Sara and Melissa Talk About...A Day in Our Lives

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. This month, we're sharing what a day in each of our lives is like. As you can see, we don't only write book reviews. ;)

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.

Melissa Amster:                                                                                          My daily routine has changed a lot over the past year. It used to involve getting my kids to school, either by car or by waiting for the bus, and then driving to work. I'd pick one of them up from school in the evening, as well. Then there was dinner, relaxation time, and the usual bedtime routines. 

Back then, I got up at 5:45 a.m. to get started on my day, since I always exercise in the morning. The pandemic has afforded me an extra hour of sleep, so I now get up at 6:45 a.m. to exercise. Sometimes later, depending on my husband's schedule. I either do the treadmill first and then a workout video with my daughter or vice versa. Then I get my daughter breakfast and get my sons out of bed. This is around 8:00 am now. Sometimes I have to do the treadmill after making sure everyone is up and having breakfast. 

After that is all settled and I've freshened up and gotten dressed, I have breakfast. Most days, it's Special K vanilla almond, but sometimes I treat myself to a bagel with butter and strawberry jam. Then I work on blog stuff and any other housekeeping needs, before I start on the other work I am now doing. A year ago, I was still working from home for the non-profit job I held for over ten years. However, the pandemic changed that plan too, but now I'm dipping my toes into the publishing industry, gaining some new experiences along the way.

On some mornings or afternoons, I am either ordering groceries through Instacart or going to the store. Around 12:30 p.m., I usually have my standard lunch of a salad, fruit, and a granola bar. Then I get lunch for my daughter. My sons usually make their own lunch or snack a lot throughout the day. In the evening, either my husband or I will make dinner for everyone. On Mondays, we have meat leftovers from Shabbat. Tuesday through Thursday is usually dairy items. Friday, we have meat once again for a new Shabbat meal. After dinner, it's usually relaxation time, most of it spent watching TV (most recently Love, Victor, Manifest, The Bold Type, and Workin' Moms). Then I get my daughter settled into bed, as my sons end up going to bed a lot later and don't need to be tucked in anymore. I spend the rest of the evening getting more blog stuff done or replying to e-mails before going to bed myself. 

The only night that is different is Friday, for Shabbat. We don't have dinner until later in the evening, after I have lit candles and my husband has finished his prayers. We spend time talking and joking around, as well as relaxing and reading. We also will play board games, but usually that happens more on Saturday.  

There you have it, a day in my life. It's pretty standard, but I'm glad I could give you a glimpse! I'm hoping we'll get out a bit more this summer and shake up our routines!

Sara Steven:                                                                                                                                            Lately, the patterns in my days have been pretty similar to one another, given an upcoming move for my family later this year. It feels like we’re spending a lot of time on packing, staging, and taking boxes and other household items to our storage unit. It’s like the movie Groundhog Day over here--only with packing paper and tape. 

There have been a few breaks from monotony, though. Like the virtual writer’s conference I recently attended through the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, and an evening spent with baby goats and an alpaca that silently judges everyone, by way of Goat Yoga. My ten-year old is on the swim team again through our local YMCA, and had his first meet of the season on Saturday.

My sons at Goat Yoga

The writer’s conference was an amazing opportunity and a valuable tool in getting back into the habit of writing again, and Goat Yoga with my family was so much fun. And I loved seeing my little guy in the water again, after a year break from competing. But none of it is a typical day for me. My days (like today) usually go a little something like this:

5:30 a.m.--I wake up. Even if I don’t want to. The Arizona sun is unforgiving and is full-blown bright around this time of the morning. I usually do a little reading to get me going in the mornings; my latest read is Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake. I’m really enjoying it. 

   

6:30 a.m.--If I’m to do any running outside, it has to be an early morning thing. After I water my plants and get myself ready, I’m off to San Tan Regional Park for a trail run. I’ve got my Osprey water pack on my back, along with a phone in my hand and headphones plugged into it, so I can listen to a mix of tunes while I’m pounding dirt, rock, and gravel.

9:00 a.m.--check Facebook/Email/Twitter.

9:30 a.m. --I pick up the house if it needs it, take care of my cat and dog, and if the kids are up, I make sure to get things rolling on their breakfast. I like to watch my guilty pleasure shows while I do what needs to be done around the house, like laundry, dishes, etc., and today it was Extreme Sisters. What a crazy show!

10:00 a.m. (ish)--Packing. Since we’re moving, I’ve been working on getting a lot out of the house and into our storage unit, so we can stage the house for sale. Today’s target was an area of the house that’s been designated for the kids, and their bathroom, too. 

