A Day in the Life

SUBMISSIONS ARE OVER!

imbroglio — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 03:08:41 GMT

Submissions are over for January 15th, 2016. The next DITL day is TOMORROW, MONDAY, JANUARY 23rd!

Voting for January will begin Wednesday, February 8th.

2017 January DITL: Sliding

purerandomness — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 01:25:42 GMT

A Start-and-Stop DITL spanning two days because I kept forgetting the camera

15 January: Morning means iPad games and many breakfasts

The corner looks so empty without the Christmas tree

Selfie with baby

After brother shared a bite of yogury, little J triumphantly steals the Pop-Tart box from the pantry

Have everyone sit down at the table to eat

The boys beg for their portraits.
L, age 5 3/4 goofball

B, age 7 1/2, missing so many teeth

J, age 19 months, gremlin-extraordinaire

Upstairs to get dressed, lay out clothing to pack, and pick up toys

"Helping"

I have some packing/cleaning up to do also

Better

"Pick up toys" has different meanings when you're small

Force the boys to help with their other morning chore-- folding laundry

Signs of a toddler whose gotten into the front closet

The big boys are on fire, so I send them outside to play in the "secret hideout". They think we can't see them when they're playing in there

J practices being gentle with Olive

24-hour trip with 5 people and 1 dog = many bags

I drive north, so there are no photos from the trip. Then, the camera is buried in the diaper bag, so I keep forgetting to take photos. There's lunch, a walk for the boys, a nap for the adults/baby, and a birthday dinner with cousins.
***End Day One***

16 January: Trying Again, Day Two (Boys go Sliding)

I can count on taking photos of the boys during breakfast because a) they're generally happy in the morning and b) they're contained in chairs which makes it easier

Or contained on laps, which is basically the same thing

Searching Nana's pantry for BoxTops to help fund the new elementary school playground

Baby-Chef

I spy two deer in the backyard

The boys want to see too

I don't remember how he lost his pajamas...

Showing off the Pokemon card collection to Grumpa

Poor Olive, patiently waiting to be let outside

Boot-stealing baby

Get everyone outside to help clean up some fallen branches from a recent storm.

Olive loses her mind over the sticks

J loses his mind over the trailer filled with snow

Let's go sliding!

Now B's turn!

JP, with the ridiculous hat

So much love

Nana shows the boys another place to slide

They have mixed success

Head inside to start heating water for hot chocolate. Baby J babbles to G-Nana and watches his brothers

Boys come inside, wet, cold, and ready for a warm drink

Grumpa gets out the Russian Roulette of jellybeans

You can see in the background B has gotten "Dog Food" instead of "Chocolate Pudding"

They just keep eating

Since everyone is recently fed and exercised, we jump into the car to head home

A trip to the Golden Arches ensures silence for the last 20 minutes of the drive

Easy dinner from the freezer: A gift from very kind friends

We were sent home with magazines for a little "light" reading

Watching Daddy at war with some creeping vines

We have been home approximately 40 minutes, and already toys are strewn everywhere

Preparing for dinner

Who gave this boy a lightsaber? His parents are very concerned

Post-dinner dishes and recycling

Tea

Watch Netflix until bed

SUBMISISONS ARE OVER!

imbroglio — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 04:06:38 GMT

Submissions are over for January 7th, 2016. The next DITL day is TOMORROW, SUNDAY, JANUARY 15th!

Voting for January will begin Wednesday, February 8th.

DITL - January 7, 2017

donnad — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:36:42 GMT

Today is January 7, 2017, Today I am 55 years old.

Morning ablutions

My morning helper, meet Gracie.

Snowy waiting for her morning treats.

Another morning helper, Duchess wants morning cuddles. I pet her while booting the computer.

Another cat waiting for breakfast, This is Tuna.

This is Boy, he waits in his bowl for his morning treats.

I check outside for the outdoor cats, nobody here yet this morning.

That's a heated pad for them to sit on in the winter. Just so you know, they are not my cats, but I have a heated pad and water bowl for them and I feed them. I don't know who they belong to, if anyone, they hang out on my porch in all weather. On particularly cold nights I bring them into my basement because even 50 degrees is warmer than zero. They may be strays, they may have neglectful owners, I don't know, but I take care of them when they are here.

I prep the plates and cat food for everyone.

Then my own breakfast.

My husband wrapped my birthday gifts in Christmas paper.

Lego and a hard to find, rare, Trivial Pursuit Disney edition.

Ah, there's the Captain, He gets fed.

We head out to do a few errands before the snow starts.

Litter

Treats

Next Stop

Decisions...

Decisions...

Decisions...

I opt for a Black Forest cupcake, a triple chocolate cupcake, and a dozen of my favorite macaroons. My husband gets a peanut butter brownie.

I eat the Black Forest cupcake when I get home, while reading facebook.

It's starting to snow.

Snowy wants attention.

I read the paper.

Heat up some leftover mac-n-cheese for lunch.

The mail brings a package from my Artist friend Heidi. She does awesome artwork with dryer lint. Google it, it's amazing.

Even though it's a weekend and my birthday, I still have work to do. I sort earrings for my next event in February.

Do some inventory paperwork while eating the second cupcake.

Clean up my workbench and assemble some more Lego earrings.

Get dinner in the oven, Mustard Chicken.

Work some more on sorting earrings. (there are a lot to sort, I have over 1000 pairs in inventory right now.)

Box up an Etsy sale for shipping.

Dinner is ready.

The little beggar.

Clean dishes to put away befor ethe dinner dishes can be cleaned up.

Run a load of towels through the wash and dry.

Head upstairs to put on jammies and start the humidifier. Another cat, PeeGee asks if it's time for bed.

Back downstairs to watch some old TV.

Then we put on a fun movie.

Snowy approves.

After the movie, crawl into bed with some reading.

That was my day.

ditl 1.07.17

theprophecygirl — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:36:25 GMT

Good morning, says Miss Felicity. Except not really. Because she's been following me around weeping for the past ten minutes--she clearly wasn't ready to wake up, but since I got up to wake up her older sister for cheer choreography camp, she decided to wake up, too. I finally pacify her with a snack until I can get her something more substantial to eat.

Emmie is up and getting ready! She has a very long day today (8-4) with a choreographer their cheer coach flew in to help them get ready for competition season.

This guy is up, too? What happened to sleeping in?

I go to take the last remnants of Christmas down, and Arthur says no. So they stay.

