Dia de los Inocentes

We're in the midst of the Día de los Muertos holiday. The Day of the Dead holiday, as Wikipedia puts it: "focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. ... People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages as well as photos and memorabilia of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them." In most regions of Mexico, November 1 (today) honors children and infants, calling that day mainly as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents"), while November 2, referred to as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos honors deceased adults.

So I was wondering, what about deceased animals?  Maybe the ancient indigenous cultures that first practiced the Day of the Dead traditions did not believe that animals had souls.  Besides, people don't typically pray about and discuss dead animals that much. (Except pets.  We all have stories about our dead pets.  Prayers for their souls though... that's another story.)  Or maybe they thought that the souls of dead animals might be wrathful because of how humans treated and used them.  

Or maybe there is there some Dia de los Vacas y Bueys I don't know about?

Money, money, money.

Breaking news: I managed NOT to spend money in this candy shop.

My apologies for being an inconsistent blog writer.  It happens.  But holy cow, May is almost over already and I really had meant to write more this month. Recap: May has been Operation Consumption Liberation's official month of Reduced Frivolous Spending, the unessential goods and service month, and I laid out in this length post here what constitutes frivolous spending in my book, and committed to spending no more than $132 on frivolous things this month.  And as the month winds down, I can report that I've done pretty well with this whole budget thing (though not as well as I thought I had ten minutes ago--math is not my strong suit).

My frivolous spending since I checked in with $32 spent on May 6:

• $3.25--hot cocoa @ SeaTac Dilletante
• $2.87--coffee and donut @ EWR's Dunkin' Donuts 
• $40--dinner in Astoria, NY w/ JC and WR
• $2.50--coffee @ Chappaqua Station
• $7.70--pizza @ EWR
• $2--bagel @ Eltana
• $2--coffee @ Bean City
• $9--movie @ NW Film Forum w/GM
• $3--cupcake @ Cupcake Royale
• $9--3 tomato plants @ U-District Farmers Market (though is this really frivolous...
• $1.99--pint of Honey Cinnamon frozen custard
• $2--half of an elephant ear at Folklife w/CW.

*May 7-May 30 Total Frivolous Spending: $85.31

*May 1-May 30 Total Frivolous Spending: $117.31

*Remaining Frivolous Spending Budget for May 31: $14.69

Expense worthy: $2 Eltana wood-fired bagel

 

While the no-spending thing has been challenging at times, I have not suffered too much this month. Which is good, because as someone who is under-employed at present, I really NEED to have a tight budget. Which is tricky because right now, it feels like every single valuable thing I own is falling apart.

Example A: the car mechanic tells me that my car needs an est. $2774 worth of repairs and you know that auto mechanic estimations are always low, because they're sure to find two more parts that must be replaced in the process. Considering that I bought said-car two years ago for $4300...  It seems like I'm better off spending that money to get a newer car.   Wait, what money?  Do I need a car that bad?  I could live without it, but it would compromise some things, like my volunteering and where I seek employment.  Plus, I like the freedom of having my own car.  It IS a luxury though.

Car, why do you make me suffer so?

Example B: I noticed this week that the laptop which I'm typing this on now is splitting along the seam of the screen.  If I close it, it gaps open a quarter of an inch at one corner.  Note that I purchased said laptop in early 2006.  I've added RAM, updated this and that, replaced batteries, but let's face it, this thing is kind of a dinosaur.  It weighs 17 pounds.  I've been debating a replacement for a full year.  It needs to happen soon.  Frivolous spending?  Well, no, I'm a writer, I can even write it off on my taxes, I suppose.  But I do have a second laptop though it has less RAM, less stuff on it, and I bought it used--it's probably older than this one.  It does weigh less though...  I should probably dump both of them for a new, super-light, super-fast machine. 

Money-worries face.

Example C: Half of my regularly-worn long sleeved shirts have rips or holes in the arms.  Some have been mended once or twice already. As of yesterday, both of my wear-everyday-fall-thru-spring boots' zippers are broken.  My socks are holey.  I need new clothes.

And so on. 

Given these expected expenses and my under-employment, this month's practice has certainly made me think more about money and its role in my life.  I hate that making money and spending money preoccupy so much of my thoughts and energy, be it taking crap writing jobs for crap pay so I can pay for home Internet service (sadly, a must-have) or using that Internet service to search for less crappy jobs with less crappy pay.

