A day in the life….
There has been a lot of talk in the blog world lately of what else goes on in our lives besides what we post. My thoughts on this are as follows:
There is no way we can possibly blog about it all. I mean, my posts are long enough as it is….snoooooze…do you really want to hear about Chris + I watching the Price Is Right? Well, here’s one post, with a little more detail into our everyday….b.o.r.i.n.g. 
Since I go to bed between 1-2am every night [would be different if I had a j-o-b] I get up around 8:30-9:30am. I HAVE to brush my teeth ASAP upon waking and splash cold water on my face. I feel like I wake up with a puffy face and cold water helps. Yes, get ready for the details! I then have to blow my snot-filled nose, thanks to the Colorado dryness, so I can breathe. Even my 80-100oz water per day consumption does not help.
Then I release the beast from her cage [kenna is caged, dakota is not, for obvious reasons], at which time lots of crazy noises come out of Dakota’s doggie breath mouth. She plays LOUDly. They instantly start harassing each other [lots of ankle biting] at the top of the landing and then run faster than the speed of light down the stairs. This continues when I unlock + open the door to our little fenced in yard. This is where my water consumption starts. 16oz before breakfast…just have to do it…SO dry!
I let the doggles in and immediately start preparing my oats because I am ravenous the moment I arise. Don’t get between me + food in the morning! Oatmeal is 85% of my mornings. If not oats, it’s usually a smoothie of sorts and will probably be bright + GREEN.
Plain + Simple Oats – Sometimes simple IS better.
1/2c oats + rice milk + water + vanilla + cinnamon + 1 small banana mixed in at the end and topped with PB
I make mess #1 of the morning, photograph my concoction by the window or in our bar/yoga/reading room, and then chow. Oh, and I get my coffee brew on as well.
[okay, that’s not ALL from my oats]
Our lovely $30 craigslist chairs!
Then my morning gets sucked into a vacuum as I enter the world of twitter + gmail + food blogs. Time for LUNCH. LOL. Okay, maybe not that bad, but close to it. I read a few blogs, respond to comments, and stuff my face with warm delicious oats. I peruse the Craigslist ads for the day, coming across things like “bikini model barista wanted” and “looking for EXPERIENCED hostesses.” I apply to jobs by email, which is what they all want, and then wait for nothing because no one emails back these days.
Chris does the same.
I also talk to my dad on gchat about every other day in the AM. I talk to my mom almost everyday when she gets home from school [she’s a speech therapist].
Then I try to lift my “can’t find a job…broke as a joke” spirits and read food blogs. I read quite a few on a daily basis and find more + more that really interest me everyday. I try to limit it though. I was completely anti-twitter for the past year and now I am addicted. Oops.
Now, hunger has set in, and I’m sick of sitting on my arse so I decide to make lunch. This usually involves a salad, greek yogurt, maybe some sort of sandwich, veggies, or dinner leftovers etc. More photographing ensues.
Leftover hummus and veggies + Sunshine Falafel Burger, topped with goat cheese + Chobani Vanilla with cinnamon
p.s. Chobani Vanilla is SO SO much better than Oikos Vanilla…I hope I can find Chobani Plain to try soon! However, I do like that SF Oikos is organic.
The dogs do this.
Mess #1 + Mess #2
Aaaand clean. I hate dirty dishes! I’m pretty quick at cleaning the kitchen and I don’t really mind doing it. The only thing I hate is how my hands are DRY [like my snotty nose] from the Colorado air. I am always bursting with cracks that are painful, especially when cutting hot peppers and squeezing lemons. Helllooo earth to Ashley, buy kitchen gloves, duh.
Some days a load of laundry might get thrown in by me or the hubs but most days it won’t. Some days I make up to FOUR kitchen messes and some days the husband is nice enough to clean them up for me. In between all of this, there is the almost always the constant ruckus of Kenna + Dakota going on in the background. Sometimes it resembles noises straight out of the WWF. Once in awhile, they sleep ALL day, like today. I usually tell Kenna to “lie down on your bed” at least 15x per day. Put Dakota’s bed by the heating vent and you won’t hear a peep out of her. I think one day she is going to melt.
