Week in Review: Week 186
It’s getting a little boring to keep saying I’m super-busy and exhausted, but. I’m not exhausted in the way I was earlier this spring when I was not feeling well, and I was low energy and getting shaky and having dizzy spells. I’m just exhausted from being busier than usual, more active than usual, possibly still from time change/increasing darkness, and maybe even from sugar detox. Hopefully, the 4-day weekend ahead will sort me out and I can start next week on a little more solid footing.
Monday
Golf. It was our big annual golf outing fundraiser. We had over 200 golfers, then a cocktail hour and dinner. I take pictures all day long. It was HOT. The day was hot, the sun was strong. I got sunburned. This was probably the most sun I’ve had all year. This was the first year I got to use a golf cart. What a treat! I had a place to sit in-between pictures, I got to photograph different areas of the beautiful course without having to walk up hill and down dale. And zipping along at top speed helped cool me and dry my face and hair sweat 🙂 Unfortunately I did get my usual “event pain,” the thing the Dr is guessing is a pinched nerve caused by a slipped disc that causes an ever-increasing burning pain under my right rib cage when I am on my feet for any length of time. By the end of the event I can barely stand up straight and I am EVER so relieved to get to my car at the end of the night. The MINUTE I sit in the slightly reclining seat, the pain disappears.
My trusty steed for the day.
Tuesday
Back to normal work day. Golf debriefing. Camera club. Putting together a golf “thank you” slideshow to send to participants, editing pictures, writing a blog post and newsletter article – golf continues even after it’s over. But I was happy to have my tired butt in a chair most of the day. And my white blouse looked really nice against my new golf tan. I went sneaker hunting (unsuccessfully) right after work then I came home and straight to the sofa with a book. My body feels DONE.
Wednesday/Thursday
Sort of a blur. Work. Camera club. Trying to wrap things up before the long weekend. Trying to get ahead of body tiredness. Skipped a dinner with friends.
Tell me Walt Whitman doesn’t look kinda like old-timey Alex Baldwin.
Friday
I don’t think my butt touched a chair today (gross exaggeration, but). It was go go go. Development meeting, tying up loose ends, camera club at the farm then camera club two at an animal sanctuary 20 minutes…that had closed early. Boo. Then home for an hour after work where I just lay on the sofa. No book, no podcast, no music. I just lay quietly on the sofa, grateful for a moment of stillness. Then back to “work,” to photograph our Adventureland event. This is a nice event we host twice a year – a local amusement park closes to the public and we sell tickets to families of children with autism so they can enjoy the park without the usual crowds and long lines. The weather was lovely, a lot of people showed up. I did a couple laps of the park, shooting who I could (for privacy reasons I can only photograph our kids, and that’s a very small percentage of the 1000ish people that attend), but when my pain started, I left. I wasn’t “on the clock” working, so…when I felt it was time to leave, I left. I returned, gratefully, to the sofa when I got home and watched the season premieres of Grey’s Anatomy and A Million Little Pieces. Yay, TV!
Realized today that summer had officially ended and autumn begun. That’s how under it all I am right now.
SATURDAY
I’d planned to go to a big art exhibit on Governor’s Island with friends….but when I woke up in the morning my body said NOPE. Just Nope. So I stayed inside on a beautiful day and piddled on the computer, read, started a book review page on the blog, made a to-do list which I totally ignored, watched a couple movies and took a nap. It was glorious.
SUNDAY
So it’s the last day of the 2-Week Sugar Detox. I slipped a tad towards the end of this week. Nothing SO off-plan, but, just more food. Since tv shows came back, I snacked more. Popcorn. Which is not OFF plan, but I ate two whole bags (microwave, sea salt) in two nights. When I got tired of popcorn I moved to Triscuits with butter. Again, not off plan, but it’s just more food than I’d been consuming for the past week-and-a-half. I don’t generally snack while I read…but I do while I’m watching tv. And yesterday, being home all day, I was dying for something to drink THAT WAS NOT WATER. So I had two (small) glasses of water with a slice of lemon (you know I’m desperate when I put lemon in my water but it’s all I had) AND a packet of Equal. Like I said last week I don’t think sugar is an addiction for me. I think it’s a habit. I was able to stop it pretty easily when I said STOP, but things definitely taste better with it.