I am taking steps to remedy my situation, but I am also trying to be patient and to take actions that honor my aspirations and values.  Yes, there are days when I think to myself, "you just need to buckle down and take any  job with benefits that will have you."  And then there are days when I think about how unhappy I used to be, and what I changed to make my life more peaceful and happier.  On those days, I know that, while taking the first full-time job with benefits I can find may settle my money worries for the time being, it likely will be at the cost of the balanced and content life I've worked so hard to have.

As this month comes to a close, I think I'm going to continue to set myself a frivolous spending budget.  I like these questions from And Then She Saved to help me determine whether or not something is frivolous or, as she puts it, "expense worthy."  I'll be applying these questions soon in my car, clothes, and computer decisions!

No expense NY fun: walk the Brooklyn Promenade on a sunny afternoon.

 

Oh yeah, recap of my efforts to add more outdoor outings this month! Though the weather has not been terribly cooperative, I've managed to squeeze some nice outings in: a park outing in NY with my sister-in-law MR, my 7-month-old twin niecews, and their dog; a Greenlake walk with CI and daughter S; strutting the Brooklyn Promenade and visiting the Astoria Sculpture Park with JC; playing corn-hole BBQ at MO & QH's; and a few runs, walks, and a 36+ mile bike ride out to Redhook with CW. If you want to go for a pedal or a walk with me, summer is just around the corner!

I'll be posting again tomorrow as NO CAFFEINE MONTH kicks off....

Adventures in (not) spending.

So.  Here I am on day 6 of my super budget May. Today, I walked past many bottles of nail polish and hand lotion in Bartell Drugs without buying any of them.  I did plunk down a small amount of money for a birthday card, and a small fortune for my prescriptions. (Though the cost of one prescription has gone down monthly from $141 to $76 so far this year--health insurance, I just don't understand ye.)  But I escaped without any foo-foo beauty crap, or chocolate.  Praises be.

I know I could have made a birthday card.  I am, in fact, halfway through the process of making some very sweet and very amateurish Mother's Day cards for my mother and the other mother-like figures in my life.  They don't look store-bought, that's for sure--but it is the thought that counts, right???

See, I made a tulip out of dried, pressed tulip petals!

Still, I think I've blown my artsy mojo on the mums' cards this week, so I decided to dip into some of my precious frivolous spending money for the birthday card.  In addition to the card, last night I met up with my book group and I bought a beer.  These two items totaled $8.00.

Then I went to get my hair done today.  The good news is that I bought a Groupon last month for my haircut and color, and it was a steal! The bad news is that Groupons don't include tip and that "Groupon customers tip on the full amount of the pre-discounted services."  Of course they do.  Good news for my colorist and stylist today: I'm a good tipper.  So that was $25.00 in tips.  Ouch.

*A pause for the Hair Report! The good news is the color looks great--my colorist is awesome!  The bad news is the cut... well, it isn't awful.

I know, it isn't that bad.  It isn't red either, as the lighting here suggests.

The stylist (not my regular gal) was nice and she was competent with the shears.  But you know how when you describe what you want (an inch shorter in the back, longer in the front, more of an angle, less poofy, lighter...), a stylist will sometimes really latch on to one or two parts of that and kind of forget the rest of that? Yeah, let's just say it's lighter and probably not so poofy, but I don't know where she heard "layering."  The lesson: you get what you pay for. End of Hair Report.*

But it DOES have a bit of a "she-mullet" feel, right? Stupid choppy layers.

Okay, back to money matters: so in six days, I've managed to blow... $32 of my 132 frivolous spending budget.  Eek!  Oh, and I'm going to New York on Wednesday.  Guess who IS NOT going to be going to any Broadway shows this time around?

This not-spending thing is not easy, yo.

In other news, I biked to my office all week.  And it was lovely, except for yesterday, when I was positive that every person or car I saw on the street was trying to make my ride more hellish.  I had some MAJOR bike rage.  Really, I was yelling the f-word like a crazy lady.  I got to thinking that maybe I need a specific outlet for my bike rage, somewhere to air it where I don't run the risk of getting hit by an angry driver. So, I have this silly twitter feed, and from here on out, that's where I'll be putting my bike rage. If you use the twitter, follow me! I will try to keep it rated PG-13, and I also use it to notify folks of new blog posts here! FYI, I have haiku aspirations for the future tweets...

In other OTHER news, I'm running a 10K this Sunday morning.  May my new biking muscles and regular running routine power my booty across the finish line faster than my race companion, CW, who has gone on a total of TWO training runs! Wish me luck!

Blame it on the alcohol.

