The music is great. The people watching is priceless!
August 15, 2009
Gotta Love a Summer Concert
Retail Diaster Begins
Ok. In keeping with my little project, I'm trying to be cognizant of what we are purchasing. And it is rather amazing. . .
It starts this AM:
d "C where did you leave the dental floss?"
C "I put it away. Isn't it there?"
d (thinking to herself) "Clearly not"
Obviously he left it out and now one of those ingrate cats has had their way with 10 dollars worth of Glide floss. Ugh. Looks as if dental floss is on the shopping list.
This is not off to a good start.
We are at a concert. Prior to the concert I needed a little pick me up - iced coffee. Well, ding dong high school kid order talker wasn't having a stellar day at work and I ended up with some $3.50 hot milk and coffee mess which we carried out of the place and dumped in the trash.
Confronting stupid order takers and standing up for ourselves is clearly an experiment needed in the future!
Dad was kind enough to loan me a Stetson hat for the concert. I love, love, love. Stetson and Frye boots have been on my wish list for a long time. C mentions I should get both. Then we both remember, it will have to remain on the wish list a little longer.
Funny how we momentarily forgot about the experiment dreaming about items that really have very little practical purpose: I wear suits to work not western wear!
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It starts this AM:
d "C where did you leave the dental floss?"
C "I put it away. Isn't it there?"
d (thinking to herself) "Clearly not"
Obviously he left it out and now one of those ingrate cats has had their way with 10 dollars worth of Glide floss. Ugh. Looks as if dental floss is on the shopping list.
This is not off to a good start.
We are at a concert. Prior to the concert I needed a little pick me up - iced coffee. Well, ding dong high school kid order talker wasn't having a stellar day at work and I ended up with some $3.50 hot milk and coffee mess which we carried out of the place and dumped in the trash.
Confronting stupid order takers and standing up for ourselves is clearly an experiment needed in the future!
Dad was kind enough to loan me a Stetson hat for the concert. I love, love, love. Stetson and Frye boots have been on my wish list for a long time. C mentions I should get both. Then we both remember, it will have to remain on the wish list a little longer.
Funny how we momentarily forgot about the experiment dreaming about items that really have very little practical purpose: I wear suits to work not western wear!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Wouldn't it be Nice
Hardly.
Molly Muffin turned 11 years last month.
She doesn't seem concerned with wrinkles or work. Her career path seems to be making folks smile.
I adore Binky Boo
2 Hours In. .
Two hours into the no shopping challenge. I tried to explain it to my Dad and I think he feared I was destitute at first. He still might. Not sure. . .tried to explain it to him. It is really hard to explain to anyone in all honesty. It's a crazy experiment
Ran into a few challenges already. . .Realized Dad, MIL, and Boss all had birthdays in the upcoming week and we couldn't spend money on gifts. . .I did good with Dad's card and pre-ordered gift - Beach Boys tix. I'm not sure about the rest. . .I used to purchase "bigger ticket" items at the last minute.
How stupid was that? I should have been more thoughtful and genuine.
So she wrote. . .
Ran into a few challenges already. . .Realized Dad, MIL, and Boss all had birthdays in the upcoming week and we couldn't spend money on gifts. . .I did good with Dad's card and pre-ordered gift - Beach Boys tix. I'm not sure about the rest. . .I used to purchase "bigger ticket" items at the last minute.
How stupid was that? I should have been more thoughtful and genuine.
So she wrote. . .
August 14, 2009
August 13, 2009
Hmmmmm
Here I hate this you try it. LOL.
August 12, 2009
The Lifestyle Challenge Rules
1. Personal Health and Pets' health are always legitimate expenditures.
2. Consumable, deletable items - food, gas, toiletries, etc. are legitimate expenditures. But they must remain lean. No trying out 10 types of mascara (guilty). When purchased, the most environmentally friendly locally available will be purchased. All resources in the house must be depleted before purchasing more.
3. Avoid "big" stores and malls at all costs. We kicked the Walmart habit ages ago after C saw a documentary about it. Since then, we've been kicking around Target - which is awesome - but. . .Find alternative resources for bulk purchases so they are delivered.
4. We will NEVER purchase another commercially produced greeting card. We can use what we have, make our own - or hire our nieces and nephew to do it for us!
