A Day in My Life | Pre-Nursing School Edition
Last time I did a Day in the Life post, lots of you asked for more of 'em.
So on a relatively recent day, I jotted down what I was up to. I got the idea mid-morning, though, so that's where we pick up with my day. 🙂
I have my final orientation today, and nursing school officially starts tomorrow....so, at some point during the semester, I'll do another day-in-the-life because it's gonna be a lot different from here on out!
10:00-11:00
I:
- started a pot of milk for homemade yogurt
- scooped Chiquita's litter and took the trash out
- made myself some breakfast. While I ate I scrolled Facebook Marketplace because Sonia is looking for a chest to keep at the end of her bed for stuffed animals and blankets.
- made my bed
- made coffee
- rubbed some oil on my marinating spice-rubbed flank steak from my freezer challenge
11:00-12:00
I unloaded my dishwasher.
I drank my coffee and texted with Sonia. I also was messaging with someone on Facebook Marketplace about a chest for Sonia, trying to figure out the size and if it was solid wood or not.
I do not wanna take on another fake wood project, please and thank you!
My recent fake wood project, which has de-inspired me from doing any more such projects:
Anyway, I shared the day's blog post on my Facebook page and in my Facebook group, and also sent it out to my email subscribers.
And I responded to some blog comments.
I always read all the comments (usually on my phone's WordPress app), but I also try to pop in several times a day on my computer and respond to comments as well. I figure conversations are much more fun when more people are participating. 🙂
Luckily for me, I can respond to comments right from my WordPress dashboard, so that makes it a little easier!
I did a few other odds and ends:
- I sent the Meet a Reader questions to a reader who asked to participate.
- I submitted a healthcare bill to the health insurance website.
- I realized I could downgrade my Acorns app to a $1/month version, so I did.
12:00
I wrote down my day so far.
After that, I stirred yogurt starter into my hot milk, poured it into jars, and put them into the cooler.
Then I decided, hmm, maybe I will do a little furniture work. So, I put some wood filler on the side of the scuffed table.
Chiquita inspected my work.
12:30
As often happens when I just get started on something, I decide to keep going.
So, I chose to prime the nightstand that I'd sanded the other day. It's one of the last pieces I have from the abandoned house.
I moved all the pieces outside, got out my priming supplies, put my earbuds in, got my fan going, and started to work on my furniture.
By the time I had the nightstand primed, the wood filler on the scuffed table was dry, so I hauled that outside, sanded it down, and primed it as well.
2:30
I did not fit in a walk when I got up, so I decided to do that. I walked about 2 miles and got back at 3:00.
3:00
I took a pretty darn cold shower, blew dry my hair, put lotion on my face, and did some super minimal makeup. At 3:00 pm I'm not that motivated to do much in the beauty department.
(Ok, scratch that. At any time of day, I'm not that motivated to do a lot in the beauty department. Ha.)
I feel like I'm missing some time here because it does not take me a whole hour to shower and get dressed. I don't know what activities are missing.
If I had Instagram installed on my phone, I'd immediately make the assumption that I wasted time scrolling there, but...my phone is currently Instagram-less.
(If you're new....generally I install Instagram in order to post something, and then I uninstall it almost immediately because I LACK SELF CONTROL. And if I have Instagram on my phone, I will waste time on it. Guaranteed.)
4:00
I put my yogurt jars in the fridge. Then I...
- had a snack of cheese, crackers, and some sliced mango
- chatted with Zoe
- went through the mail
- scanned a paper and sent it to my CPA
- scanned some receipts with Fetch (and woohoo, I got a 250-point bonus!)
- sent a health insurance card to a therapist for updated record-keeping
- washed the painting container/roller that I used for priming
- tidied up my kitchen a bit
And then I got started on the next day's blog post.
5:00
More working on the blog post.
And I ate some cucumbers and cream cheese because I was still hungry.
Full disclosure: I wanted to eat the pudding and whipped cream that I saw in the fridge, but I decided to eat something a little more nutritious. 😉
5:30
I worked on dinner prep and listened to podcasts in my earbuds while I cooked and prepped. This was the night I cooked the flank steak that I've already told you about!
And I coordinated with the Facebook seller and Sonia to get a time set up to go see a chest that was for sale.
6:30
I ate dinner with Zoe and her friend Maddie, who was over for a sleepover.
