Saturday, October 22, 2011

A Week in the Life of Martha

Monday:
5:15AM – alarm goes off. Adam works at 6am these days so it’s an early start. Although I was up at 4:45 to put Carly in the cat room. Luckily I seem to be able to fall back asleep easier these days. I roll over, re-set the alarm to 5:45 and go back to sleep.

5:45AM – alarm goes off again. Time to get up and feed the cat – Carly gets a quarter can in the morning and a quarter at night. She knows this and gets cranky if I stall with her food in the morning. I also unload the dishwasher – I did a lot of baking yesterday so I have more dishes in the sink that I want to get going before I leave for work. Go to the office, check my email, then head to the shower.

6:35AM – clean and dressed, it’s back to the kitchen for breakfast. Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs. Yum. I channel surf while I eat, ending up on “Molto Mario”. Mmm, pasta. Ted climbs up on the couch behind my neck and tries to eat my hair. Connor jumps up to hang out right before I have to get up. Poor kitties.

7:00AM – start the dishwasher, kiss Adam goodbye, bring in the paper, and off to work. Boo for being dark out at 7am…and boo for NPR pledge drives.

7:15AM – got a decent parking spot this morning. There seems to be a 4 minute window where you either get a spot close to the doors or you have to walk a mile. My boss is on vacation this week but I’ve got a whole list of projects. I tend to get bored if I focus all my brain power on one thing so I find myself bouncing back and forth between two or three things for most of the morning. Keeps me awake.

10:00AM – mmmm, chocolate. I have been overindulging on the mini twix bars, for sure.

11:45AM – time to head home for lunch. Man, it’s windy out.

12:00PM – I’m unsurprised to walk in the door and see all the kitties lined up in the sun in the living room. What a life. Soup for lunch. But I hate how the carrots explode in the microwave. So annoying. Watch my DVRd Pop-up Videos while I eat. I’m so excited that they brought the show back!

12:30PM – a few peanut butter cups for good measure and it’s back to work.

12:45PM – I somehow managed to get a spot directly in front of the door. Score!

2:30PM – OMG. Need caffeine. Machine Hour Rates are not the most stimulating topic.

4:15PM – calling it a day. Head home to make dinner before going to bell rehearsal.

5:00PM – kitty feeding time. They have internal clocks that never fail. Also, they hear the chiming of the clock on the wall and know it’s time for food. They stalk me from the time I walk in the door until the time I set the food down in front of them. Pavlov anyone?

5:15PM – dinner time. Turkey paninis. Quick, easy, yummy.

6:00PM – off to bells. The Breezewood highway exit is open again (yay!) so it shouldn’t take so long to get there anymore.

6:30PM – as much as I enjoy the company of the ladies in the bell choir, it’s a never ending struggle to keep from sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong regarding music choice and technical performance details. We’re getting deep into Christmas music already.

7:45PM – rehearsals theoretically go until 8 but I can’t remember the last time we actually lasted that long.

8:15PM – back home. Adam’s up in Green Bay as Dave apparently got his key stuck in his door lock. This gives me time to catch up on some of my DVR shows that Adam can’t stand. I’ve been recording the new Rosie O’Donnell show and I’m still undecided. I fast forward through some of it, but I think I’ll keep it on the list for a little while longer.

9:00PM – kitty pit stop for Carly, time for PJs for me. After brushing my teeth I go back and clean out the litter boxes. Carly’s very proud of her latest addition. Didn’t even bother to bury it. *sigh* Settle into bed, even have some cuddle time with Ted before Adam gets home.

10:00PM – lights out. Nighty-nite.

Tuesday:
5:15AM – alarm goes off. I get up this time and take Carly to the room and feed her. She was especially obnoxious last night – I think we were up two or three times.

5:45AM – alarm goes off again. Check my email, then head to the shower.

