Happy Read in the Bathtub Day!

I can't even begin to tell you how much a good bath can help. Whether it is mental sanity or pain relief, it sure makes a tough day better.

A few years ago, my neuroinflammation was so high I soaked in an Epsom salt ice bath every night for a year! It was severe, and my #longtimebff used to compare me to an Olympic athlete. 

Now I can soak in a warm Epsom salt bath, and it does help my muscles at least. It's a give and take. The cold helps my Adhesive Arachnoiditis, and the warmth helps my Ehlers-Danlos. Ugh, dammed if I do, dammed if I don't. LOL!

When I saw it was Read in the Bathtub Day, I got giddy. Covid has given me next to zero alone time, but I think I can scrape some alone time out tonight to finish a chapter in my current read, The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist.

It is a fascinating look into how money works in our lives. When I'm done, I'm definitely putting my favorite quote to the calligraphy pen, especially since I'm being very budget-conscious in 2021.

What is on your nightstand right now? I'm always looking for a new good read!

I finished the Amelia Peabody series in 2020 and need a good new series to get hooked into!

2020 Bullet Journal

The long, or not so long-awaited 2020 Bullet Journal Layout!

LOL.

To tell the truth, I'm not nearly where I'd usually like to be in my bullet journal...having the entire front section done along with the first month. However, I've got January done and most of the important things laid out.

So boom!

Accomplished.

I got a beautiful bright orange bujo this year as a nod to my awesome new job VIPKid. I'm going with a grayscale theme inside to complement the outside. I'm also getting back to my early roots using some Zentangles and Tangram sketches.

I'm loving it so far because I can just pick it up and Zentangle when the moment strikes or when I'm waiting at the DMV...which I might be doing right now. Good times!

I'm also not going to track every damn little thing this year. I need to focus on what's important and as it turns out not everything is as important as I think. Just the basics:

Where is my pain at?
How do I feel?
What am I grateful for?
What do I need to do today? this week?
and...when the hell is my period going to start?

There you have it. I'll migrate the rest over when I get the chance but its low priority. Now back to today's To-Do List!

[instagram]https://www.instagram.com/p/B7JOgsIhYEJ/[/instagram]

April 2019 Bullet Journal Setup

I can’t believe April snuck up on me. I really enjoyed taking a break in March, but it’s time to get back to the desk.

I have my bullet journal set up, and this month I went crazy!

I went with a Harry Potter theme because I am lucky enough to be able to celebrate #BreadwinnerBFF birthday at Universal Studios Harry Potter world this month.

I wanted to get excited for my adventure so I grabbed my prisma color pencils and went to town on drawing Hogsmeade, a Quidditch pitch complete with snitch, and how I always envisioned the Firebolt to look.

My favorite book is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban so I took my cues from that book!

If you were a chronic pain warrior or a chronic illness warrior, and you haven’t started a bullet journal yet to keep track of your symptoms, pain levels, and day-to-day activities I highly recommend you starting one. You can start in the middle of the year it doesn’t have to be January.

How to Track Your Medical Expenses

Every year of my adult life since 2009 I have met my out of pocket maximum on my medical insurance. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you don't have severe medical problems or you have an HMO.

I want to make it clear that I am well aware of my priveledge to have and have had medical insurance since graduating college. I don't know the numbers of uninsured Americans, but if you are one of those then my heart goes out to you. I don't know how you do it, let alone survive.

However, this post is about tracking your medical expenses in the hopes to get a nice tax deduction and $$$ back from the government.

How to Track Your Medical Expenses
I'm not going to get into the merits of HMO vs PPO suffice to say that if you have no medical problems get the HMO, if you have legit medical problems, Type 1 Diabetes, Chrons, or like me, Adhesive Arachnoiditis, you want the PPO.

Why? Well, after I meet my deductable, then I start paying a percentage of each visit or procedure. Once I reach a certain amount spent out of my wallet, I don't have to spend any more and the insurance picks up everything at 100%.

I'll save the nitty gritty of HMO vs PPO for another post.

Since 2016, I know I've done a diservice to our finances by not tracking what we are spending medically. Even though I reach my out of pocket maximum that doesn't include perscriptions, and now other things can be covered by FSA's like massages and acupuncture.

