It’s My Life

I made you sing Bon Jovi, didn’t I?

OK, so back when I asked for feedback about what you want to read about here, several people said they want to know more about ME, how things roll in my life and how I get stuff done.  I thought to myself  ”Huh?? Why does anyone want to know about my boring life for?!” Then I realized that I like reading posts about people’s boring lives and maybe it can even be helpful to pull back the curtain a little.

So…  today.  It’s mid January and “winter” has finally come to Israel.  The temp is 13C (55F) and where I live on the coastal plain, that’s about as cold as it ever gets.  It is also raining which only happens about 10 days a year, so it’s a pretty darn special day.  I am wrapped in blankets and wearing a scarf indoors because, although I swore I would never lose my New Yorker hardiness, I did in fact lose it.  I adapted down and my body thinks this is freezing.

Ridiculous, I know, please don’t hate me.

Anyway, I woke up this morning, as always at 5:45am to write my 3 Morning Pages.  (This is a practice from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way that  I began back in August and have been doing every morning since).  Yes, it is dark at that hour and I have to sneak out of bed so as not to wake anyone.  I drink steaming hot tea while I write.  This is my favorite time of the entire day. After my writing is done, I reward myself by playing on facebook a bit so I can interact with the North Americans who are still enjoying yesterday.

The kids get up and I make breakfast which is either cereal, oatmeal, smoothies, muffins, toast and eggs (they are not vegans), toast and peanut butter…  Then I pack their lunches – as well as my husband’s – which are sandwiches or leftovers from dinner.  I walk the dog for the 1st time.

Once everyone has launched off into their day, it is time for my workout.  I either go running, head to the gym, or workout at home.  Every day is Training Day, just like my t-shirt says! ( except Saturday)

Before I go, I eat a little something depending on what the workout will be.  If it’s anything under an hour I just drink a glass of freshly squeezed oj with green powder stirred into it, or I eat 3 dates.  A long workout is usually fueled by a bowl of rice with soy sauce.  Strange, but it is the best breakkie I have found to fuel me far without stomach upset.

Upon returning home I’m a starvin’ Marvin and breakfast needs to happen ASAP.  I normally drink a green smoothie with some Sun Warrior protein powder in it.  Other times I have oatmeal or pb&j+fruit.

TaDa!  is it bedtime yet?  Are you totally bored of this?

Now it is time to settle down and work.  I see clients – yay!  I write articles.  I work on my own website.  I do some marketing woo-woo and call my people in to me.  I work all the way to lunchtime.

These are Happy Herbivore’s Meatless Balls which are leftover from my dinner last night.  More lunch will follow (veggies, and a grain, if I didn’t have oats for breakfast) but these are super filling!

Then it’s back to work until the off-spring return home from school.  They both come home in need of immediate sustenance:  food, snuggles and a listening ear are all needed after a day away from the nest.  I dispense all three in large supply.  Once they are sated, I finish up any work I need to finish and by 3pm I turn to my home chores (Job #2 for the modern woman!).  We eat dinner between 5:30-6:00 and it takes me awhile to get it cooked, so I usually start somewhere around 4pm and intersperse the cooking with housekeeping, homework advising, and any errands or appointments.  Another dog walk happens in this time also.

Today I dumped a bunch of veggies, grains and beans in the slow cooker because it’s a slow cooker kind of day.  I’ll serve it with leftover pasta from last night.

Unless I have an overseas Skype client, I try to keep evenings free of work, although much pinterest pinning and facebooking happens. The only TV show I watch is Glee, once a week.  Not a big tv person.  This frees up A LOT of time in my life!

I also spend some time each evening planning the following day and that usually includes pre-logging what I am going to eat into Sparkpeople.  I like it planned ahead because then all I need to do is eat what is on my plan and I get the right amount of calories and nutrients without any guesswork.  This has been an important part of maintaining my weight loss all these years!

I’m under the covers by 10pm and read until I fall asleep (approximately 10 seconds later).  And that’s a wrap!

There are other things about my life in Israel that differ from the US life:

1.  With just one car between us, I go everywhere by foot or bus during the day.

2.  We do one big grocery shop a week but I often have to fill in with trips to the health food store, the shuk (daily farm-fresh fruits and veggies), and the little makolet (small private corner market).  I do that all on foot with one of those granny carts my husband calls The Mitsubishi.

3.  Laundry is an every day thing for me.  I alone generate huge amounts of sweaty, stinky clothes, not to mention the kids and husband.  Like most Israelis, we don’t use a clothes dryer because the weather is usually quite lovely.  Laundry is hung on lines in a little laundry balcony.  Its eco and green, but it takes a bit more time.

No hanging laundry on a rainy day!

4.  My kids don’t do tons of classes or clubs, but they didn’t in the US either.  I personally believe childhood is for school, homework, and decompressing at home with an adult care-giver or with your best buds.  I know that makes me out-of-step with lots of parents who believe every moment should be filled with some sort of meaningful learning or hobby, but this works for us.  Not to mention it keeps my life simpler than my friends (and clients) who carpool their kids around from place to place all afternoon and evening.  We didn’t have all this time-filling stuff when we were kids and you know what?  Childhood was plenty fun.  We got bored and created things to do.  We had time to dream and to think.  We knew how to entertain ourselves. We read books and colored and used our creativity.  I want those things for my kids too.  I know I am lucky that I am working from home and I don’t mean to put down working parent’s or their lifestyles.  Just telling my truth and hoping it can be a light for those of you who feel the same but are afraid their kids will “miss out” if they are not in tons of after school activities.  They’ll be amazingly fine and happy and so will you!

I didn’t write this so you would compare your life to mine, for better or worse, but basically just to give a glimpse at the way things are for me right now.  They may change.  Your life might be totally different.  There is no right or wrong.  Just create a lifestyle that works for you and enjoy each day – even the rainy ones!