Nov-Crochet Dec-Pay It Forward

Well, its been awhile since I’ve been on here, and I know it may seem like I’ve given up. That’s maybe part of it, but not completely true.  October’s month of reading was a success as far as I’m concerned, because I did read ALMOST every day, and I really got back into my girl who kicked the hornet’s nest book.  If you have not read that series, I highly recommend it.  Its got a little bit of everything: Sexual deviance, murder, mystery, love, yada yada.

November was successful, only because I had one thing that I knew I was going to do every day, and call it cheating, but this is my blog and I decide what I’m going to do or not do for 30 days.  So can any one make an educated guess?  Yep! You’re right!  I chose to crochet everyday J

I think it’s the first month that I actually really truly did stick to it every single day of the month.  For those who may not know about my other other business, its "blake’s beanies",  and you can find the page on facebook.  I’ve now expanded my business to blake’s beardies since they’ve become quite popular. I crochet/knit beanies for all ages, including character hats such as Hello Kitty, Elmo, owls, Angry Birds, etc.  I had a craft fair at CHS on November 12^th, and it was very successful. Thanks to everyone that came by and visited me and purchased a hat!  Right now I’ve got about 20 more orders before Christmas to fill.  So basically I had no time to choose another 30 day task.  I could have probably made time, but I didn’t want to. 

So there ya have it. 

Now. Onto December.  I could probably choose crochet everyday again,(because I probably will be doing it anyways) but I won’t. Only because it’s the last month of the year, and I’ve been doing so well these past 11 months with this personal project of mine.  This month I’m going to pay it forward.  Its not going to be an everyday sort of task, but I’m going to try my darndest.  I’ve read about people at Starbucks paying for the car behind them, but that would require me to go to Starbucks.  I probably won’t be updating this blog to say every time I paid it forward, (kind of defeating the purpose if I’m doing it for recognition) but just know that I’m using this month as a reflective month to realize how lucky I am in life.  I have had the greatest upbringing imaginable.  I have a great job (ok 3 great jobs) and a great hubby, great puppy, great roomie, great house, great new “rig” and great health.  Not much could be better besides the interest rate on my house, but that too is hopefully going to change real soon. 

I really suggest anyone that reads this blog to do the same for 2012.  2011 flew by for me, and I think it was in part bc of this project.  Each month I had a focus on something that I thought was somewhat thought provoking, and somewhat of a challenge to me (ok not so much April or November).  I learned a lot about myself and had fun!  Thanks to everyone that did read my blog.  I got a lot of “whys” when I told people what I was doing, and there isn’t much to the answer but “why not”.  If you can put your mind to something for 30 days, you can do anything!  Hey, that’s my pay it forward for the day.  I’m paying forward my knowledge and cliché saying.  

Happy Holidays everyone.  Love, Blake

Take a look, its in a book!

This month’s challenge came to me while at the Sprint store getting horrible customer service a couple weeks ago. They always ask for your security pin number, or the answer to your secret question.  I get asked more than one of my questions every time, because (and this is my theory, and I do believe it to be true) my name is Blake. 

The question was, “Who is your favorite author?” 

Ummmmmmmm…….i dunno, Shel Silverstein?  Dr.Suess?  I mean c’mon.  Not a fair question. At least not to me.  I do know how to read, and I have gotten into a few books in my life, but I’m not an active reader, or even an author connoisseur.  I don’t seek out books specifically because of the author, let alone seek out books. 

So when he asked me that, I obviously had no idea who in the world I would have chosen, and I had to admit that.  “Um, I don’t really read books” was sadly my answer.  As he was looking at his screen, and the answer, he looked back at me and with a strange smile and said, “Well, I’ll give you a hint, it’s not actually an author.”

I give up.  I really had no idea at this point.  So after giving him every bit of info I could to prove to him that I’m really Blake, I asked him for the answer because I had a feeling I would be back to that hell hole sometime soon. 

