Friday, October 7, 2011

Day In The Life (& Winners)

Life really is made up of the ordinary moments. A cup of hot coffee. A satisfying dump. A syrupy kiss from your kid as they head out the door. Changing the sheets. Putting dinner in the crockpot. Adding finishing touches to a report. Lighting a pumpkin sugar Yankee candle and letting it burn all day, filling the house with sweet aroma and covering up the odor of the satisfying dump.

This is precisely why I like to do my “day in the life” posts. Not because my life is so exciting. It is not. But, because these posts represent the every day wonderfulness of a life full of the small, exquisite details. All of them imperfect and perfect at the same time, if you know what I mean.

My day started at 1:30 a.m. when, for no apparent reason (except maybe the two glasses of wine from the night before), I could not sleep. I finally gave up and went downstairs to read this book for a bit:

I crawled back into bed by 3:30 a.m. and heard Ken’s reassuring question, “Are you okay?” No matter what time of night or early morning I get up for lack of sleep, Ken always checks in with me that way. I love him just a bit.

Back to sleep and startled by the alarm at 5:45 a.m. Time to get Sam off to basketball practice. I shower, dress, put the coffee on and wake up child #2, who suffers very, very much in the morning. I rub her back, coaxing her out of her warm covers. She scowls, but asks me to stay with her a bit longer.

I head out for a work appointment, enjoying my car ride. Yes, I drew those lines on my forehead with a Sharpie before I left home:

bethcar

And some construction, which makes me cuss.

construction

Afterwards, I head into Boulder, but not before taking in one of the best views around:

boulderview

You all really should move here. Really.

I stopped at Whole Foods for some over-priced healthy crap. I made a pit stop and was reminded of how PC Whole Foods and Boulder really are. Or maybe they just don’t want women whipping out tits by the salad bar.

lactationroom

I did not turn left because I am not at the moment lactating. I was tempted, however, to visit with the women who were lactating and reminisce about when my boobs were big and leaked all the time and were a food source for another human being.

But instead I grabbed one of these and a breakfast blend coffee:

almondcroissants

The almond croissant. You have not lived until you have had the almond croissant. When I lived in Paris (yeah, I am so worldly) I would go to the corner Patisserie every morning for a warm croissant au amande. I’m pretty sure they are filled with liquid meth or crack. There is actually a recipe to make your own but I’m not stupid enough to try. I’ll leave that up to a real cook like Eat, Live, Run.

Home again to work, write, get kids and start dinner (home made pizza with a a little help from Whole Foods – their pizza dough is really good and cheap).

pizza

But, something is missing! No running, no workout at all today. I am tapering for the Denver Half on Sunday. Which is funny, because I’m not sure how you taper from training that never existed in the first place, but I’m doing it.

I’d love to read about your day in the life. Consider yourself TAGGED. Everyone who does it is entered to win a Shut Up + Run tech shirt (only small or medium available) or a Shut Up + Run visor. I’ll pick a winner based on creativity! The only rules are that you must include a few pictures and it has to be little, everyday stuff. So if you work as a heart transplant doctor or you do “Last Chance Workouts” at the Ranch, no need to enter.

Let me know with a comment if you’re playing along. Posts need to be up by Tuesday, October 11.

What was your favorite small detail of your day?

Ever hang out in a lactation room?

SUAR

The winners of the Marathon Bar prize packs are:

#8: Josiah from the Incredibly Shrinking Man
#44: Marlene from Mission to Another Marathon
#113: Becky C. from Becky’s Blog
#118: Melissa from Double Jogger Diaries
#303: PJ from PJ Runs

Email me at beth@shutupandrun.net with your mailing address!

59 comments:

  1. Oh lord. I'll play. I'm very boring, and stay at home with our daughter, so I can't promise it will be very exciting.

    Will I have to get out of pajamas? This is going to be harder than I thought.