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I need to take advantage of this in 2019 and start now with writing down monthly expenses.

I have alotted a page in my bujo next to personal expenses for this, now the tricky part is filling it in, or in my case, finding the time and energy to fill it in. Shame I didn't think of this when I was setting up my bullet journal in December.

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March 2019 Bullet Journal Set Up

How is March here already?

I was telling my mom yesterday that all the grand plans for 2019 have not worked out at all so far. She laughed and said it's only eight weeks in.

"Not good enough!" screams my inner perfectionist.

March 2019 Bullet Journal Set Up
Without further ado, I actually got my March bullet journal done in advance so there's that. I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for that.

I'm still loving my new month view calendar format but I think I'm going to make room for the month title at the top if I can, in April.

I may have to draw up some practice sketches first.
I kept my weekly's in the same horizontal layout because I'm really digging the overall appeal on the page.

I got some amazing wreath stamps, not that I minded drawing my own in January and February, but February has been such a weird month I needed a bit of a breather and hand drawing wreaths was not in my wheel house.

The stamps are gorgeous and I just colored them in with a tombow to make sure that they didn't bleed through the paper.



I intentionally added a menu section on now that my Whole30 is over. I'm debating adding a grocery list on the page below. I used the space below in February for what crafting project I wanted to complete that week.

BT Dubs, did you know that March is National Crafting Month! So definitely look for my Chronic Pain Crafts posts this coming month!



My bubble emotion and energy tracker has been looking awesome in February. In fact, I think it looks like Jupiter. Not sure if February and Jupiter have a corralation, but it looks cool. I haven't picked my emotion colors for March yet...maybe I should go with a Mars theme?

I kept my main tracker page the same because I really like the fact that I've ordered each category in keeping with my daily schedule.

Hope this gives you some inspiration this month! Get out there are get planning.

If you don't have a bullet journal yet or are looking to start one, you can start at any point in the year.

Fun fact, I started my first one in March!

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If you shop through any of my links in this post, you help support this blog at zero cost to you. Thank you for your consideration.

Chronic Pain Crafts: Learning to do Brush Lettering

One of my goals for 2018 was finally sitting down with the Brush Lettering course I ordered in 2017 and learn how to do all the super fancy brush lettering you see all over Insta, Pinterest, and Bullet Journal fanatics.

I initially wanted to learn hand lettering for my bullet journal to be pretty. However, it turned into something to do while I was stuck in my chair (or the bear chair as #leohusband calls it) in pain and the distraction of a funny TV show was not enough to take my mind off of the hurt.

I do crochet and it's a great distraction, too great in fact. I tend to get sucked into my crochet project and forget to take breaks where I walk around. Even when I set timers I tend to usually turn the timer off with the intention of getting up when I reach the end of a row, and I hardly ever do.

Chronic Pain Crafts: Learning to do Brush Lettering
Brush lettering or hand lettering, whatever you want to call it, is beautiful. It harkens back to the days where handwriting meant something. Penmanship was a goal everyone wanted to obtain and get this, they practiced it and kept it up because there wasn't phones or cell phones or the internet. Even in the 1980s, where I grew up, long distance phone calls were still really expensive so people wrote to each other. *Gasp*

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So if you have zero clues as to what I'm talking about here are some examples:

Get it now? I actually love that hand and brush lettering are becoming popular since they just don't teach cursive in school anymore. The last year I taught, 2014-2015, I actually had kids not be able to read my comments on their artwork because they couldn't read cursive. There will be a whole generation out there that won't be able to read historical documents because of this, and if you can't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it.

Again, this is why I'm excited that people actually seem to be into this.

So hand lettering vs brush lettering, what's the difference?

Hand lettering is usually done in pen and then you draw the weighted part of the letter on.

Brush lettering is done with a brush. You can get a refillable water pen and use watercolor paint or liquid ink in the chamber.




Or you can use a brush marker, like a Tombow Brush Pen, etc.




I have both, but for practice, I like my Tombows because they don't require clean up.

Now, where to learn...

As I said before I initially downloaded a practice sheet program from Random Olive. I did like it because it had weekly goals but it wasn't really doing it for me for some reason. I may go back and use it now since I'm a bit more used to the practice now.