Total loss over two weeks: 8lbs
AND, I’m having a day off today! I’m allowing myself This Day to have a deli baconeggandcheeseonaroll for breakfast and takeout lasagna for dinner…and I’m debating on EITHER a McD’s sweet tea or a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins. The sweet tea is the thing I have craved the MOST over the two weeks and I’m concerned about the taste setting off cravings all over again. THEN I’m going to continue into a 3rd week with the addition of wheat flour so I can have a sandwich.
We shall see.
WHAT I READ
A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison. Basic Premise: Long, basically happy marriage. Wife feels compelled to share “a small indiscretion” with Husband who is left hurt, angry and unsure of future of marriage. Next thing you know, Son has terrible car accident and Wife & Husband have to work together work through that. You read back in time to how the indiscretion came to happen…and how the car accident came to happen. And all the rest.
A favorite quote from the book: “I suppose unrequited love is the hardest kind to shed because it is not really love at all. It is a half-love, and we are forever stomping around trying to get hold of the other half.”
I loved the writing. The story was compelling. Two thumbs up. I was disappointed to discover this is the only thing she has written, although the notes at the end of the book intimate that there is another. Somewhere. Someday. 4.65/5
what i’m watching
This is my network TV series roster. Some started this week, some start next week.
- Grey’s Anatomy: been a fan since Day One. Every episode makes me cry.
- A Million Little Pieces*: like it, don’t love it. But there are so few tv options in the non-police/lawyer/mystery/medical/political/espionage/reality categories. Beggars can’t be choosers.
- This is Us: sort of same as above. like don’t love. I’m not sure why.
- Modern Family: ditto. ha. But I’ve watched from the beginning and this is the last season, so…
- Single Parents: A little embarrassed by this one but what are you gonna do? I was surprised it came back for a second season.
- Bless This Mess: Didn’t expect to like this, but…I kinda do.
I am really disappointed that Splitting Up Together with Jenna Fischer and sigh Oliver Hudson isn’t coming back. It was really endearing.
I like more streaming/cable series, but they’re short seasons with long gaps between. Network fills in some gaps:
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Grace & Frankie
- You’re the Worst
- Better Things
- The Walking Dead (sigh)
- Veep – not sure when I’ll be able to see this, I don’t have HBO here
- Divorced – I’m waiting to be able to see the final 6-episode season somewhere, but, HBO. Disappointed that was canceled. I like both Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Hayden Church.
- Transparent: debating if I even want to watch the ridiculous-looking 2-hour season finale MUSICALE. Ucch. It was such a good show. I hate for it to have a disappointing ending.
- After Life w Ricky Gervais
- Dead to Me
Is anyone watching anything they really like right now? Refer to *A Million Little Pieces for what I’m not interested in. I really miss shows like The Office, Parks & Rec, New Girl, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, ThirtySomething (I’m really dating myself there), Rescue Me, Girls, Weeds, Arrested Development, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Everwood, The OC, Sex & The City, Californication, Gilmore Girls.
I watched one good movie yesterday.
YESTERDAY: Really cute. Failing singer/songwriter is suddenly the only person in the world who has heard of The Beatles or any of their music. GO.
Alrighty then. Not the most exciting of weeks. Fingers crossed next week is a little better.
Diane
Maybe tiredness was from lack of caffeine in the sweet tea that you haven’t had in two weeks.
bettyewp
I hadn’t thought of that! That is also possibly true.
Laurie
Quick comment. Try McD’s unsweetened tea and add sweetener, or get diet Gold Peak tea. Tastes the same as McD’s. Probably is same since it’s a Cola product. Have a good week!
bettyewp
I actually did have an unsweetened tea from McD’s this week and it just doesn’t have the same depth of flavor (tea flavor, not sugar) as the sweet tea. I know NOW I sound like an addict, “but life is just BETTER with HEROIN!” Ha. Hmm, I feel like I just SAW Gold Peak Tea somewhere this week and almost tried it but it would have been warm and I was really looking for a cold drink. Will have to try it. Just looked at the nutrition and ingredient label online and in addition to tea and water, it has added “natural flavors.” Why add “natural flavors” to tea? It’s just supposed to taste like TEA and you’ve already used brewed tea concentrate. And phosphoric acid. Is that a preservative? I have never found a bottled tea I’ve liked. So many of them have a strange, unpleasant other flavor to them. Plus, here in NY, 9 times out of 10 they have lemon flavor added, even if they don’t say so, even if you’re ordering tea from a waitress at a restaurant and ASK “is this ACTUAL tea made with tea bags and NO LEMON” and they say yes, very often it arrives and is CLEARLY made from a concentrate with other ingredients INCLUDING lemon, which I really don’t like.
