Week In The Life™ 2023 | Ali's Monday

Happy Week In The Life™ documenting week! I'm so excited to be embarking on this project again. 

In this post I'm sharing my photos and some words from Monday. I didn't use a specific story lens today, rather I simply let myself take the photos that I felt like taking. After just my first few photos this morning I was really glad that I'd made the decision to take most of my photos this week with my DSLR. I am wholeheartedly welcoming the challenge to shoot in Manual mode as I capture my week. 

Last weekend I posted a message on my Instagram account about letting the week be what it is. That's my goal: simply capture what is real right now. 

Let's dive in. 

Pour over coffee first thing after getting up around 6:45am and feeding Betty. 

I harvested these from the pots in my yard last Sunday. They are the last of the daffodils for this season and they have been such a joy to look out at in my backyard this past month.

This is real life. 

And Betty waiting by the door. In and out and in and out. She loves being outside and she loves being inside with me. Hard choices. 

I always tell people not to clean up before diving into this project. It's not about having a clean house, it's about your season of life. This is my season: seed packets and gardening books on the table and bench and counter. Puffy coat on the chair. Dog waiting by the door. 

A messy Monday morning sink. A variety of glasses leftover from the night before when we had a bunch of teens here. Most days recently Aaron's been emptying the dishwasher and doing the dishes. Today I did them. 

Most mornings we sit together either here or outside when it's warm. She just turned one last week and she's a complete joy. 

Anna having some breakfast before riding with Elliott to school. He got his license recently and has been taking the girls to school on mornings when they are here. That's a big change in my routine and one that's given me a bit more space to start my day at a different pace. I still like to get up early and be around as they get ready for school. 

Anna and Audrey are almost done with 8th grade. 

Betty welcomes everyone. She loves Audrey and is often most excited to see her. 

She's also shedding like a maniac right now. Dog hair every where. 

Be Real for breakfast. I love the looking over the shoulder angle. 

Off to school. 

Seriously. They are huge and they are awesome. They both really like school and the still really like each other. 

That's what I saw (photo above) and this is what she saw (photo below): 

That pretty much sums me up right now. Barefoot. Dog on a leash. Camera in hand. 

The cardboard on that grassy spot is one of my many gardening projects in progress. 

After the kids are gone I go back inside and do the dishes and refill our dish soap container and take a deep breath for the next phase of the day. 

I've been trying to start my days with a little time outside - even 15-30 minutes can cross a few tasks off my list. Today I put a few more seeds in the ground (Brussels + broccoli). 

This year I'm growing more vegetables/food. My approach is super loose and I'm only direct sowing seeds (no seed starts). I'll probably pick up a couple pumpkin + tomato starts but the rest I'm experimenting with seeds. 

After a little time doing some tasks out in the yard (which Betty loves) I head up to my desk to begin my work day. 

Just that little bit of exercise running around outside in the back makes her a happy dog. 

On my wall. 

On my table. 

Saying hit to Aaron. He also works from home so we cross paths at certain times of the day. 

Putting on some mascara before doing a live this morning. 

Loved doing a live this morning with Lisa on the AED Instagram account talking about this project. 

When I needed to get up from my desk for a bit I ventured into Anna's room (Simon's old room) for a couple photos of what's real in there. 

And did the same thing in Audrey's room. 

Love letting the light parts of the photo be light and the dark parts be dark. 

I also hadn't seen Betty for a bit so I wandered downstairs and found her with Aaron while he ate breakfast. 

Peanut butter + jelly on GF toast for me. A little peanut butter for her. 

I take breaks during the day to let her outside. Today was the first day - in what feels like a very long time - that it was nice outside. While she gets a little fresh air and goes to the bathroom I do a task or two. 

And take a few photos of my lovely friends outside. 

One of the last daffodils. 

A tulip beginning to open. 

I got a little white rolling cart to hold some of my art journaling supplies so I put that together in the afternoon. 

Most of my day was spent editing video at my desk. 

She lets me know when it's time to be done for the day. Today that was around 4pm because the girls had rides after school to volleyball. 

Around 4pm today I transitioned from my computer back downstairs to doing a few errands, taking my meds and waiting for Aaron to get back from Costco so I could help unload.

We go to Costco every couple weeks for a variety of basics. Isaac was helping unload today. 

Aaron is really into bananas. He's hoping to freeze some of these for smoothies once they get more ripe. We go through a lot of these when the kids are here. 

Aaron unloads the car and I unload it all into the fridge and pantry. 

Isaac made the choice to come home after two terms in college and we support him investigating other options for this season of his life. He's currently devising the plan for his next chapter. 

He told me he downloaded a new game where you get to be the boss of a NBA team (and for someone who knows as much as he does about basketball it seems like a perfect match). 

Betty always wants someone to come outside with her to play or walk around. She likes the company. 

Sam loves coming outside when it's nice too. 

After putting the Costco stuff away I started dinner prep. We did a Korean ground beef with veggies and rice. I'm in a season where I'm enjoying cooking for the most part (more challenging on days I'm feeling overwhelmed of course). While prepping I listened to Led Zeppelin as I'm trying to listen to less news. 

Aaron picked the girls up from volleyball practice and they were back around 7:30pm. Everyone was in good spirits. 

The girls and I ate together on the couch and we all laughing about something here. 

Sometimes we eat on the couch. Sometimes we eat at the table. Sometimes we eat together. Sometimes we eat at separate tables. There are always a lot of moving pieces here during the week. 

Wrapping up the day doing the dishes and chatting and watching a show together. 

Overall Monday was a pretty typical day in this season of life. We've experienced a big shift with Simon moving out - I'm probably the one who is impacted the most by this. Things are simply different and I'm really thankful for this opportunity to document the basic rhythms.  

This year I've also asked the kids to share one photo a day with me. If I have them by the time I put this post together I'll include them. I told them they can send me anything they want from their day. 

From Simon: 

In case you missed it, Simon moved into an independent living program earlier this year. He's loving the experience and currently taking some classes at our local community college. 

From Audrey: 

She's a super fan of the .5 lens on the iPhone. 

From Anna: 

Anna and her friend Aune (she's basically the 6th kid around here and she's great). 

From Isaac: 

Ernie and Issac are the best kind of friends.