I think I didn't like it because I'm visual. I need to see someone do it first. That's where Skillshare comes in. I love Skillshare and if you are into everything Internet you have probably heard it on YouTube ads or seen ads for it on Insta or Facebook.

If you are interested, use my link and get 2 Free Premium Months. Signing up under my link is no cost to you at all and helps a starving health blogger out. It's so worth it, not only did I learn hand lettering, but right now I'm also learning about Podcasting, WordPress, and Audacity. Remember how I was talking about crochet? They have that too. Thousands of classes!

The class I used to learn my awesome new skills was Hand Lettering: 4 Easy Steps to Modern Calligraphy by Peggy Dean, The Pigeon Letters | Lettering & Illustration.

She had simple straightforward instruction and printables to help you practice. She starts with a pencil and pen and then takes you through to using a brush marker.

If you have thought about learning this new skill and especially if you are stuck in a chair or in bed this is a great way to work your brain. Learning something new speaks to the soul and that is one of the best medicines out there.

5 Favorite Bullet Journal Supplies

I'm now in my third year of bullet journaling and loving it. It really has brought so much clarity to my life, my health, and my production.

One of my old students is doing one and texted me to ask what my favorite supplies are because I guess he was so over using highlighters.

I get it, you've invested your initial time into a bujo and realize you're hooked. Now you want to upgrade and invest in your supplies.

I'll be honest, you can sink quite a bit of money into one. I went crazy when I first got mine. I bought stamps, ink, markers, washi tape, stencils, etc...

The list could go on and on but by my third year, I know what I use on a consistent basis enough where I could actually give away some of my bujo planning items I used in the beginning. However, now that I actually have a desk and a place to journal, I may use some of those more tedious supplies again.

If you are looking to bullet journal on a budget check out 5 Ways to Bullet Journal on a Budget.
5 Favorite Bullet Journal Supplies

These are my go tos for bullet journaling every setup and on a daily basis.



1. Tombow Markers

Tombow's are beautiful markers that do not bleed through your bullet journal pages. They blend amazingly well and are self-cleaning. What do I mean about self-cleaning, well remember when you were a kid and someone used your yellow Crayola marker on something dark and it was ruined for life? Well, that is not going to happen with these.

2. Sakura Pigma Micron Pens

These pens come in a variety of nib sizes from super small to large bullet tip and brushes. They are permanent archival ink and have the blackest blacks I've ever seen in a pen. They also last a decent while if you take care of them.

3. Staedtler Fine Liners

These super fine markers come in a beautiful 36 color pack. I love these for doing detail drawing work in my bujo. These are for everyone but I definitely recommend them for anyone that likes to get creative in their bullet journal with designs and doodles.

4. Compass

There are a lot of stencils out there but I use this one for just about everything. It has a straight edge that I can use to keep my lines crisp. Makes circles look awesome from large to small. I also feel it gives you that professional touch to the overall look and feel of your journal.

5. Get a Weekly Layout Stencil

I know I get bogged down in trying to figure out dimensions, spaces, and dots. Sometimes it is tiring just figuring out what to put where and how to evenly space it. There are so many weekly layout stencils to choose from on Amazon and Etsy. Look around and find one that you like.

February 2019 Bullet Journal Spread

Where did January go?

Seriously?

Well, February is here and so is my bullet journal set up for the month. Last year, I opted for a sleek minimalism scheme that really didn't speak to my artist's soul.

I'm working on a balance between super detailed and artistic and simplicity in 2019.

Thing's I've changed up are a full calendar for the month at a glance spread.

I've also opted for a horizontal weekly view.

The trackers in January just didn't work for me. The pages were too busy, which made it hard to figure out what was going on.

I went for a colorful visual emotion and energy tracker that I'm looking forward to blending colors for, especially since I fluctuate during the day. Hoping to get a better bead on my adrenal fatigue and the emotions associated with it.

I'm seperating my AM and PM tasks into different columns so I can really tell how I get through the day and the consistency with the night time tasks.

I've also added back in my pain + sleep tracker to the same area.

I also had a nice doolding session one evening while exhausted, it totally made me feel better.

Bullet Journal Daily Routine 2019

2018 was a year that I tried to get things right and failed miserably. In that failure, I realized what I needed to do to change and that change was being consistent in all things.