At least someone's getting some sleep. (Not pictured: six year old is still dead to the world as well)

More substantial food for both Emmie and Fliss.

Halfassed getting ready, I'm running out of time.

Do Emmie's hair really quick.

Throw together an iced coffee.

And throw in some laundry; my goal is to get all of the waiting laundry cycled through today.

Baby is dressed and washed up, and apparently...coloring.

Cordie's up! Last one sleeping is Leylie. (Dad is up, but unpictured)

No time to eat, grab and go.

And we're off. Holy nasty weather, batman.

Bye, Emme! Have fun!

It is absolutely dumping when we get to Aldi, so we wait in the car for a bit.

Lightening up a little, so we make a run for it.

Groceries aquired.

She is amused.

I get to see this cute little Leylie face for all of five minutes, while we unpack groceries, and then she and Cordie take off to play outside.

Replenish the lunch box snacks.

Cycle the laundry.

Feed these two a snack to tide them over until lunch is ready.

Lunch prep ahoy.

Aaand we eat.

Power is flickering from the storm, so I light candles as a just in case.

I'm finally brave and set up this Star Wars toy Arthur got for Christmas from his aunt. It takes forever to set up, and falls apart after every turn. I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry.

He really likes it, though, so having to put it back together every thirty seconds is worth it.

Update the calendar.

And put away clean dishes.

More laundry.

I get this Remind just as I'm getting ready to walk out the door...

So I start some more laundry.

After a lot of folding and putting away (not pictured), I grab a snack to go, and Arthur, Felicity and I run over to Publix to grab a few things Aldi didn't have.

These little cookie faces (free cookie every time we go in there!) are super happy. And freezing. Because it's 40 and dropping and they're very much not used to that.

Back at the middle school, we wait for cheer camp to end.

There's Emmie! Eating leftover pizza from their lunch.

She dumps off her cheer supplies (only took three months to come in!) at home and runs outside to play for an hour.

I start on dinner prep with the parmesan sauce for the tilapia.

Sesame green beans ahoy.

Way too lazy for homemade mac and cheese tonight.

The kids arrive home and Leylie discovers the replenished goldfish stock.

Dinner's up!

Thumbs up from this guy.

Emmie practices while we're cleaning up dinner.

Not pictured: baths for a quick rinse off for the little two.

Epic post-high ponytail hair.

"I love cleaning the litterbox," said nobody ever.

Cocoa all around.

Clean up Flissy's zillion cars.

Family fire and a movie.

Last fire remnants while everyone brushes teeth.

Goodnight silly children.

And goodnight, DITL! See you next time.

Important Notes - please read! :)

imbroglio — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 18:15:41 GMT

Hi everyone! QUICK NOTE - first DITL for 2017 is TOMORROW, Saturday, January 7th!

Firstly, I want to say how excited I am by the response and interest by so many people in the group! Thank you for staying involved, 2017 will be awesome!! :)

Secondly, regarding voting for 2017, there will be changes. So many of you voted on the poll regarding voting on DITL entries and I was blown away by the response!

A whopping 70'ish% of you said you didn't want voting on entries! However, because a third of the results was to continue voting I have come up with what I hope is a good balance for everyone. After seeing the opinions of members of the group, the following changes will be made for 2017.

- DITL days will remain the same : once every 8 days, with the specific dates set ahead of time. December will still remain a free submissions period.

- you will have 7 days (rather than the previous 4 days) to submit your DITL post.

- there will be NO WEEKLY voting on entries.

- there WILL be MONTHLY voting on ALL entries submitted over the entire month, but only on those submissions that choose to be included. You can choose to not receive votes even if you submit a DITL post.

- there will be 1 week to vote on entries submitted for the previous month.

- the voting process will be made much easier, so hopefully more members will be able to take a few seconds and vote on their favorite entries.

I hope these changes strike a happy balance for ALL members, and will make the group run smoother!

----------

DITL Dates for January are :
Saturday, January 7th (TOMORROW!) - submissions close Saturday, January 14th, 9PM EST

Sunday, January 15th - submissions close Sunday, January 22nd, 9PM EST

Monday, January 23rd - submissions close Monday, January 30th, 9PM EST

Tuesday, January 31st - submissions close Tuesday, February 7th, 9PM EST

Voting Begins - Wednesday, February 8th
Voting Ends & Winners Announced - Wednesday, February 15th

ONE NY EVE IN DUBAI

gvenvivar — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 18:11:36 GMT

Hi folks, it's been a while since my first and last post here, so I decided to do a little refresh and post a very busy and weird NY Eve (and night) that my husband and I had just survived.
Prehistory: we left Moscow for Dubai almost 6 years ago, and its been totally different experience as far as Christmas and NY is concerned. Temperature about 30C, heat, people in shorts all around, and a bad parody on Christmas trees and the rest of attributes.

Today I wake up later than my usual 6am, keeping in mind that I won't go to bed on my usual 10pm (ooh such a challenge!! Hate to sleep late!)

Cat feeding. If I don't do it first thing in the morning, he will blow my brain and wake up Anton, which I don't want to happen. That's also the reason why I don't put on the light.

Gosh!!! Did any magical force just transferred me from Dubai to London while I was sleeping??!!!

Im trying to draw the face on my face, sighing about my make up leftovers... I'm not using much of make up, that's why I don't have all those tons of bottles and palettes, as all my girlfriends do. There will be no salary in December, so I can't even buy...

Look at these two! Good that I have already dressed and gathered my stuff, cause it's too much temptation to sneak under the blanket again!!

Ready to leave. I was deciding what to wear today for about 5 minutes (which is way too long for me!!!) cause I didn't want to feel formal today, and at the same time I'm going to work... first I thought that I would feel cozy and wintery in this sleeveless turtleneck, but finally I ended up sweating while doing a last minute shopping for the night 😂

Omg!!! I'm freaking out. Am I actually in Dubai???
I am also bit worried cause tonight we planned to go and see Burj Khalifa fireworks, and if it would be foggy, the whole plan is ruined...

So today's plan is to work until afternoon, then go and do last minute shopping, rush back home, clean home as much as possible, cook food and start dinner around 8pm, then leave to Burj Khalifa around 10.30 pm, come back home and keep celebrating until we sleep drunk, my husband and I, two of us. Beautiful I think!
While rolling this in my head, I'm arriving at destination, a small community mall, cause I don't want to suicide by working in big malls on NY Eve.