“People magazine” 

That was my answer.  I answered People magazine was my favorite author.  Wow.  It took me back to the day that I gave that answer.  I don’t remember it, but I was trying to picture what I was thinking/doing the day I said that.  What could have possibly led me to that answer?  I would love to say that I was trying to be funny; however I don’t think that was it.  I believe I was put on the spot, and realized I didn’t have one, and tried to think of what I do actually read, and that was the only option that popped into my head. 

Reading is fun, and like I said, I have gotten into some books in recent years.  I have read all but the last Harry Potter, and I have read all but the last of the dragon girl series.  (yes, I was sad both of those ended for good, so I was trying to drag it out as long as I could before it was “over” for me.)  I have also read and finished all of the Twilight series.  I have also read some Janet Evanovich books.  So maybe I’m into pop culture books, but so what? At least I was reading.

So, my goal is to read every day, at least 30 minutes.  I think I’ll start with the last dragon girl book.  I loved the first two and I highly recommend them.  I guess the main reason why I don’t read regularly is because I have a TV and I have crocheting to do (and those two just go hand in hand). 

I will admit that last month was probably my worst month doing this project.  It was soooo hard to keep track of everything that I eat, mainly because I’m constantly eating.  I wake up starving, and am starving again at 10am, then again at about 1, then again at 4:30, and AGAIN around 7/8.  I eat very healthy, so its not like I’m some vacuum eating everything in sight, its just that documenting that many meals was not only time consuming and annoying, but next to impossible when I got even a day behind. 

P.S.  I’ve changed my author with Sprint, if you wanted to access my account. J

September-startin early

I’m starting this month early  because its Monday, and I can. This month,  September, I am not going to starve myself of something I love, or am semi-addicted to.  I’m going to do a behavior change for 30 days.  This is something that I’ve tried, and failed.  Every time.  So, here goes it.

I’m going to be super healthy girl for the next 30 days.  I’m still going to allow myself a drink, a dessert, hamburgers and french fries, but this time, I’m going to be keeping track of it.  I’m going to keep a food journal, and  exercise 4-5, maybe 3 days a week. 3 at its minimum.  I know that this summer has been tons of fun, but I’m out of shape again, and my body shows.  I am going to log my food/exercise  into my iTouch, and it will keep track for me of all of it. 

Here’s my logic.  I initially thought this whole project was going to be something I did for fun, to see if I could do or not do something for 30 days, and, well, I’ve actually seen a change that has extended past the 30 days.  I still don’t have cable TV, I don’t eat as much meat or fast food, I don’t really miss coffee as much as I thought I would, and I actually do take in less celeb gossip. So, I thought if I can train myself to be healthier all around, then it will last further than the 30 days (fingers crossed). 

Sorry to my family for the lack of potty humor in this post.

Tastes so good once it hits the lips

I'd gone 17 days without coffee or caffeine....until I got horrible sleep.  I woke up this morning to being lightly punched in the back by my sleeping hubby (he said sorry) and I knew right then it was time to stop the drought. I need espresso to get me thru this 8.75 hour work day.  I wondered if the girls at The Steamery missed me or my money.  They didn't say anything other than, "Your usual?"  I'm getting used to them knowing how predictable I am, simply because I was too tired to say, "12 oz iced soy double latte with a splash of vanilla"  (sounds so snobby, doesn't it?).

Making this conscience effort to go without my espresso has really helped me realize that I don't normally need one.  I had started going multiple times a week, and that is just downright dumb (read: expensive).  I thought about it the other day.  If they are 4.50/drink x 3 x 52 = 702 bucks a year.  Thats $1.90/day.  I don't really like to do these types of calculations, because to me, its a scare tactic parents use.  That $702.00 is mine to do what I want with it, and I choose to drink it in the mornings to help me start my day.  If I wasn't into espresso but was into lets say shoes, I would be out more than 702/year.  So I guess I looked at it as something I like to spend my money on.  But since these two and  a half weeks not drinking it, I have actually been quite satisfied with myself for a few reasons.  One, I don't have coffee breath that could curl a nose hair, and two, I'm not making mad dashes to the bathroom every 20 minutes. 

