A Week In Seattle, WA, On A $150,500 Joint Income

Occupation: Communications Coordinator
Industry: Housing
Age: 25
Location: Seattle, WA
Joint Salary: $150,500 (My salary is $68,000, my husband's is $82,500.)
Net Worth: $275,864.43 (Current home value: $654,701, car values: $34,398 combined, $8,005.40 in mutual funds, $15,941.53 in investments, $25,122 in combined savings, $7,713.49 in credit union savings, $29,447.02 combined retirement 401(k); $13,681.72 in company restricted stock units minus debt.)
Debt: $513,146.18 (mortgage balance)
My Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $2,154.62
My Husband's Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $2,462.54
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses
Mortgage: $3,270.02 (mortgage + HOA fee)
Water/Sewage: $118.69
Electricity: $94.50
Gas: $17
Garbage: $47
Car Insurance: $91.62
Long-Term Care Insurance: $81 (We got this plan to opt-out of the WA Cares Fund, and I'm glad we did because it was extremely problematic.)
Health Insurance: $0 (Husband's company pays.)
401(k): $264
Peloton Bike/App: $18.57 ($75 expensed through work.)
Spotify: $10
Seed Probiotic: $50
Bark Box: $28.67
Netflix/HBO Max/Hulu: Family shares logins
Therapy: $40 for my husband, $24 for me

Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes. My parents told me early on that attending college was my path and I never questioned it. I loved school, and college was the opportunity I needed to get out of my small town. I was fortunate enough that my parents paid for my college education. The one condition was that I needed to work during high school and college to make money for myself. My senior year of college was paid for with a credit union account and whatever was leftover I got to keep to jump-start my savings. I ended up finishing college a quarter early and that leftover money went to a new car and down payment on our house.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
Honestly, not a lot. I was fortunate that money was not a huge concern in our household (that I knew of). However, I wish we had more useful conversations about insurance, budgeting, saving, etc.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was as a cashier at my family's store. The store has been around for over 50 years. My brother and I both worked at the family business because we always had a job there. It was a good first job, fun to work with my dad, but it always felt lame compared to my friends who worked at coffee shops.

Did you worry about money growing up?
No. The only time I remember being worried was during the Great Recession of 2008. My parents were worried about our store. Everything turned out fine, but I remember being very worried that our business would go under.

Do you worry about money now?
All. The. Time. Which is funny, because my husband and I both have good, well-paying jobs. After we bought our townhome, we were really stressed about money. A mortgage was so much more than rent — even though we knew it was helping us build equity — and we were worried about being “house poor,” or only having money to buy a house and having nothing left for activities. That has not been the case so far and I love owning our home. But we do have to pay extra attention to where our money goes and how much we have at the end of the month. We want to start to rebuild our savings (since we spent almost all of it to buy a house), so there's a lot of financial balancing that needs to happen to do so.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became financially independent after I graduated college at age 22. I started paying for my own rent, groceries, bills, you name it. I had a job at the time, so it was a good lesson on how to budget my money and learn what I could afford. It felt nice to be financially independent.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My husband received $50,000 from his family's business. He was a part-owner in their physical office space, and when the company sold it, he got his share of the stake. It was a huge boost to his savings and helped us have the money to afford our house.

7:15 a.m. — I hear my husband, J., wake up to take the puppy out. We have an 11-week-old puppy, R., and we alternate nights of waking up for potty breaks, and it is J.'s night/morning. I sleep for a little while longer.

7:45 a.m. — I feel bad that J. has been dealing with the puppy all morning, so I force myself out of bed, take my morning medicine (thyroid and probiotic), brush teeth, change and head downstairs. R. is surprisingly calm, so I take him while J. makes us morning coffees with our Breville espresso maker — we used wedding money to purchase it and have never looked back. I've never been a morning person, but a puppy forces me to be one, and it's nice to enjoy coffee together on the couch! I read and finish my book before my book club tonight.