Mammamia!! I was planning a quiet work on early morning in a small mall, and I come and see this.
I am brand visual merchandiser, so my job is basically to clear all this mess 🙈

Plus, they implemented the sale strategy with a ton of mistakes, so I have to redo all the section, and do it fast, before the store opens!

Done.
And then customers start coming and shopping like crazy for all dress shoes, and I end up serving them cause one staff didn't come in the morning, and I just have to help. I'm a bit angry with guys for not being prepared, and leaving the store in this condition, and I have to wait for the store manager to come and speak to him, so anyways, I'm just helping to serve customers, it's always fun, and I don't want to spoil my NY mood.

It's past noon, when I finally can leave after I did all what I have planned in this store. Bye people! Poor guys, they will be super busy today.

I just realized that I haven't eaten today yet! I sit in Tim Horton, having my favorite falafel and caramel crunch latte. Was supposed to support my NY mood, but apparently this combination wasn't very well accepted by my stomach, but this I felt much later...

I continue working. I have 37 stores across the country that are sending me weekly pictures of display, and I send them the feedback. This takes time, but proved to be very effective, so I do it every free minute. Average 600 pictures per week.

Look at the weather now!! I'm soooo happy!! We are so spoiled here in Dubai... 2-3 hours of fog or clouds, and we are already in depression. But with such sun, life is beautiful, isn't it?)

I am moving to my second and last work destination for today. And there i wisely planned to do my shopping. But need to put petrol first. Omg, what a line!!

While waiting I make shopping list. I'm not good at that, I normally don't do it and forget few important things, but today I just can't fock it up. It's NY night.

I'm lucky to find parking here, seems super busy. Thank you god for this amazing weather!!

I go to the store, planning to spend little time here and do log out. Time is late, and I'm little bit worried that I will be late with cooking. Store is moderately busy, but I meet my two area managers and I take time to discuss few points, plus do a floor walk, greeting the staff and giving few tips about display.

Finally I'm free!!
But again I take time to find the parking next to supermarket, cause I will be carrying heavy bags. I run to the supermarket, and this is the moment when I wish I would have put on something very light and comfortable.

I do all grocery shopping, and here is the breaking moment, when I stack for nearly 30 minutes, trying to pick the movies to watch tonight. Our home is TV-free and Internet-free environment, so we buy movies, or go to cinema, if we want to watch something. But this stupid store have nothing! I end up buying Die Hard 2 😂

I reach home, thinking how to organize all the tasks, and what to start with. I have very limited time to prepare everything. Omg how did this all happen? Why do I end up rushing on this beautiful day?!

Unload the bags. This seems like very few things, was I worth it to kill few good hours for that only?))

To relax and think clearly, I pour myself a glass of white. You deserved it girl. Now go.

Somehow I'm still working 😂

Olala, I compltely forgot that I need to wrap the gift for Anton!!!
As we are very short of money this time, I just bought him the slippers that he really needed ($10) and made the patches with the help of my friends in Levi's (absolutely free, including the patches). What to do, hard times!))

When you are away from your family and land, you start cherishing some things and traditions that seemed stupid or unnecessary before. Like food, for example. All these traditional Russian salads are really heavy and mostly unhealthy, especially when consumed after midnight on NY night, but we miss home atmosphere so much especially during this holiday time, so we end up cooking the same stuff here:)
This one we call 'Herring in Fur', so you have one layer of marinated herring, thin layer of fresh onion (optional but gives amazing taste along with herring), layer of boiled carrot, layer of boiled potatoes, finally layer of boiled beetroot, and covered with generous layer of mayonnaise!

Then you are actually supposed to put it in the fridge for a night, or few hours at least, so that mayonnaise goes through all layers of vegetables, but as I'm not a good housewife, I just cover every layer with a thin portion of mayonnaise, and leave the top layer 'healthy'. This is final result.
While cooking I watch some old Christmas comedy movie and sip wine.

I make another traditional Russian salad, we call it Oliviè, but the rest of the world knows it as 'Russian Salad'. This is another must have on your Russian NY table.

That's it! I clean up the kitchen and put a bowl of mandarins, that is one more must have for a Russian New Year!

Then I go and wash off my makeup cause I feel a bit tired, and I choose a dress for the night :) we are at home, and it's 25+C outside, so I see no reason why I cannot wear shorts!

Time to prepare the house and lit the lights!

And to prepare the terrace outside as well!
We love our outdoor space!

Anton comes home from work!! He brings some props and we dress up!

We decide to give our gifts early! Cause suddenly I get a message from my friend, that she is alone at home, little weirdo. And as a good friends, we cannot leave her alone this night, and we call her over. So that would not be polite to gift to each other in her presence, so we open our gifts now. I get leather cover journal, exact thing that I wanted! Anton gets his slippers :)

We go outside and start the fire. Today the main dish on the table will be grilled ribs!

While grilling, we watch Die Hard 😂 and sip cocktails (Vana Tallin liquor with berry juice). I love these times so much!

Table is ready! Mm, yummy!!!!

A family portrait :)

Finally, when ribs are over, our little Colombian friend finally makes it to our place! Uff, this Colombian timing drives me mad sometimes! It's time to leave, so we are little bit in a rush.

It's not easy to watch fireworks in Dubai. They shoot directly from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world! We have been here for 5 NYears and we have never watched it even close! The whole area of downtown is closed from 6pm on NY day, and all roads 5 km around are completely packed with cars! You can't even get close, and if you happened to be somewhere around on midnight, it will take at least 3 hours after the fireworks to get out. Taxis are cancelled, metro is shut, so you just have to walk, and Dubai is not a walk-friendly city, trust me!
So we chose the place near Meydan Racecourse, in the deserted area, where you still can have a good view of the Burj Khalifa, and it seemed relatively easy for us to drive there and drive back.
There were few other people around, who also came to that point to watch the show, but it wasn't crowded at all! We brought the folding chairs and mandarins, and settled :)

And so it starts!

It was a fairly good view point! Unfortunately you can't take the best pictures with iPad, but I'm not a photography fan either.

The show goes for good 10 minutes, and it's getting really smoky! I dont envy those people who is watching it from the downtown area itself!!

And imagine how actual residents of Burj Khalifa experience this!!

Finale!... it looks like a battlefield!
Time to run away from here, cause after 5 minutes all the roads in the city, leading From downtown towards the outskirts will be packed!

We reach home and sit outside to enjoy drinks and watch the movies!

Beautiful fresh night, and it's not foggy at all! I think Dubai government had something to do with that.

Daniela is leaving before this time, and we realize that it's really late, but somehow we are not even drunk, and still excited, though, physically tired, so we force ourselves to go to bed.