I know for sure sure (thanks to Cedric for that new phrase I annoying overuse) that I'm not going to be drinking coffee as much.  Only after a toss and turn kind of night, or if I need a good colon cleanse. 

You know you have a problem when……

The Barista has your drink waiting for you when you pull into the drive thru window. 

MONDAY AUG, 1^ST, 2011

Wouldn’t you know that August 1^st would come on a Monday.  And wouldn’t you know that I chose to go without caffeine/coffee this month. I pretty much look at this month as torture.  I know its do-able.  Obviously.  I mean, every month has been do-able.  Its just that I, along with millions of people not only rely, but look forward to that morning cup of joe.  Especially on Mondays.  That’s why The Steamery has their double punch card day on Mondays.  They understand the importance of that caffeine jolt before starting the work week. 

The reason I say caffeine/coffee, is because I don’t really drink pop.  Occasionally I will walk over to my next door neighbors that have a pop machine outside their business only because if I’m lucky, and most times I am, the machine gives me 5 pops for the price of one.  Granted, in order for that to work, I have to get a flavor I don’t really want.  Its like the candy claw game. You will always get 1 piece.  But if you’re lucky you’ll get a few!!!   Also, if you hit the button more than once, sometimes that works too J  I’m sure they love me telling people their machine is broken, but I guess until they fix it, its their problem. 

Coffee doesn’t even really taste that good.  Its kinda like beer. It has that “adulthood” taste to it.  You remember tasting it as a kid, and it doesn’t taste any different now than it did then, but somehow we can drink copious amounts of it.  When I started working at Regence 3 years, I would fill up my coffee cup up to 4 times a morning.  Now, the free work coffee is starting to taste sooo bad, that not even the Vanilla Caramel fufu helps. 

Today is a perfect example of a necessary coffee day.  I normally would have either gone straight to the coffee bar to fill up, or I would have stopped at The Steamery.  I made a deal with myself that if there are cars in the drive thru, I will keep driving, and if there are none, it’s an iced 12 oz double shot soy vanilla latte and two punches on my card.  I can really feel the espresso getting to all the tired body parts and giving them a little jumpstart.  That dang drink has ruined me.  Hopefully if nothing else comes out of this month, I will drink less of them, and more of the free coffee here at work.  Maybe after a small hiatus from it I won’t hate the flavor, or at least can drink it for a few more months.

FRIDAY, AUG 5^TH, 2011

So I actually survived a work week without any caffeine.  Honesty, I thought it was going to be harder.  Granted, I got enough sleep this week, so that helped.  A few years ago, at my old “desk job” I was sooo tired, that I actually crawled under my desk and fell asleep.  I worked with my sister, so she watched guard for me.  I’m pretty sure I drank coffee that morning too.

So an update on last month’s No Fast Food.  I went until the 29^th.  And THE ONLY REASON WHY I ate it that day, was because we were headed out of town for a quick overnight camping trip, and the hubby wanted Sharps.  That was my kryptonite.  My knees buckled at the thought of a hot fry being dipped in secret sauce. 

Arby's and Taco Time, and Sharps....OH MY

I’ve decided to renounce fast food for the month of July.  Should be easy! Ya, until my mom calls me this morning to say that instead of Fazarri’s, we’re having Skipper's to celebrate my grandpa’s birthday.  I’m not going to say anything, because it IS a birthday dinner after all, and the 96 year old DOES deserve fried fish.

Have you been to a fast food restaurant in the "big city" lately?  Wow.  Culture shock for this small town gal.  First off, you can't just run to the bathroom immediately upon your arrival.  You have to get the attention of someone that works there, and they buzz you in....Next, you don't give your order to a real life human.  Apparently, those jobs are not needed anymore because they have handy dandy atm lookin machines that take your order.  What if I wanted extra mayo?  Too bad. Oh and they now help you out by telling you the calorie content of each item.  Did you know that the triple cheeseburger has over 1100 calories?  Yikes. And that adding cheese to your Jumbo Jack only ups it 30 calories!?!? totally worth it.