Basically, it's learning to be a baby boomer. It's learning to be an adult. It's tidying every day. Putting things back where they belong. Not being a Scarlett O'Hara and waiting until tomorrow. Doing it now. Doing it even when you're tired and sick and struggling because not doing things is what got you into this mess. So do them.

2018 I plotted out two days, one day where I feel great, and one day where I'm having a pain flare.

Bullet Journal Daily Routine 2019
The problem was I never freaking followed either of my plans. I didn't even test them out to see if they were actionable, practical, or achievable.

This year I have taken a different approach. I have what I want to do each day plotted out but I'm waiting until I have a months worth of data before I fill the times or the chart in.

How long does my morning routine take on average?

How long does it take to blog and get pictures for my blog?

How long will menu planning, making the grocery list and doing the actual grocery shopping take?

So many questions, so little data.

I started out strong at the beginning of January only to be thrown a complete curveball with getting strep and a sinus infection. However, part of consistency means not giving up and getting back on that horse. February is right around the corner and my stopwatch is waiting to be activated.

2019 Bullet Journal Set Up

It's hard to believe we are already one week into 2019. Last Saturday, I looked at #leo husband and said that I couldn't belive that Monday was 2018. It felt like 2018 was three weeks ago, not 5 days ago. Man, that time dilation field gets me every dang time. #stargate #nerdqueen

So much has happened in one week. From taking all the decorations down, which after this meme by a friend, I felt totally cool with procrastinating...

...which was great because with all the family and friend fun I was totally behind on setting up my third bullet journal for 2019. Ticks me off though because last year, I was telling myself that I needed to start earlier next year, like the beginning to mid-December early. Well, that didn't effing happen. Ugh, best-laid plans of mice and men.

Well, with my niece's here I got to work on it because they love all things art. I've even tried convincing my oldest niece to try one. Showed her a couple of videos and she dug it. I love corrupting, bringing others over to the dark side, inspiring those around me to dig cool things that aren't mainstream.

Like Bullet Journals.


2019 Bullet Journal Set Up

This year I feel like I streamlined my collections to what worked and didn't work. It's an evolving process which I like. I'm also super stoaked about my brush lettering. Half of my setup was just having fun trying to come up with beautiful titles or unique ways to put the letters on the page.

What I kept the same:

My health/body tracker is mostly the same with the exception of I went to measurement only, instead of weight and measurement. That may change but I feel too many negative emotions are tied up by my scale. I want to see improvement in my tape measure, not the scale.

My Satan's Waterfall Log was super handy last year so I'm keeping it mostly the same but with a few new additions for symptom tracking.

My replacement tracker is exactly the same because I made it last year on a seperate page and never put it in my bujo.

Expenses, after tracking last year, I spend about $200-300 a month on myself. It seems like a lot but it is mostly medical related "perks" which I will talk about in a later post. I save what I don't spend and redeposit it at the end of the year into savings.

What's new:

I changed up the design for the year at a glance from a horizontal layout to a vertical one. I added the month view calendar above the item lists.

I have a Goal's page with my goal of consistency and kindness. I left blank spaces so I can add to the list as I become aware of the areas I need work on.

Vacation and Gifts have been narrowed down to one page instead of a two-page spread.

I cut movies because that was way too hard to keep up with, we watch a lot of movies, and increased my reading spread to two pages with 24 spaces because my goal is to read 24 books this year.

I have a perfect day "Daily Routine" which I haven't been able to reach yet, but I am building habits that will get me there. Although I will say part of the problem is my complete lack of a sleeping schedule from the holidays. Ugh.

I made a dedicated Whole 30 planning spread, and I'm hoping to do two Whole30's this year, I'd love to shoot for one each quarter but that ambitious goal is going to be a 2020 one.

I added a weekly tasks page because I tend to lose focus and do what's immediate and urgent that day. I really want to get into a good schedule because consistent daily routine reduces inflammation.

I have two blank pages left for anything that may come up later in the year that I feel is necessary to add.

2019 is going to be a great year. I've got a basic handle on my adhesive arachnoiditis. #leohusband isn't going to be in Europe for 8 months out of 12. We have big ideas and goals for us as a couple and can't wait to see them come to fruition.

Happy New Year my lovely readers!