Money Diaries | Volume No. 6 - peonies and bees

It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted a Money Diaries series. After binge reading the series on Refinery a few weeks ago, I was inspired to begin the series again. So, here we go!

MONEY DIARIES | VOLUME NO. 5 | WEEK OF SEP. 08 — SEP. 14

Saturday

5:30A I’m awake because the cats are awake and they want their breakfast. I usually fall right back asleep after feeding them but not this morning. Baby girl is awake too and rolling across my belly, which is beautiful but feels so weird. After a half hour of staring at the ceiling, I go downstairs to read. I make myself a cup of coffee, toast with peanut butter, and finish my book — Agatha Christies’ And Then There Were None.

10:30A I must have fallen asleep on the couch around 8A. I check emails, Airbnb rates for an upcoming trip, and grab a peach, water, and a granola bar. I begin my quick 15 minute prenatal yoga routine before heading out for a morning walk.

12P It’s the first cool morning all summer, and it’s overcast. Score! I decide to walk to Nordstrom Rack to pick up shampoo and makeup remover. $38.01

12:30P On the way back home, I decide I need a snack. I pop into Au Bon Pain and pick up a bagel with honey pecan cream cheese. I’m so hungry I eat the whole thing in 4 blocks. $2.63

1P Once home, I heat up a pre-made chicken, black bean, and lime cilantro rice bowl from Trader Joe’s. It wasn’t good. I spend the rest of the afternoon showering, reading, blogging, and cleaning up the house.

4P Our friends arrive with their 2 year old son for the afternoon. Luckily our cats are super friendly and can keep a baby entertained for hours on end. We were originally going to dine out at the Wharf, but it’s cold, raining, and no one is dressed appropriately. The guys head out to pick up Indian take out. Alex and I get our usual. $47 with tip.

SUNDAY

8A I fed the cats at their usual time, and was luckily able to fall back asleep until my alarm went off at 8A. I’m back downstairs with a bowl of cheerios, a cup of coffee, and cracked open a new book, The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir.

9:45A My good friend swings by the house, and we walk over to the Kadampa Meditation Center together for their Sunday morning class. We try to go every Thursday and Sunday, but life gets in the way. We each pay $45 a month for unlimited classes, so today is free for us both.

11:00A After class, I’m meeting up with my Mom Group. I would have walked since it’s so close, but it’s raining, so I choose to metro. With less than $2 on my metro card, I have to add money. I arrive at Teaism shortly afterwards. We have a really great time bitching about our OB practices and the horror stories we’ve heard about the hospital we’re all delivering at. I order an avocado and tomato salad, brown rice, and Jasmine tea. $14.03 (food) and $10.00 (metro)

1:30P I have improv rehearsal at 2P, so after our goodbyes, I hop back on the metro towards Navy Yard. The metro gods must be looking out for me today, because the wait time has been less than 5 minutes this trip and the last — unheard of on a Sunday! I arrive at improv on time and we spend the next three hours running drills. It’s a blast, as always. Since it’s still raining, one of my teammates drives me home.

5:15P Tonight also happens to be the Jewish New Year. Alex and I have tickets to synagogue, and a plan to grab dinner beforehand. I have barely enough time to change and freshen up before we’re out the door. We order a Lyft and arrive at one of Alex’s favorite casual dinning spots, Nando’s Peri Peri. $6.89 (Lyft) and $32.01 (dinner).

8:00P After services, we walk for a bit since it finally stopped raining. I order a hot chocolate at Bakers & Baristas and we chat for a while before catching a cab back home. It was a BUSY day for me. I crash as soon as we get home. $5 (drink with tip) and $9 (taxi with tip)

MONDAY

6:45A Sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop. I’ve made a coffee, and begin my Monday morning usual: emails, prepping meal plans for my clients, invoices, grocery lists, and mapping out my week. I make toast with peanut butter and then head out for an hour long morning walk.

10A I leave the house for work. I usually drop Alex off at the office on Mondays, but he isn’t feeling well and decides to stay home. I head to Trader Joe’s where I buy my client the ingredients I need to cook the four meals I’m making him today. I put it on my business card.

2:45P Finished for the day and ready for a late lunch. I treat myself to Panera Greek Salad. It’s baby girls favorite lunch. $6.99

3P Alex calls while I’m eating. He’s still not feeling great, so I offer to make him a hearty tomato soup when I get home, hoping it’ll help. When I’m finished with lunch, I walk from Panera to Trader Joe’s to pick up our weekly groceries, plus ingredients for soup. $58.93

4P I’m home and exhausted. Pregnancy is exhausting. After I unpack groceries and my chefs bag, I crawl into bed. I read half a page in my book and pass out with the cats tangled by my belly.

6:45P I’m finally awake and get started on that tomato soup for my husband. While it’s simmering, I quickly whip up our weekly lunch salads. They’re nothing special, but it’s nice to have as a grab and go option during the workweek. Spring mix, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, avocado, corn, beets, and grilled chicken breasts.

7:45P We decide to grab hamburgers from AA Burger, we walk over to place a to-go order. Hamburgers have consistently been my fetus’s top dinner choice since Week 8. When we get home, we eat burgers and soup (kind of goes together?). $16.89

TUESDAY

7:00A At the kitchen table with coffee, toast, and my laptop. Tuesday mornings mirror Monday. Before I go on my morning walk, I place an order for more Nespresso pods, as we’re only down to decaf. My husband has reminded me of this three times since yesterday. $66

10:00A Alex and I leave for work, and I drop him off at the office on my way to Harris Teeter and then my clients home in Tyson’s Corner. On my way back home, I stop off at a gas station to fill up my tank. Groceries from this morning as well as gas for the car were both charged to my business card.