Where I pour myself another drink, and do some relaxation procedures, and finally fall asleep :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

cohen — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 18:10:08 GMT

No warnings...

Diego has me up at 4:30 a.m. Thank you so much tiny wonder.

By 5 a.m. all the dishes are done

Batman is awake and presents are opened!

Daddy and Diego opening presents.

Coffee time in my new cup!

Cinnamon rolls!

So delicious.

Play some Mario on my new 3DS XL while the baby snoozes and Jasper is occupied.

This guy is already overloaded on excitement.

Sweet boy wakes up so we set him in his Christmas present while we clean the house before heading to the in-laws.

Husband and I ready for the day.

The boys <3

Bunicu (Grandpa in Romanian) and Jasper!

More coffee! So very tired.

Present opening x2

Buni's favorite, feeding her Grandsons.

Christmas lunch. Sarmale, stuffed cabbage rolls, and Ham. I love being married to an Eastern European and all the delicious food I was introduced to.

He's only eating for cake. Bribery.

Baby reaches his limit, time to head home.

Husband and I cuddle and zone out to our respective technologies while Diego snoozes and Jasper has some quiet time.

My best friend stops by to drop off presents. She's a mail carrier and she worked insane hours leading up to Christmas, we never got to see her.

Claud and Jasper figure out the Code-a-pillar. Husband is a Software Engineer so seeing Jasper so obsessed with this toy was awesome for him.

Too distracted to nurse.

We take a Christmas day walk, it was gorgeous out. I love the PNW.

Legos!

Diego's favorite present.

Husband and I each take turns chilling out. I read some GoT's and play some Mario.

Bed time for this guy.

Working on crawling, he's so close!

I forgot to take a picture of Diego going to bed and our dinner, but dessert! This cake was indulgent and tasty.

I get a little misty eyed taking this last Christmas tree picture. It goes by so darn fast.

Bedtime finally, after a long and happy day

imbroglio — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:12:05 GMT

In an effort to get DITL back on track for the new year, as simply and swiftly as possible, I have approved all previous DITL's submitted and there will be no voting on any of them. Please look through them and leave comments, though!!

OPEN SUBMISSIONS : For the rest of the month, and up until January 6th, 2017, you can submit a DITL done on any day and it will be approved immediately. There will be no voting on these entries, they are purely to share any special or memorable days during the holiday season. :)

2017 : The first DITL of 2017 will be on Saturday 7th January! I truly hope that we will have many submissions next year and that this group will once again be the amazing place it was!!

A COMPETITION OF SORTS : Submit a picture before January 1st, as a comment to this post, and have it eligible for voting. The winner's picture will be used as the group's Bio page image. The current image is this -

Any pictures similar to the above picture (something creative that shows the word DITL) will be accepted!

A POLL : For 2017, would you prefer the format remain the same, with voting on the entries each week, or would you rather have no voting and simply have people submit their DITL's for sharing purposes? You have until January 1st to vote!

View Poll: Voting or No Voting

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS - please vote in the above poll, but please feel free to leave any additional thoughts regarding the issue in the comments, for further discussion/consideration. I'm wondering if something like voting once a month, on all the posts for that month, and then a Best Of for the year based on those 12 winners, would be something people would prefer? Or, simply no voting at all.

Thank you all so much!

Summer day in October

zhelana — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:11:18 GMT

The morning starts out early - 5am I'm up, I just don't want to acknowledge it yet. I try to get back to sleep while my husband showers, but it doesn't work.

This was already slightly ripped, but someone ripped it up last night to find a comfortable place to sleep. Little bastard.

My morning dose of politics.

Aggie comes to hang out.

I change into one of my few not-funny t-shirts.

8am means traffic on Buford Hwy. It's always there at 8, usually goes away by 9.

Into the office building.

Into the waiting room to wait for group to start. We do paperwork for the day, and talk.

After group, I get my lunch, and head to my next appointment.

Stripling Elementary School

My student and I fill out a worksheet all about him, and then I read him a book.

Then I head to my final appointment for the day - my therapist.

Come home to email.

And daily tasks

Lunch meds

Supposed to be taken with food, and it's been a while since lunch, so I eat this cookie.

Fill up my cup with water.

I'm "cooking" lol

And dinner meds. I immediately fall asleep around 6pm Zzz.

10/3/16 in Seattle

speaksoftlylove — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:11:06 GMT

I'm Anjelica, 28, living in Seattle. Monday, October 3rd was my last day at my former job and I only had a half-day scheduled, so it's a day of hanging out with my boyfriend and our pets.

Good morning! If you read my DITLs before, you might be thinking that it's 6am. Nope! I don't work until 2:30 today and my boyfriend, Noah, has a rotating day off, so we're both sleeping in!

A quick catchup if you're used to reading my South Korea DITLs: after 3.5 years in Korea, I moved to Seattle after Christmas. Why Seattle? Because while in Korea, I met Noah. Seattle is his hometown. For the past 9 months I've been working at a wellness clinic, but tomorrow I'll be starting a new job!

Time check and searching for things to do today. I saw on the SeattleWA Reddit that someone was looking for a cider mill for donuts and apple picking. That's exactly what I'm looking for! Unfortunately it's all about a 90 minute drive away.

Elise is still in bed.

...But Clementine is awake! Noah and I adopted her in July. She's a 7 year old chihuahua-terrier mix. We adopted her from Homeward Pet in Woodinville, so if you're in the Seattle area and looking for a new family member, check them out. They're no kill and the prices are super cheap.

Time for a bathroom break!

Hmm, the plants are looking better.

Down into the backyard to pee.

"Hmmm, do I smell the pee of another dog?"

And now back up!

Inside, Elise is waiting for breakfast.

Time check + adding things to my packing list. In less than 2 weeks Noah and I will be flying to my hometown of Detroit for my best friend's wedding.

Diaper time. This month Clem's decided to start marking in the house. We've tried restricting access to different areas or keeping her on a leash indoors, but the only thing we've found that works is a diaper. She's very good about putting it on and wearing it.

"oh help"

Yawn, stretch.

I go into the spare room to do some reading. It gets better sunlight in the morning.

I'm reading Saga. If you're at all into graphic novels (or if you aren't, honestly), give it a try! It's really engaging.

"Are we taking pictures?"

Elise sees something outside.

Can you see the strain on my face? This picture was the end result of 10+ pictures, trying to get them to look at me.