9 a.m. — Grab a yogurt cup and log onto my computer to start the workday. It's nice to have a short week due to a holiday yesterday, but there's a lot to catch up on. Sadly, our department was reorganized and I was moved to a different team, so I actually don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I notice I'm almost out of my to-do list pages, so I order a new one from Amazon. I will always and forever be a person who likes to physically write things down and cross them off. $11.01

12 p.m. — Time for lunch! I have a 1 p.m .meeting so if I don't eat now, I never will. Today is a salad with butter lettuce, chicken sausage, sautéed fingerling potatoes, cucumber, avocado, green onion, green olives, crumbled goat and sheep milk feta, and sunflower seeds, drizzled with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Today's is kind of a hodge-podge of items, but this has been my go-to lunch lately and it feels/tastes so good!

3 p.m. — Done with meetings and still don't have that much to do. I talked to my new team lead about this and he said not to worry and the work will come. R. has been chillin' in his crate for a few good hours now (such a good boy!), so I take him out and reward him with a treat, love, and playtime. J. goes to our favorite coffee shop to pick up new coffee beans because we're about to run out. We try to buy beans from local spots, even if it's a little pricier. He comes home with two packs of beans and two small chai teas as a midday treat! $48.75

4:45 p.m. — R.'s January Bark Box arrived! We did a six-month subscription to test it out when we got him, and so far we love it. There are so many goodies inside! J. and I decide we'll continue it indefinitely once our initial subscription is up.

5 p.m. — Laptop closed, time to workout! I jump rope for a bit and then hop on our Peloton for a 20-minute ride along with a cool-down ride and stretch. We splurged for the Peloton last summer, but I can expense the monthly payments as part of my company's fitness reimbursement benefit so it's basically free.

6:30 p.m. — I shower and do my skincare routine early tonight so I can put on my Isle of Paradise tanning oil. I switched to all clean beauty last year, and Biossance is my brand of choice. Once my face is ready, I head downstairs to cook dinner while J. works out. Tonight's dinner is kung pao shrimp with rice and green beans — a staple in our house.

9 p.m. — I finish our monthly book club meeting! Our meetings usually end at 8:30, but we ended up chatting a little late today.

10 p.m. — Put R. in his crate for bedtime and J. and I finished the episode of SNL we started and then Brooklyn Nine-Nine. With a puppy, it's been harder to carve out time for just us, so we're both enjoying cuddling on the couch.

10:30 p.m. — We finish our shows and head upstairs to get ready for bed. Brush my teeth, take my sleeping pill, write in my one-question-a-day journal, and read The Last Green Valley until I can't keep my eyes open. Fall asleep around 11:15.

7:30 a.m. — Wow, R. slept through the night! That rarely happens, it almost feels too good to be true. I wake up, brush my teeth, and change before letting him out. We head outside for a potty break and then I feed and play with him. He's calm this morning, so I put him on my lap while I read for a little bit and enjoy hot water with lemon.

8:30 a.m. — J. is downstairs and makes us coffee with our new beans! We sit on the couch, talk, and watch videos of the Elmo/Rocco beef. I recently discovered this and I don't know why, but I find it freaking hilarious.

9 a.m. — Yogurt cup acquired and laptop open. Time to start work! Think I'll have another slow day, but we'll see. Starting the day shadowing a call with a reporter on a story they're working on about our company's work-from-home policy, then team meetings and a one-on-one with my new manager later in the morning. My company has said we can work from home indefinitely, and I don't think I'm ever going back to an office — they're super flexible and it's been the best.

11:30 a.m. — Finished meetings! My first meeting with my new manager went well. It'll be a slow ramp up into my new role, but it's intentional to learn my strengths and what I want to do. During my meeting, R. peed in the office. I couldn't leave my meeting to take him out, so it's not his fault, just annoying for me. I get out the Folex carpet cleaner, which is essentially magic, clean up the mess then take R. outside.

12 p.m. — I book a flight to Austin for a gals trip in April! My friends and I live all over so I'm glad we got a trip in the books (we're all triple vaxxed). I use my Alaska wallet funds from canceled trips over the last year to book my flight so it's no cost to me! I start defrosting chicken to make for lunch.

1 p.m. — Lunchtime! I sautée some chicken and make the same salad I did yesterday. Butter lettuce, chicken, sauteed potatoes, avocado, cucumber, sunflower seeds, green onion, crumbled feta with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. I'm not usually a salad-every-day kind of person, but recently this has been hitting the spot.

2 p.m. — Okay, that salad didn't hit quite like it did yesterday. Guess tomorrow I should mix it up for lunch! I get back to work while J. starts therapy (copay in monthly expenses since we always set this money aside).