Welcome to Operation Consumption Liberation March MADNESS.  The cr-a-a-a-zy Monthly Mission?  To consume no alcohol!  The guidelines?  Here they are:

1. Don't drink any alcohol this month, and
2. Don't drink any alcohol this month.

Yup, it is that simple. But for all you contrary people in the cyber-verse:
 
     3. Yes, I can have red wine vinaigrette and use wine in food recipes, and if I'm inclined to gargle
         Listerine, so be it.  And cold syrup. But not as a beverage.  Kapeesh?  

So that's it.  I have to tell you, the amount of apprehension I'm getting from friends and family members about this month's challenge is amusing me.  One family member suggested maybe we wait to get together until next month when hearing I wouldn't be chugging the alcohol (in jest, to be fair).  Most friends have reacted with a mixture of shock and awe.  And I'm hear to tell you: this is not a big deal.  For me.  But I'm starting to be a little concerned about all of you...

Like about everyone I know, there is alcoholism in my family history.  Not a ton, but there have been family members who spent time in rehab and family members who made the decision to switch to O'Doul's at some point in their lives.  And I confess, I love me a glass of red wine, or a vodka tonic, or a nice pale ale or crisp chardonnay in the summer time.  If I had to put a number on my average weekly alcohol consumption over the past few months, I'd guess around four. That number is up from my typical average last year of two--what can I say, I've been spending too much time with other red wine drinkers and hosting too many dinners.

Sunday dinner alone with my book and wine.

As much I like the wine, I went alcohol-less from Friday to Friday last week.  And then I drank 2 glasses every night for the last four nights.  (I was bulking up for March.)  But during that alcohol-less week, I hardly noticed its absence, and I certainly didn't miss it one bit.  In fact, I've been feeling a little crummy and sluggish the last few days, and perpetually dehydrated.  What's that?  You say alcohol dehydrates a person?  Seems like I could use a little detox, and a little hydration right about  now.

So for the month of March, I would like to set a parallel goal to drink more water every day.  Because dehydration causes migraines, and kidney stones.  And because it's nice to drink water.  If you want to join me, either in giving up the hooch, or picking up some agua, please do!  It will be easy, and your liver will thank you.

Curb Frivolous Spending, Part 1: the Eating and Drinking Out Edition

As a single woman who lives alone, I go out to eat a lot.  In fact, off the top of my head, I can think of TEN meals eaten out during January alone.  That's during my month of no sugar, mind you. Also, I can think of at least two coffee dates and two drinks dates (there must be more of those!). Looking at my debit card record online, I charged $147.41 on meals in restaurant. Now I know I paid cash at least twice, so let's add $40 to that total ($187.00). Divide 187 by 10, and we're averaging $18.70 per meal out.

 Drinking wine, in a restaurant, as usual.

Now, this is highly unscientific. But think about what one can do with $18 dollars. That's my monthly gym membership, with extra to spare!  That's almost two months of Netflix. That's half a tank of gas, well, maybe.  Until my rates went up this month, that amount covered my copay at the doctor's office. Think of the possibilities!

The W & the C's yummy oysters...

There is nothing inherently wrong with eating out or drinking out--in moderation. (Ha!  I think I said the exact same thing about sugar last month!)  That meal Dad and I ate on Thursday at The Walrus and The Carpenter--amazing.  It is an easy way to socialize with friends: it doesn't take a lot of creativity, and we've all got to eat sometime.  And it is convenient as hell for a single gal like me.  If I cook a big dish, roast a chicken or something, I better have someone coming over for dinner.  I made a huge pot of lentil soup earlier this month, and I can't tell you how sick I got of eating lentils for lunch.  It's all me or nothing.

But eating out is a LUXURY.  I may be making enough to cover my bills at present, but we're still living in a recession.  I'm not even going to start on how there are people starving in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Bangladesh, or Haiti.  There are.  Perhaps I'll go into this later.

So I'm going to cease my eating and drinking out for the month of February.  At the end of the month, I'm going to do my best to calculate how much money I saved from eating in, and donate half of that amount to a world hunger relief organization TBA (nominees, anyone?). What constitutes eating out and drinking out?  How gung ho am I going to go?  Here's my rules:

1.  No meals in restaurants.

2.  No take-out meals, including the deli at Whole Foods, etc.  That includes hot prepared soups and prepared sandwiches. However, I will allow myself to eat soup from a can and frozen food entrees, though I don't generally eat much of either.  Also, if friends invite me over to watch the Super Bowl, or Oscars, or whatever, and they're serving Pizza Hut or something from the deli section, I'll eat it--they're the hosts.

