Week In The Life™ 2018 | Monday Words + Photos

Welcome to the first day of sharing for Week In The Life™ 2018. 

Today I'll be sharing my Monday photos and words and you are welcome to share a link to your own blog posts in the comments section. All my photos were taken with my Canon G7X (small camera that I use for travel + garden videos). This is just a personal choice I made this year vs. using my phone. As always, the best camera is usually the one you have with you. 

A couple notes about my photos: 

• To take self-portraits I used the timer on my camera (Aaron took a couple shots as well later in the day). 
• I am purposefully playing with light and letting my dark images be dark when there is a light source in the image. This camera can't go as low as the 2.8 on my Canon 6D, but it took some pretty cool images today and kept the dark parts dark and the light parts light. I like the challenge and the playfulness of that piece of this project. 
• You'll see some familiar angles (if you've been part of this community for awhile) and others that are new. I'm looking and experimenting with some different angles. 

Here's a look at my Monday via words and photos: 

I am 42 years old. It often shocks me when I remember that fact. I like being in my 40's. I like having life experience on my side and I like that I am still learning. 

The table beside my bed is overflowing with books to read. My phone, my watch, my kindle, and a rotating collection of books that are from my collection both old and new. 

Real life is that I told myself today I need to take a break on the number of books I've been buying lately. 

Right now I'm really working on incorporating movement/exercise most of my days. Today I walked 3-miles in the morning first thing (kids were still with their other parents until after school). I listed to the Autoimmune Wellness podcast and thought about ways I could be reducing our food waste (menu planning is definitely helping). 

Real life is that I am really proud of myself for continuing to show up. 

Blooms everywhere along my walk. On trees, on shrubs, and on the ground. 

Real life is that I love walking for the practice of observation - especially to be a witness to the seasons. 

After my walk I did one of Kait Hurley's exercise videos in the new space that Aaron has set up in the garage for working out. I love how she incorporates meditation at the end of each exercise. 

I cut my hair a few weeks back and lost probably around 6 inches. I don't do anything to it most days when I'm just here at home. 

Real life is that I have eyelash extensions that I totally love because I rarely wear makeup and I like how it makes me look like I have mascara on. 

I loved starting my day with exercise. I don't always get to do it on the mornings that the kids are here, but it's definitely my favorite time. 

Real life is that Sam somehow got out into the garage and during the meditation he started scratching on the door. Loudly. 

After showering I made myself some gluten free oatmeal with berries + almonds and green tea and carried it up to my office. It was about 10am when I sat down at my desk after exercising, showering, and moving laundry around. 

Real life is that this is just my work-task planner (I use a Get To Work Book). I use iCal for all the kid/family/personal scheduling. 

Real life is also that I quit coffee over a month ago and I'm honestly not missing it much at all. 

Katie and I were out of the office for most of last week so we had a bunch of catch-up work to take care of today. I also did a bunch of design work. 

Real life is that I continue to be so thankful for my job, for working from home, for Katie, for flexibility, for this community. 

Around 1pm I stopped for lunch which was leftover salmon + broccolini + cauliflower on top of some kale. I am totally a fan of leftovers for lunch.

Last year in June I cut out gluten and dairy from my diet and I haven't looked back. Overall I simply feel better. It's all been a part of my overall wellness journey that I'm still on right now. It's totally making me happy. 

Real life is that I still want to increase the number of vegetables I'm eating overall.

After lunch and back to my desk where I work for a bit longer before beginning the afternoon kid pick up. Today included a lot of design work for next year's One Little Word® products and for our second Day In The Life™ project later this fall. 

Real life is that there's almost always a cat in that basket - my little constant companion. 

Before heading out I usually stop downstairs in the office/music room that Aaron built himself in the garage. It's also the room we got married in here at our house. 

Real life is that our kid schedules are often in flux in terms of who is picking up and dropping off the McKercher kids. I'm going with the flow and getting better at it all the time. 

My first pick up is Simon. Some days I get Anna first and other days I get Simon first and Anna goes to an after-care program. Simon reminds me each day when he gets in the car that he'd like to have a girlfriend. Today he also told me some jokes that I did get on video and will likely share at some point. 

Real life is that I never know the mood of the kids until the get in the car. I always hope for the best. 

Next up we picked up Anna and then grabbed Isaac from his Mom's while the other two had after-school activities. 

Real life is that all the kids are getting huge. 

Real life is that Simon had his phone taken away (a consequence for not following the rules) so as I was reading the paper at lunch I saw that the Sunday New York Times had a whole section about movies coming out this summer. Giving him that section to read after school provided him with a ton of entertainment - especially when he saw this whole article about Animal House (he loves comedy so, so much). 

The lilacs are going crazy outside. I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked outside at any point today. I did go out for a bit and weed around some sugar snap peas that are making their way up some poles. 

Real life is that I can't bring lilacs in the house because the scent is too overwhelming. I tried again today and it's still true. 

Screen time for Anna. 

Real life is that we've had so many discussions about screen time recently (how much, when, boundaries, etc) and I don't think they are going away any time soon. 

Tonight I made Against All Grain's Meatloaf Meatballs from her Meals Made Simple cookbook. The whole process was made easier because I cooked the meatballs yesterday and just re-heated them today. 

Real life is that I have really been loving cooking. I feel like I went for such a long time not interested in it at all and now I've got my weekly routine down (shopping + planning on Saturday) and it's making me really happy. I love that it is making me slow down overall - letting other things go so I can focus on getting healthy food on all of our plates. 

Real life is that I made a turnip + parsnip mash and Elliott was the only kid who thought it was decent. Next time I'll just make potatoes.

Monday night is Scout's night for Simon. I asked him if he would come outside so I could take a photo of him (I hope to do this for each kid over the course of the week) and he agreed. He's super excited for the new Han Solo movie that's coming out later this month and the new Fantastic Beasts movie coming out later this year. 

Real life is that he is 6'1 and amazing. Scouts has been so good for him. 

Elliott hanging out on the couch for a bit after dinner and texting with some friends. 

Real life is that he's 11 and looks way older and regularly acts way older too. He skipped a grade (both he and Isaac skipped grades) which makes him younger than most of his peers even though he looks older. 

Anna was really excited for Audrey to be here tonight so the three of us could paint together (you can read more about how this started here). 

Real life is that I found this to be so relaxing and calming tonight. Sometimes I have a hard time slowing down - there are always a million more things on my list. I continue to remember that most of them will still be on my list tomorrow. 

The yard is totally waking up once again. And I'm a sucker for warm light inside a house coming through the windows. 

Real life is that those bags of planting compost have been in that same spot for a few months now. 

The light, the light, the light. 

Real life is that I still plan on painting all this white sooner or later. Saving up some money for the next phase of changes in our house (basically the downstairs). 

Audrey's painting. My painting. 

Real life is that she wanted to blow air through a straw to move the paint on the page and my first thought was about whether it was going to make a mess. I'm a work in progress. I love how it turned out. 

We ate our wedding dinner at this table. It was the best purchase I made last year. Having this extra area for homework or eating or painting is so great for all the people in this house. 

Real life is that the windows and the light and the green make my heart explode sometimes. 

Both girls came home to baskets of clean clothes to put away before bed. 

Real life is that we really need to plan a time to go through all their current clothes and figure out what fits and what doesn't. Tis the season as the school year begins to wind down. 

Real life is that Anna, just like me, is often first to bed after doing her jobs. 

As I wrap up this day it's 9:20pm and I'm so ready for bed + a little bit of reading before falling asleep. 

You are invited to share a link to your Monday words + photos in the comments below.