By the way: some of these photos might look like they've been taken by another person. Actually, I used my selfie stick.

Noah walks quickly by and Clem gets up to investigate. He has to move his car by 9am and it's 9:30!

Back to bed.

We had discussed catching a movie this morning, but there's nothing good showing. Also, I'm getting a spot!

Making an effort. I've been trying to get used to contacts, but I hate them.

In the kitchen, Noah is making breakfast! A chorizo scramble.

Creepin.

Pondering a poop.

I'll wait. The frames on the table are for our Day of the Dead altar. Since I've been abroad so long, it's been a while since I've had a nice one, and so we picked up some frames the day before.

At last!

Noah is still waging war with the Sunday crossword.

Please pay attention to me.

Clothes for the day. The boots were free from the Buy Nothing facebook group and the dress was free from a foreigner clothing swap in Korea. And yes it's the same dress that I wore for the last 10 DITLs :)

Contemplating the weather and suggesting a walk. Noah's butt looks really big there and I don't know how.

I decided to try mascara today. Normally I wear powder and eyeliner, but I want something new. Unfortunately I only wear mascara for weddings of NYE, so this bottle is old and clumpy. Any suggestions? I don't want any more length, I just want my eyelashes to be darker and maybe curled more.

Time for your walk!

We thrifted her this sweater.

Alert ears.

Grateful ears.

We decide to walk her through the Arboretum.

A new friend! This does my heart some good. Clem was great with dogs when we got her. Then she was fearful and snappy. Then she was fine. Then she was barky. Now she might be back to fine?

At the house, she begs for cuddles. This is the clingiest, neediest dog I've ever encountered.

We sign her up for Doggy Haven's Cautious to Confident classes. We wanted to sign her up for them before, but they never fit with our schedule. Luckily, Noah's taken a promotion recently, so he'll be able to choose Thursdays for his rotating day off.

It's after noon, now, and I've got work at 2:30. We decide to head to a cafe now the street from my office.

Noah stops at Starbucks to see if they have the paper. He wants to try the Monday crossword. Turns out that they do have the paper, but no seating. He takes the crossword and we leave. Check out this cool dog.

We go down the street to another coffee shop. Just as he's pulling in, the power steering goes! Noah gets out to refill it.

Inside the cafe: I'm drinking chai hot cocoa and reading Saga, he's doing the crossword and drinking drip.

I forgot to upload the next chapter. :( I switch to Without You, There Is No Us: My Time With the Sons of North Korea. Pretty interesting so far.

We stay for about an hour and then get in the car. However, it's making an awful noise.

Noah decides to walk down to Jiffy Lube. I'm about 5 blocks from my work, so I decide to just walk there.

But first, I have to print, sign, and scan the background check form for my new position. Luckily there's a UPS nextdoor. I've got 15 minutes.

And with just enough time, I arrive at work!

It's a bittersweet last day. My replacement has been in training and I've been coming in to help out or to advise her. But there's still lots to be done. My boss is going on a trip the next day, so the office will be closed to patients for two weeks. That means there's lots of paperwork and lots of double checking for me to do.

Bathroom break at 4:01! Noah updates me.

At 6:29, I'm done!

Goodbye, office :( I'm sad. I loved working there. I loved my boss. I learned lots of great new skills and I'm excited for the future, but I've had so much change in the last year that I just want something that I can grow with.

Outside, my bus is here.

Chats while I ride home. Tiffany (a friend and neighbor from Korea!) has moved to Kirkland and I was interviewing for a position in the same building as her. I did get an offer, but went with a job downtown instead. Meanwhile, I got an email from HR saying that my start date will be Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Bummer!

Off my bus, I have to walk down this spooky street.

I facetime my sister for company, and we talk until I get home.

In the kitchen, Noah is making dinner.

It's one of our favorites! Garlic pesto pasta with mushrooms and chicken and asparagas.

Hurry up pasta!

We eat in front of the TV.

Noah loves X-Files.

Clem is content and occupied.

And Elise is cuddly.

After the episode, I remove my contacts and mascara. It's about 8pm and neither are comfortable.

A little experiment: a patient once told me that wrapping a candle in aluminum foil causes the wax on the sides to melt down, so that you can get the longest use out of the candle.

Uploading my pictures.

Around this time I went into the bathroom and saw that there was a bit of pee on the rug! We were both angry. Clementine had peed her diaper earlier so it was in the wash, which is why she wasn't wearing anything and was able to mark in the bathroom. (FYI, she gets two potty breaks in the morning, one at night, and two walks. So that's 5 chances to pee throughout the day. She never had this problem until a couple weeks ago.)

Noah takes the dog for a walk and returns with ice cream for me! I've been getting a bit lactose intolerant and already feeling a bit dodgy because of the cream pasta, but fuck it, why not.

I send my sister a book. I've heard it recommended for if you're in an abusive relationship. Luckily I am NOT, and Noah and I get along great, but I do tend to be a bit suspicious of men, so I thought this book would be a great place to start.

Re-diapering the baby. Yes, that's a cut up pad in her diaper.

What a little turd.

I show Noah some of the pictures.

And decide to sit on the ground. My stomach doesn't feel well :(

After about an hour of being sick, I'm feeling much better and join Noah on the couch:

I even look worse for wear hahah :'( I tried to get Noah to "act natural" for the photo.

...but he won't stop posing! He told me, "I've been posing all day." Ok.

It's 11pm and even the dog is ready to sleep. We find her in her bed.

Elise is also in bed, having a bath.

Turn on the heated blanket, as I am a reptile.

Betime cuddles. Noah ties her to the dresser. We do this so that she won't jump into bed with us. She barks/howls in a crate and we can't have her waking our neighbors. On the leash, she goes to sleep peacefully in her own little bed.

Laughing about our POS pets.

Scoping my boyfriend.

Goodnight!

mamiesgoo — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:10:55 GMT

DITL Sept 1st 2016

I haven't done one of these in a few years so I had a hard time remembering to actually take pictures. I am Jamie, mom to 3 girls (13, 10 and 7) from Ohio and newishly married to Cody. Pretty Laid back day. This is our second year homeschooling, we haven't started school yet this year.

Thursdays I nanny for a girl I've known since Kindergarten. They're a homeschool family as well so the kids have a lot of fun playing in their class (school doesn't start until after labor day for us)

So I say goodbye to my husband, we usually don't see each other on Thursdays our schedules overlap a bit. He works second shift so it kind of stinks :(

Imagine 4 girls getting ready. The struggle is real no matter how much we plan ahead something is always crazy. But meds and a shake later we're out the door on time luckily. I was Dx'd with PCOS after 2 MCs and had an ovary removed at the end of May. I'm trying to get a grip on the loss of hormones with that.

