Every year when we turn the clocks back people have all sorts of great suggestions like, continue to get up at the old time, giving yourself an extra hour in the morning to start some sort of new habit, like exercising or journaling! Or, earmark the extra hour for something specific like decluttering the house or some other important task.
I’m wondering if anyone actually does any of those things? I definitely appreciated the extra hour, but I couldn’t tell you exactly how I spent it. Here’s a look at my “fall-back” day.
I woke up at 6 am (which felt like 7) so I could run and get home in time to watch the NYC Marathon. As soon as I sat down on the couch, my snuggly calico (Muffin) came and sat on my lap. So cute!
After the marathon, I did my Sunday grocery shopping, and then it was time for the Dolphins/Bears game! During halftime I baked a cake, and after the game my daughter helped me decorate it. She had requested a “cookies and cream” cake, and it was pretty easy- I basically made a vanilla cake and added Oreos to the cake batter and frosting.
I’ve been slow to get the Halloween decorations down, but suddenly in the middle of the afternoon I got really tired of them. In a burst of energy, I got them all down and replaced with Thanksgiving.
We ended up having our nachos for dinner. We were going to have them during the Dolphins game, but my husband suddenly decided he needed to go vote today (he’s unpredictable like that.) Here was our nachos dinner:
And here’s how the inside of the cake looked!
My sister asked me how I can bake a cake like that and not eat it. Well, I’m a recovering sugar-holic. Or you could call me an “abstainer.” I ate way too much sugar for way too many years, and finally had to cut myself off completely. I don’t miss it- or rather, I don’t miss the constant battle and stress it used to cause me. I don’t need to try the cake- I know what it tastes like.
The evening was spent on blog work, laundry, cleaning, some Sunday Night Football… the usual puttering around before a new week starts. In other words, I had a really nice day.
I know turning the clocks back is not easy for some people. When my kids were little, I would literally rant for days about how much I hated it, and oh yes- I used to threaten to ignore the time change- “I’ll just sync up with everyone again in the spring,” ha ha. And I know it’s hard with pets too… my sister’s elderly cat with hyperthyroidism will now need her breakfast at 4:30 am (eek!)
I also know a lot of people don’t like the early evening darkness… but I prefer the morning daylight. So I’m happy! Until spring comes and we have to turn the clocks ahead- I don’t like that day as much.
Did you have a nice day? Did you do anything special with that extra hour?
23 Responses
I rather hate the fuss of the time change; it’s just a nuisance. But, it is nice to be eating breakfast with the kids in daylight again. It always feels depressing to be getting ready for school in the pitch dark. I don’t mind the earlier evenings. When the kids were younger and in preschool I really noticed it because, all of a sudden, pickup was in the dark! Now that they’re both in elementary/middle school, they’re home so much earlier and so we just settle in at home earlier. It also gives me more opportunity to light candles and turn on lamps, which I really love. It’s one of my favourite ways to make things feel cozy and less dismal in the darker/colder months.
We had a great Sunday, though I’ll admit the extra hour is evaporated. If anything, we felt MORE rushed than normal getting out the door for church. Oh well. The extra hour did feel useful and I slept great last night. My biggest worry is insomnia because last year the time change threw off my sleeping patterns for 2 months and it was truly horrible!
Sounds like we both like the lighter mornings and darker evenings. I hope the time change didn’t throw off your sleep this time!
I spent my extra hour sleeping! It was nice to see the kids off to the bus in daylight this morning, though it’s kind of a drag to have darkness in the evening when we walk the dog but it is what it is. I think it’s harder in the spring when we lose an hour.
In my mind baking and eating are two separate things. I bake chocolate chip cookies almost every week, but they’re not that special to me so I rarely eat them. Nachos are a different story – yum!
Yes, that’s a good way of putting it- baking and eating are two separate things. I don’t need to eat everything a bake, and I still enjoy making it.
