on right now are Christmas collage trees. This is inspired by a project I did last year (). I'm using both the die cut pack of tress from the December Daily® collection and the tree die. I do a variety of layers and I LOVE IT. I'll share more on this in a blog post soon. It's a super fun project for me and I'm excited to be playing again!
She's never far away.
Except when she heads to other spaces in the house to sleep or hang out.
Elliott was here for a bit doing the stuff he does: music, friend hang outs, making food, etc.
Simon was here for a bit because he wanted to work on a film project in this house. He was getting batteries for some equipment here.
He's doing great!
It was a windows down on the drive kind of afternoon as I drove over to Anna's school to help with her volleyball team photos.
It feels full circle all over again to be back into using my big camera more regularly. For sports I'm using a Canon EOS R6 and a 70-200 lens. I got a new backpack recently to be able to bring "all the things" with me to the matches.
One of the big reasons I started getting into taking sports photos, besides a deep love of images, is that it helps ease some of my competitive anxiety. And I'm loving sharing them with the kids so they can see themselves as they are in this season of their lives.
Today I ended up assisting one of the coaches who is a professional photographer. I'm loving learning from her!
Anna + Keegan.
After all three teams had their photos taken I got to watch a little of Anna's practice while I waited for the Back To School Night to begin. You better believe I loved getting to sit and watch and listen to them talk strategy for an upcoming tournament with some big games on Saturday.
Back To School night included going to each of Anna's classes and having a 5 min intro to the teacher. Chris, Tiffany and I ventured around campus together laughing because we kept having to look at the map. Sitting in each of those classrooms was like a time machine back to my own high school experience. I loved school. I loved being in a learning environment.
In Anna's health class we were invited to write some words of wisdom for these sophomores and it could be general or specific to your kid. Chris wrote this to Anna. Last spring Anna played Lacrosse for the high school team while also playing club volleyball and it was A LOT and something had to give. It was a good season of learning about time management and focus and priorities. She's got some awesome goals for herself this year and we're here to support her along the way.
Back at home for a late dinner that I ate in my bed while starting The Perfect Couple.
It was a big, full day.
Thank you for coming along with me! I'll be back tomorrow with a look at the finished project!