Baby cuddles. My youngest is almost 8. When I first started DITLs I wasn't even pregnant with her yet! Playing and Snacks. The drive there is almost all corn. My oldest took a few of these pictures for me :)

I think they've convinced me to buy a hamster for Christmas. Shhh

So gross. I think diluting it makes it worse even. I'm not sure its helping any I've been cramping since I started it. :(
We actually didn't miss each other today and grabbed a kiss between shifts as he ran out the door when I got home lol.

The before and after. Always.

My friend Tiffany brought us dinner. Not pictured, food coma, bed time and hanging out with the husband around 2am FINALLY <3

meathiel — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:10:45 GMT

Kerstin, 40s, southwest Germany
First time poster

Good morning ... it's way too early ... as usual.

Pick some clothes

Morning ablutions

Breakfast

Teeth

Put on my face

And some scent

That's as good as it gets ... sorry blurry, the hall is too dark

It's going to be a hot day - so skirt it is

Pick the jewelllery - I wear the same rings every day but usually choose different earrings and necklaces

I'm early so I water the plants

My street to the left

And to the right

My trusted steed

Time I arrive at work

The building I work in - dates back to the 1960s

I'm the first like every morning

My office is right at the end of this corridor

My desk is the one in the left-hand corner. And yay ... my colleague actually closed the blinds last night! (Remember - hot day!)

The not so nice view from my window

As it's not work time yet I settle down with some internetting

Coffee!

Then I start some real work

No unread emails ... yay!

Lunch is not pictured as it would have felt weird to take the mobile phone to the canteen and take photos. We have a quite good canteen, though, and today's food was curry chicken and rice.

It's getting warm in the office - the thermometer shows almost 30°C (86° F)

Keeping hydrated

Finally time to go home - I leave early because of the temperatures

Walk through the park to the parking lot

Ugh!

Traffic jam on the Autobahn - don't worry ... I was stationary at that moment!

Almost home

Home, sweet home

Get the mail

Open the mail - concert tickets I ordered just 2 days before

*cough* More washi tape *cough*

Dinner (tea?) - a roll with cold cuts and cheese, a tomato with balsamic cream and mineral water with (pink) grapefruit juice

After dinner I start working on the photos

Moar LJ

Around 7.30 p.m. I take a shower

Water the indoor plants - and yes, my house has Halloween deco 365 days a year! ;-)

Healthy snack - honey melon and more hydration

Time for the news on TV - I am not amused about the weather forecast!

More TV - Quantico

The sunset is lovely tonight

Some reading happens as well

And a not so healthy snack - it was that kind of day at work (I didn't eat the whole thing - there were only 4 pieces left!)

Evening ritual

And good night!

August DITL: A Day at the Races

purerandomness — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:10:32 GMT

17 August was Italian-American day at Saratoga Racec course. J performed and the boys watched horse races.

Warning: There are a few photos of horses racing. I'm not entirely certain how I feel about horse racing in general, but I did not see any horses being maltreated or injured and all the horses I saw seemed to be healthy and in good spirits.

Good morning from this stinker pot!

I had to use the flash to get this picture of him on the stairs, and he thought it was hilarious!

We fold the laundry

J plays his latest composition on the dog xylophone

A full clothesline is a happy clothesline

And a weeded garden is a happy one

We're expecting visitors later today, so I put the big boys to work!
B, at 7, is fantastic with the vacuum

L helps clean the bathrooms

It's 10 AM, and I finally manage to shower and get dressed myself

Looking sleepy

While J naps, the boys play quietly

Time for lunch!

Time to get our shoes on!

On the road

In the stroller and ready to check things out!

We leave Daddy and Miss C to set up for their gig

The boys and I head out to the track and they find prime viewing spots right against the fence

We are just in time-- they start a race within a couple minutes and the horses fly by just on the other side of the fence!
You can see the horse and jockey wearing red on the bottom left of the photo-- above the boy wearing a white hat and red shirt.

We walk out of the grandstand and see that the trainers are bringing in the next round of horses from the stables for their races

They're beautiful

The boys spy a playground just opposite the pavilion where Jake is performing. This ends up being the best possible solution as they run around and slide while I push the baby in the stroller and J performs!
Our friends join us and the boys have a friend who can run around with them.

During a break in his performance, Daddy comes over to chat with the boys as we watch more horses being led into the track

J and C, performing an opera piece

The boys get restless, so we head out to the track again

It's quite sunny and warm

........

There's a break in my picture taking, but here we are driving home. The boys take long overdue naps

We ordered take out on the drive home, and set up for dinner almost as soon as we walk in the door.

We feed Olive right away, too

The Gigi and Papa are here to help with home improvement projects and watch the children

I couldn't help myself-- his curls were too adorable not to photograph

The boys take a "night" swim around 8 pm. It's not really all that dark, but I used the flash anyway. B is underneath the bubbles next to L-- none of the pictures I took had him above water.

Baby is tired and cranky. I take him upstairs and give him nursies

He eventually falls asleep

Gigi oversees the boys brushing their teeth and reads them stories before bed.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016 DITL

spryng — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:10:21 GMT

It's been a while! We are officially moved out of the grand, arid state of Arizona and now live in Michigan as of last week. It's been an, uh, adventure!

I'm 8 months pregnant, working at home without central a/c, still have two cats, and my microbiologist wife just started her 2 year postdoc at MSU. Let's go!

Mornin'.

Open the window and turn on the fan.

Also open the front door to the porch.

First morning we've been under 80 degrees! Woo! Our new house doesn't have a/c and it has been a bit of a challenge.

Get some coffee and a little bread because omg hungry.

Check the emails and make sure the internet is still there. Spoiler: It is.

A wild Lady appears!

Cats give up on trying to convince us they should be fed and lounge.

After coffee is finished, I head out to the garage.

Small but significant garage gym.

I do a few lightweight movements to ease myself back into lifting. It's been uh, a while since I last lifted between weddings and moving and everything.

Back inside. Got a little darker with more rain.

Lady looks for breakfast.

I rinse off because humidity = all the sweat.

Feed the ~~sharks~~ cats.

One of our cats (see: above) has been having more trouble than the other adjusting to the new place, so it's something to see her up and out and looking around.