Like everyone else, I spent the extra hour sleeping. I’ll pay for that extra hour in the spring, I guess.
I do like the extra light in the morning, but the pitch black at five pm is exhausting. I feel like the day is over as soon as the workday is finished. Obviously, that’s not true, but it feels like I’m really dragging if I have an event to go to that starts at 6 or 7. My cat and dog don’t understand the time change and since we’re quite strict about when they get food, yesterday the cat howled for an hour and half for dinner. I’m not excited about this happening until we turn the clocks back.
Oh, that’s one other tiny thing- because we’re so far south, our days don’t get quite as short or long as yours do up there- so it doesn’t get dark till after 6 pm- I guess that makes a big difference.
I could NOT bake a cake and NOT eat it.
I do like the extra light in the morning. I ran today. Once it goes below 40 degrees I will hate it. Once I go back to working in the office, I will hate it. IOW, I’m ok with it for now.
Yesterday I went for a hike nd unfortunately it rained the whole time.
And I started knitting again.
Oh, so you did do a project with the extra hour- knitting! A good activity for a rainy day.
only rainy during my hike… sunny before and after. But knitting is great for the dark cold evenings that are on the way.
I was awake super early and just couldn’t convince myself to go back to sleep; essentially I was a toddler. I just got up and finished a book, did some blogging, and drank a whole lot of coffee.
That cake! Those nachos! I would eat the hell out of both of those. I love cake! I love salty things! Yum.
I didn’t eat the cake but I did eat plenty of nachos (salt… yum.)
Well you know how I feel about it. I loathe the time change! But moving Will’s bedtime back last week, which we started doing on Sunday, worked! The kids woke at 6 on Sunday. But we had some loooong evenings last week. I don’t like it getting dark so early now. That removes the possibility of a walk after dinner. We could squeeze a quick one in last week but not anymore. Womp Womp.
And I spent my extra hour sleeping! I need all the sleep I can get, especially feeling under the weather like I did over the weekend.
Yeah, I know how you feel. But I’m glad you got an extra hour of sleep at least!
It felt nice waking up in the morning and it was not so late (I am a night owl and waking up at 8:30am now that the rest of the family lets me sleep is early). We had our family pictures taken for the first time ever and I am already curious about the results. I keep my fingers crossed for some good ones. It’s not an easy feed getting everyone to look in the camera.
Ha ha! We gave up on family pictures long ago for that very reason. i hope you got some good ones.
Over here we lost an hour, but it was the first Sunday in October, which also happened to be the Melbourne Marathon day the races seemed to start an hour later than previous years, so I think the organisers took it into account.
Nachos are my kid’s favourite dinner and was on regular rotation for years, but since we only have one left at home now and he is hardly ever at dinner we probably won’t be having them much now.
Oh yes- Australia is opposite of us! I think we used to turn the clocks back in October but now it’s always the first Sunday after Halloween- I wish we did it earlier.
You know I never really understand this business of getting one additional hour. We don’t it’s like a lone. You pay it back in spring. So overall its all the same. It sounds like you had a lovely day if or without the extra hour…
That’s a good way of putting it… we’ll be paying that hour back in the spring.
I had a pretty nice Sunday (went for a long run in the afternoon), but I used the extra hour the night before for reading. I stayed up til 2 am (and then it was back to 1am when I eventually went to bed 🙂
You stayed up late reading- I would say you put the extra hour to good use!
Oh man, I have never in my life considered doing anything with that extra hour other than getting more sleep! HA. It was really nice to have that extra hour of sleep. I am not a fan of the 5:30 pm sunsets, but I do like how it’s easier to get up in the mornings now.
That cake looks AMAZING and I will forever be impressed by your willpower to abstain.
I don’t need willpower to abstain- but I would need willpower to just eat one piece. And I didn’t have it. I know that probably sounds crazy, but I really just can’t eat a little bit- it’s all or nothing for me.