5. Groceries will be procured in the following manner:
a. Only with a list and planned menu for the week (which we do pretty well now)
b. Purchased locally as much as possible
c. Remainder will be via delivery service
6. We can barter, wrap coins, or sell/trade currently owned items to get some other goods or services we need. (Thinking esp. about holiday gifts).
7. We can eat 2 meals out a week. (1 lunch and one dinner).
8. Expenditures on "experiences" can remain the same - going out of town, going out on the town, museums, etc.
9. Expenditures on supplies needed for gifts/crafts are ok - within in reason so long as all other options have been exhausted (i.e., paint, frames, thread). They must be purchased as cheaply as possible and used as creatively as possible.
10. Clothes shopping is expressly off limits unless it's vital for career purposes or it's a comfort issue. (New sneakers, gloves, etc.)
11. If the house needs something, necessities will be addressed immediately (i.e., HVAC, etc.). Otherwise, the decision about how to proceed will be made by private ballot. So if the washing machine or computer malfunctions, both C and d get to cast a private ballot regarding the course of action to be taken. A neutral third party will randomly pull out the "winning" vote. The vote is binding until the situation dictates further action whether this challenge is over or not.
12. If at any point, something must be purchased - bags for the shop vac, nails, dog biscuits, champagne (yes, it's consumable and depletable) we will purchase it from a local small store.
13. There is no deliberate "stocking up." The challenge starts at Midnight, August 15 and will run for 6 months. (Which means I'd best get some Coco Mademoiselle ASAP Oh wait, not stocking up!).
14. We will invite two different neighbors or friends to do something with us twice a month - cheap, fun stuff. If it's walking the dogs, having a meal, a drink/coffee, etc. we will offer. We will work on building fun long lasting relationships and we will go outside our comfort zones to meet and help new and different people.
15. We will make a plan to bank/invest whatever savings we collect in the next 6 months. We'll blow it all on a trip to Fiji! JOKING!!!
If this works well for us, I'd hope to encourage you to try the same for a couple of weeks. Maybe we could put part of the financial savings (if there are any) towards a good cause. Speak up and comment about your causes. . .
2. Consumable, deletable items - food, gas, toiletries, etc. are legitimate expenditures. But they must remain lean. No trying out 10 types of mascara (guilty). When purchased, the most environmentally friendly locally available will be purchased. All resources in the house must be depleted before purchasing more.
3. Avoid "big" stores and malls at all costs. We kicked the Walmart habit ages ago after C saw a documentary about it. Since then, we've been kicking around Target - which is awesome - but. . .Find alternative resources for bulk purchases so they are delivered.
4. We will NEVER purchase another commercially produced greeting card. We can use what we have, make our own - or hire our nieces and nephew to do it for us!
5. Groceries will be procured in the following manner:
a. Only with a list and planned menu for the week (which we do pretty well now)
b. Purchased locally as much as possible
c. Remainder will be via delivery service
6. We can barter, wrap coins, or sell/trade currently owned items to get some other goods or services we need. (Thinking esp. about holiday gifts).
7. We can eat 2 meals out a week. (1 lunch and one dinner).
8. Expenditures on "experiences" can remain the same - going out of town, going out on the town, museums, etc.
9. Expenditures on supplies needed for gifts/crafts are ok - within in reason so long as all other options have been exhausted (i.e., paint, frames, thread). They must be purchased as cheaply as possible and used as creatively as possible.
10. Clothes shopping is expressly off limits unless it's vital for career purposes or it's a comfort issue. (New sneakers, gloves, etc.)
11. If the house needs something, necessities will be addressed immediately (i.e., HVAC, etc.). Otherwise, the decision about how to proceed will be made by private ballot. So if the washing machine or computer malfunctions, both C and d get to cast a private ballot regarding the course of action to be taken. A neutral third party will randomly pull out the "winning" vote. The vote is binding until the situation dictates further action whether this challenge is over or not.
12. If at any point, something must be purchased - bags for the shop vac, nails, dog biscuits, champagne (yes, it's consumable and depletable) we will purchase it from a local small store.
13. There is no deliberate "stocking up." The challenge starts at Midnight, August 15 and will run for 6 months. (Which means I'd best get some Coco Mademoiselle ASAP Oh wait, not stocking up!).
14. We will invite two different neighbors or friends to do something with us twice a month - cheap, fun stuff. If it's walking the dogs, having a meal, a drink/coffee, etc. we will offer. We will work on building fun long lasting relationships and we will go outside our comfort zones to meet and help new and different people.