Noon--Lunch time with the kids and husband, who works from home. 

After lunch, it’s back to packing. But this time, I’ve enlisted the help of the teenager to work on his room. There are so many loose papers, change, Lego pieces and bottle caps he’s managed to collect and hold onto...I’m not sure why. 

3:00 p.m.--I sit down to work on my “A Day in the Life” post. 

Later this afternoon, I’ll try to do a little yoga; it’s something I work on daily, in order to stretch out and relax before making dinner. Sometimes I make the kids do yoga, or make dinner with me. I might watch another show. It will probably be the recent episode of 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After.    

After the sun goes down, we usually take the boys out for a bike ride, or we’ll go for a walk. And, I usually try to get some reading in before bed, which is almost always before 10pm, because I can’t seem to stay up past that time anymore. Nearly every day, I also take the time to reply to Melissa--we have a long-standing message we send back and forth to one another. I think I “talk” to her more than I talk to anyone else!

Even though it feels like Groundhog Day right now, it’s the calm before the storm for me. Soon, I’ll start my full time class load at Arizona State University for the fall semester, with five courses to contend with. So for now, I’ll take the redundancy!

What is a day in your life like? Tell us in the comments!

Home and Away with CLC!

Since we're doing "Home and Away" Q&A's with our visiting authors this month, we wanted to share some of our own thoughts and experiences with you. This week, Becky, Gail and the Melissas answer some questions and next week, Amy and Kathryn will be sharing posts about some vacation experiences.

Becky:

Home:

Favorite place you liked to hang out at when you were a kid?
In my early teens I used to spend Saturdays with my best friend Helen either hanging around at McDonalds (I had a major crush on someone a few years older than me at school who worked there) or the local DIY store, we used to sit in the conservatories outside and have a natter! Bit bizarre looking back but there wasn't a great deal to do from what I remember!

Did any celebrities go to the same school as you?
No but I'm quite proud to say David Hockney lives in my hometown by the sea (I've seen him a couple of times). I went to an exhibition of his last year and saw a 27-foot long picture of the road my secondary school was on, you could just about see my old school behind the trees.

School is on the left

Tell us one feature that would be a must-have for the house of your dreams?
A swimming pool, no excuses for being embarrassed or lazy if it's in your own home! Let's hope I have a lucky lottery ticket for tonight...

Away:

Have you ever been on a cruise or to an all inclusive resort? If so, what was your experience like? If not, which would you rather do?
I've been on lots of all inclusive holidays in the Caribbean and Europe and I do enjoy them every couple of years for a proper relaxing not doing much holiday, but it's nice to mix it up and get out and about seeing places you're visiting too, you can be reluctant to go far if you get things for 'free' in your hotel. The best one I've stayed at was in Cuba, amazing.

What is a must-have when you stay at a hotel?
Tea and coffee making facilities, I will open every cupboard' 'til I find them and if I don't find them I'm not a happy bunny! Even if it's not 'proper' milk I still have to have a cup of tea when I arrive somewhere to settle in, if there are biscuits even better, preferably cookies. If somewhere has hot chocolate even better, it would get an excellent review from me!

Where is the farthest location you've ever traveled to?
Los Angeles and I don't think I could ever tire of going there! I'm ok with flying but I have to say I feel so more relaxed when the plane is over land rather than the Atlantic!

Gail:

Home:

Favorite local restaurant?
There’s a little Italian place that we found years ago called PiccoLino. It is absolutely delicious. Everything is homemade, the wine is always fantastic, and the owner remembers everyone who has ever come into his restaurant. (Proof? We went back there for my birthday in June. We hadn’t been there in two years. The owner came over and gave us hugs and asked where we’d been for so long.)

What is your neighborhood like?
I love my neighbourhood. It’s in the suburbs, and not near any huge roads, so it's quiet. It has tons of paths, and at least 3 parks within easy walking distance. There are so many looping roads that it’s super easy to map out different routes if you want to go for a walk or run, and it’s very well kept up.

Do you do any gardening?
I attempt to garden. My mom is an avid gardener and I think I kind of missed out on the gene that makes people love gardening, but I have a nice sized vegetable garden and my front yard is a rock garden, with numerous roses (bush and climbing, pink and white). My relationship with the veggie garden is amicable. I'll weed them and water them as best I can, and in return I'll get garden-fresh veggies all summer and into the fall (yum!). My relationship with the roses is love/hate. I love them when I’m far away and admiring them, but when I have to get in there and prune them I end up so scratched up that it looks like I’ve spent a weekend wrestling feral cats. Those roses are a terror but they're so pretty that I can't get rid of them.

