Week of Money: Where I just get sluggish and burned out

DAY ONE

6:50 a.m. — I wake up and immediately do not want to go to work. Little Bun feels the same and doesn’t want to go to preschool.

7:15 a.m. — I get dressed in whatever — a striped dress and then get ready to go. I’m really dragging.

7:38 a.m. — We leave LATE today. About half an hour later than normal.

8:12 a.m. — We get to preschool and eat a banana together then do StyleBook. My look is boring today.

8:30 a.m. — At work, I start working but am at a quarter speed. I am TIRED.

11:59 a.m. — I stop for lunch and head out to buy a supplement to it — extra pasta dishes to mix into my pasta dish. $12.40

1:03 p.m. — I eat my lunch, get back to work.

2:12 a.m. — I take a break and eat my emergency Toblerone. I just need sleep. A good nap and a few nights of rest would do me good.

2:20 a.m. — When I finish the bar, I get back to work. I head back to my desk and get accosted by people all around, asking questions. OMG. LEAVE ME ALONE. People however, are noticing I am not as chipper as I usually am, and are giving me a wide berth. They know I need alone time (instinctively)…

4:05 p.m. — I leave early to get Little Bun.

4:28 p.m. — At home, he gets milk and I get undressed to relax. My head is pounding.. I suspect it is because I didn’t drink my tea this morning so the caffeine level is low and giving me withdrawal symptoms.

6:04 p.m. — By the way, if you are craving spicy noodles, a specialty I tried when I was in Singapore called laksa, THESE Prima noodles are so damn close you’d be surprised at how authentic they taste. I want to make a bowl but I want to know if my partner will take Little Bun out to give me a break…

7:23 p.m. — I eat my noodles and then we all get ready for bed.

Spent: $12.40

DAY TWO

??:?? — Little Bun did not sleep well last night, but in spite of that, I wake up feeling much better than yesterday. Less tired, slightly more motivated.

6:10 a.m. — I change my outfit 3 times not loving how loose the top is with loose pants and switch to a pencil skirt. OMG is this skirt TIGHT? Am I definitely packing on the pounds??! Stupid KitKats. I better go to yoga today. No excuses.

7:45 a.m. — I head into work after dressing Little Bun and then I hug and kiss him goodbye and he happily plays with his stuffed crocodile and eats his snack of raisins (forbidden, daycare-only fare!!!)

7:59 a.m. — I head to my desk, drop it all, and make a matcha green tea. I never have time in the mornings so I’ve started bringing the kit to work. LOL.

8:03 a.m. — Meetings. MEETINGS. THE WHOLE DANG DAY.

11:45 a.m. — Quick lunch, back to the desk.

5:45 p.m. — I don’t leave until almost 6 p.m. this is my latest yet. I’m SPENT. I was grilled on the phone just before leaving and I just wanted to hang up.

5:49 p.m. — I am RUNNING to Little Bun’s preschool. It is almost 6 p.m. and they close at 6, I book it there, and the educator looks so relieved to see me. She was so worried that I forgot or something happened because I am usually there around 4-ish. I apologize profusely, and she told me he was so confused as to why Mommy had not shown up yet and everyone was going home with their parents, that he just laid down on the floor in despair. Ugh.

7:55 p.m. — Time for bed. We get ready after a few probability questions (he is obsessed with probabilities now, ever since we got him the Usborne Inside Maths Book..

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

??:?? — I wake up, not tired but not rested. I get up to get ready and hear Little Bun squeak “Mahhhhh-meeeeee!!!!” And I go to him.

6:03 a.m. — I get his milk, rub his back and he helps me do LookBook and chooses very high sandals for me today O_o

6:50 a.m. — I leave after a big hug and kiss…and he doesn’t really whine very strongly when my partner takes him into his arms away from the door. I’m wearing an outfit I really love today actually.. It looks like it is a whole outfit, the peplum goes into the brushstroked skirt..

7:35 a.m. — At work, I feel like this is becoming standard operating procedure at the office. I get in, get ONE tea and then non-stop barrage from all sides from all projects. I barely get any of my own work done!!!

11:53 a.m. — Lunch.

1:03 p.m. — Back to work. Nonstop until the end of the day. Meetings meetings meetings and no work done.

3:24 p.m. — I am passing off work to VPs, Directors and as many people as I can wrangle into handling this.

4:07 p.m. — But I think now I have to say something. The Emperor has no clothes because this is unrealistic and it will be a disaster.

6:21 p.m. — I head home, fatigued and greet my Little Bun at the door who was playing with his iPad calendar and rearranging the dates.

7:03 p.m. — My partner goes out, and then comes home with raspberries which we all happily enjoy together.