Whole Foods Deli: friend to the hungry and in a hurry, foe to the paycheck. Credit: Whole Foods Market

3.  No popcorn or snacks bought at the movies (seriously, $6 for that crap??). However, if I want to buy a bag of that white cheddar popcorn at the store, I will.  I probably won't.

4.  I will only allow myself to purchase four beverages for the entire month of February.  That's one drink out a week, so I better use it wisely.  I'm bending here as a concession to my friends, and so I don't spend the entire month crying about how I suddenly have no social life.

5.  If it suits me, I can go and use my Groupon to Cupcake Royale, because it is going to expire in March and I haven't eaten any of my one dozen cupcakes.  Oops.

Finally you will be mine. Photo by Rachel from Cupcakes take the Cake.

6.  If I decide to go out of town, I have the right to put a hold on my month of not eating out for the duration of my trip rather than subjecting my hosts to my rules. If this happens, my month of not eating out will continue into March for the length of the trip and overlap with my month of not--gulp--drinking alcohol.

7.  "Eating out" does not include picnics or going over to friends' houses for dinner.  Duh.

To balance out my removal of eating/drinking out from my life, I need to add something pleasurable. For January, that thing was sleep.  For February, I want to increase my social activity!  The easiest way to do this, clearly, is to have people over for dinner more.  Thus, I'd like to invite you all over for homemade pizza. Or soup.  I'm going to make one or the other each weekend this month, calendar to be announced.  Let me know if you want an invite!  OR if you'd rather I come to your house to cook with you, I can run with that too. 

Maybe I'll make you one of these pretty drinks!

The "Consume Less Sugar" Round-Up

Over the course of the past month, I’ve had quite a few questions about how this No Added Sugar Products month has been treating me, how it is going, etc.  Now that I’m at the end of the line, I’d like reflect on my total experience and answer some of them here. 

So how did a month without sugar treat me?  How did it go?  It went pretty well.  It wasn’t always easy, but it wasn’t that hard either.  And it treated me pretty dang good.  I feel good, though on some days, I felt like I tried to make up for the absence of sugar with more fat in my diet than really was optimum.  It is true; meat, nuts, and cheese have been my go-to defense this month.  I can’t even tell you how many bags/jars of almonds I’ve inhaled. Still, it is entirely possible that my diet before this month was lacking in the protein department: craving sugar or carbohydrates often is a sign of such a protein deficiency.

My lovely Almonds, I wouldn't have made it without you.

Also, while my goal in giving up sugar was NOT weight loss, I will say that I’ve shed the 3-4 pounds I put on over the holiday season.  That may be a result of my sugar fast.  It also may be simply because I’m not eating and drinking like a pig now that the holiday season is well behind us, and because my exercise routine is a little more stable.

A lot of people have asked me if I missed sugar.  The short answer?  Hell yeah, I did.  It got easier to say no to sweets; it got easier to navigate around hidden sugars in the supermarket aisles and in restaurants.  But I did and do miss the luxury of splitting some awesome 2500-calorie dessert after a nice dinner out.  And when I walk by Whole Foods, and the vents from the bakery unleash the aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies onto the sidewalk—yeah, I die a small death somewhere deep inside.  

Sometimes I just want to shout it from the hilltops. Artwork by Benek Kuleczka.

Some friends also assume I’m going to go nuts with the sugar come Tuesday, to make up for lost time.  Of course, it is tempting to run out and spend my Groupon for a dozen Cupcake Royale cupcakes and have a cupcake-gorging session, as one friend suggested we do this week.  That isn’t going to happen.   Still, I’m excited to be able to relax and enjoy certain foods and drinks that typically have sugar added in, like dried tropical fruit and tonic water and wheat bread.

However, here’s the thing that I’ve reminded myself daily all month long: these sweet luxuries are not going anywhere.  Sometime in the future, there will be another nice dinner out where there will be other gorgeous-looking-sounding-smelling-tasting desserts on the menu to share. And if I pass on dessert three times out of four, the discomfort of not quenching my desire for sweet doesn’t last very long—maybe 20 minutes at most. I have never laid in bed thinking, “If only I’d ordered that torte.”  I have however laid in bed thinking, “I shouldn’t have eaten that torte,” because I feel like my gut is going to bust and because I’m hyper from the sugar.  When I do indulge in dessert that one time out of four, I’ll appreciate that sweet delicacy all the more.

...so can I go lie down?