6:35AM – Breakfast - Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs again. What can I say, I’m a creature of habit. Mario’s making a pasta/cauliflower dish today that looks good. Maybe I’ll try and find the recipe…

7:00AM – Off to work. Looks like the pledge drive is over. Woo!

7:15AM – Parked right in front today! Amazing. They’ve started decorating for Halloween in the office this morning. Black netting with some fake spiders. Someone comes by and says, “oh, that’s cute!” and one of the ladies here says, “it’s supposed to be scary, not cute!” Ha.

11:45AM – time for lunch. Have successfully not killed any people from sales & marketing this morning. Sometimes it’s a challenge.

12:00PM – JC is totally wound up today. He’s chasing his own tail, Ted’s tail, and generally terrorizing Connor. Lunch today – Lean Cuisine – Honey Chicken. One of my favorites. I especially like the peas.

12:30PM – Back to work.

12:45PM – A little bit of a walk to get back today. Not way out in converting, but not right in front either.

4:15PM – Heading out. Got to make a quick stop at the bank before heading up to Darboy for IMA. We went to an online credit card payment system this year, but I still try and have some cash with me in case people show up unregistered. We also have a 50/50 raffle that operates on a cash basis.

5:00PM – Setting up my registration table. I always tend to be the first person here.

5:45PM – Dinner – chicken and fish. Simple food, but very good. I love when our meetings are at the Darboy Club. They’re so easy to work with. Got a bit of a late start because there was some confusion over the dinner start time… should have verified when I called in the headcount, although not really my responsibility. Oh well.

6:20PM – Speakers tonight are talking about servant leadership. With my position in the organization I end up at every meeting and I hear every speaker whether I’m interested in them or not. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

7:20PM – we’re trying out a new format this year with just one hour of CPE. This means the meeting is over earlier than usual. We’ll still have a board meeting after the regular chapter meeting is over, but I should still be home before 10PM!

8:30PM – Gah… board meetings always go long. Finally heading home.

8:50PM – home reached. Do some dishes, clean some cat boxes, then head to bed. Catch up on some Pop-up Video since Adam’s snoring away before I even lay down.

10:00PM – lights out.

Wednesday:
5:15AM – alarm goes off. I left Carly in the room around 5 this morning so I just reset the alarm and roll over.

5:45AM – alarm goes off again. Put away some dishes, computer time, shower time.

6:30AM – Breakfast - Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs again. Thought about doing Special K, but the puffs won out. Watched a few segments of yesterday’s Rosie show. Fran Drescher was on.

7:00AM – Off to work.

7:15AM – I think I got the same spot this morning as I had yesterday.

9:30AM – I have such a headache I had to take my contacts out. Not sure if it’s related to the weather or hormones. Either way, it SUX. Very hard to concentrate when all you want to do is rip your eyes out.

11:45AM – time for lunch.

12:00PM – Nary a sign of the kitties – kind of reflective of the weather. Dreary and rainy. Good day to stay in bed and sleep. Good call, cats.

12:30PM – Back to work.

12:45PM – Wow, there are a lot of cars in the visitor lot. Wonder what’s going on?

2:15PM – still have that headache. Not as bad now, but even chocolate isn’t helping…

4:15PM – call it a day. Why is it so yucky out? Boo, Wisconsin weather. Boo.

4:30PM – Adam’s at the gym so I wait to start laundry until he gets home since I’m assuming he’ll have some stinky clothes to be washed. I do laundry twice a week – Wednesday and Sunday – because Adam’s got big clothes and I’d rather do a few smaller loads than a whole bunch at one time. In the meantime I watch some Pop-up Video.

5:00PM – start laundry quickly before the swarming cats get their desired food.

5:05PM – time for people food. Tonight’s menu: Greek Meatballs with gnocchi. I’m not sure what exactly makes them “Greek.” It’s just beef with onions, allspice, cinnamon, oregano, and parsley. Browned and then cooked in some tomatoes. The gnocchi are homemade – I made a huge batch a few weeks ago with my new ricer. We reheat some of the apple slump I made on Sunday for dessert. That’s a great fall recipe.

