Huge eBay Sale!

Vintage Kitschy Milk Glass Mug - gotta have 'em :)

Note: In honor of this Tennessee coffee mug, here's a couple "I heart TN" songs to enjoy :)

My shoulders have been really tight over the past couple weeks, even after I went to my favorite $19 massage place (where I've realized that they act confused every time you ask for the special, and try to change your mind so you pay more money - not gonna happen). So the tight shoulders made me think about stress, made me think about clenching my teeth, made me think that I left my bite guard at home a month ago when I started housesitting, and maybe it's time for a new one. So yesterday, I bought a new one. Good work, Megan.

Some sort of whiskey + coffee recipe on the back :)

I've been really stressed about money, like constantly worrying about it, and I imagine that this has contributed to the stress I'm feeling in my upper body. I've been worried about the month of July for like six months, which is crazy, right? I've been worried that this July will be like last July, where I made like $500 and couldn't pay my bills. Well, for whatever reason (pure brilliance, perhaps?), I looked around my super-crowded apartment (on a quick trip home to send orders) and realized "Holy shit! I have a lot of stuff in here." I've been working so hard to increase the base number in my shop that I haven't really sifted through the lot to get rid of stuff that hasn't sold.

Anyhoo, I decided that July is the perfect time to have a huge sale in my eBay shop, and clear out stuff that just hasn't sold. And it's been so great! I'm getting rid of stuff. I'm getting momentum, eyes on my stuff, people browsing around. I love it! I'm realizing how necessary it is for me to clean out the attic, so to speak, to clear out my shop, my head, my body, to be willing, at least once a year, to make a change in the status quo, and grease the wheels of my gosh-darn life.

Thanks for stopping by - come again soon :)

I fix things.

Vintage GE Mist-Condition Hairsetter

So in the past year or so, I have fixed the following: my toaster oven, a blender, an aquarium, and a very fancy coffee maker. I believe that in some way, I broke all of them. And when they broke, every single time, I had an absolute freak out. Then I decided to fix them, because what the hell else could I do?

Fixing appliances is a lot less scary than some people think (or maybe a lot of people are like me and enjoy fixing things - I dunno). I'm a clumsy mess sometimes, so am left with the reality that this clumsiness will continually end in some kind of mess.

But in the end, nothing is unfixable. Injuries heal, appliances can be repaired, relationships can be rekindled, and diseases, well, those raw foodies have something to say about that. Perhaps if we admitted to ourselves that things will break, we'd be more open to doing the dirty job of fixing them, sewing up those socks, filling in those holes in the wall, going to see a therapist. Maybe if we acknowledged that we ourselves are all broken, we'd be more okay with the brokenness of other people, and the inevitable brokenness of the world.

Thrift store conversations.

A section of a beautiful handmade square dance skirt - my new thing :)

Yesterday, at my favorite cheap thrift store downtown, where they let you barter, and still sell things for ten cents, this conversation was overheard between an employee and two volunteers. I, a recognized regular, am the only shopper in the store.

Employee: [referring to an old friend] Oh! She was the most wonderful person. One time, a woman came up to her and complimented her earrings - would you believe it - she took them off and gave them to her!

Volunteer: What?! That's like giving away your underwear!

Employee: [completely flustered] Well...uh...oh my! Why are you talking about underwear?! Oh my goodness. This is so inappropriate...I can't believe this is happening...

Volunteer: Oh no. You misunderstand me. I'm just saying that that is how I see someone giving away their earrings. That's a personal item, just like underwear.

Employee: [laughing anxiously] He said it again! Oh my goodness. This is too much. You need to go in back and move furniture. Underwear! He's talking about underwear!

Several minutes later...

Employee: [to me (volunteers are in back, out of hearing range)] Did you hear that man? He is after me! I don't know what to do about it. It's been going on for a while now, but today was just the worst! He was talking about underwear! As if he wanted to talk about my underwear, as if he thought he might be seeing it soon!

Megan: [nods sympathetically] Yeah, wow. Hm. That's a tough one.

Employee: What do I do? This needs to stop! [turns to another employee who has just approached] Did you hear him? Talking about my underwear? I can't believe it! I don't know what to do!

The art of lounging :)

Bff got me a new lounging sweater for Christmas. She knows how I love to "lounge". I don't think I ever really let anyone know my secret "I live in my bed" until her. It's nice to be known.

I'm working on my taxes (I know - I'm proud of myself too!) and it's a pain in the ass, as I expected, but much more doable than I previously expected when I had an overwhelming rush of impossibility a week ago just thinking about it. I have a printer. I printed bank statements. Now I'm highlighting relevant transactions. Later I will add them up and combine them with my online Outright stuff from eBay, which is awesome and helps me do the impossible, like keep track of sales tax and expenses and income, and on and on...ad infinitum.

My vacation has truly helped my brain get to a better place. I'm compartmentalizing in healthy ways, i.e. not thinking about things that don't need to be thought about in a given moment. I just ate an orange off the orange tree in the backyard, evidencing my ability to feed myself, and I remembered to put extra blankets on the bed (finally), so that I won't freeze to death in my sleep.

All is well :)

Look! It's a castle!

Vintage Fisher Price castle - 1970s - reminds me of toys at Grandma's house :)

So maybe it's the coming month of fewer hours at work, but I've been bulking up on inventory like a fun thrift store hobbyist. I'm actually quite content right now, listening to country, drinking some cafe au lait, and trying on vintage eyeglasses while I list them, and it's been quite a long time since I haven't begrudgingly listed on my off days. Less stress overall = more enjoyment in the little things I suppose.

I went in and got a CT scan yesterday. As time passes, I am becoming more and more angry about how all of this hullabaloo has gone down. One person that saw the incident said I might have had a small seizure, or I could have fainted and fallen down. Both are equally likely. But I defaulted, thinking it wouldn't matter, and shouldn't I call my diabetes doctor just to let them know? But thus began a series of events that cannot be undone, and now my driver's license is in jeopardy and I'm getting all of these tests run that cost a lot of money, and scare me a little.

Everyone who knows me, knows I'm high strung, intense, sometimes over-the-top. But I'm also very aware of it, and I suppose that makes me not-so-scary. Yeah, I panic, I freak out, but I also am the person you want to call in a genuine crisis, because while I freak out about the stupidest things, I do not freak out when shit is on the line. I am calm and cool, and focused. Yeah, it's weird, but it's me, and I'm okay with that.

I'm really missing the dogs today, and I wish they were sitting next to me.

Peace out :)