15. We will make a plan to bank/invest whatever savings we collect in the next 6 months. We'll blow it all on a trip to Fiji! JOKING!!!
If this works well for us, I'd hope to encourage you to try the same for a couple of weeks. Maybe we could put part of the financial savings (if there are any) towards a good cause. Speak up and comment about your causes. . .
Lifestyle Challenge Goals
1. For the same reason we became vegetarians: Lessen our impact on the Earth.
2. Increase our independence and creativity
3. Learn more - about ourselves, each other, the way things work, the way things should work
4. Set an example for our peers and a new generation - if they listen :)
5. Live with a conscious. Live with love. Live with a voice. Live with your choice. Live smarter and more fully.
These are pretty broad and lofty. I realize this. It hopefully will allow me the groundwork to set some rules for the "lifestyle challenge."
Truth is I float between two worlds: The one my work involves and the one that I've been drawn to since I was a child. I love both worlds. But often they present in complete opposition. I'm frequently torn. Ultimately, the choice is mine alone to make. Neither world is bad. Neither sphere is superior to the other. And both can happily co-exist. It's merely a matter of balance.
2. Increase our independence and creativity
3. Learn more - about ourselves, each other, the way things work, the way things should work
4. Set an example for our peers and a new generation - if they listen :)
5. Live with a conscious. Live with love. Live with a voice. Live with your choice. Live smarter and more fully.
These are pretty broad and lofty. I realize this. It hopefully will allow me the groundwork to set some rules for the "lifestyle challenge."
Truth is I float between two worlds: The one my work involves and the one that I've been drawn to since I was a child. I love both worlds. But often they present in complete opposition. I'm frequently torn. Ultimately, the choice is mine alone to make. Neither world is bad. Neither sphere is superior to the other. And both can happily co-exist. It's merely a matter of balance.
Lifestyle Challenge Goals - Love & Hate
It occurred to me that I need to figure out what the object of this challenge is before I can make the rules. Here's a little love/hate list that should help me establish some goals:
LOVES:
1. Shopping for gifts is fun. . .more fun if you find something for yourself too.
2. Shopping is mindless and sometimes comforting
3. Shopping requires no complex brain function - the advertisers tell you what you MUST have and you go fetch it.
4. It's a confidence builder to look nice and have your home nicely furnished.
5. Sometimes more is more. . .Sometimes less of more expensive is wicked good.
HATES:
DID YOU JUST READ THE ABOVE LIST? Add this: You have to pick it out, put it in the basket/cart, take it out of the cart, put it on the table/belt for the cashier, they put it in another bag, you put it in your trunk/car/cart, you take it home, pull it out of the bag, and eventually put it away. It's too many effing steps! Not to mention how many other hands have touched a product and how much shipping was involved before it even made it to the store!
Not that saving money exactly is an ultimate goal in this project (it would be nice tho) but let's throw this into the negative list: "The combination of rising unemployment and pre-existing debt is driving the number of consumer bankruptcy cases higher. . .The number of bankruptcies in the first half of 2009 totaled 675,351, up 36.5% from the first half of 2008." (Bloomberg)
Ouch! Time to get some priorities in order and I'm about to make myself either an example or a horrible warning. . .
LOVES:
1. Shopping for gifts is fun. . .more fun if you find something for yourself too.
2. Shopping is mindless and sometimes comforting
3. Shopping requires no complex brain function - the advertisers tell you what you MUST have and you go fetch it.
4. It's a confidence builder to look nice and have your home nicely furnished.
5. Sometimes more is more. . .Sometimes less of more expensive is wicked good.
HATES:
DID YOU JUST READ THE ABOVE LIST? Add this: You have to pick it out, put it in the basket/cart, take it out of the cart, put it on the table/belt for the cashier, they put it in another bag, you put it in your trunk/car/cart, you take it home, pull it out of the bag, and eventually put it away. It's too many effing steps! Not to mention how many other hands have touched a product and how much shipping was involved before it even made it to the store!
Not that saving money exactly is an ultimate goal in this project (it would be nice tho) but let's throw this into the negative list: "The combination of rising unemployment and pre-existing debt is driving the number of consumer bankruptcy cases higher. . .The number of bankruptcies in the first half of 2009 totaled 675,351, up 36.5% from the first half of 2008." (Bloomberg)
Ouch! Time to get some priorities in order and I'm about to make myself either an example or a horrible warning. . .
