Sometimes my life feels (and looks!) like a freaking disaster. Kinda like this pile of crap on my desk that greeted me on Monday morning.
A year and a half ago, I participated in my first Week in the Life. (Documenting my life for a week through photos.) And I loved the project. But at the time, I remember thinking "Next time I do this project, my life will be completely different! I'll be organized and in shape! My business will be running more smoothly! We'll have house projects completed and we won't still be eating dinner at 9 pm every night! I will have made progress. I will have my shit together."
Fast forward to Monday morning. We woke up late and the house was a wreck. The cupboards were bare. I didn't even know that it was Week in the Life until nearly lunchtime. And I contemplated participating (it's a great project) and not participating (I wasn't ready!). I decided to give it a try, but as I photographed my day, I grew more and more forlorn. I accomplished nothing on Monday. My photography was uninspired. I did a few chores around the house and felt like a housewife. (I'm not, and I know this. I own my own business. Still, housework is a part of life. It needs to get done at some point.) I realized my life hadn't changed since the last Week in the Life in April 2012. I'm still disorganized. I still have unfinished projects. I still waste half my day petting my dogs. I'm still not in shape. We still eat dinner at 9 pm. My shit is definitely NOT together. And I sure as heck wasn't going to post any selfies because I looked like total crap. Honestly, it made me feel like a complete failure. And then I looked at other bloggers' Weeks in the Life and saw how productive and perfect their lives seemed and I felt even worse. I know, I know, comparison is the thief of joy, nobody's perfect, yadda yadda, but still, I was feeling kind of shitty about my life and the project. And if a project that is supposed to be fun was causing me anxiety, then why participate?
So I thought about quitting. I thought about rescheduling it for a week that was more convenient for me. Or a week that made my life seem fun and exciting all the time. But that's not the point. So I decided to wait until Tuesday morning to see how I felt. And then I decided to trudge forward. This is my life. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And Monday was ugly. In fact, this whole week may be ugly. That's life. Here we go:
Shit! It's Week in the Life?! Double shit! It's 11:00 already!
So as I was saying, I didn't even realize it was Week in the Life until I saw Ali's Instagram feed at 11 am. Larry went into work late so we had a lazy morning, but here's what it was like:
I packed a lunch for Larry. (Yes, Larry is my husband, not my child.)
I ate cereal. Life cereal. How appropriate.
I left my cereal bowl on the table when I went to take a pee. Gravy reached his giraffe neck onto the table and helped himself. He also gave the table, the pile of junk mail on the table, and HIS HEAD a shower of cereal milk.
I planned my week. And felt overwhelmed.
I printed shipping labels for shop orders. My new Dymo thermal printer has changed my business for the better and my orders are now shipped out the next day! Time saver for me and waaaay faster for my customers.
And then it was afternoon:
I spent the afternoon at the computer doing work for Funnelcloud Studio, blogging, researching cushions for our patio chaise lounges, and wasting some time reading blogs.
I took a break and played around with arranging the top of our new media cabinet. I plan to Ikea-hack this cabinet by building a wood surround for it. Oh, and put some plants in those pots.
Mail's here. A package! Also, still wearing lounge pants.
It's a banjo print from Mike of Coffee In Bed. I "met" Mike through blogging - connecting with fellow artists through the internet is one of the most fun perks of owning an online business. Mike included some fun freebies and a nice note. Since we love all things banjo (especially our dog, Banjo), we really love this print.
Oh shit. Guess it's time to do some laundry.
This. All day long.
It must be done. Sigh.
And then it was evening. Already! Where did the day go?!
Larry's home from work.
Dinner prep. Orange on orange.
Someone is feeling very needy today.
This is the face the husband of a blogger/photographer makes when he just wants to eat his food, not wait for his wife to photograph it.
Dinner on the back porch. (Don't worry, we sterilized the table first.) Chile-Rubbed Steak Tacos. And yup, it's dark out.
Like I said, he's feeling needy. Also, he loves having his brain scratched.
Gravy is bored.
Walked the dogs in the dark.
Back home. Not feeling well. Lounged on the couch. Pissed that it's football season again.
Yup. Still needy.
After midnight and in bed with some Netflix.
Good riddance, Monday. Better luck for a more productive tomorrow!
2 comments:
I totally understand how some days are crappy like that! However, here are some positives:
1. You have a label printer and can now ship from home. Major score.
2. Your photos look awesome, even when they're of mundane things.
3. You made dinner and ate at a table with Larry. Many people don't do that!
4. You have an awesome to-do list, and yes I blew up the photo so I could be nosy. I like what I see on there! you have great goals! You can work towards them this week but give yourself a break if you don't get it all done. Do you know how the Franklin Covey method tells you to jot down all to-dos, then list the three big overall goals you most want for the week, and then prioritize the steps in order of importance? DO IT! It works wonders. Now that I said that...I'd better do it for my week, too.
Wow. I just wrote a book as a blog comment. Well, as your friend I think it's ok and I'm allowed to do that. :p
Your shit looks way more together than mine. I mean, look at those lists (as a fellow list-maker, I'm impressed. My lists are usually chicken scratch on crumpled napkins.)
I shudder to think what a day in the life would look like if I photographed it -- A pile of boxes that we still haven't unpacked from a year ago, overflowing baskets of clean but unfolded (never folded) laundry, strewn cat toys everywhere, pre-made salad eaten on the floor of our living room because we still don't have furniture, etc.
And at least you didn't lock yourself out of the house for a full day while wearing pjs...
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