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  2. I was conceived in Colorado!!
    Can I come live with you for a couple weeks? It looks amazing there. Would seriously love to visit soon...
    Count me in for a day in the life--great idea for a blog post (not that my life is very exciting at all but it's fun)

    When is the deadline????

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  3. Dammit no marathon for me here either.
    Ok. Day in the life coming up.
    Happy RnR racing this weekend!

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  4. How about Sunday...I woke up at 4am, in a hotel in Milwaukee. I got dressed, ate a dry bagel and scraped the ice off my windows of my car. Yikes. Off to downtown, board a school bus and head noth about 27 miles. Enter a high school stopping in the locker room first. Its now 6 am. Go outside, find my team, link up to the rope. There are 61 others on my rope. The sun is coming up! Its a beuatiful day on the lakeshore in Wisconsin, The gun goes off and a human centipede called the Jennipede takes off running! Not only did we raise over 112K for jenny Crain's make it Happen fund, but we BROKE the world record for Most Runners Tethered Together to finish a marathon! Woo Hoo. So, run/walk fast for 6 hours, 20 minutes. Sign documents, unleash, and graze on race snacks. Drive home, take shower. Eat everything in the fridge and then fall asleep in the chair. I can't paste a photo in this box, but here is a link.http://muskego.patch.com/articles/muskego-runners-put-in-strong-times-at-lakefront-marathon#photo-7990826. Pretty cool, huh? It was a good day!

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  5. Jennifer Weiner is one of my fav authors and not because her last name reminds me of a penis.

    GOOD LUCK this weekend running for Team marathon! I want to be your neighbor!!

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  6. I just read this book, she is one of my favorite authors.

    Ok, I'll play along. I have nothing better to blog about and I would love to bore the snot out of people by posting a day in the life of an accountant.

    Have fun on Sunday at Denver R&R!

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  7. Your scenery...awesome! We did just move out here to Denver and as much as I hate my 45 minute commute I love the views I get! :)

    And I'll definitely play along, but not until Monday as I actually have semi-exciting stuff going on over the weekend!

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  8. Day in the Life posts are fun - count me in! I'll post one next week.

    Have fun at RnR Denver!

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  9. I'll definitely play along, either this weekend or on Monday!

    Is that Boulder view the one at the top of the hill on the turnpike coming down from Louisville? As long as I've lived here, I still can't get over that view!!

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  10. My day isn't very old but so far my favorite moment has been having one of my new kitten babies come curl up in my armpit, with her head on my shoulder, purring, then reach out with her soft little paw and pat me on the face. Wasn't a bad way to wake up.

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  11. Best part of my day. I had just finished a 4 mile run on my treadmill when my 3 year old walked into the room. He had the handtowel from the kitchen thrown over his shoulder, his water bottle in his hand and said, "Okay, now it's my turn." I guess I'm making a positive impact on my kids afterall LOL

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  12. Heather: yep, that's the one. Like you, I never tire of it. So amazing. The other one I love is when you are on I-70 going west near Evergreen and you come over that hill and have the most amazing view of the Continental Divide.

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  13. I'll play because every day on my blog is a "day in the life" and includes many unflattering photos of myself. Does it count if I say just read any post on my blog? http://carolinecalcote.com Oh, I'm a wannabe runner, loser of 100#, three year maintainer, Mom to two little boys. I can not wear a small or a medium...I'm an XL kind of girl so I'd love a visor.

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  14. I love "a day in the life" posts!!

    OMG the almond croissants look amazing. Must stay far far away from those.

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  15. I will do a day in the life. Later this weekend. Doing it during the week would be the last straw for the American economy. Everybody reads SUAR, and if all of them read my day in the life, the fragile economy can't take having so many people going to sleep at once. The insomnia cure people would sue me for resriction of trade or something.

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  16. Yeah! I can't believe I won. I sent you an email.