9:12 p.m. — I toss and turn all night about this. I can’t sleep. I hate this.

Spent: $0

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up really tired. Lack of sleep will do that to you. I don’t even want to think.

5:59 a.m. — Little Bun is up too. I get him ready, and get myself ready, then head out.

7:59 a.m. — Nonstop working.

12:08 p.m. — Break for lunch, we go to a fancy fish place. $54.09

1:10 p.m. — Back from lunch. Constant work. Seriously, I have no time to even remember what I did, I am WORKING.

4:42 p.m. — Apparently he didn’t sleep at all today for his nap. Great. I am going to be loving this…

4:59 p.m. — He is conked out in the car on the way home. GREAT.

5:23 p.m. —  At home, we get ready to hang out, I make some food to eat, and we relax.

5:20 p.m. — My partner comes home with food, and starts grilling. We all gather after the food is ready.

7:14 p.m. — Time for bed after some math and talking to my partner, who tells me I have to slow down. The job is not worth it. I get ready early. I am tired.

7:40 p.m. — My nausea + headache is killing me. I pop two of my medicated pills and then go to lie down to sleep. Little Bun rolls on top of me, then takes his trucks and toys and runs it up and down my side and over my head, squealing: “VROOOM VROOM ON MOMMY!!!” Yeah.. I try to pass him off to my partner but he just likes to be near me when night falls. I’m his security Mommy.

Spent: $54.09

DAY FIVE

??:?? — I get up tired. Last day. I need to leave early to take back some of these hours.

6:50 a.m. — I head out after Little Bun chooses my outfit for me. He is insistent that I wear his picks, and he has very good taste..

9:23 a.m. — I decide on yoga today and pay for a drop-in class. $23

11:45 a.m. — I head off after my meeting that ran laaaaate, and go to yoga. I get there late, so I am squished in the corner.

1:21 p.m. — Yoga over, I feel much more relaxed. I leisurely wipe down my mat, and then I get up and leave.

2:00 p.m. — At the office I end up getting caught into two conversations and can’t make my escape.

2:13 p.m. — My colleague hands me all of the rest of these great almond cookies he baked with his wife last night, and I plan on sharing them with Little Bun and my husband. He is so nice! He promises me the recipe.

2:59 p.m. —  I FINALLY LEAVE.

3:11 p.m. — I pick up a drink instead of spending $20+ on a lunch or pizza. Need to stop this bad habit of eating out. $2.75

3:27 p.m. —  At home, I log in, try to reconcile my budget, realize that I don’t have a pen to do anything, and now I am being asked to pay MORE taxes, about $3000 more. *eye roll*… I just have to write out a cheque and clear it. I transfer the money right away so I can write the cheque. I hate loose ends while on vacation.

4:17 p.m. — I check my emails quickly to see if anything urgent came up, and nothing, so I log off. Trying to take back my time, remember?

4:20 p.m. — I send a note to my partner telling him I am in hiding and he can go anytime he wants with Little Bun to go play soccer.

4:45 p.m. — Little Bun is not going out. Damn it. I pack up and go back home.

7:33 p.m. — We snack on strawberries.

8:08 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $25.75

DAY SIX

6:05 a.m. — I wake up and am bleary-eyed. I make a cup of tea, and my partner heads out to do errands for us – groceries, picking up clothes for Little Bun, etc.

7:59 a.m. — I do all of the dishes, and dry them as Little Bun watches videos (which he will get bored of in about 2 hours).

9:15 a.m. — I manage to log in and schedule about 25 of posts on Instagram and Pinterest ahead of time as ever since I discovered Tailwind (click here for a free $15 credit towards your new account), it has made this one-woman blogging show SO MUCH EASIER for social media and so on. Surprisingly, it has also helped in getting followers (about an extra 50 followers a month on average), although I am more focused on clicks towards my site, and less about how many people are following me on any social network.

12:08 p.m. — My partner comes home (finally!) and I have a whole day of spa appointments – final leg and underarms laser removal, brow tint (giving this a shot), and pedicure to fix it…

3:11 p.m. — My appointments all over, I have nice new nails to boot — I took OPI’s Passion as a neutral colour this time! But my stomach is feeling a bit unsettled.. I think I am hungry or something. $581.75

4:15 p.m. — Dubiously, I buy some McDonald’s McNuggets because I really can’t ignore my stomach, and there is nothing else around. I NEED to eat something. I don’t want to be dizzy and black out from hunger just on principle.. $6.97

4:56 p.m. — My stomach feels okay. I’m fine then. I wander around Winners… and am overwhelmed by racks of clothes that have no continuity and look like this. So I leave. I can’t handle this. Props to those who can and have patience… O_o

5:17 p.m. — I pick up some contact lens solution. $39.56

6:05 p.m. — At home, I cuddle and kiss Little Bun. We have a small light meal, and then play together until bedtime.