Breakfast is a peach omelette. Mmm, peaches. Apparently MI is really good for peaches? Who knew.

Time to take Lady to work.

Time check (and temp check [and weather check]).

Drop off the Lady.

Stop and grab a few groceries on the way back home.

Definitely didn't get a pastry. But it goes well with tea. :)

Then it's (finally) time to get to work. My job in AZ has let me stay on and work remotely, but it means working during their hours, which translates to 10am-7pm.

Although it's relatively cool this morning, it's muggy as all get-out, so I turn on the a/c. That water is from two hours of running.

Migrate to the couch for a while after an epic 3 hour meeting.

Kona has laid claim to the glider.

The PODs guy has come to take away our POD! Woo! We emptied it when it arrived on Thursday and it's been blocking our driveway all weekend. So glad to have it, but so glad to see it gone.

I take my lunch and check the mail. Ads. Woo.

Lunch is leftover pulled pork, some toasted sourdough, and a cut up carrot.

With time to spare, I pull on my shoes to escape the house on a walk. Hard being in one place all day.

Thankfully, there's a park only a few minutes away!

Green!

So green!

Obligatory walking bump photo.

I can't get over how green it is.

And the TREES. They're so BIG.

Aaand back.

... to work. My office is pretty dull, isn't it? Hopefully I can fix that soon.

A wild Lady appears and promptly takes a nap. Not pictured: picking her up from work, because I forgot my camera. Just reverse the drop-off photos above and it's pretty much the same. :)

More work and kombucha.

Lady helps update the grocery list.

I have a snack which basically becomes dinner.

Everybody's asleep but me.

FINALLY time to get off work. While I like starting at 10am, I really really dislike ending at 7. Blrgh.

This cat. Has not moved. All. Day.

Lady is awake, so we grab keys and shoes and head out.

And we acquire the kitchen island I'd ordered last week. For the nth time, I am pleased with our choice to buy a bigger car wot has a roof rack.

Some serious kitchen island pieces. They'll be unpacked the next day. And assembled eventually.

Lady has a sandwich for dinner.

I rinse off again because humidity ick.

Read a little bit.

And good night!

cohen — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:10:13 GMT

A slightly busy DITL. A nice summer Sunday, we went out to lunch with a friend and checked out a street fair. No warnings other than breastfeeding.

Jasper and Candy Cane. First thing I see when I come out of the bedroom.

I pump since husband fed baby Diego a bottle and let me snooze a bit longer.

This sweet boy wakes up from his first nap.

He is out of control cute. Dressed for the day.

He requires the real deal.

Put Diego in the "command center" as my husband calls it to get the house picked up.

Clean up soundtrack.

Before.

After.

Ready for the day. A baby I can't put down in hand.

Cute husband is cute. We are waiting for Old Navy to open.

Jasper is stuck trying on clothes with me.

At Target trying on even more clothes. Poor kid. I'm still at an awkward post-baby weight. I hate how everything fits.

Sharp.

My bestfriend Jenny gets here. Jasper immediately drags her into his bedroom and she immediately snags the baby.

We all walk over to our lunch destination. Diego thankfully falls asleep.

We love this place because it has a great enclosed kids area.

This happens.

Beer cheese soup and an amazing cheese burger. It was all delicious.

"Gimmick toys" Jasper is in his zone.

Street fair.

Checking out the chickens.

This guy fussed all the way home, desperately wanting some boob. Now he is satiated and back to his happy self.

"Hold my cheese stick, it hurts to hold things in both of my hands" Ah, kid logic.

Jasper eats dinner.

I play some Mario World 3. I'm trying so hard to make it through the game, but I'm so bad.

He was so grumpy, yet so happy to see me upon waking up from his nap.

I cuddle with this drooler as my husband tries to keep Jasper in bed. Since having Diego bedtime has been a complete nightmare.

Grilling dinner.

It was delicious.

Finally.

Put this guy to bed.

Snickers ice cream bar and Twin Peaks.

Finally at a ridiculously early hour, Post Secret and bed. Our Sunday tradition.

JULY 23rd SUBMISSIONS ARE OVER!

imbroglio — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:16:56 GMT

The submission period for ditl July 23rd has ended!

To vote for your favorite entries, go here.

You have until Friday, September 2nd to get your votes in! TOMORROW, Thursday September 1st is the next ditl day. Remember that if you friends-lock your entries, non-members who normally vote will not be able to see them.

ENTRIES
simplisticwords's entry
m0rg4n's entry

DITL: July 23rd

m0rg4n — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:13:42 GMT

Day Trip/Grandparents Visit/Anniversary DITL!

Indy knows what day it is... DITL DAY!

He's awake and gets breakfast first.

Although he's not too happy about cameras instead of cuddles.

Grandma wakes up and comes downstairs.

Indy is serious about cuddling.

Everyone's awake now!

Aaaand we're off.

Bad selfie is bad.

Grandpa via mirror

Grandma too.

Destination reached.

Zoe steals the camera and leaves me with my phone.

I have no idea which pictures are hers or mine.

Love this kid.

Info about Bolton Abbey

Cows? Really?

Important stop before leaving.

Home again and taking a break outside.

Dinner out because it's our 15th Anniversary!

Home late and bedtime.

DITL - 23 July 2016, a typical lazy Saturday.

simplisticwords — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:13:37 GMT

A typical lazy Saturday for me. No warnings, unless you don't like fanfic, cooked meat, or a potential relationship argument via text.

Too early, for a Saturday.

Weather is ... ugh. (The rain/thunderstorm they were calling for, never happened, lol)

Decide to have a long overdue read in bed.

Check on the man.

Woke up from an unintended nap.

Read an online comic.

Watch some TV.

Eventually decide to get up and do something productive today.

Attempt to tackle this.

Take a break.

Mostly done - I finished what was in the sink and started supper.

Supper (homemade-ish beef and broccoli stirfry over noodles).

The man went to the store to get ginger-ale and I yelled at him as he was heading out the door to get another item.

My upset stomach remedy.

Read some more.

Decide a shower would not go amiss.

Read yet more.

Have a worried conversation with the man when he went out for his Pokemon Go walk (he apologized and agreed to keep me in the loop better).