7:00
I left my house to go pick up Sonia so that we could take a peek at the wooden chest from Facebook Marketplace.
We looked at it, bought it, loaded it up in my car, and then I dropped Sonia back off and headed back to my own house, chest in tow, because I'm gonna paint it for Sonia. 🙂
8:15
I arrived back home and cleaned up the dinner mess I'd left.
I also covered one-half of the watermelon with my handy-dandy silicone cover (the 20 cm is great for most watermelons!) and I cut up the rest to store in a Pyrex dish.
I brought my primed furniture inside to save it from the overnight humidity and I took my trash cans to the curb.
9:00
I caught up on my time tracking for this post and also finished up tomorrow's post.
I brushed my teeth, washed my face, did my daily Duolingo practice, and got into bed, where I read a few pages of Maggie Smith's book "Keep Moving".
And then by 10:00 it was time for sleep.
_________________
I predict that the next edition of this is gonna include a whole lot more studying and a lot less furniture-painting. 😉
P.S. The chest for Sonia is actually almost done; I'll show it to you once I bring it over for her. And the scuffed table is getting close; my first week of nursing school is light so maybe I can get it finished up!
Hi Kristen, I wish you a smooth and fun start at nursing school. May you enjoy your studies and find them easy enough so that you have got enough time and energy to maintain relationships important to you, for your walks and hobbies and last not least for your blog.
Have a nice day!
Lea
I can’t wait to see the $5 table at last, and the abandoned house nightstand is also lovely—such good bones! Congratulations on finding the wooden chest you were after, as Sonia will get so much use out of it. My Dad is an amazing carpenter, and my childhood toy chest with inlaid sides lives on as our coffee table and storage for fragile keepsakes.
If ever you’re short on post ideas, I think it would be neat to see a room by room break down of your furniture costs (or lack thereof) after having to start from scratch. You should be proud of the beautiful home you’ve made with minimal cost and maximum creativity!
@N, I have been meaning for a long time to take the top of my childhood toy chest to a carpenter and have it built to the right size. The top is where my father, a wonderfully talented artist, painted my first name and middle name, when I was four. Could never part with it.
Happy back-to-school! I have always loved back-to-school time. I'm not much into furniture re-finishing, but even I would attempt something with that chest.
Wishing you the best on this new and wonderful adventure! You are going to be a wonderful nurse.
I am excited for everyone going back to school; especially my grand daughter who dislikes school and you! I always love to hear about older people going back to school to pursue what they really want to do. Maybe its jealousy since I've been at my job for 32 years and I just sit behind a desk. But when it is a degree in something that is really tough like nursing, I am in awe. Or maybe its because I was never really taught or pressured into studying so I find it to be very tough.
Good luck to you and I can't wait to hear about all your studying! But remember to save time for you!!!
P.S. @Kristen, looking forward to a first day of school picture!
I am giving you top marks for cleaning the brushes and rollers so promptly - I hate that part of Diy jobs. Chiquita is a very droll cat by the way.
Would your brother be willing to let you share some abandoned house before/after pictures?
Have a great start of the week and of your semester!
@J NL, I was just thinking the same thing about the no-longer-abandoned house. +1 to this question.
GOODLUCK at school! We all are behind you.
Can’t wait for the after furniture pics.
Congrats on starting school, Kristen! You'll rock it.
No one is starting school this year at our house, which seems a bit strange. I always loved starting school, except after freshman year of college. College was so much harder than high school, I was in shock. They expected me to study, for heaven's sake! I never studied in high school.
@Rose, ooh, same, and also I completely underestimated how hard it was going to be without my sister. Blindsided! Took nearly 'til Thanksgiving to get my feet under me.
@Rose, @Karen, when my daughter was at her college orientation, they told them to look around at all the kids that were there. And then remember that half of them won't make it past the first semester. A lot of them did not, including her roommate who was always wondering why she studied so much.
I don't think I'd've survived it without BFF! We took a lot of the same classes, including the poli sci class in which we met. We had to use SPSS for our final project (I cannot believe that 40 years later, SPSS is still rolling around) and BFF flatly refused because she couldn't understand or use a computer and refused to learn. So to keep her from flunking, I wrote her paper as well as mine (a huge violation of the honor policy, which I could have gotten in real trouble for) and she got a better grade on it than I did. Heh.
In later years, we'd go do laundry and trade off our German flashcards. I miss her so much.
