Monday

In response to someone asking how I was able to make time for all the stuff I do, I give you…My Monday Schedule (scintillating content right here, folks).

6-6:54am Hit snooze on alarm repeatedly

6:55-7:30 Rushed into shower/dressed/looked at cat/dried hair fast&crappily/left for work

7:45 Stopped for gas cuz gas light came on

8:03 signed into work 3 minutes late

workworkwork

1:55-2:40 Lunchtime. Sat in parking lot next door to school and started listening to The Sun Does Shine. Tears leaking out of my eyes already

workwork

4:00 Left work, went straight to market for more juicing stuff. And Steak. And ice cream.

4:45 HOME, put groceries on counter, set-up tripod for ootd shot, took pictures, put groceries away

5-5:04 started typing out this schedule thing up til 5:04 🙂

5:05-6:30 at computer: downloaded OOTD pictures, sighed and rolled eyes repeatedly while photoshop takes FOR. EVER. to load pictures, edited pic for WorkdayWardrobe post, started new WW post, started new WeekInReview post, posted pic to Bettye Rainwater Photography Instagram, selected items for new nuuly box, re-sent email to tax preparer to schedule appt, responded to a brand re potential sponsored posts, updated wardrobe inventory/daily outfit spreadsheets and “what I did/spent/wore” in phone notes

6:30-6:40 put on nightgown and selected outfit for tomorrow, refreshed cat food&water, cleaned litter box while soup heated up in microwave

6:40-6:55 watched YouTube while eating soup

6:55-7:00 sent OOTD to Instagram to post in stories, scrolled IG

7-8:30 checked google calendar to see what bloggy stuff I need to do tonight. Finished up tomorrow’s blog post. This took longer than it should have because The Devil Box was being ornery and needed a (slow) reboot right in the middle of me doing All The Things.

8:30-9 Juiced for the next two days. It’s all I can do to not drink them RIGHT. NOW. Washed up the mess.

9pm – I’m pooped. And my back hurts from washing dishes and juicing. I could get in bed now (happily) or go to the sofa for a 30-minute show…and ice cream. Ice cream wins.

10pm Annnnd in a bold play, I watched an HOUR long show…and am now headed to bed.

That is a typical work day. I’m doing it all.

TUESDAY

Had a dumb doctor appointment with the dumb doctor. I’ve actually been feeling a little more generously towards him since he gifted me with WELBUTRIN (ahhh, and the angels sang from on high) but all that good feeling dropped right away as soon as he walked into the room, and without looking at me, proceeded to tap on and read my tablet chart…”possible fatty liver, low vitamin D, you haven’t had a flu shot, do you want a flu shot (NO), why not?” This appointment timing worked out perfectly for me to get my next in the series of hep-B shots that I started last year. Interesting, cuz that’s not why I made the appointment. I made the appointment to get him to renew the welbutrin prescription and nothing more…and I ended up getting shots and giving them blood. I never would have gotten the third hep-B shot had I not called about the welbutrin. Anyway, then he mumbles something about BMI and then he FINALLY looks at me and sort of scrunches up his face and goes, “did you maybe lose a couple pounds?” DUDE. I’VE LOST 40 POUNDS. It says so right on the chart there! They weighed me last spring and they weighed me today! Ugh. THEN when he’s finished with all his doom and gloom I ask about renewing the welbutrin scrip and he goes, “oh, are you happy with it then?” which I thought was SUCH a weird way to…it’s not about being HAPPY with the product, it’s about whether it’s WORKING or not!!! SO, he goes, “alright, I’m sending in a renewed prescription and you can keep on that…FOR NOW.”

FOR NOW?? HUH?? Uh, no, I’m staying on that TIL THE DAY I DIE. I didn’t SAY that but that is my TRUTH. I wasn’t gonna go all “YOU CAN’T TAKE AWAY MY FIX, MAN,” but…you can’t take away my fix, man.

So, that may be a battle for a future date. The world might end within the next six months so I will never have to deal with not having it anymore ( <- Bettye’s version of optimism).