Consumerism. . .
Last night I read an article by Kym Croft Miller called Our Year Without Shopping. Ms. Miller and her family were living a very comfortable upper middle class existence when they decided they'd attempt to "tame impulse buying and refocus energy on things that gave them greater contentment. In a word: Happiness. Or the quest for it."
Hmmmmm. . .I thought. I'm always interested in happiness - how to get it, how to share it, how to keep it, and admittedly - on occasion, how best to buy it.
Ms. Miller gives a light-hearted and at times, warm-fuzzy narrative of her family's journey from rather isolated emotionally numb conspicuous consumers to industrious, caring, and even inspirational members of society.
She claims she was personally panicked at first but they all adapted rapidly. She earned a bit of "buy-in" from me. She discussed how they did do things together as a family more - and they still spent money on family outings, etc. They also had interesting ways to acquire holiday gifts - making them, bartering, or trading services for items. . .All of this appeals to me - at least on an abstract level.
C says he's game. We did 10 years without cable. We've done several years without meat. Can we survive 6 months without purchasing? That means if my camera breaks, I can't run out and get a new one. If this keyboard stops working, I'll be blogging by blackberry exclusively. . .It is rather panic inducing in some regards.
We need rules. . .And maybe a friendly wager?
Hmmmmm. . .I thought. I'm always interested in happiness - how to get it, how to share it, how to keep it, and admittedly - on occasion, how best to buy it.
Ms. Miller gives a light-hearted and at times, warm-fuzzy narrative of her family's journey from rather isolated emotionally numb conspicuous consumers to industrious, caring, and even inspirational members of society.
She claims she was personally panicked at first but they all adapted rapidly. She earned a bit of "buy-in" from me. She discussed how they did do things together as a family more - and they still spent money on family outings, etc. They also had interesting ways to acquire holiday gifts - making them, bartering, or trading services for items. . .All of this appeals to me - at least on an abstract level.
C says he's game. We did 10 years without cable. We've done several years without meat. Can we survive 6 months without purchasing? That means if my camera breaks, I can't run out and get a new one. If this keyboard stops working, I'll be blogging by blackberry exclusively. . .It is rather panic inducing in some regards.
We need rules. . .And maybe a friendly wager?
Lifestyle Challenge
August 11, 2009
Random Thoughts on Insanity
"One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdowns is the belief that one's work is terribly important. . .". Bertrand Russell
What implications could this have?
Am I on the verge of a mental breakdown as I've been suspecting is the case since I was six?! Hahaha!!!
This is not the only fluff I've been reading this evening. I think I've stumbled on another "lifestyle experiment."
Vegetarian was ok and "stuck." I think this new adventure might plain old suck: can I quit shopping for six months?
Need to discuss with C 'cause clearly he needs to be on board. More on that as soon as we have established "rules."
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August 10, 2009
HOT!!
It's hot here. Summer has finally arrived in Baltimore. I think we're about to be clobbered by a terrible storm. C and I got our walk in - it was rather unpleasant. . .not the company. . .The heat and humidity.
C took his wallet and treated me to a bottled water. I could have had gellato but that's not on the menu for me at the present. I did taste his. It was marketed as raspberry but tasted suspiciously like watermelon - either way, it was refreshing.
We seldom lose power in the city but it might just happen this evening. It's that kind of storm blowing up. I certainly hope not. I need a good air conditioned sleep this evening. The weekend was quite exhausting.
Little stray kitten is still with my Mom. She has a LOT of cats and we're hoping to place this one with a good family - she's a sweet little girl.
C took his wallet and treated me to a bottled water. I could have had gellato but that's not on the menu for me at the present. I did taste his. It was marketed as raspberry but tasted suspiciously like watermelon - either way, it was refreshing.
We seldom lose power in the city but it might just happen this evening. It's that kind of storm blowing up. I certainly hope not. I need a good air conditioned sleep this evening. The weekend was quite exhausting.
Little stray kitten is still with my Mom. She has a LOT of cats and we're hoping to place this one with a good family - she's a sweet little girl.
Home Sweet Home - hahaha
Raystown Lake is for the tourists. The State Corrections Facility is for Huntingdon's more permanent guests.
Raystown Lake #18
I'm told their BBQ is awesome. The french fries were definitely tasty. Yes, I exercised restraint. . .
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