    Those almond crossants look amazing. I might just have to go to whole foods today to get one. There is one next door to the gym, which I have to go back to today AGAIN, and use a whole gallon of gas b/c I left my wet soggy bathing suit on the bathroom counter. Gross. It is my brand new one too, and I never go to the gym on the weekends, which means I have to go back today. It would make for an interesting day in the life post today, except that I got some pretty cool things in the mail that I want to post about instead, rather than a soggy lost bathing suit.

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  17. Yesterday, awake when I heard small kindergartener feet shuffle into my room. Then silence. I open one eye as he stands next to the bed, stuffed dog in hand. After a moment of staring, he climbs up and over me, snuggling into the middle. Cozy. Quiet. For 36 blissful nanoseconds.

    And from there, go-go-go. Make breakfast. Pack lunch. Why do your pants look funny; did you really put them on over your pajamas? Undress and re-dress kid. Drive to school in the rain. Gym, where I try to aim low and be faithful to the taper. Supermarket: why are there no overripe bananas when I need them for banana bread?

    Home. Shower. Client emails. Writing blog posts for a client. Working on my presentation for my upcoming conference. Headache. Need caffeine. Off to the coffee shop. More presentation. More emails. Time to get the boy.

    The kid is soaking wet from playing kickball in the puddles. Home. Strip him down to underwear. Homework. Cook dinner. Concede TV time because my brain needs the break. More emails on my phone.

    Dinnertime. Husband announces that his evening meeting is canceled so I can meet my Team in Training buddies at the brewpub. Yay! Bathtime for the boy. Bedtime stories. Mommy is now off duty.

    Walk to the brewpub as the rain clouds start to break. Drink the best beer ever, the first I've had in weeks of training. Hang with the Team and heckle the New Yorker at the next table (we became good buddies by the end of the evening). Walk home in the cold, damp air under a clear autumn sky and bright moon. Walk past the laptop, leaving emails unanswered. Curl up in bed with the new Runner's World. Sleep.

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  18. Here's a little post about Island Life - perfect for Halloween! http://di-tri-ing.blogspot.com/2011/10/island-life.html

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  19. Oh I love your "day in the life" you make the tiny details sound so good!

    I wanna play too.

    My favorite tid-bit was (we are currently stopping breast feeding. it's not a completely cold turkey thing...mostly because of me.) Anyway, a fav tid-bit was that first eyes-half-shut-smile-mouth-full I got from my little guy as he nursed. I'm going to really miss that. I look forward to whatever great little detial in life takes it's place!

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  20. Dude... "Lactation" is another one of my middle names ;-) Seriously, I have been lactating for 12+ years now. The weird stuff you learn in comments...

    Sometimes if you need a rest, those lactation rooms are pretty awesome... usually there are really comfy chairs.

    I will play the game :)

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  21. Ok I'm in becuase I've nothing better to post about!

    I two love the same views 36 and I-70 but add to that the veiw on 285 when you come over Kenosha pass and look down on Jefferson.

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  22. I lived outside of Lake City, Colorado for awhile when I worked at a camp out there. Nothing beats Colorado! I was born and raised in Arkansas (which is why I still am currently), but I dream of making back to Colorado again. You just can't beat it!

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  23. i'll play. I can't guarantee any excitement, but I CAN guarantee awkward pictures.

    Good luck running this weekend!

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  24. Can I qualify with my previous post that I did after you did your other DITL back in July? Here it is: http://specialkkluthe.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/a-day-in-the-life/ (Full disclaimer - I just added the shoutout to you today but I PROMISE it was after your prompting before that I did my other.) If not, I can do one again. But I'm trying not to turn anyone off from my blog more than I have to. ;)

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  25. So bummed I'm not doing the Denver half this year. First time in two year. :-(

    Here we go. I woke up at 3.45 am to my 3 mnth old cooing in her bassinet next to my bed telling me to get my ass up and feed her.

    4.15-fed, diaper changed and dressed for the day, play time right?