I also asked about the burning pain I get under my right ribcage when I stand for too long, that last time he quickly chalked up to a pinched nerve caused by a slipped disc caused by what? Say it with me now…MY WEIGHT. Anyway, I was like fine, if that’s what you think it is, I’d like to go to my chiropractor to see if he can help the situation. I thought I needed a referral for that. Turns out I do not. And he was like, yeah sure (after trying to reassess and say it might be my gall bladder) he can give it a try. And after I left I thought, shouldn’t he be sending me for an x-ray? A) he’s just GUESSING that a pinched nerve/slipped disc is the cause of the pain, and if it is, wouldn’t it be nice for the chiro to be able to see a picture of what’s going on in there before he starts poking away randomly? And B) if it’s NOT, wouldn’t a picture be the first step to seeing what MIGHT be causing the pain?

Overall, his MO was the same as last time. Concerned with all the things on the chart, and not at all with the issues *I* was there for.

Anyway. I don’t have to go back for another six months…for an all NEW physical (it’s endless) and by then I’ll need another welbutrin (how many times CAN I say “welbutrin” in one blog post) prescription.

WEDNESDAY

My mother, photo right, my aunt (father’s sister) in the middle and my grandmother (father’s mother) photo left. I barely knew my father’s family. We rarely visited them and spent most of our time with my mother’s family. This is another of my father’s slides. I can’t stop. I’m obsessed.

YAY! NO OBLIGATIONS TODAY. Only day all week I was able to come straight home and not have to do a million things. I have to do a LOT of things, but not a million. Not today. I actually let myself read for about an hour on the sofa when I first got home and there was window light.

I would so wear what my mother’s wearing in this photo. And could she pull off a red red lip, or what??

My positive news is that since a bunch of you filled out those follower review surviews at Fohr.co, I’ve had a couple companies reach out to me for collaborations. I mean, I get reach outs pretty regularly, but they’re usually stupid. Like for totally unrelated products (prom dresses or weight loss products – which I guess THEY think is related, but…NOPE) or “do all this stuff for us for free because it will be good publicity for you.” Uhm, no, it will be good publicity for YOU.

But these were actually good. The first is a watch brand I’ve never heard of and haven’t seen a million other bloggers reviewing (of course, next week may be a different story!), offering a paid sponsorship. They asked my rate, I told them (and it’s low cuz I’m just starting this sort of thing), and they countered with “would you consider doing it for ____ (what amounted to less than half what I said), we’re just a start-up, etc etc,” which I can appreciate, and yet…I’m also a “start up,” and working for so little is not getting anything started up. I spent about a day trying to figure out how to respond nicely “thank you but no thank you at this time,” when they reached back out and offered much closer to my original rate. THEN I said I’m okay with the rate, but I can’t in good conscience recommend a product to my followers that I haven’t even seen. That the community here trusts me and I wouldn’t do anything to risk that trust – surely they could understand that as customer loyalty is the most important thing. They responded back that they appreciated my integrity, and while they couldn’t send the actual product at this time (a lady’s watch) because it wasn’t yet out of production, they could send me one of their men’s watches so I could see the quality with my own eyes. So, that’s what we’re doing. I think that was a win-win. And the really nice thing is that it’s a multiple-post deal. So, prepare for watches 🙂

It’s funny, because I’ve been looking for a new watch for probably six months. I bought and returned two last year cuz they looked nice online but crappy on my wrist. And just last week I was thinking I would really like to have a watch for my trip because I won’t be sitting at my computer all day like I usually am, with the time right there in the corner. Anyway, this looks a little dressy for an everyday watch for me, but still, a funny coincidence!

THURSDAY

Hair cut today! It was getting too long and then it hangs scraggily.

Today at work was a little brutal. Not towards me directly, but just thing after thing being wrong. Bad feelings. And that vibe just brings me down, even when it’s not my fault, or whatever. I’m glad tomorrow is Friday. And BAGEL FRIDAY at that!

