Week in the Life, Day 3

Wednesday.  September 11.  What a day to occur during Week in the Life, right?  I definitely had it –  the event, the families of the victims, and everyone who did so much to help rescue  – in my thoughts.  I remembered how 13 years ago I was working in a cruddy bakery in Richmond when it happened.

Living in a post-college, news-free bubble, I hadn’t entered the world of defense contracting, so I was so naive to the situation and the concept that such a thing could happen.  My world sure has changed. Now I work for a company who has conference rooms named after all the employees we lost at the Pentagon. 

6 am: Didn’t get enough sleep, so extra coffee was needed to facilitate wake-up.

7 am:  My morning event took me by Tyson’s Corner Mall, where the long-awaited construction on the new metro line is nearing completion.  Here’s hoping it improves traffic in the area.

My event was hosted by Fairfax County and the Community Business Partnership – they have so many good (free or low-cost) resources for entrepreneurs, particularly new business owners.   If you’re trying to start a business, look and see if your county has either an entrepreneur center or a Women’s Business Center.  /End shameless plug 1 pm: I got home in time to make some lunch before an online meeting.  Veggie wrap: hummus, kale, spinach, peppers, cucumbers – wrapped in an “sprouted ancient grains” tortilla.  It tasted good despite the rather tough tortilla.

When I went to microwave my wrap I remembered that my egg had exploded and so I cleaned the microwave with this method.

Dishes to do, but first the damn dishwasher has to be emptied. Again.  How do I go through so many dishes?!  I quickly put them away while on a telephone call that I only had to listen to.

4 pm: I need some tea. This green tea with rose and hibiscus is just beautiful to look at. It smells and tastes amazing, too. I broke my teapot, so I brewed a tiny bit in a large purple pitcher which is also pretty.

5 pm: Time to photograph some products for Janery before I lose the light. Loving the new white walls of the studio as a backdrop.  That was a good idea.  I’m still getting shadows, though.

6 pm: I sit down to sort & edit the hundreds of photos; so excited that they were nice and bright. But they’re not.  The photo above had to be lightened and brightened significantly.

I surmise that the shiny brown surface of the table top is not ideal for keeping photos light and bright.  I need to cover it with my white drape for future photos.  I may also need to invest in stronger lights with diffusers, if I really want good photos for my shop.

7 pm: I make dinner.  Okra and zucchini with a side of spinach and the Cabernet Chicken that I made up on Monday.

I take my dinner and a small glass of wine and go back to editing photos & drafting Etsy listings on my computer.  This is my least favorite part of having an online shop.

Ryan is running and I forget to tell him that there is dinner to eat.  He ends up not eating dinner this night. Oops.

10 pm: Stop working and change out the cat litter boxes, because tomorrow is trash day.  Empty the recycling, which is housed in our pantry in a sad cardboard box.  We put that box there on the day we moved in, and always meant to replace it. Three years later it’s still our recycling can, because it fits the space perfectly.  Such is life. I remembered that I had cleaned up the work room and hoarded the resulting trash in there, waiting for trash day.  That was almost a month ago. I’m glad I remembered.

11 pm: Get into bed with my laptop to work on updating my Fall Art Market To Do List.

11:30 pm: Feel overwhelmed, fall asleep.