4 p.m. — Done with my therapy, grab a snack of applesauce and sourmelon SmartSweets, and get back to work. J. and I both see therapists and it's been one of the best decisions we've ever made. We both have some emotional trauma and issues with his family, and we both go to therapy to discuss it. It's really helped me think deeper about my issues and not feel guilty for having certain feelings. And it's reassuring to hear someone else say I'm not crazy for feeling the way I do. Mental health is a constant battle, but therapy helps.

5 p.m. — Laptop closed and head downstairs. I start losing steam so I let J. work out first and watch R. who's being a bit of a maniac now. Once J. hops in the shower, I change into workout gear and jump rope. Then, I hop on the Peloton for a 20 minute HIIT ride followed by a cool down and stretch. Head back down to help with dinner. Fajita night tonight!

7 p.m. — We realize fajita night wouldn't be complete without tortilla chips for our guac, so J. heads to the store down the road to pick some up, along with a bell pepper and dairy-free ice cream. $15.82

8:30 p.m. — Fajita night always slaps. After dinner we put the dishes away and clean the kitchen, and after, I hop in the shower. I wash my face with my Biossance cleanser, toner, eye cream, and finish with lactic acid night serum. I use this serum once a week mainly to preserve it, but also it makes Wednesdays seem special.

10:30 p.m. — We watch some TV and then head up to bed. Brush my teeth, take my sleeping pill, fill out my one-question-a-day journal, and read until my eyes can't stay open.

8:20 a.m. — It's J.'s morning to handle the pup, so I take this as an opportunity to keep sleeping. I feel super groggy and tired, but I brush my teeth, change, and head downstairs. As soon as I do, J. gets a work call and heads back up, so I play with R. He recently discovered a squeaker in his toy, which has kept him occupied.

9 a.m. — J. finishes up our coffees and I grab a yogurt cup and head upstairs to start work. Looks like another slow-ish day ahead. I'm pitching a press release — my last time before leaving the word of pitching research reports for corporate communications.

1 p.m. — Dang, busier day than anticipated! Reports, media inquiries, and meetings galore. J. and I both aren't feeling super hot so I send him to Walgreens to find at-home COVID tests (spoiler alert: there are none). He grabs some DayQuil to get us through the day and we discuss where to get a COVID test just to be extra safe ($14.26). I take the pup out of his crate to go potty, and he stays downstairs with J. while I whip up the salad again — butter lettuce, chicken, sautéed potatoes, cucumber, green onion, feta, and sunflower seeds. Don't know what happened yesterday, but it is divine right now. Head back upstairs with my lunch to continue working. $14.26

2 p.m. — Work, work, work. Time for a snack break! I sauté potatoes nice and crispy so they're essentially potato chips and add some applesauce with cinnamon for a natural-ish sweet treat.

4:30 p.m. — Work has slowed way down, so I sign off a bit early today. I have to be up for an early meeting tomorrow, so it balances out. R. is starting to get lots of energy so I play with him for a little bit. I try to decide if I want to work out or not and decide to start with jump rope and see how I feel from there.

6:30 p.m. — The jump rope makes me feel much more awake and inspires me to do a Peloton barre class and stretch. I feel much better after working out! J. ordered pho and went to pick it up while I worked out, bless him. We turn on And Just Like That while we eat and munch on SmartSweets peach rings as a dessert. $29.31

9 p.m. — Settled down on the couch with R. on my lap watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine — these are the moments that make having a puppy worth it. I make chamomile tea, J. pops open dairy-free ice cream, and we enjoy a nice evening of nothing.

10 p.m. — We head upstairs for an early night. Crate R., do my skincare routine (cleansing brush to apply cleanser, toner, eye cream, moisturizer and facial oils), and fold the laundry we've been meaning to put away for well over a week. I pop my sleeping pill, write in my one-question-a-day journal, and read until my eyes stay permanently closed at 10:45.

6:45 a.m. — Alarm goes off. Man, I'm tired! Set this alarm to make an early morning media interview at 7 a.m. I take R. out for a potty break and hang downstairs where I wait for the call. Turns out, the person who was supposed to call me forgot, so I woke up for nothing. Not the best way to start a Friday.

