Ashley C. Ford is a writer / editor / speaker and all-around mildly obsessive artist. She’s written for BuzzFeed, The Guardian, Elle, and The Literary Hub.

9:30AM: The alarm on my phone goes off, the screen flashing “TAKE YOUR WELLBUTRIN!!!”. I make a mental note to change this message to something happier. Besides, my therapist and I recently came to the conclusion that I could try not being on meds for a while, and replace it with exercise and a healthier diet. I have been exercising almost every day for the last two weeks. I actually do feel better. I hit snooze.

9:40AM: Alarm goes off again, and Kel reaches across my body to turn it off. He then proceeds to kiss my shoulders and pull me into what I like to call The Epic Spoon. It’s bigger than a big spoon. I could disappear into this squeeze. Because I work from home, I have to be strict with myself about getting up by a certain time to write (not like anyone’s gonna know if I’m late but me!). Kel does not make that easy.

9:50AM: Still cuddling, but stealthily writing/answering emails on my phone from within The Epic Spoon.

10:00AM: Officially sitting up in bed writing on my laptop. I usually try not to work in my bedroom, to give myself different mental space for different activities, but we don’t have air-conditioning and the box fan in our bedroom window feels fucking amazing. Kel is reading on his phone.

10:30AM: Kel leaves for work at the bookstore, so I get to really truly immerse myself into my work. This is the plight of being an introvert who lives with and loves an extrovert. Nothing really gets done when he’s around unless it’s something we can do together. I have to do my alone-work, when he’s at work, or my alone-work won’t get worked on. Honestly, this is my fault as much as it is his. He’s fun. I like to have fun.

12:32PM: For lunch I have a leftover hamburger, tortilla chips, and salsa. The hamburger is leftover from dinner the night before. It’s still delicious.

1:05PM: After a quick shower, I leave for Harlem from my apartment in Flatbush. I’m going up to Columbia University to be a guest on the Minorities in Publishing podcast. The host, Jennifer Baker, asked me to do this back in March, so I’m sufficiently excited and familiar with her show. Plus, she said there would be brownies.

1:24PM: The train trip is pleasant enough, but I’m reading “Grey” by E.L. James because I’m just so curious what she’s trying to do with this book. I mean, no way she’s going to write the exact same story from a different perspective, right? Well. Yeah. That’s what she did. I resolve to do something I very rarely do. I’m not going to finish this book.

2:15PM: Jenn meets me downstairs and we travel into a conference room, chat for a bit, eat many of those delicious brownies, and commence recording the show. It was a blast. I listen to Sia the whole way home.

5:18PM: Once I get off the train, I decide to stop at the grocery story to get a few things we need for dinner this weekend. Since I started exercising and went off my meds, we eat at home almost exclusively. Sometimes I cook, sometimes Kel cooks. We save money, we eat better, and it’s actually a lot of fun to cook with and for each other. I buy heavy whipping cream (for fruit crepes), sweet potatoes (for a starchy side), and paper towels (because we’re not being very kind to the earth). On my way out of the store I get a sweet phone call from me “other” parents. I laugh all the way to my door.

5:57PM: When I get back into my apartment, I make a list of what I need to complete over the coming week. This is something I do every Saturday night to keep on track starting Sunday. I also take a minute to enjoy the quiet before Kel gets home in about an hour. I decide to make fried chicken, baked squash, and steamed broccoli. Sometimes, we’re so domestic it makes me sick.

6:59PM: Kel’s home! While I’m making dinner, he decided to reorganize the one big bookshelf we can fit into our apartment. Just as I’m finishing the fried chicken, he calls me into the living room to look as his handiwork. It really does look much better. I say so. I hand him a plate of food. It’s been a good day, and we’ve been doing really well being healthier, so we allow ourselves a beer with dinner. Beer never tasted so fucking good. Over dinner we discuss my plans to teach a writing class, his desire to start writing book reviews, and we go through a bunch of my old magazines dreaming about what the future could look like for us. You know, probably not, but we have dreams for dessert.

7:45PM: While Kel cleans up in the kitchen, I come back to my computer to write. Also, consider what to read in bed tonight now that I’ve decided to throw “Grey” out the fucking window. I choose “The Invaders” by Karolina Waclawiak.

10:55PM: I go to bed to read. Kel’s stays up a little later.

11:25PM: Kel comes to bed. I stop reading. Because we start doing other things.

12:11AM: I fall into a deep sleep. Awesome.