@Rose, Thanks for your honesty. Retired college teacher here. It always made me sad to have to flunk students who didn't study, often because they couldn't. They didn't know how. Some managed to learn, real fast, but I always thought it was wasted potential and a black mark for high schools.
What a lovely look into what seems like just an ordinary day, but in fact is infused with productivity, good eats, pleasant exercise, and family time. I often struggle with getting started so this really encouraged me: "As often happens when I just get started on something, I decide to keep going."
Thank you for inviting us into your day, Kristen!
@Elaine N, I, too, noted that line of Kristen's, which is so true.
Looking forward to hearing about your first week of nursing school!
I always loved the first days of school, because I had pristine new notebooks and nice new #2 pencils, a fresh Pink Pearl eraser, maybe even a pen! I still have to resist the urge to buy school supplies for myself, just for fun, when school starts.
I'm sure your next "Day in the Life" will be a LOT different from this one.
As always, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished furniture. That nightstand is really nice looking. The existing paint job on the new chest is... not.
Chiquita is so cute with that little tongue sticking out.
My "Day in My Life" today is prepping for a hurricane. It was inevitable. I had just written a thanksgiving on Thursday about not having any yet. It's still uncertain where it will go, but the models now show it coming right through my area. Of course, that can change at any time, but I hope to be ready for it anyway. Prayers and best wishes to any in the path of this or any other storm.
@JD, my sister and BIL who live on the Florida Panhandle (apparently in your area) cleared out yesterday for the condo they still maintain in our native city in TN. Am keeping all digits crossed for you and all others who are waiting it out in place. Use a Red Cross shelter or any other available resources if you have to.
@A. Marie,
I hope your sister and BIL don't get any damage back in Florida and have safe travels!
If I had a private place to go it would be different, but about the best I could do is go to my relatives in Georgia - who are also in the path as it now stands. I can't take my pets to most shelters, and hotels and motels that take pets fill up all the way sometimes as far as Kentucky and gas stations along the way tend to . Then there is the issue of where it actually goes. I'll do what I can to be safe.
@JD, Good luck, JD. Hurricanes can be so scary.
Holy cow, I'm tired just reading that!
Kristen, I add my best wishes to everyone else's for a stimulating and enjoyable first term of nursing school--and we're all delighted that you're so pumped for it!
Also, I'm glad to see that Chiquita has become a snoopervisor of your work. My Betty isn't happy if she isn't snoopervising everything I do. She's particularly happy when I get dried herbs out of the attic and start processing them at the dining room table, even if none of the herbs are catnip.
@A. Marie,
Love it!!! "Snoopervise" so true... Stealing!
I love these posts, Kristen. I would definitely be a fan of having more "day in the life" posts.
And I can't wait to hear all about nursing school. I bet it will lots of fun and busy and super interesting!
Praying you have a wonderful start to nursing school! you are going to be an amazing nurse!
I would love to see before and after pics of the formerly abandoned house as well. Also, I love the idea of knowing how much you spent (or didn't spend) to furnish each room in your house. Your furniture refreshes always inspire me!
I look forward to hearing how nursing school goes.
It amazes me that your yogurt is done so quickly. I let mine incubate for at least 8, sometimes 12 hours.
Just wondering how Miss Shelly is doing. Is she getting along with Chiquita, now?
Hope your 1st day will go well.
Funny story, Kristen—I only install Facebook when I feel like checking and uninstall it as soon as I’ve finished. And, for the same reason you mention.
I can’t wait to hear of your school adventures and how they change your quotidian life. You will ace the classes and I bet there will be stories.
Good luck with school! You've put a lot of effort into getting to this stage, congratulations.
Wishing you much success. From reading your blog over the years, I feel you are well motivated.
Where is your other kitty?
My day was simple, the calm before the storm.
I have 34(!!) appointments between now and September 20.
I'm happy to have the rest of the fall free after then.
All the best for your upcoming school. You've got this!!
Have fun on your new journey!
Good luck tomorrow!
Best wishes for a wonderful school year, Kristen! Any patient who has you for a nurse will be blessed!
Just wanted to wish you a smooth start to new schooling!
Congratulations on starting nursing school! I hope it's wonderful.
You did a lot, a WHOLE lot!
That was a busy day! You sure got a lot accomplished.
Best of luck as you embark on this new phase of life. So exciting!!