Dakota is your typical loud/vocal boxer. It sounds terrible but she’s really just playing! Kenna is silent. Here’s a recap of a typical play session outside:
- Dakota: ROOOOAR
- Kenna: do dee dah dee dooooo waggy tail
- Dakota + Kenna: Stop + stare
- Dakota: ROOOOAR
- Kenna: I want to eat some snow.
On very special days [only about 5 times ever, but still too many], Kenna likes to eat her poop and then I have to clean up her regurgitated mess. Let me tell you how fun that is!!!!
……
Now, I start to get antsy as my life as a stay at home mom blogger, with no income, gets a little tiresome.
This is when I go outside for either a walk/run around the park or a walk to the gym and a workout. This time also lets me get my fill of people watching in. I love seeing all of the dogs and mom’s bopping along with kids in tow. Then I come home and whittle my middle or something of the sorts. Then I shower [or stay stinky] and go on my weekly almost daily trip to Whole Foods.
Some days I also go to Target. Ohhhh Target. Last night I had the pleasure of picking a few things up to hear a mother talking on the phone with her mother, with her kids tagging alongside her. They were being a little loud + rambunctious. I get to hear her yell at her kids [ages ~ 4 + 6] and then tell her mother “Why don’t the kids listen to me??? It’s because they are RETARDED!!!” The kids were right there. Fabulous.
……
If I have learned anything in the past few years, it’s that life is about balance. My eating habits are much more balanced than they used to be and it has helped me mentally and physically.
A balanced dinner. Pizza, a bit of indulgence. Pizza topped with organic sauce + red pepper + mushrooms + spinach + herbed goat cheese, not quite so bad. Two pieces are totally satisfying when eaten alongside a HUGE pile of steamed broccoli [looooove] and 2 servings of smooth + creamy WF applesauce. SO so so good.
Appx. a 500 calorie meal…doesn’t look like it though!! I don’t count calories, but that’s just to give you a rough idea. I think the WF dough was about 150 cals for 1/16th of it. These 2 slices were two servings of the dough [I used the other half of the dough the other night]
Chris has his half and I have mine 
Half of mine is for tomorrow, minus 3 more bites I took after dinner, hehe. I <3 leftovers!
If a meal doesn’t make it on the blog, it’s not because I’m eating a filet o’ fish [haven’t eaten fast food in many years], it is because I don’t feel the need to publish every single bite + morsel I put into my mouth. However, I also do not try to hide things I’m eating by not photographing them. Usually my night time snacks are not photographed because that is when I’m photo-editing + blogging. My snacks usually consist of yogurt, cereal + milk, dark chocolate, a scoop of ice cream, or stove popped popcorn. I try not to keep the tempting foods in the house and it actually works!
Here are the pnut butter cups I made the other night courtesy of Angela’s recipe, with a few minor changes.
My daylight was diminishing. Bad shadows!!
Most of the time a small bite of something sweet is enough to curb my cravings. Like last night…this bite was perfection!
But tonight, I needed MORE chocolate!!!
I’m trying to perfect the this hot cocoa to fit my taste. It is still too rich! But still, more than drinkable…sluuurp! Love the marshmallow puffs on top…mmmm [they are from WF but I can’t think of the brand!]
Have you had enough yet? Chris and I have a few TV shows we watch weekly. Right now it’s, 24, Modern Family, The Office, a new HBO series I can’t think of, I watch Grey’s..and I think that may be it. A few other favorite shows are Dexter + True Blood!!! Loooove them!
It’s hard to believe we’ve been unemployed since leaving Charlotte in September. [he has been unemployed longer] We spend almost every waking minute together and luckily aren’t sick of each other yet!
We do have much more glamorous days than craigslist, twitter + The Price is Right. Being unemployed lets us get the most out of our snowboarding passes. I love mountain days with Chris! We also have some awesome friends + family in the area that we hang out with on a regular basis. Although stressful, I make the most of my time at home and keep extremely busy! I am having a really good time cooking + working on my photography. I also know this situation is only temporary. We both have degrees and I know we will find jobs that fit us at some point in the near future!
For now, I’m excited about my new part-time writing job with Natural Food List. I’ll update you when my articles are on the site!
TMI?
Probably….but you know that’s just how I roll…
LOVE all my readers!!!!