The addict obsessing over her drug 🙂
But I’ll look for GPTea and give it a try.
Marian
You’ve been massively busy and anyone would be exhausted after such a life marathon. It takes a while to get back to normal.
yep- slim pickins on Netflix and Prime these days. Here’s what I enjoyed:
Netflix:
The ranch
Bonus Family
Shtisel
Rita
Out of practice- Prime
bettyewp
I haven’t heard of some of these, but The Ranch has been on my list for awhile cuz Ashton Kutcher. Is it a drama/comedy/dramedy? Will take a look at the others, thanks.
Cuz I was lazy last night and didn’t want to get off the sofa after watching whatever I watched (at this moment I have no clue what it was, it was THAT GOOD), I watched an episode of…snap…SOMETHING…and it was actually entertaining…shoot, let me look…it was I’m Sorry (on both Netflix and Amazon Prime): A seemingly confident comedy writer, wife and mom comically exposes her inner immaturity and neuroses through unexpected life situations. It was actually funny. People in it I recognize but I don’t know from where. And I don’t know where this originally aired. Anyway, it’s 2 seasons in so I have some content ahead of me.
Iris
WOW, what a week you had. Makes me tired just reading about it. You did great on the detoxers, and you look great in that first picture.
Hang in there and try and get some rest.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
bettyewp
Been taking it easy this weekend, mostly. Slept REALLY lats this morning! Body feeling not so laggy today. Want to try and be at least a LITTLE productive.
jodie filogomo
Girl…I’m tired just reading what you did this week!! I don’t know how you do it all?
But seriously, good job on the no sugar thing. Nobody is perfect, so a little here and there is going to be the norm. You should be really proud of yourself….I know it was hard for me when we started.
As for those photos….that one with the leaves just turns my crank. I know I say this a lot…but you have SUCH a talent!!
Teach me your ways…please!!!!
XOXO
Jodie
bettyewp
The brown leaves on the barnboard building? I love that one, too 🙂 I hope one of the guys got it so we can print it for display.
Two years have passed now since I’ve wanted to do a “blogger photography” post. I just need someone to act as a model…under less than ideal circumstances. Haven’t found that person yet 🙂 SOMEDAY.
Part of it is just SEEING. I like looking for the little things. Little details. Little stories. And when light is lovely it KILLS me to not be able to photograph something in it.
Pamela Gray
I envy your photographer’s eye. And congrats on your sugar detox! I didn’t go as whole hog as you- and after reading the comments when you announced you sugar ban, I decided to go the ‘reward yourself’ route and pick one treat a week (ice cream!). And I’ve managed to make it through the month and to continue for a yet to be determined amount of time. Cutting the daily candy/cookie/sweets I have found my mood and energy is much more stable. I replaced with more fruit and my body is thanking me for it too.
bettyewp
The reward yourself route sounds good to me!
I think, other than my mcd’s sweet tea, the overall majority of my sugar consumption is the hidden sugars in foods. I only eat “dessert,” really, if I go out to eat, and even then, not all the time. Maybe I buy one pint of ice cream a month and it can take me several weeks to work through it. I VERY rarely buy cookies. Now, Bottle Caps is another story. I was eating bottle caps on an ongoing basis. I always had a box in the car and would pop them in my mouth on my way to and from work. I was going through 1-2 boxes a week. They’re just pure sugar. Little flavored sugar tablets.
But yes, “stable” is a good descriptor. I’ve always struggled with low blood sugar. But I guess if it never goes UP, it can never crash DOWN.
Cheryl
Your stamina is amazing! I agree with you re Walt Whitmans looking like the gorgeous Alex Baldwin. The quote is great too. I saw Yesterday and loved it, and shed a few tears at the end.
Have you tried rice malt syrup, it’s a natural sweetener I use often in drinks. It’s sucrose free and is in a jar in the health foods aisle in the supermarket here. It’s spring here now so I will be making lots of iced tea and lemonade with it.
Cheers,
Cheryl
bettyewp
I have never tried rice malt syrup. Oh! I was going to do some research on erythritol.
Ahh, spring. Sounds nice. Though I am looking forward to a bit of hibernation in the upcoming cold weather. HOPEFULLY I won’t be moving again in the middle of my down-season!
Marta Henriques
Such a nice week! <3
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