8 min read
As previously mentioned, this week I am participating in Ali Edward’s “A Week in the Life” scrapbooking challenge. This week is actually my last week in Berlin (wow writing this makes me feel weird!) so I thought it would be great to document some of the places and people I love so much about this city and what an ordinary Monday looks like.
Sadly, I am not doing amazingly well at the moment health-wise and am in quite a lot of pain. It is nothing serious and things should be back to normal soon after the pregnancy but it is pretty exhausing at the moment. I don’t sleep overly well and so my rhythm these days is very different to what it used to be like. So with that in mind, this week is probably not goingto be the most exciting, but I wanted to tell my story of the right now anyway.
So, Monday.
8:30 am // Waking up
I got up around 8:30 am. I am normally more of an early bird, but as I am not sleeping overly well and tend to go to bed later as the baby seems particularly active from 10 pm onwards, my sleeping pattern has shifted a bit over the last few weeks.
After getting out of bed, I put on some workout clothes and made coffee. Decaf for me and the baby and “real” coffee for Edd. One thing I am loving about pregnancy is what it does to my hair! My hair used to get greasy so quickly, but now I get away with only washing it twice a week and it looks so lovely and shiny!
9:15 am // Quiet
I then spent some time reading the Bible, journaling and planning out my Monday whilst sipping my coffee. I currently use a German Bible reading plan called “Atempause” which gives a short passage to read for everyday and some thoughts on the text.
To plan my day (and anything in life really) I use the todoist app. Naturally I tend to be a bit forgetful, so I heavily rely on todoist and my calendar to keep “my life in order”(as much as possible at least!)
9:45 am // Movement
I then spent a few minutes doing some stretches and a few yoga and pelvic floor exercises. Despite the pain I try and stay mobile as much as possible. Also, I feel like it is important to keep up my strength and stamina as much as possible in preparation for giving birth.
10:15 am // time for breakfast
I am currently obsessed with a combo of oats and corn flakes. I usually add half a banana and some berries, in this case it was Strawberries. For breakfast I allow myself one cup of caffeinated coffee. Whilst eating I read a few newspaper articles. I am subscribed to a German newspaper called “Die Zeit”, which comes out once a week. I like the in depth analysis and well-researched articles, especially in our quick news, headline-driven world.
11:15 am // E-Mails and Admin
I then sat down to answer and write a few E-Mails. One of the E-Mails I wrote involved cancelling our holiday which was rather sad. However, I had to realise that I am just not well enough to enjoy going anywhere these days. Hopefully we can do a nice vacation once the baby is here.
Up until recently, a normal Monday would involve work – normally from home. But as I have been signed off sick I only had a quick glance at my work E-Mail today.
12 am // Rest
After that I was pretty wiped and in quite a lot of pain, so I went back to bed to lie down and rest for a while. I started listening to an audiobook I got from the library called “The Unhoneymooners”. The title pretty much says it all. It was basically a trashy romance novel, not much substance but a really easy listen and the storyline really drew me in! I guess these light and breezy stories are just what I need these days.
1 pm // Lunch
I then had some lunch. We have started to have our main meal around midday, as it helps me with sleep to have a lighter evening meal. Today our lunch was leftover potato salad with sardines which I forgot to take a photo of. It was very delicious though! I roughly based it on this recipe. For desert I had some water melon! Perfect summer snack.
2 pm // knit + chill
I then headed outside. It was pretty hot today and the sun was shining which was wonderful. Across our flat is a small park. I took a blanket and some pillows and had a little nap in the shade and then listened to some more of my audiobook and knitted. After a while I headed back inside and continued listening to my audiobook in bed. Edd came by in his work breaks to chat and bring me cups of (caffeine free) coffee.
6 pm // dinner + friends
We then made some sandwiches for dinner and watched two episodes of friends. I have never watched friends all the way through before and am really enjoying it. After dinner we went for a mini walk outside and Edd took some pictures of me in my recently finished Wiksten Tank Dress.
8 pm // more of the same
The rest of the evening I didn’t do anything too exciting. I continued listening to my audiobook (I actually managed to finish it), laid in bed, did some puzzles, had a bath and knitted a bit more. Around 11:30 pm I headed to bed.
Monday in conclusion
All in all, this day was a bit weird. I was in a fair bit of pain, hence why I spent most of it just lying in bed. It was nice to get immersed in a story but the whole day left me feeling a bit sad and low. Not being able to do much all day and limited contact to other people is not really the best state for me. I am trying to be patient with myself and not put myself under any pressure of having to get anything done. My original plan was to write this post on Monday itself – but I just didn’t have the energy. So my week in the life reporting will just come on the day after.
Even though this season is strange and difficult I am still so grateful I get to be pregnant. It feels very unreal that in around 11 weeks we will be holding our baby but I am so so excited.
1 Comment
It was so nice to learn more about you and connect with you today, Britta! I enjoyed reading more about your days!