Did you know that they’re no longer teaching cursive writing in public schools?? I just learned that this week and am shocked. I had no idea that was not a thing anymore! I heard it in the context that they might be bringing it back. Uh, YEAH.

FRIDAY

Dinner with friends!

Have you heard of this company Happy Returns? It’s interesting – in this time of more and more brick and mortar stores closing and more people shopping online, returns by mail are at an all-time high. You have to package it back up, print a label, take it to the PO, etc. This company has 7,000 locations across the US, and you literally walk in, unwanted shirt in hand, and give it to them so they can package, print label, and send it on its way back to the retailer. AND refunds are initiated immediately. Right now there are only a small number of retailers using it, but there are some well-known ones.

I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity of people, coming up with new solutions to challenges.

SATURDAY

“(Women) are not just there to be admired, they are there to be enjoyed” ~ Ellen von Unwerth 

Saturday we went into the city to a new space called Fotografiska. The main exhibit I was interested in was by Ellen von Unwerth, of whom I have been a fan for a long time.

When I was doing more fashiony shoots during my ebay years, I was very inspired by the work of photographer Ellen von Unwerth…her photos are very provocative, sometimes with blatantly sexual overtones…sometimes more subtle. Her photographs, many in black and white with a grainy look, have a timeless vintage appeal. They’re very theatrical, like stills from a quirky silent movie.

Her career has spanned from circus worker to model to photographer – a life path that clearly allowed many opportunities for inspiration. 

There were four floors of exhibits, all very interesting. One was a painter who was actually living on-site for the 12 days of his exhibit – sleeping, eating, painting – all in the loft studio we got to visit.

He had a recurring theme in his work, “I love you, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you.” Which is the mantra for the Hawaiian healing process known as “Ho’oponopono.”

My one girlfriend is the type of person who can (and does!) just walk up to anyone and start talking. I wish I had that ability. She says it’s easy, just ask them about their work – or their hat, or their camera, or whatever. But I think it’s easy for HER. It’s not just what you SAY. It’s that she’s a genuine, warm, sincerely interested person and I think people feel an ease in talking to her. I’m more anxious in social situations, and I don’t think I put people (well, strangers) at ease, so for me, this is not a simple thing. But…I’ll keep working on it. I have to. She’s moving away (sadface) and we’ll have no one in our little group to ask all the things we want to know!

SUNDAY

Five days and counting…til I leave for California. So now every day has an extensive To Do List – blog stuff I want to finish up, apartment things I want to clean and straighten before the landlady is spending time down here taking care of Janey, getting everything washed and ready to go, I’m getting my taxes done Wednesday so I have to get all that stuff together (hopefully she’ll tell me I’m getting a nice refund so I’ll have some fun money for California!), I’ve ordered a new refurbished laptop, which should be here before I leave, and I’ll want to get that set-up for taking with me. I have a To Do List for every day this week. So Much To Do!

WHAT I’M READING

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton. This is a remarkable story, a tragic story…of a man, Anthony Ray Hinton, who was put on death row in Alabama for thirty years for crimes he did not commit. They knew he did not commit the crimes, yet, as one officer said to him early in his trial, “I believe you didn’t do it. But it doesn’t matter. If you didn’t do it, one of your brothers did. And you’re going to take the rap.” The court system, lawyers, judge, everyone proceeded to ignore all the evidence showing that Mr. Hinton had nothing to do with these crimes (two murders) and gave him the death penalty. This is the story of how he found peace…and freedom while “living” on death row. He was finally found 100% Not Guilty and released in 2015 and now he travels the world speaking out against the death penalty. He served his (unwarranted) time with grace and hope, continuing to serve others as best he could, and living up to his mother’s teachings that you always find a way to see the good in people, no matter how they treat you. Read This Book. Two Thumbs Up. 4.85/5

And that’s it, my friends! I just dropped my Friday blog post off my To Do List…something had to give. But I’ll be back on Saturday with Workday Wardrobe…and by the time you’re reading that, I’ll be in sunny San Diego!!!