It is nice to have discovered some new treats this month that don’t use any added sugar and don't taste like poo.  I made these yummy cookies* Friday night without any sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, or Splenda.  There is more than enough sweetness from the naturally occurring fructose in the bananas.  Sure, they were more like nuggets of banana bread than cookies, but it was just as satisfying as baking chocolate chip cookies—the sweet baking smells, removing the cookies one by one from the baking sheet to cool on the rack, eating one or two or five while they were still warm, eating one or three for breakfast the next morning.  But they’re actually kind of healthy.  CRAZY!  Try ‘em out.

 

Five minutes ago, I still had two cookies left to eat.

*     *     *

So…that’s it.  My month of No Added Sugar wraps up tomorrow.  I plan to stay mindful about hidden sugars, be modest in treat consumptions, and to use natural “healthier” sugars over the old white granulated crack in my home cooking/baking endeavors.  I should have ample opportunity to put this last “better sugar” habit into practice during the coming month.  February is the first of two months in Operation Consumption Liberation which are devoted to consuming less goods and services to curb my frivolous spending. Over the next month, in “Frivolous Spending: the Eating/Drinking Out edition,” I will (you guessed it!) abstain from going out to eat and for drinks.  If you can believe it, I think this challenge will be even harder than going without sugar. 

*Chewy Banana-Oat Cookies Recipe by Nancy Burrows, found in Get the Sugar Out by Ann Louise Gittleman.

"Jessica enjoying her cake."

Thefork
Originally uploaded by mambinki

This is a picture I rediscovered of myself on Flickr today, from my friend M's 30th birthday party almost three years ago. According to my friend's caption , I was enjoying that cake.

Now you better believe I licked every last bit of frosting off that fork before relinquishing it.  But did eating that sugary cake make me feel good? I don't remember, so it must not have been transforming. I look happy about eating it...or maybe it was all those cups of the special birthday punch I drank. Now those, I remember, though not exactly in a good way. Hmmm.

My Problem with Sugar

Hot Cocoa, my sweet...

I have a sugar problem.  The sucrose and glucose and high fructose corn syrup and beet sugar and honey and artificial sweeteners and so on… I love each and every form of sugar so very much.

My passion for the sweet isn’t a problem most of the time.  But every so often, I go on a sugar rager to end all ragers. I mean, if I want sugar, and a product in my kitchen has sugar in it, I will eat it, even if that means I’m just eating spoonfuls of jam or maple syrup.  It doesn’t matter if I’m hungry or not; once I start this sugar sucking, I can’t stop.  Because of these periodic pig-outs, I almost never have any goodies at my place. I can’t have a box of cookies around without eating half the box at once.
 

Lots of things can trigger my sugar frenzies. Depression, lack of willpower, not eating enough protein, not eating enough in general, eating the wrong kind of carbohydrates, consuming too much salt, not sleeping enough, ADHD, and so on.  And the holidays are always good for a few fantastic sugar binges. 

Thus it comes as no surprise that last week I went hog-wild on Christmas cookies, chocolates, candies, and ice cream for five or six straight days.  Sugar! Consequently, when I came down from that extended sugar high, I felt heavy and slow and strung out and all together not so good. And grumpy too.  Growl.

Oh, Sugar Mountains Majesty...

Since my system clearly could use a good cleanse from the sugar bug, I’ve decided to begin Operation Consumption Liberation with the challenge of abstaining from sugar.  Here are my rules and stipulations for the month of January:

1. I will abstain from eating straight spoonfuls of sugar, syrup, honey, etc. Duh.
2. I will abstain from consuming prepared foods and drinks with added sugar, and adding it to home cooking.
3. Added sugar includes refined sugar in all its forms. (glucose, xylitol, HFCS, beet sugar, and so on…)
4. Added sugar also includes unrefined, raw sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, molasses, agave, etc.) Yes, these ARE healthier, but my yen for sweetness does not discriminate bad sugars from better sugars—once I indulge one, the other will follow.  Along the same lines…
5. I will abstain from artificial sweeteners. (Aspartame & saccharine, I mean you.) However...
6. I will NOT abstain from eating fruit.
7. I will NOT abstain from dairy products, though it has naturally occurring lactose.
8. I will NOT abstain from eating starchy sweet potatoes, beets, bread, pasta, but I will make an effort to eat mostly complex carbohydrates and whole foods.
9. If I go out to eat, I won't order dessert and I’ll do my best to avoid hidden sugars. That said, I’m not going to give the chef the third degree about a dish's ingredients. Likewise…
10. I will make my choice to avoid sugar my responsibility only, and not the burden of friends and family if they want to have me over or go out to eat. 

