Saturday, July 1, 2023

Self improvement

I’ve been on a bit of a self-improvement kick, I’ve noticed. It wasn’t conscious, but I’ve realized now that’s what I’m up to.

I’ve been buying makeup - something I do maybe once every twenty years, ha ha. I’ve been using some pencil eyeshadows and really enjoying them to look more “made up” every day. At my last hair appointment I asked my hairdresser to bring my shade down a notch so it would match the hairpieces I use for 40s styles…but after a month realized the blah dishwater blonde was just hideous so went back Wednesday to brighten it up again - hair pieces be damned - and already feel better. It also dawned on me I don’t need to get a haircut every eight weeks - if I really want to grow it out, I can certainly skip a month here and there. Duh. Saves money, too. I’ve been in the process of buying summer skirts (none of which fit, hence the desire for weight loss) and Thursday embarked on a massive closet clean-out that took all day and resulted in giving away three large garbage bags. Just like my makeup, I hadn’t done a thorough clean out in probably 15-20 years; there were things in there I hadn’t touched or thought about since before Bobby was born. I got rid of things that were hopelessly too small, out of style (I’m looking at you, bias cut Jersey stripy skirts), not my style anymore (culturally appropriative Mexican dresses, baby doll dresses, low rise pants), or that I had just proven to myself I would never wear (high maintenance linen pants - I never see anyone so jeans and t shirts it is). I also sadly had to throw away several sweaters that had fallen prey to our endless infestation of moths. But I never wore them anyway, so meh. For how rarely I go into that closet, it’s shockingly satisfying just knowing that it’s clean and organized and only contains things I’ll actually wear. Also seeing how many things I had to give away that I bought on Etsy but then arrived not fitting me, I realized I need to seriously curb my Etsy buying and instead find local stores where I can vintage shop and try things on. I don’t want to buy new things except underwear and sleepwear and workout clothes - for me, everything else (jeans, dresses, blouses, skirts) should be bought used. To save my wallet and the planet. I loathe shopping but looking at the hundreds of dollars worth of stuff I just gave away never worn by me - yeah, this is incredibly wasteful. 

And - drum roll - I finally got off my ass to make a tattoo appointment with a swing dance friend of mine (female). It’s a consult to see if she can work with my idea of a sailor Jerry style heart on my arm. It may not be her style exactly - her work is very artistic and realistic - but I figure I have to start somewhere. I think a tattoo is something I’ve just overthought to death. I’ve wanted one for ages but then always shied away from actually doing it. Why? Would I ever actually regret it? I’ve spent my entire life in an “alternative” environment. I’m not, and never will be, in a culture that would penalize me for having tattoos. And it won’t even show most of the time. So why not? 

Towards the end of week one of dieting and have lost three pounds of traveling/water weight, which is always a great way to start. I only have four pounds to lose to get back to where I was at my last event, although obviously I’d love to do better than that. It’s going to be a rough go with 4th of July, my birthday, and our campervan trip all happening this month, but I figure if I can at least maintain or lose a pound or two by August, then it’ll be easier to really power through. One tool I recently bought - inspired by the opening episode of And Just Like That - are these English egg coddlers:



I tried them out today and it was a trial and error experience. But thankfully unlike boiling eggs in a shell, you can take the lid off of these and check the status and continue to cook if they’re not quite done. Next time I’ll be able to do it correctly the first time. Water to the very top (despite what the directions told me) and eight minutes. I made the H one with toast points and he loved it. Now I wish I’d gotten the “king size” version; these are so tiny. But for now a nice little boiled egg for breakfast in a cute container is right up my alley and diet friendly. 

Kids were supposed to get their bivalent vaccines for sleepaway camp today, but at the last minute Kaiser called to tell me they didn’t have any pediatric-trained administrators available and I’d have to call some other number to reschedule, and of course no one is at that number until Monday. Harrumph. The vaccine requirement came as an irritating surprise - the camp sent a letter a couple of weeks ago saying they decided everyone needed the bivalent vaccine (the only one my kids don’t have); not that they’ll be denied entry without it, but if even one kid doesn’t get it, everyone will have to wear masks for the entire camp. I think this is ridiculous, but of course I’m a rule follower so I’m trying to comply, but they’re not making it easy. I tried to save the day by scheduling the vaccine at a pharmacy elsewhere, but the bivalent vaccine for kids is almost non-existent now; I found a Walgreens that has them and scheduled them for today, but then when I called to ask if there’d be a cost, they said because I’m with Kaiser they can’t even give them to us at all even if we offer to pay. So we’re stuck just waiting on a call from Kaiser and I have only a week left before the cut off. I spent two hours this morning trying to sort this out. What a pain in the ass. And there’s nothing like emotionally preparing your scared kids all week about the shots happening today only to have them cancelled because the person scheduling us screwed up and put them in as adults. Great. 

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