7:30 a.m. — I change and load R. in the car for his vet appointment! He gets his second round of vaccines today, so we're one step closer to walks and brewery time. R. does SO well at the vet and we'll be watching him today to make sure he doesn't have any reaction to the vaccines he received. I pay for his visit and thank the lord it isn't as expensive as I was expecting. $101

8:30 a.m. — I forgot to bring the stool sample to the vet, so I drop R. off at the house and run back to the vet to drop that off. On the way home, I stop by Walgreens to pick up Benedryl and Nyquil. I also grab some goldfish. $19.01

9 a.m. — Laptop open, yogurt in hand, time to start work! I have a couple of media requests for interviews that I start to set up, and a few meetings this morning.

1 p.m. — Phew, it's been a busy day! I feel like I've been nonstop since I signed on and I am exhausted. I head downstairs to make my usual salad.

2 p.m. — J. got a new prescription at the eye doctor this week and needs to order new glasses. Eye Buy Direct is having a buy-one-get-one sale, so he orders normal glasses and I get prescription sunglasses to cash in on the deal. My other pair broke on our honeymoon a couple of months ago and Eye Buy Direct is such a steal for prescription glasses. $102.88

4 p.m. — Quick work break to take R. on his first official walk! We meet a neighbor who introduces us to his daughter and dog and they play for a little bit. We don't walk far (a weiner dog can only go so far!) and then drop him back off at the house and go for a real walk just the two of us. We try to walk during the workday when we can to get outside. The sun is out in Seattle today and we're taking full advantage!

5 p.m. — Laptop closed, hello weekend! I stay on the couch and we put on Too Hot To Handle. I have no idea how this show has been going for THREE seasons, but it's the kind of trashy TV that I love.

6:30 p.m. — I make us dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. I “homemade” the red sauce using a Lawry's seasoning packet, tomato paste, and olive oil. It's not really from scratch red sauce, but I refuse to eat spaghetti sauce that comes from a jar. I throw together a side salad of butter lettuce, apple, cucumber, and feta tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. I polish the spaghetti off with fresh parmesan. I also pour us each a glass of red wine because it's been a week.

7:30 p.m. — Second glass poured and we toss on Black Panther — we're watching all the Marvel movies in timeline order… again. We've done this more than one time.

9 p.m. — Movie ends and we feel inspired to put on Avengers: Infinity War. Pour more wine, bust out the dairy-free ice cream. Crazy Friday night!

10 p.m. — Crate R. and head back downstairs to continue watching the movie, but both of us immediately fall asleep on the couch. We head upstairs where I wash my face (cleanser, toner, eye cream, moisturizer, and facial oil), answer my one-question-a-day, and finish the chapter in my book before I officially fall asleep around 11:30.

Daily Total: $222.89

8 a.m. — Wow, R. slept through the night AGAIN! This has to be a trick and he's going to start waking us up in the middle of the night. Since he slept in so late, J. and I both wake up and head downstairs. I never thought 8 a.m. would be “sleeping in” but here we are. Is this adulting?

10:45 a.m. — Finish the rest of Infinity War while sipping on coffees and eating over-hard fried eggs. J.'s birthday is on Tuesday, so I order a little dog bandana that says “Happy Birthday Dad” from Amazon. $12.12

12:30 p.m. — I do a quick jump rope routine, take R. on a very short, very slow walk (we're still learning how to walk), and then hop on the bike for a 20-minute ride, cool down, and stretch. I choose not to shower cause a couple of our friends are stopping by to drop something off, and then we're going to work in the backyard. We found out after we moved in, that the previous owners killed all the grass that was once there, installed a tarp, and put bark over the top. They also planted a heinous tree that has grown out of control. So we're also planning on trimming it down and then cutting it down to remove the stump. The other owners didn't want to maintain a yard, but I really want to garden this summer in something other than raised planters. We put it off all last summer, so it's time to put in some work.

1 p.m. — J. was asked to be a groomsman in our friend's wedding this fall! He gave B. a tie and pocket square that he'll wear on the big day. We catch up with them for a few minutes, and after they leave I heat up a very healthy lunch of taquitos in the oven. J. also gets his COVID test results back — negative! Guess he just has a head cold. Totally forgot there are other illnesses other than COVID these days.

