7ToF: a bunch of updates, belly fat, and bookstagram

1. Declutter update: I didn't get much done this week. My main accomplishment was pulling everything out from underneath our bathroom sink, throwing out a bunch of old lotions and samples of skin care products, and reorganizing it. But since that only took a couple of hours, I can't claim to have had a good decluttering week. Next week I tackle the dreaded under-the-stairs storeroom, though, which has been the big, nasty part of this that I've been working up to all along. I'm saying it here so I'll have to do it.

2. Reading report: Thumbs up for The Dry, a murder mystery set in Australia, Sing Unburied Sing, a story about a black family on the Gulf coast which would be terribly depressing except her writing is so beautiful, I Am I Am I Am, a memoir about the author's surprisingly frequent brushes with death, A Study in Charlotte, a YA novel about Sherlock Holmes' great granddaughter at boarding school with Dr. Watson's great grandson, The Talent Code, non-fiction about the neurology behind skill development (which sounds yawn-y but he has such great stories to go with it that it's a good read).

2a. Thumbs sideways: The read-all-day book from Tuesday's post was The Rules Do Not Apply, by Ariel Levy. It starts out really interesting and entertaining, but the end as she grieves the complete dissolution of her life devolves a bit. It's good but trigger warning for pretty much everything. Don't tackle it unless you're in the mood for some heavy reading.

3. *slight blush* Remember I told you I was trying to figure out an alternative to my nightly use of face wipes? Yeah, well, I decided I didn't care that much. So I don't have an update to report on that. I'm still using face wipes.

4. Several years ago, I wrote a post about post-menopausal weight gain. We all deal with it. (And actually, a lot of men in their fifties are dealing with it, too, so maybe I shouldn't restrict this to women.) I'm really conflicted about this, because on the one hand, out of the dozens of women I know who are older than 50, I only know one woman who hasn't thickened around her middle, so why are we so worried about it? Why don't we just accept it as normal and get on with our day?

5.  And the reason why is because of this week's "Interesting Read": The Dangers of Belly Fat. Apparently gaining weight deep in your abdomen--which can happen without actually registering as overweight on the scale--leads to a host of health problems. Those of you who have been around awhile know how much I hate dieting, and I still do. But eating sensibly and (most importantly) staying active, are really important. Damn it. It's easy to do now in the summer when the weather is nice and we can go for frequent walks, but in the winter this is tough.

6. The short version of #6 and #7: I have a new account on Instagram for bookish pictures, @bookspate, if you're interested.

Long version: Last year I discovered #bookstagram, which is simply a hashtag on Instagram used for pictures of books. It's nerdy and fun. A couple of months ago I posted a few. Then I took an online class about taking better #bookstagram pictures.

And then, as seems to happen with all things on the internet, I discovered #bookstagram is A Thing. It's become so popular that publishers are paying attention and sending out free books to bookstagrammers who have lots of followers. The fun snaps of your #currentread or your favorite books or an organized bookshelf (#shelfie) have turned into professional quality photographs of shiny new collector's editions.

7. And yet still I'm doing it, because figuring out interesting groupings of books and how to take photos of them has turned into the creative project I was looking for a few months back. I know it's nerdy, and since I'm not the world's greatest photographer and I'm taking pictures of books I actually own and in many cases have owned for decades, I'm bucking the gorgeous #bookstagram trend.

But I've decided I don't care. (Keepin' it real on Instagram.) I created a separate account for this, so if you're on instagram and you're interested, it's @bookspate. Like all internet names these days, bookspate isn't the one I wanted, or even the fourteenth one I wanted, it's just what I came up with while endlessly trying to find a username that wasn't already taken. But it fits well enough-- google defines "spate" as "a large number of things or events occurring in quick succession."

And I'm off. Have a great weekend.