6:00PM – Catching up on some DVR shows – Conan, NCIS. Flip the load of laundry to the dryer.

7:00PM – Adam retreats to the bedroom to watch the first game of the World Series. Too bad the Brewers didn’t make it. Would have been sweet to win the Super Bowl and World Series in the same year. Oh well… I finish up my Pop-up Videos and the Rosie from yesterday.

8:00PM – whoops, totally forgot about the laundry. Now I get to fold it on top of Adam. Time for the rest of the Wednesday night tasks: garbage collection, litter locker cleanout, fridge cleanout, dishes. I usually do my menu planning and shopping list but I didn’t get to it.

8:30PM – I watch the Rosie from today while Carly takes some time in the cat room.

9:15PM – bedtime prep, kitty retrieval.

10:00PM – lights out.

Thursday:
5:15AM – alarm goes off. Get up and feed the cat.

5:45AM – alarm goes off again. Put away some dishes, computer time (Happy Birthday Dad!), shower time.

6:30AM – Breakfast – We tried the new Pillsbury frozen breakfast biscuits this morning. Bacon and Egg. They’re ok – I’m kind of weirded out by the square-shaped eggs. Not sure I’d get them again. Maybe if they’re on sale and I have a coupon… Mario was making some kind of braised chicken this morning. And buccatini. I like buccatini. It’s fun stuff.

7:10AM – Off to work. Running kind of late. I blame the blender. And the fact that I overfilled it. Made my knock off Starbucks Mocha frappuccino using splenda, almond milk, and sugar free chocolate syrup.

7:25AM – even though I’m late I still got a pretty good parking spot. Maybe everyone’s having problems this morning…

11:45AM – time for lunch. Ugh. It looks like it might snow. The horror!

12:00PM – Ted was on me like white on rice today. Jumped up on the couch behind me almost immediately. Lunch today was pasta and homemade sauce. I haven’t bought jarred pasta sauce in ages since Adam got a recipe from Mark that he really likes. And I can never say no to pasta…

12:30PM – Back to work

12:45PM – Ugh. Not only did I end up far, far away, but it’s raining. A cold, cruel rain.

4:25PM – calling it a day. I heard murmurings of snow around the office earlier but I sure hope they were kidding.

4:40PM – home. So dreary out, but no snow!

5:00PM – kitty feeding time. I totally hate the whiney meows…

5:15PM – people food time. Tonight’s menu: Scrambled Egg Burritos. Bacon, cheese, sour cream, scrambled eggs in a tortilla. I also added some southern hash brown potatoes and some onions. Good stuff.

5:30PM – DVR time. Harry’s Law, Law and Order: SVU

7:15PM – Adam’s making a Culver’s run – Andes Mint Avalanche. I do dishes while he’s gone.

8:00PM – Adam retreats to watch ultimate fighting or wrestling or something. I go in the office and take care of next week’s menu planning and grocery list. Adam works on Saturday morning so we’ll be doing our shopping Friday night instead.

8:45PM – Wow, that took way too long. It shouldn’t be that hard to come up with six things to make. I did end up finding the recipe I saw on Molto Mario earlier this week. We’ll see how it is. I head back to the living room to watch Project Runway.

10:00PM – Oh, come on! Eliminate Anya already! Boo! Kitty retrieval, bedtime.

Friday:
5:15AM – alarm goes off. Get up and feed the cat.

5:45AM – alarm goes off again. Put away some dishes, computer time, shower time.

6:40AM – Breakfast – Back to the puffs. Watched the After the Runway from last night. Still annoyed that they kept all four designers for fashion week.

7:05AM – Off to work.

7:20AM – Lots of empty spots this morning. Everyone must have taken the day off…

10:30AM – I think my leg heard me last night when I said it was doing much better and I probably wouldn’t reschedule the chiropractor appointment I had to cancel a couple weeks ago when I was knocked on my butt by a cold. It’s been aching all morning.