Away:

What place is on your travel "bucket list?"
My ultimate travel goal would be to go on an Antarctic cruise. I think it would be so cool (pun not intended) to see penguins in their natural habitats, and to be on a boat that’s drifting past icebergs and seals. The traveller in me is intrigued by the remoteness of the location and being able to go where so few people have gone, and the scientist in me is fascinated by this ecosystem that appears completely barren and unable to sustain life, but is actually teeming with wildlife.

Where is the farthest location you've ever traveled to?
I think either Panama or Colombia. My husband and I went on a Caribbean cruise about five years ago, and it was amazing. We had ports in Grand Cayman, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Honduras, and Mexico, and we did excursions at every one of them. It was unbelievable. There was so much to see and do (Rain forest tours! Swimming with stingrays! A private beach with our own coral reef for snorkeling! Rum factory!) It was also very nice to have a tan right before Christmas when we got home to the snow.

During which season do you prefer to travel?
I’m from Alberta, Canada, and our winters get cold. Very cold. My husband and I definitely try to get away during the winter to break up the chilly monotony of the cold, gray days. During the summer, I’m more than content to hang out in my backyard, putter in the garden, and enjoy a tall, frosty margarita…er…lemonade on the deck.

Melissa A:

Home:

Favorite place you liked to hang out at when you were a kid?
There was a park practically in my backyard. It was close enough that my mom could see us while she was making dinner. My sister and I would go there all the time to play on the big wooden play set (that is no longer there) and the swinging horses (also no longer there). We even named the horses. As I got older, I'd take my dog for walks by that park and let him go on the slide.

Favorite room in your house?
Now that our kitchen has been remodeled, I love it. It's spacious, stylish and cozy at the same time. I spend most of my time in there between meals, working on my laptop, cooking, etc.

What is your neighborhood like?
I live in a suburban neighborhood that is also a heavily populated Jewish community. There are several synagogues within walking distance, along with a Kosher grocery store and pizza place nearby. I have been here almost four years and love it. It's near DC but also far enough to feel truly suburban. There's even an upscale downtown area for the suburb where I live. There's a strong feeling of community, especially during Shabbat. In any case, I usually run into people I know whenever I'm out and about in the nearby vicinity.


Away:

**The links are for posts from my personal blog. Check them out if you have time!**

What place is on your travel "bucket list?"
Hawaii

Where did you go for your last vacation?
Disney World

What is a must-have when you stay at a hotel?
A pool! When you travel with kids, it's a necessity! We were "forced" into a staycation last summer when we lost power and the best thing was that there was a pool at the hotel. As a result, my older son now gets excited whenever there's a storm with the potential to knock out power. Gotta love priorities!

Melissa P:

Home:

Favorite room in your house?
This is easy but only because my living room and kitchen are pretty open to one another. I love putting on music and cooking or my new thing is sitting in my favorite chair in the living room and learning to play the guitar. I watch YouTube videos and I'm actually picking it up! Right now I'm learning "she is love" by parachute.

One feature you'd have to have in your dream house?
A completely "wired" home. I need music all the time. It makes me happy. Having a system that can play in multiple rooms as well as outside would be a dream for me.

Do you garden?
I don't. Not in the traditional sense for two reasons. I own a condo and I live in Arizona where the heat gets ridiculous in the summer, so it's not easy. If I could have my ideal garden I'd plant pink peonies and hibiscus (my two favorite flowers) as well as peppers, basil, cucumbers, green beans, eggplant, and zucchini.

Away:

In front of the Lilly Pulitzer store on Nantucket

Where did you go for your last vacation?
My last "real" vacation was to the east coast last October. We rented a house in Rhode Island on the water and also spent the 10 days traveling through New York and Connecticut. It was fall and the foliage was beautiful. Definitely a trip I would do over.

What is your must-have outfit for traveling?
I always take a pair of leggings with black riding boots and multiple shirts/sweaters that I can wear with them. It's comfortable and chic and can go from day to night if I need it to.

During which season do you prefer to travel?
I prefer the fall. I do like to go to California to cool off for at least a weekend or two in the summer, but for my big vacation of the year, I like to wait until after Labor Day. It gives me a chance to get out of the STILL 100+ degree temps and its also a lot less crowded. I'm a sucker for the changing leaves as well, so I usually end up somewhere back east on these trips.