Queue up one of the DC cartoons on Netflix that never fails to help me relax and sleep. I usually fall asleep within the first 15 minutes (eventually I will watch the whole thing through, awake).

imbroglio — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:12:46 GMT

Rules:

1. Return to this entry over the course of the submission period to vote for as many entries that you felt were particularly good/moving/touching/funny/unique/interesting, but please no "Ballot box stuffing". Any double votes will be discounted.
2. Votes are hidden, so you can feel free to NOT vote for your best friend. They'll never know.
3. Votes for yourself will not be counted: don't throw your vote away!
4. Non-members can vote.
5. Each submission will have a comment left by a mod that links back to this voting entry so you can vote instantly. Results will be posted on Friday, September 2nd. The next DITL day is TOMORROW, Thursday, September 1st.
6. The winner of last week's DITL (purerandomness) cannot be voted for, however they can still submit this week and you can feel free to leave them comments.
7. Moderators cannot receive votes. Mods are imbroglio and babyslime.
8. Please vote for entries using the Livejournal username of the poster you are voting for, not a link to their entry.

When you vote, the text box you used will no longer be available: to make sure you get adequate space to vote for your favorites, I've offered five polls. Overflow can go into screened comments.

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July 15th WINNERS!

imbroglio — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:08:42 GMT

First purerandomness
Second: m0rg4n

SUBMISSIONS ARE OVER!

imbroglio — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 16:13:06 GMT

The submission period for ditl July 15th has ended!

To vote for your favorite entries, go here.

You have until TOMORROW, THURSDAY JULY 28th to get your votes in! Sunday, July 31st is the next ditl day. Remember that if you friends-lock your entries, non-members who normally vote will not be able to see them.

ENTRIES
purerandomness's entry
m0rg4n's entry

DITL: July 15th

m0rg4n — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 16:10:11 GMT

I love puppy cuddles in the morning.

Morning starts with B leaving for work.

Indy and I go back to sleep.

Kid is the first to come downstairs.

Followed by a visiting Grandma!!!

Indy isn't sure what to do with extra people.

This is the face I get when I tell her it's a DITL day.

Or maybe because I told her to clean up her dishes.

Taking a puppy break.

Brad's HOME!

Someone was missed.

Proof that Grandpa was here too!

Dinner was had and enjoyed.

Someone still doesn't want her picture taken.

Time for visiting.

Good night moon.

Vacation DITL in Montreal

purerandomness — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 16:10:03 GMT

Early 10th anniversary trip to Montreal, Quebec

Wake up in our swanky hotel

J heads down to get some coffee, so I read for a bit

A decadent breakfast in the room

Time to pump

Take a look at the hotel-provided map. Today our objective is Mont Royal

We plan our route in the hotel, then take a screen shot to remind us as we won't have internet while we're out

Heading out before it gets too hot and admire the architecture

Entering the park

We stick to the trails at first, but continue heading left and up the mountain. Pretty soon, we're off the beaten track but continue forging ahead!

We made it! Not the smartest climb up a cliff face in sandals and with 80% humidity, but we did it and were rewarded with this amazing view.

Our "trail" to get to the top. We weren't the first to "hike" this, but I doubt it is a city-sanctioned path. (If it looks like it goes straight down, you're right)

If we needed any more proof that we were going the wrong way, we now have to climb over this fence.
Now we're back on an officially-sanctioned trail and decide to stay there the rest of the morning.

It's at this point that J turns to look at me and says "I'm afraid of heights"

We round a bend in the trail and suddenly we are at the giant cross on top of the mountain

A bit later, we reach the Chateau-du-Mont-Royal

They've wheeled out a decorated piano onto the square, so J sits right down

And what does one play while in French-speaking Montreal?
Debussy, of course

We decided to check out the interior of the chateau before moving on

It was like an enormous converted hunting lodge

We continue walking around the park and find a lake. Of course, we need to check it out more closely

And finally, our ultimate destination: Mont Royal Cemetery!
We are headed here for a pamphlet about an arboretum tour through the cemetery.

A long-lost branch of the family tree, perhaps?

We only do a small part of the arboretum tour. Our feet were getting pretty tired

Along with the tree pamphlet, the woman in the cemetery office gave us another pamphlet with "noted people" buried in the cemetery. Here was one we found.

We also found the Jewish area of the cemetery

And the World War II-era military section

We head along Park Avenue and find this convent along the outskirts of the park.

And we're back where we started!

And this is where we were

We head back to our hotel via McGill University

Well, thank goodness we found this Jeep! I feel much safer now.

We quench our thirst with some Canadian beer when we get back to our room

Order room service

And take a well-deserved nap!

A latte when we wake up

We stop by the souvenir shop to get something small for the boys

Rest our weary, aching feet at the plaza

We head up to our hotel's top floor terrace to enjoy the last of the beer and champagne. It's lovely, but blazing hot, so we last approximately 8 minutes before heading back downstairs

We have some time to kill before dinner, so I draw a warm bath. I can't put down the book-- it's really drawn me in!

J relaxes too

Then we get all dressed up for our fancy "it's not quite but close enough" 10-year anniversary dinner
We are horrible at taking selfies

Did you know Montreal still had working pay phones?

We still have some time to waste before our dinner reservations and we're here, so we thought we might as well do the tourist-y bit. This is Old Montreal

I wonder how many people actually wear fur dresses?

We decide to rent Bixi bikes to get us to our dinner because we can't think of walking any further

Pre-dinner caipirinhas and chips

And we're seated out in the back terrace for dinner

We had the rabbit nuggets as appetizer, then J picked the duck breast with cherries while I had the lobster spaghetti. We ate until we were stuffed and every bite was delicious.

We talk and sip wine as the lights come on and evening falls.

We Bixi back to the hotel, an exercise in danger at night on busy streets

We read, watch TV, and fall asleep

imbroglio — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 16:08:33 GMT

Rules:

1. Return to this entry over the course of the submission period to vote for as many entries that you felt were particularly good/moving/touching/funny/unique/interesting, but please no "Ballot box stuffing". Any double votes will be discounted.
2. Votes are hidden, so you can feel free to NOT vote for your best friend. They'll never know.
3. Votes for yourself will not be counted: don't throw your vote away!
4. Non-members can vote.
5. Each submission will have a comment left by a mod that links back to this voting entry so you can vote instantly. Results will be posted TOMORROW, Thursday July 28th. The next DITL day is Sunday, July 31st.
6. Moderators cannot receive votes. Mods are imbroglio and babyslime.
7. Please vote for entries using the Livejournal username of the poster you are voting for, not a link to their entry.

When you vote, the text box you used will no longer be available: to make sure you get adequate space to vote for your favorites, I've offered five polls. Overflow can go into screened comments.

View Poll: July 15th, #1

View Poll: July 15th, #2