Week In The Life 2024 | Ali's Wednesday

Walking into the bathroom first thing and finding both cats on the counter is definitely worth a photo. Ernie (the one on the left) is an only-drink-from-running-water cat. Actually he really only drinks from faucets. We tried one of those cat fountains and he wasn't into that either. Sam (the one on the right - he's the one who is always in his basket in my office) has recently decided that he wants to drink only very fresh water also but he prefers it in a small dish. 

I took a shower first thing today and brought my phone in with me to listen to a podcast. I decided to try a new shower angle (I've played around with a few different shots in the past) and really liked how this one turned out. 

Audrey making her morning matcha latte on her way out the door to school. 

I made a lunch for Anna (most of the time the kids are responsible for this task for themselves) because she has high school spring volleyball practice after school followed by lacrosse practice and won't get home until around 8pm. It's a long day but she really has fun. 

Both sports have their own backpack, plus her school backpack, and her lacrosse stick. It's also a lot. She asked if I'd come back and drop off the lacrosse back pack after school because she was running a little late and wasn't going to have time to put it in her sports locker at school. 

I hustled back home for a 9am meeting and found Elliott getting breakfast for himself before heading out for school. 

Some days we have team meetings and today it was first thing. Katie runs the meeting and we talked about an upcoming class I'm working on for this summer (a "use your stash" class) and Pieces Of Joy (community week coming the week of May 6th) among other house-keeping items. 

More paint! More paint! More paint! 

Some days I have video calls with friends who don't live here to connect and catch up.  

Leftovers are highly valued around here. 

Yesterday Simon texted that he was having a not-so-great day so I invited him to come over today for dinner, or whenever he wanted. He came over around lunch time and showed me all the gear he's rented from his community college film program. Simon's tried a few different paths since graduating from high school and has landed on film studies (which if you've been around here for very long you know that makes a ton of sense). Simon has always, always loved movies. 

He has really been loving and growing in this program. He's having the best time learning how to take photos and shoot video and work with Photoshop and Lightroom and other programs. 

Can you guys believe that his path would end up intersecting mine in so many areas? 

I see you. You see me. 

This program has really let him lean into his own imagination and creativity. There are fewer rights and wrongs and more room for doing things different because one's own creative voice seems to be valued. 

I loved that he ended up over here during Week In The Life. 

Currently he's participating in an independent living program that teaches young adults with autism how to live on their own. He'll be moving up to the next level of independence later this summer and he's excited. 

He also got a job this summer with our local minor league baseball team as a camera person for their broadcast. He went to a training last week and he was giddy when telling me all about it. 

Some days Aaron chooses to work from our bedroom. He recently got glasses and he looks so good in them. 

Doing a load of towels (both kitchen and bathroom towels). Let's see if I remember to move them into the dryer before I go to bed. That giant white thing is a Litter Robot and it was worth every penny. 

Most days Ernie likes to sleep on Betty's bed in our room. He blends right in with Betty's pile of toys. 

Most days there are many, many pairs of shoes here. Sometimes no one knows who they belong to. 

Simon and I ate leftovers for lunch and then he took a nap on the couch with his feet hanging off the end. 

Elliott's room for the collection of room photos this year. 

Headed over to Anna's school to drop off her lacrosse backpack and stick after practice. She also asked me to bring her another set of contacts. 

One of my favorite things most days is watching Betty's ears flap in the wind as we drive down the road. 

After dropping Anna's stuff off I came home and asked Simon if he wanted to go to the a local plant nursery. I suggested he could bring his camera and play around with some shots. 

He had a couple of lego guys in his pockets (his leading characters) and set up some shots of a particular guy sitting next to his ice cream sandwich. 

I have a Substack newsletter in progress to talk more about Simon's recent creative photography adventures. My Substack is currently free and a place separate from this for me to share writing. It's just getting started and is called "Echoes + Evidence." You can check it out + subscribe here. The most recent post is about getting my nose pierced. 

I had fun looking at all the plants and bringing a few (or more than a few) home along with a new birdbath. My previous one cracked during an ice storm this past winter.

After our adventures at Johnson Brothers we came home and Simon worked on a homework assignment and I did a few more things on my list. 

Sometime soon I'm going to do a compilation of this photo of Simon over the years. I love that he still wants to come over and work on homework or just hang out. I love that he feels like it's a safe place to come to when the world feels hard. 

Aaron made burgers for Elliott and his friend and Simon. 

Gotta use up those tomatoes remember? 

Anna texted that she forgot her cleats for lacrosse and could I bring them? Remember all those backpacks she had in the morning? The cleats didn't make it in. I feel so thankful that her school is really close and it's not a big deal to just run things over there (and Betty gets to go for a ride so that's always a win). 

PS: Don't forget to take screenshots of text messages from this week!

When I got home from dropping off Anna's cleats Simon and I watched a bit of the Tiger documentary on Disney+ (while he ate the burger). He took off not too long after because he'd gotten a text message from a friend inviting him to laser tag + pizza with her church group. He said that one text message made up for his bummer day yesterday. 

I cooked a late dinner for me and Anna after I picked her up from lacrosse practice. I used a pork loin that Aaron had cooked for me on the BBQ earlier to make pork noodles with rice noodles, pork, celery, green onion, kale, chicken broth, and soy sauce. It was super simple + really good. 

And then I came upstairs to finish up this post. 

Today was a good day. 

I got to see Simon. I got to do work I love. I got to buy some new plants. I got to support Anna with drives and meals. I got to watch Betty's ears flapping in the wind with her head out the backseat window. I got to walk into rooms of my house and run into Aaron who still makes my heart skip a beat (man that is super cheesy but I write the truth). I got to wear bright red pants. I got to meet with my team who help me get to do the things I want to do. I got to take photos that are evidence of my existence. I got to put together a bunch of words to go with those photos. I got to catch up with a friend on the phone. I got to paint on canvas and in an art journal. I got to watch Simon doing something that he seems to be truly enjoying that's mentally and emotionally and creativity stimulating. I got to eat pork noodles. I got to listen to Stevie Nicks.