Fast food has never been something that I've struggled with, however.....I will say this town has the best fast food that almost tricks you into thinking its not really as bad for you as you might think. Taco Time in Clarkston is a step below heaven if you ask me.  After they had a fire about 18 years ago, they remodeled that place to feel like you're in a clean Mexican restaurant south of the border(do they even exist?)  They serve alcohol, and they have a condiment bar that most restaurants should be jealous over. 

I cannot resist Taco Time most nights when I don't feel like cooking.  Another go-to quick meal is Sharps.  Man I can't get enough of that secret sauce.  Maybe thats the secret.  Its got some crack in it that I can't quit. 

I'm cured of my addiction.....NOT

This probably has been the hardest, and would have even been harder had I actually 100% stuck to it.  I would say I gave it the ol’ college try. A for effort.  B-  for realz.  I have not looked at perezhilton.com or tmz.com 1 time this whole month.  Seriously, not lying.  BUT People.com has been viewed a few (less than 5) times.  And the People magazines that have vacated my mailbox every Saturday have been skimmed.  I did pretty well the first couple weeks.  I can see something good coming from this month, because it was getting ridiculous.  I was constantly checking my TMZ app on my itouch, and I was on Mario Lavandaria’s website more than once a day.  That’s Perez Hilton’s real name, and I would guess a major nerd alert just went off in your head as you read that. 

As far as celebrity news is concerned right now, the only thing right now that I’m remotely interested in, is the Casey Anthony trial.  This girl is livin in a dream world if she thinks she can lie thru this one. I honestly wonder about her thought process during the time when her daughter was “missing”.  She must have felt ok about it, because she partied and got a tattoo that says Beautiful Life.....wow.  Zanny the nanny?  Did she get that from an episode of Dora the Explorer? 

I’m sure I’ve missed pics of D-listers coming out of clubs looking rough, along with a couple wardrobe malfunctions.  But I didn’t miss out when Pink had her baby, cause Shelli texted me before I was even awake.  Somehow awaking to a text about celebrity gossip didn’t make me mad! LOL.  I did let Shelli know that this may be cheating.  At least I’m honest!

I probably will get the TMZ app back on my ipod.  Only because I actually LIKE to read that “garbage” and I actually like to fill my brain with useless crap.  And so do a few of my girlfriends.  Chrissy has been patiently waiting for me to get caught up so we can have our crazy conversations about people we don’t know as if we knew them very well.  That’s what a good friend is for,right?  Oh yeah, I just remembered skimming her US Weekly last week while she put her daughter to sleep.  So sue me.

This was good for me.  I know that I can still breathe without knowing if Britney has her real hair yet, or if Arnold has another love child out there.  I realized that a vast majority of the stuff I was wasting my time with is so irrelevant to my life, and that I need to make my life as exciting as a celebrity’s.  By the way, I used to wish I was famous, however, should probably thank my lucky stars that I’m not, just based on a few pictures that have surfaced of me.  And I’ve had my “barefoot in the gas station” moments so to speak, that do not need re-living or written about on the internet the second it happens.  I’m sure there are few celebs this month are happy there’s one less fan viewing their embarrassing photos. 

On to next month, which I’m thinking about doing something “green”.  Like recycling everything that can be recycled and not throwing it away in the trash can.   Possibly eating no processed foods or only raw?  Wow. That’d be hard.   I’m still not sure.  I have 3 days to decide.  Maybe, just maybe I’ll go without coffee/caffeine.  I should go a month without working.  Wonder if my job would be ok with that. I mean it is for a special project.  I bet they would.  I just wouldn’t have a job come Aug 1^st. 

Ding Dang Brit Brit

I'm addicted to celebrity gossip.

There. I've said it. Does that officially mean that I have begun the steps to conquer it? Nope. Just means I'm going to give it up for June. To all those non believers:I can and I will.