~Ashley
PDF 
I love your honesty. Not every blogger leads exciting lifes. Count your blessings that you get to spend so much time with your significant other.
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This post was such a passionate image of you! I loved it! Your honesty was truly so enjoyable to read and I think that you made yourself entirely relatable to so many others. I had no idea that Chris was unemployed as well. This must be so hard for you guys, but Ashley, I really do commend you. You are both such an inspiration and I am so confident that amazing things are in store!
Thanks for sharing a little piece of yourself!
Have a wonderful day dear!
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You have to be one of the most blunt bloggers out there. I especially liked the tidbit about Kenna eating her own poo. haha!
Keep your head up girl. Sometimes the perfect job just makes you wait.
xo
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:13 am
LOL, I just tell it like it is
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I love this blog, and I enjoyed your take on what to post in a blog entry. As I just started blogging myself, I’ve kinda been dealing with the same question, do people really want to know that all I did last night was get in my PJ’s and watch tv after my run? As for your job situation I really admire that you were able to step away from it all, and I have no doubt that the perfect job will land in your lap! Loved the honesty in your post, and love reading your blog
and again…I’m totally in love with the chocolate 
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:13 am
I love having NO rules with the blog…it’s the one place where I can really do whatever I want!
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I used to be anti-twitter, but now it’s like a drug! I can’t get enough of it!
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:14 am
evil evil twitter
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What a fun post to read! I love the “a day in the life of…” posts. Looking at the pics of Dakota makes me think there may be some boxer in my mutt. Maybe… Dexter is a great show! Everytime I look to buy the series at Target they’re sold out though
And those are such cute pictures of you and Chris! Also my husbands name 
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:14 am
hehe thanks
Dexter is THEE best!!!
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What a great post! Thanks for sharing those intimate details. I have also been unemployed since September, our lives are very similar right now, crazy! I’m not blogging all of my eats at this point but I know the feelings of emailing out resumes with no responses, getting outside to see people, trips to WF, Trader Joe’s and Target and hot cocoa (dairy free for me, this gets tricky)…keep moving forward as you are, everyday your path becomes more clear. Enjoy days with your husband (this in one thing I am very thankful for, my husband isn’t working, either), I cannot imagine seeing him less than I do now, it’s pure pleasure being together, even if we are broke!
I love your blog, thanks again!
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Wow, very relatable!! Crazy…except we don’t have trader joe’s here
boooo! I always hit up TJ’s when I go home to OH though! We are enjoying all of this time together for sure!
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i love that you posted this. when i didn’t have a job this is basically what my life sounded like, minus the food blogging because I wasn’t doing that yet. oh, how I wish i had though! i would’ve known a little more about what i want to do with the rest of my life if i had
i bet you guys are going to find jobs soon, but i’ll keep my eyes/ears peeled in case i hear of something good. it’s going to work out for the best!
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Thanks girl!
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Ohh the dry,dry Colorado air. I too CHUG tons of water as soon as I wake up (is it normal to keep a Nalgene in bed?) and always have to blow my nose. No matter how much water I drink, it seems I wake up dehydrated. Thanks for doing the day in the life!
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:15 am
LOL….soooo dry!!!
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[...] more: plain + simple « the edible perspective Share and [...]
haha, i feel like i spend half of my life washing dishes! food prep and food follow-up is so time consuming but worth it. for hot chocolate, just wanted to pass on that a very parisian verion is simply dark chocolate (at least 70% or higher) and milk. maybe some fleur de sel to accent the chocolate. it’s not too rich but has a pure chocolate flavor. i just discussed this recently on my blog.
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:16 am
I saw that on your blog…adding sea salt is a great idea!! I have a few ideas to try!
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Love the day-in-the-life! It’s so funny to think of what we presume about another person’s life. In my eyes…you could be that fabulous snow boarder in CO who is up at dawn and is on the slops all day and happens to fit in gorgeous meals and photos.
Alas…we are all just girls and guys talking about our life, whether it is “exciting” to others or not. 
Have a great day!
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:16 am
I am that fabulous snowboarder, lol jk
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What a fantabulous post! LOL – I loved every bit of it! It’s funny, serious, cute, and just awesomeness!!
Thanks for sharing – it’s a beautiful reflection of you.