8:25 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $565.28

DAY SEVEN

7:00 a.m. — Little Bun didn’t wake up last night but I am TIRED. My body is just so sleep-deprived at this point, partly from insomnia (stress at work) and partly from Little Bun not wanting to sleep until laaaate, that I need a day of just pure sleep.

7:17 a.m. — I make a green tea. I have to bring in the blankets to be washed at a laundromat (industrial washers / dryers) but they aren’t even open until 9 a.m. WTF…  I search for one that is open at least at 8 a.m…

7:35 a.m. — I get three massive IKEA blue bags worth of blankets and Little Bun clutching his A Pocket for Corduroy book that talks about going to a laundromat, and we head off.

8:08 a.m. — I park in front of the laundromat (free city-wide parking until 1:00!) and I start loading the bags in.

8:20 a.m. — Oops. Forgot coins. Obviously I’m too bougie to remember that at a laundromat I need coins. I only brought a spare $50 (I never have cash on hand to be honest), and the guy laughs at me like I’m a moron. In my defence, I’ve been in two laundromats in the past 2 years (one has since closed down and the other opens at 9), and they’ve always changed my big bills into as many coins as I’ve needed. If not, what is the point of having a manager there if they aren’t organized enough to have change on hand?!? You should have buckets of this stuff…

8:21 a.m. — I grab my emergency $20 out and I use the machine to get ten dollar coins and 40 quarters. I use up all of my dollar coins within two loads ($4.50 for the big washers) and run to Starbucks to break my $50.

8:40 a.m. — All laundry washing now, I head to Starbucks with Little Bun and we have a sandwich and a SMALL chai latte (Tall) to limit the calories. $9.66

8:59 a.m. — We read A Pocket for Corduroy and then go into the laundromat to check on the time. These machines have no timer, no proper instructions…. honestly I don’t think it is me. I have to guess it is about 10 minutes left.

9:25 a.m. — We go and sit in the car and wait. Once everything is in the dryer I’ll take him to buy some airport metro passes for our trip this week. We are too cheap to pay for cabs (and they make me sick), so the bus it is.

9:30 a.m. — We put everything in the dryer and head off to buy airport tickets. At the station, I pick up 3 day passes which are airport tickets but don’t say so on the screen and are not clear in their table. $30

9:47 a.m. — We drop by McDonalds for a croissant — they are surprisingly good here, not incredible but much better than most bakeries here in Montreal except for a certain few. $1.97

9:50 a.m. — We ride the glass elevator a few times then play in Canadian Tire in the tent where there is a giant stuffed toy tiger that Little Bun gleefully plays with..

10:30 a.m. — We go back, put another half an hour into each dryer and then sit in the car to relax. So far, this is going to be about $40 for 10 blankets and a kitchen mat.

11:08 a.m. — We finally grab everything and pack each bag into the car. I thank the manager and we head out. The final tally isn’t so bad for laundry. $38

11:34 a.m. — My partner meets us in the garage and goes to grab a loaf of bread while we put everything away.

11:40 a.m. — At home Little Bun wants to eat and nap.

12:08 p.m. — We eat, and he regains energy and becomes a little fireball running around until I pass out on the bed.

12:28 p.m. — I’m already half napping. Little Bun is into shenanigans right now.

12:56 p.m. — HE FINALLY NAPS.

3:15 p.m. — We wake up as my partner sneaks back into the house. I get up blearily, grab his milk then start on dishes.

4:25 p.m. — Dishes done, I see my partner working on the apartment — repainting and redoing a wall in the bedroom, so I take one for the team and take Little Bun out on the train. He is really keen on Sunday Train Day, so I have to do it or else he gets very sad for the rest of the week. It is amazing how much he loves going on the train. $2.75

5:17 p.m. — At the metro, we ride a few stops, then stop off for a meal. We end up eating THE WORST meal I have ever had in my life, and I plan on leaving a terrible review. $18.95

5:40 p.m. — Back on the train, and back home. $2.75

6:18 p.m. — Fruit for dinner (peaches and plums) and we all head to bed after we play around for a bit.

6:56 p.m. — I wash my hair in the sink. I am too tired for anything else. Will shower tomorrow.

7:50 p.m. — I decide late in bed that if I have no meetings tomorrow I am not going in. #%(#% it. I need a break. I’ll take half a day or something.

8:45 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $104.08

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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.