    4.30-baby still being adorable and cooing at me, no point in going back to bed.

    5.20-Put baby back in bed next to sleeping husband and head to work-Yeah early

    6.20 arrive and work and head immediately to the family restroom aka my lactation room for a pump and a quick catnap

    work and multiple pumps later...

    2.15 time to go home!

    Hopefully I'll get in a quick nap before going to pick up my baby. Then feeding, play, feeding, my dinner, bath, feeding and down she'll go so I can get some time with the hubs.

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  26. i like this. i'm in. :)

    i draw those same lines with a sharpie on my face too. who knew we were all such line drawing weirdos?

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  27. That's funny, I actually DO want to move there!!! Just don't know how to start...

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  28. My wife is loving Jennifer's new book... Glad to hear things are going well.

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  29. I will do it!!!!! I am sure everyone will be so damn jealous after they see my day...oh well.

    Yeah, I should really move to Colorado sometime!! ;)

    btw, I just returned from the expo, via a funeral I had to quickly attend after...not overly exciting but there's a few good things there. Was nice to see an expo not change at all in the year and half hiatus from expoing!

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  30. I will do it!!!!! I am sure everyone will be so damn jealous after they see my day...oh well.

    Yeah, I should really move to Colorado sometime!! ;)

    btw, I just returned from the expo, via a funeral I had to quickly attend after...not overly exciting but there's a few good things there. Was nice to see an expo not change at all in the year and half hiatus from expoing!

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  31. Love this idea and LOVE that you are tapering from non-existent training. I do that all the time. I'm like, "Ooooh, I have the taper crazies!" when really I'm just normally crazy, and lazy to boot.
    I will post my day in the life when I'm back from vacay because a day in the life of pharmacy is more interesting than telling you how I sat on my booty and ate sanck mix all day.

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  32. I'll play and I can certainly will look awesome in the SUAR tech shirt.

    5:00 got up/got ready for work (even though it was my off day from work - go figures?)

    5:30 Breakfast

    5:45 Half awake still and literally went through my whole closet to look for pencil skirt and blue shirt while crossing my fingers and praying that they will match in natural light (things look very different in the dark)

    5:50-6:30 Drove to work - listened to rerun of the radio show clip where people call in to see if their spouses are cheating on them

    6:31 Arrived at work. Parked. Walked to office door.

    6:33 Greeted colleagues in elevator- when them staring puzzlingly at why the heck I am wearing running shoes while wearing a skirt.

    6:34 Logged on. Preparing to-do list while getting coffee...

    6:36 finally logged on...*darn computer* start working the to-do list

    FAST FORWARD 3.5 hours of work

    10:20 Almost blew up at the co-worker on the phone because I just got more work (on my off day)

    10:21 Apologized about being a bit short tempered and distract the colleague by talking about my 10 mile race tomorrow

    10:45 Walked in to get ready to present to big bosses and grand -bosses (yes, boss' boss is called grandboss)

    10:45:30 was told that the meeting was running long...my part was delayed by 15 mins

    11:15 Lunch meeting! Everyone munched while I present :)

    11:30 presentation over

    11:45 got back to my desk. Wrapped up work - crossed off a few more items on to-do list

    1:19 Left work. Big Boss said GREAT JOB

    1:19:30 Smile then start thinking about how much fun my 10 miler will be at 7:30am tomorrow :) YAY!

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  33. Oooh! Fun. I have lots of random and ordinary crap going on in my day.

    I want to include the class that I teach at community college, so I will try to have this done by Monday night. :)

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  34. Am currently working on a post about my daily life with a newborn so consider me in!

    It'll be up in the next day or so.