This 23-by-29-inch "Sugar High" print can be yours for $25.65

There are two more things that I want to address for this challenge.

FIRST, I am not abstaining from sugar to lose weight. I am content with my weight as it is.  However, one of the many reasons I’m abstaining from sugar is to avoid gaining weight.  I don’t want to be skinner, but also I certainly don’t desire to be larger.  If I keep eating sugar the way I’ve been eating sugar, I will quickly go up two dress sizes. 

SECOND, if I’m going to take something that I enjoy (albeit to the point of excess) away from my life every month, I want to add something to fill that space, so that I feel less like abstaining equals punishment.  Something that is good for me. Something that is not overly tasking, but is reasonably enjoyable.  This month, I am adding more sleep to my days.

Oh, sugar, sweet white death, I’ll miss you, but my teeth and my immune system and my butt will not.  Here’s hoping that come February, I can use you with more discretion.

P.S. Thanks to Erika for my hot chocolate loving photo!

Mission: Consume Less

con∙sume: verb \kən-΄süm\

 -transitive verb

"Too Much Catnip" Shirt.Woot t-shirt by Spiritgreen

1 : to do away with completely: DESTROY

2 a: to spend wastefully: SQUANDER

   b: USE UP

3 a: to eat or drink especially in great quantity

   b: to enjoy avidly: DEVOUR

4 : to engage fully: ENGROSS

5 : to utilize as a customer

 -intransitive verb

1 : to waste or burn away: PERISH

2 : to utilize economic goods

“The proximity of a desirable thing tempts one to overindulgence. On that path lies danger.” 

–Frank Herbert, Dune.

There is a butt-load of human consumption transpiring at any given second on planet Earth . No, I can't exactly quantify "butt-load;" I'm no statistician. But think about it: we’re consuming oxygen, we’re consuming energy, we’re consuming calories, and we’re consuming alcohol. We’re engaged in all-consuming TV shows, all-consuming jobs, all-consuming arguments, and, if we’re lucky, all-consuming sex. We’re using our consumer power for new shoes at Nordstrom’s, new apps for our iPhones, and trash cans at Home Depot to transport the waste of our consumption to the curb, where it will be picked up by a gas-consuming truck and toted to a space- and natural resource- consuming landfill. Yep, there is a whole lotta consumption going on.

Now there’s nothing wrong with consumption.  In moderation, that is.  But the American culture isn’t much for moderation.  You don’t have to look very hard to find evidence of this society’s penchant for overindulgence.  Alcoholism, early onset obesity and childhood obesity, credit card debt, overfilled landfills, smog alerts, our over-consumption leads to so many negative outcomes.  There IS such thing as too much of a good thing.

For the year of 2011, I’m resolving to consume less.  I'm breaking free of the manacles of Too Much.  Call it Operation Consumption Liberation.  

Every month, I will abstain from or minimize my partaking of some thing or practice in which I feel my overindulgence has a negative impact, be it on my personal well-being, or on the well-being of the human race and planet Earth. My mission is NOT to permanently eliminate any of these habits and dependencies, but rather, in eliminating/reducing my consumption of them for a month, to lessen their overall prevalence in my life.  I like wine, but it wouldn’t hurt my liver to drink less.

Below is a rough monthly schedule of the twelve reduction/elimination challenges I will take on over the course of the year. The order of the challenges is subject to change, but not the content. Each month on this blog, I will clearly define the monthly challenge’s rules and stipulations, explore the impacts of overindulging in the identified item or behavior, and write about what I experience and learn as I leave it behind.

 Operation Consumption Liberation: Monthly Challenges

• January: Sugar (processed & added)
• February: Frivolous spending (the Eating/Drinking Out edition)
• March: Alcohol
• April: Gasoline (planes, trains, and automobiles)
• May: Frivolous spending (the Goods and Services edition)
• June: Caffeine 
• July: Electricity/water
• August: Superfluous web browsing (Facebook, etc.)
• September: Food & goods from outside 300 miles of my person
• October: Watching TV, Hulu, Netflix, etc.
• November: Meat
• December: Paper and other waste (packaging, etc.) 

Please follow me on Operation Consumption Liberation! AND if you recognize anything on this list that you feel your life would benefit from going without, feel free to join me on that challenge of this journey.  I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section.  Likewise, if you are planning any similar challenges for the year or for a month, let me know, and I'll link to you.

Wish me luck as I kick off the mission with a well-needed sugar cleanse in the Christmas cookie aftermath!