3:30 p.m. — Phew, this backyard is no joke. My back hurts from all the raking and shoveling. We got most the bark in the five yard bags we already had, but need more. We run to Lowe's to grab more yard waste bags, gloves for J. ($7.56), and a soft serve treat at the McDonald's ($5.27) to pat ourselves on the back. $12.83

5 p.m. — FINALLY get the backyard done. My back is going to be sore tomorrow from all the raking and shoveling. We get all the bark packaged up, put out for yard waste, and sweep up the remaining bark and leaves. Wow, that was a lot of work for just our little backyard. Shoutout to all the landscapers out there, you're the real MVP. We take R. out of his crate and I hop in the shower.

7 p.m. — We put R. in his playpen and we head out the door to go out to dinner. We need to practice leaving him home alone and we're both craving a burger. We go to a sports bar close by and pay for parking ($0.48) and get a soft pretzel, two burgers, and two drinks each. J. gets a beer and I get a cherry cider. It hits the spot even though it's a little more expensive than I imagined ($93.71). Eating out in Seattle for two is always more expensive than I would like. We keep getting notifications from our Furbo that R. is crying so we hurry home to give him some love. $94.19

9 p.m. — We realize we left the fridge open (oops) and it's been beeping the whole time we've been gone. I change into joggers, we throw on SNL, and put on a foot mask my mother-in-law got me for Christmas. You're supposed to keep it on for an hour and your dead skin falls off over the course of two weeks. If this actually works, I will be so happy.

9:30 p.m. — J. makes us both whiskey cocktails. A friend got us a subscription to Shaker & Spoon as a wedding gift and we are loving it. They tell you what spirit to have on hand and they send you recipes and ingredients for three different cocktails. We love making craft cocktails at home and this is the perfect way to broaden our horizons. Tonight's cocktail is a raspberry cordial old fashioned with a spritz of lemon oil. Everything we've tried so far is so tasty and tonight is no exception!

10:30 p.m. — I convince J. to make cocktail number two because hey, it's Saturday night! His compromise is that we have to make taquitos on the side. Twist my arm. We try to let R. stay up a little later than normal because we want to cuddle him, but he's at the stairs and ready to be put in his crate for bed. While I put him away, J. whips up a second amazing cocktail of the night, a ginger-turmeric spiced whiskey drink with a spritz of orange oil.

11:45 p.m. — After crating R. and watching a few episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I fall asleep on the couch so we decide its time for bed. Maybe we had one cocktail too many tonight… I brush my teeth, answer my one-question-a-day, attempt (and fail) to read, and then lights out.

4:30 a.m. — Ugh, not getting a good night of sleep tonight. Note to self: always take sleeping pill no matter how tired I feel naturally. I'm learning the hard way how much my normal pill keeps me asleep at night.

8:30 a.m. — After a fitful night of sleep, I awaken to the miracle that R. has slept through the night AND slept in. I wake up to a headache from the cocktails, great. I take my morning pills, brush my teeth, and take R. outside. I get hangovers like nobody's business these days, but I'm surprised by today's.

9:30 a.m. — We order coffee for pickup at our favorite Vietnamese coffee shop down the road from us. The drinks are pretty sweet, but they are gooooood. We try something new and both get pandan coconut coffee with ube cold foam on top and two pastries to share. I continue reading my book since I'm trying to finish it before the end of the month while J. picks our order up. $28.53

12:30 p.m. — After sitting around doing nothing all morning, J. showers and gets ready because we're going to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fifth Ave theater in Seattle. We are big Broadway people and one thing we love to do together is see shows. After J. is ready, he takes the pup on a walk to get some energy out while I get ready. Feels weird to put on makeup and real clothes these days. We put R. in his crate with lots of toys and food and head out the door.