2:45P I’m back home and for lunch, I heat up two cups of my homemade Rustic Potato & Leek Soup that I made last week. As that’s heating, I strip the bed and our bath towels, throwing them in the wash. After I finish eating I spend the next couple of hours vacuuming, dusting, watering our plants, and organizing closets.

5P I’m exhausted and crawl into bed with a book. I’m able to get about 3 pages in before falling asleep. Alex comes home from work sometime after 6P and I wake up just before 7P. He changes the cat litter (pregnancy win!) while I heat up dinner. Italian meatballs (baby’s favorite), homemade sauce, and cellentani pasta from last week, and tomato soup from yesterday.

8:30P I go on a quick 30 minute post dinner walk to get in my 10K steps per day. And then I’m up reading until well past midnight.

WEDNESDAY

7A Well, today is going to be a bit different that I originally planned. DC Water informed my Wednesday client that they’re doing an emergency shut off of his water today, so we reschedule my cook date for tomorrow. It actually works out nicely, because I have a lengthy OB appointment scheduled for 9:30A and I can take the rest of the day to relax / run errands. I eat a heartier breakfast today, two scrambled eggs with salsa, toast with cream cheese, blueberries, and a decaf coffee (those pods can’t come fast enough!) to prep myself for the appointment.

9:15A I arrive at my OB’s office a bit early, luckily I have my book with me. Today is my 28 week appointment, which means I’m getting blood drawn for a routine glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I’m also required to get a RhoGAM shot today because my blood type is Rh Negative, AND I was talked into a flu shot (ugh). I leave with a lot of bandaids. On the positive, baby’s heartbeat sounds great, and we’re in the third trimester!!!!

10:30A Walking back to the metro, I treat myself to a vanilla yogurt with granola and a cup of coffee from one of my favorite local spots, Compass Coffee. It’s a beautiful day, so I sit outside and eat my (second) breakfast while I reply to emails / online banking. $7.25

1P My husband is working from home today. We chat for a bit when I get back, and then I head out to Pentagon City for a Target run. We’re supposed to get really bad wind and rain from Hurricane Florence, even though it’s projected to hit the Carolinas. People are worried about power outages, so I want to pick up some necessities. I grab bottled water, gatorade, cans of soup (we have a gas stove), bananas, peaches, a large bag of Chex Mix, and already popped popcorn. We have the rest at home (read: tons of peanut butter, bread, and Nutella). $36.33

2P With my gas tank still full (a hurricane / blackout must), I swing by Whole Foods on the way back. I decide I rather knock out grocery shopping for my client now, as opposed to tomorrow morning. I charge his groceries to my business card.

3P When I get home, I start another load of laundry, eat one of my already prepped salads, and then take a nap with Squeaks. At some point Alex and I decide to walk over to the hardware store in our neighborhood, we need a few random items that Target for some reason didn’t have. Globe lightbulbs, a Philips screwdriver, and caulk. $14.35

7P I get started on dinner. Meatballs again! I also whipped up a side of ratatouille (fancy word for simply roasted eggplant, zucchini, squash, and red onion, simmered with diced tomatoes and thyme). I hang out in the kitchen while my husband cleans up after dinner and makes us each a cup of tea. I’m exhausted, and retire to bed with my book shortly after.

THURSDAY

7A I make myself the last decaf pod of coffee (when are those pods arriving?!) we have left and toast with peanut butter. I sit down at the kitchen table with my computer while I eat. I quickly get dressed and leave much earlier for work that I normally do, and skip my morning walk, we have a contractor scheduled to come at 2P.

1P I’m home in time to eat lunch (tomato soup is perfect for this overcast and gray day!), read for a bit, and take a power nap with Squeaks. At some point Max decides to join us. Jokes on me for rushing my day, the contractor doesn’t arrive until 3:30P gah!

6:45P We’re having our air ducts and dryer vents cleaned. It’s a really loud and very long process. The cats are a wreck for the whole thing, they’re stressed out, Max is shaking and breathing hard. This stresses me out, and I’m super upset that I can’t comfort them or calm Max down. $250

7:30P I was supposed to work a volunteer shift at the meditation center for tonights class, but because of the timing of everything, I wasn’t able to make it. I emailed to let them know ahead of time. I feel bad about it. Once the contractor leaves, my husband and I play with the cats for a bit. They bounced back immediately and are totally fine. We decide to go out to our favorite Indian restaurant for dinner — we both need comfort food. $66 with tip.

FRIDAY

8:30A We both sleep in, it feels good. I have a super slow and lazy morning. I read, do a bit of work, and tidy up the house. My husband leaves for work at some point. I watch a documentary that I’ve been meaning to watch for weeks, The Business of Being Born. I can’t find it for free anywhere, so I pay to stream it (ugh). $3.99

2P I have one of my homemade salads and mashed potatoes for lunch. I decide to go for my daily pregnancy walk — gotta get those 10K steps in! I stop off at District Doughnut for a funfetti and a small coffee. I carry on walking for another hour, doughnut in hand. $6 with tip

3P I’m hosting book club tonight and need to pick up ingredients for a chicken dish I’m preparing. I stop in the Safeway closest to our house to pick up cheese, fruit, chicken, couscous, tomatoes, and onions. The rest of the ingredients I already have at home. $35.29

7P I finish up cooking just in time for ladies to start trickling in. Alex heats up the last of our meatballs and pasta for his dinner, and heads upstairs with both cats and a book to stay out of our hair for the night. It’s a fun night.