Hugs,
Michele
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Thaaaaaaank you! It was really fun
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I love your blog! we just moved from NC to Denver and I cracked up when I read the bit about the bikini clad barista ad
I actually walked into that coffee shop yesterday! I was just looking for a latte and totally not expecting the bikini thing, hehe. Have you guys visited the cherry creek dog park yet? it’s off of Arapahoe and it is awesome! the husband and I take our pup all the time.. it’s a trail surrounding a creek and horse pastures- i bet your dogs would love it!
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
NO way…that place actually exists??? In Denver?? Ridiculous!! We haven’t been to the dog park yet….people get scared of Dakota because she is loud
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Meryl Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 4:48 am
It’s called the Perky Cup
crazy!
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LOVING your blog more and more every day! and your photos are GORGEOUS!
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Gah, stop posting cocoa pics, I can’t get coconut milk until this weekend and I am TOO jealous! Also, on a sort of related note, your photos are all stunning. Even your dirty sink pictures look like something I would want to hang on my wall.
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
LOL…girl, I’m cracking up over here…dirty sink photos…hahaha, THANKS for the compliments!!!
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I loved reading your day play-by-play. And you look insanely pretty in those pictures!
I made your altered version of Angela’s hawt chocolate last night for our LOST party [which I can't believe you don't watch]; it was awesome, but REALLY rich. I can’t imagine if I’d used regular coconut milk instead of light. Let me know when you perfect it so I can be lazy and not put forth the effort myself, k?
I’m considering joining Twitter just so I can follow your tweets.
xoxo,
your stalker
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I love the stalking…keep it up! I don’t know why we just never started watching LOST…my apologies
Yes, it’s rEALLY rich…I’ll let you know when I have perfected the lighter version. I just had a major bake-a-thon today….and yes, join twitter!!!! Oh, and thank you you are too sweet!
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Hey there! I’m currently unemployed or “between jobs” as I like to call it now also. My day pretty much sounds like yours except I squeeze Yoga in there. haha
xo
Jocelyn
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
I try to get some yoga in every now + again…I’m about to start trying out yoga for runners!
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I love simple oats. They’re the only kind that truly knock my socks off. Yours look perfect.
And chobani is my absolute favorite greek yogurt. You will love it.
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
I wish it was organic!
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So I have total blog envy towards you because your pictures and meals are always sooooooo goooooorgeous, so I LOVED seeing the dirty dishes in your sink! Thanks for putting that picture up!
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Ashley Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
thank.you.so.very.much!!!!! glad you liked the dirty dish photos….more coming on that…I made a HUGE mess today
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That pizza crust looks amazing! And I’m glad I’m not the only one who makes pizza on a rectangular pan, rather than a circle. When I make pizza for folks sometimes they think it’s weird.
Keep up the good work on the job search! I know that it sucks, but I’m rooting for you! 
Also, I loved this post! Possibly one of your most entertaining ones.
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I have a major crush on your blog/dogs/food/photos!
Good luck with the job searching. I’ve been there, sitting in front of Craigslist applying to everything that doesn’t sound like a total scam, and it is tough. TIP: Post your resume and a catchy blurb about your qualifications. I had been applying to jobs for months, but the day that I posted my resume I was contacted by the man who eventually became my employer. Good luck!
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You stay so busy! I love those pictures of you guys at the end, they are so great!
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I love this post!! I also think your oats look delicious, and that little spoon is too cute
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Really enjoyed the post and TMI =] Gorgeous lunch.
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i know i’m late, but this was a great post; i loved hearing more about you. we’ve been essentially unemployed/freelance/quarter-timing it for the past six months too. the ‘reality’ of a job is coming back though, and i’m not sure im ready. i definitely love being home most of the day together. ahhh! it’s the life, isn’t it? here’s to hoping we all find work that allows us to make lots of room for the things/people we love
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I saw many blogs but yours is awsome, bookmarked for future referrence.
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Very interesting website, but you must improve your template graphics.
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I love this post. Not only because you reminded me to make those chocolate peanut butter cups . . . because I love those . . . but also because it’s cool to see what you do all day! ALSO with all the gorgeous photos. You will find your passion in life and make it into a career. You just have to keep at it. I’m trying to do the same thing . . . it’s so difficult! Let’s seriously work on a side project together, girl!
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