4:15 p.m. — Wow, the show was so good! All the actors were wonderful singers, and the cast was one of the most diverse I've seen. Bravo, Fifth Ave. And before I get any comments, we had to prove vaccination status to get in and wore our N95 masks the entirety of the show. We hustle out of the theater before the curtain call because our Ring camera showed us that R. hadn't settled down since we left and we feel terrible. We pay for parking ($12) and hurry home. We just got R. about a month ago and need to practice leaving him alone. This is only the second time we've left him alone for an extended period and we need to practice it more often so we can get used to it too. You think you'll want to leave your pup home to live your life, but nobody tells you how much you'll miss them! I order Chiptole delivery on our way home because we both haven't eaten since the pastries this morning, and we are starving ($38.74). I get a chicken burrito bowl with a side of guac and J. gets a steak burrito. $50.74

5 p.m. — R. is ecstatic that we're home and we take him out potty and give him lots of love for leaving him longer than expected. He had an accident in his crate, so we toss it all in the wash. I stay home with the pup while J. runs to the grocery store. We buy all our food for the week ahead on Sundays and switch off who runs to the store. It's expensive, but cuts back on trips to the store during the week, and this week will be extra expensive because we need a lot of protein. Grocery prices are insane these days. We have a long list so bear with me: sourdough bread, ricotta, deli turkey, scallops, shrimp, ground beef, stir-fry beef, tortillas, hummus, dairy-free yogurt cups, eggs, dairy-free butter, strawberries, lettuce shreds, mixed greens, Cuties, Chex cereal, broccoli, kale, avocados, tomato, Fritos, sage, basil, and garlic. $115.53

7:30 p.m. — Curled up on the couch with my boys and a cup of detox tea. We watch an episode of Euphoria and then turn on Pocahontas. J. has never seen it and the songs have been stuck in my head all weekend. It was my favorite Disney movie growing up, so the nostalgia is real.

9 p.m. — Wow, we are both so tired. We take R. out for one more potty break and all head upstairs for bed. I wash my face with my normal cleanser using my cleansing brush and put on an exfoliating face mask for ten minutes. I do this face mask routine every Sunday so my skin is nice and glowy for the week ahead. Once I take that off, I finish up with toner, eye cream, moisturizer, and facial oil. I hop in bed, take my sleeping pill, answer my one-question-a-day and read until I fall asleep around 10.

7:45 a.m. — Got a much better night of sleep! R. slept through the night like a good boy again and J. wakes up to take him out. I stay in bed for a while longer before getting up and brushing my teeth. I put on under eye masks today because I feel puffy, throw in a load of laundry, and head downstairs. J. makes us both coffee and we play with R.

9 a.m. — Time to start work. Man, I hate Mondays and I have a feeling this will be a slow one. We put R. in his play pen this morning because he needs to get used to it and he's still crying nonstop. Pandemic puppies and separation anxiety is no joke. I grab a yogurt cup and put some granola and blueberry powder and head upstairs.

12 p.m. — My noon report is sent out and time to make lunch before my 1 p.m. meeting! Today I'm frying up some ground beef so we can make taco salads through the week. This salad includes taco seasoning ground beef, lettuce, avocado, goat cheese, and crushed Fritos over the top for an extra crunch.

2:45 p.m. — R. wakes up from his nap and we take him on a short walk just around our neighborhood to practice walking. He does so good today! We bring lots of rewards for good walking. When we get back, I grab my laptop to finish up the work day from downstairs and play fetch with R. I'm feeling hungry, so I grab a Cutie and toast some sourdough and top with butter, garlic powder, and flaky salt.

4 p.m. — I make some almond milk in our Almond Cow — best invention ever. I make a batch for the week so we can use it for cereal.

5:15 p.m. — Laptop closed — time to work out!

6:30 p.m. — I do a 30-minute Disney ride on the Peloton, paired with a cool down and stretch. Such a fun ride! I hop in the shower, wash my face, and apply tanning oil. I head downstairs to let R. out of his play pen and start cooking dinner. Tonight is seafood fettuccine alfredo!

8 p.m. — Dinner doesn't turn out as well as I pictured, so I'm very disappointed. I don't finish my dinner so I eat a couple small bowls of cereal while J. cleans the kitchen with Righteous Gemstones on in the background. I make batter for overnight waffles. Tomorrow is J.'s birthday so I'm making him waffles for breakfast. Hope it turns out!

10 p.m. — After a few episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, we decide it's time for bed. Put R. in his crate and start folding the laundry. We usually put folding off for about a week. But today, we're feeling motivated to get it done. After the laundry is finished, I brush my teeth, take my sleeping pill, spritz some pillow mist on my pillow, answer my one-question-a-day, and then read a few chapters of my book. I fall asleep with the soothing scent of white lavender, and officially fall asleep around 11.