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  35. So I'm guessing my day where I took my son home from the hospital after lung resection and then dropped my folks off at Chichen Itza for the morning while I swam in a cenote and then headed back home (after being in Merida for a month (hospital for above son)) and back to the Caribbean for evening is too out of the ordinary? :) Love your DOLs. :)

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  36. Favorite part of my "normal" day was going to the vegetable stand on the corner...makes me feel so grateful to live where we can eat local produce. I bought some tomatoes, squash, and a half bushel of green chilis to freeze. LOVE western Colorado. :)
    I want to do the contest.

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  37. Here is a link to my day in the life of:

    http://50halfmarathonsin50states.blogspot.com/2011/10/its-friday-friday.html

    (I've taken a pic of that view driving into Boulder many times. It still never captures how gorgeous it really is though).

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  38. I'm playing!

    My post is up on my blog: http://missionhotbodafterbaby.blogspot.com/

    VERY mundane every day stuff - nothing interesting over at our place!!

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  39. I'm In!

    Lactation Room? I don't think we have those here? I just whipped it out!

    Enjoyment of the Day? My coffee, Bible Study about Attitude, Invoices sent out and finally getting to write this post.

    Yee Haw!!

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  40. Construction make me cuss too! Sadly there is SO MUCH construction in DC Metro....BOO.

    You might be the funniest blog I've ever read. I literally laugh out loud!

    xo
    Sarah
    Get Up & Go

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  41. I love this. I think I'll be joining in on the fun. Do you take pics of the poop or just the bathroom? That is a huge part of my day you know.

    Go get 'em today my friend. The course is yours.

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  42. Forgot to add that, yes. I have spent lots of time in lactation rooms. Did you know that they have one at Legoland?!?!

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  43. Great post - I'll play along, my post is up at:

    http://andrea-lifeisbeautiful.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-in-life.html

    Thanks for the chance to win a super cool SUAR shirt!

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  44. I played... http://theblindbride.weebly.com/2/post/2011/10/day-in-the-life.html

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  45. So, I didn't really write a new post to enter, but I realized that my family blog is pretty much the weekly version of your "a day in the life". I updated it last night. Can it count? I will warn you, it is horrendously boring because it as a week long account of what I do with the kids. Last week was a little more exciting b/c I colored my hair, got my Boston acceptance, and my parents came to town.
    http://melissaryanandkeira.blogspot.com/2011/10/grandma-and-grandpa-visit-to-celebrate.html

    I have been doing this almost every week for over the past 4 years. No one reads it except myself, my husband, and the grandparents. Sometimes my husband doesn't even read it.

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  46. I'll play - lots of pictures - although I even bored the dog.

    http://familyfitnessfood.com/a-day-in-the-life/

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  47. Thanks Beth!!!

    That pizza looks to dieeeeee for! Can you send me some of that too?? :)

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  48. I'm a new follower, sent over by Carrie and Family Fitness Food. I will have to do A Day in the Life post soon. My favorite little detail of the day is the bedtime routine, I love reading to my girls and tucking them in. I've never hung out in a lactation room, because I was the type to whip my tit out anywhere!

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  49. DONE!!

    http://johnsonjocks.blogspot.com/

    That was fun. :)

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  50. Here it is: http://spinningitall.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/day-in-the-life/

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  51. Will put up a "day in the life" post on Tuesday. Too groggy this morning to remeber pics so have to recreate my morning rush. I would LOVE a visor! Don't own any.

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  52. I just posted my day...a pretty normal Monday for me!

    http://runaroundaroo.com/2011/10/10/a-day-in-the-life/

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  53. Posted my day in life recap of last Friday...
    http://cupcakemay.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-in-life.html

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  54. KA-BAM!

    http://innerhippie.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/shut-up-and-blog/

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  55. I'm in!!!

    http://ingi-onefootinfrontoftheother.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-in-life.html

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  56. I will play along although I might be to late for the contest not sure why I didn't see this sooner!! but it will be fun none the less

    www.runmommyrun-erica.blogspot.com

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  57. Done! And just under the wire... ;)

    http://i-run-like-a-girl.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-in-life.html

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