11:45AM – time for lunch.

12:00PM – Leftover pasta today – added some peas for some veggie goodness. Oh, and lots of pepper.

12:30PM – Back to work

12:45PM – I’m in the exact same parking spot as when I left. Amazing. And I even got stuck by a train on the way back.

2:30PM – Friday afternoons are always a struggle.

3:30PM – heading home. Got a lot of stuff to accomplish tonight.

3:45PM - home - and pretty much turn right back around to go shopping. Down to Oshkosh to the outlet mall to look for new shoes for Adam (no dice.) Back up to Neenah. Dinner at Cy's Asian Bistro (so good!), grocery shopping and Piggly Wiggly and Pick and Save, then back home.

7:00PM - feed some very hungry kitties. Then catch up on some Pop up Videos before calling it a night.

9:30 - lights out a little early today. So sad...

Saturday:
5:45AM - Adam wakes me up to tell me he's going to the gym. Crazy man...

7:00AM - alarm goes off. I get up and go have breakfast. Any guesses as to what it was?

8:00AM - Adam works today 8-12 (overtime!) so I'll be doing the rest of our weekly shopping by myself. Getting a kind of slow start today. I don't get out the door until almost 9.

9:00AM - Walmart, gas, Copps, back home.

10:30AM - making chili. Adam's got ribs is in the Nesco already. It's a busy kitchen day.

12:00PM - Adam's done with work, I'm making lunch. Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo. Just Fettucine minus the shrimp and alfredo for me.

12:30PM - Back out into the world - to World Market (mmmm, New Age), Menards, Vitamin Shoppe, Dicks Sporting Goods, with a stop at Culver's for good measure.

2:30PM - home. Tried to watch Paul but it was awful so we gave up after about an hour.

3:40PM - remembered I was supposed to be making a few other things today. My knockoff Hot Pockets (both sausage and bacon varieties) and a big batch of Santa Fe Turkey.

5:00PM - Kitty feeding time. Adam eats some ribs and then packs the rest up to take up to his grandma. She's wild about them.

6:00PM - totally bumming around flipping between the Cooking Channel and reruns of Friends.

8:00PM - into PJs. Adam's watching the World Series and the Badger Game. I'm zoning.

10:15PM - lights out.

Sunday:

6:00AM - Carly wants to go in the cat room. Fine. I leave her there.

7:00AM - alarm goes off. I get up, feed the cat, and find out what Adam wants for breakfast. I've got some leftover sausage from my hot pockets yesterday and some potatoes I cooked but didn't eat so I scramble some eggs and throw it all together. No sausage for me, no potatoes for him.

7:30AM - read the paper, watch some ID. I love that channel.

8:15AM - time to do the weekly cat room cleanup. Vaccuum, deoderize the boxes, clean out the water dish. Good stuff. Adam's also doing the weekly vacuuming for the rest of the house.

9:00AM - shower time.

9:30AM - there are a few things you never want to hear. "The cat pooped in the bed" is one of them. Argh. Since Adam has this severe aversion to bodily matter the cleanup falls on me. Gross.

10:00AM - Adam's on his way up to his parent's house with our comforter. They have a huge washer and dryer and it doesn't fit in ours. I've started my Sunday laundry as well.

1:00PM - Supposed to be leaving to go to Dad and Cheryl's for their "Ciao Italia" party but the dryer just finished so I'm going to fold laundry first.

2:40PM - Finally arrived at the party. Traffice was nuts and there must have been an accident just north of OO because we were at a standstill for like 10 minutes. I guess this is my definition of "fashionably late."

6:20PM - heading back home. Yummy food eaten, but I stayed away from the wine. :)

7:45PM - back home. That sucked. It was a trifecta: construction, torrential rain, and cloud to ground lightning. Woo.


And there you have it. A week in my incredibly boring life.