Now I KNOW there has to be people out there worse than me. I mean celebrities do have stalkers, and people do subscribe to every "rag" out there. I think the day that I send in a pic of me making the heart sign with my two hands to perezhilton.com will be the day I get help. Until then, we'll call it a hobby, a past time of mine, so to speak.

I do suscribe to People magazine, and it comes weekly. Usually about 1/2 of the stuff I've already known about from visiting people.com 4ish times/day, just not the minor details. I also visit perezhilton.com once a day and have the TMZ app (but HATE the TV show). Thats pretty much what I'll be giving up. I've already read the People that came on Saturday, so we're good for this week. And its a good thing, because Kim Kardashian got engaged, and thats just crazy!!!

I blame my mother. HA. just kidding. But kinda not. And Grandpa Mark. During my childhood, she subscribed to People and he bought The National Enquirer. Which I totally forgot about until just now as I am reflecting on the reason where this stupid "addiction" started. We would go visit him and he would give us STACKS of them to take home. My mom and I would read them cover to cover. I remember knowing back then that if it was in there, then it probably wasn't true, but the stories were so hilarious. Celebrity Cellulite. Who doesn't love that one?

So I've deleted the TMZ app, and have no idea if anything super juicy has happened, because I have not checked one website today. But I'm guessing not, most days I feel dumb for even checking it. Who cares about all that stuff? you say. Apparently I do. And so does my bestfriend and her husband who wouldn't fully admit it. cough scott cough

I'm not giving up facebook, because thats not celebrity gossip, just so ya know. So if anyone hears of anything super juicy this month, feel free to mention it in a post.thanks.

May-Completely unrealistic??

I'm not sure what I was thinking the last week of April, but apparently I was feeling extremely optomistic because for the month of May I chose to spend no money. HA HA HA HA HA. This makes me laugh so hard now that its May 27th, because obviously that is/was completely and utterly rediculous. I mean, ok. I understood I would need gas and food, but my goal was to not spend any extra money that I have, meaning no espressos, no Redbox, no beer, no Taco Time, no new clothes...you get the idea. And thats all it was, an idea. Because I failed. Not THAT bad, but lets just say it didn't really work.


Money burns a crater in my pocket. It always has. When I was little, there was penny candy at Mr. K's and if I had 1 penny, I would go buy something from the bottom row there. As I got a little older, friends of mine had piggy banks, and they actually had silver coins in there! Mine had a few pennies if that. Some of theirs even had bills in there, for what reason?!?! There was no saving for me. I have had the mentality that I could die tomorrow, even at 10. So whats the purpose of saving? Well as I'm now learning as an adult, things come up. Cars break down, gas goes up, or there's a cute purse at Ross. Anything can happen, and now that I'm finally getting to be responsible with our money, I'm starting to save!

So I thought it would be relatively easy to not spend any money this month. I even thought of hiding my debit card, because thats the only money I have to spend. I don't ever carry cash, (because at the exact instance its going in my purse I see something that, wierd, is the same exact price as what I have in cash).

Well, I was doin good the first week of May. I had stocked up on groceries and gas. I found no reason to spend money. Until the next Monday came and I really wanted a soft pinto bean burrito and a chedder melt. And I also wanted my usual Monday 12 oz iced soy double french vanilla latte. WHAT? Its double punch day!

So I found a "way around things". Where I work, they give me a debit card that I can load money onto from these online games in which I am given tokens to play with. (Think online Chuckie Cheese games except instead of tickets, we get money) So lately, I'd been really lucky, (as it turns out even luckier last week) and I had loaded like 20 bucks on that card the other day. Sooooo I was able to get my Taco Time AND my latte without having to swipe my real debit card. WINNING.

Well, the crater was burning the side of my leg, and I just had to spend! I mean it was Mothers Day, and I know my mom is the type that still loves handmade items, so I most likely would have been ok with spending no money, but I really wanted to buy her a card, and that herb garden!!!

I’m not sure what it is about money, but it’s a necessary evil. I have lived with next to no money before, during college and I did what I had to. And that meant no Burger King Jr. Whoppers. Sad face. I remember scraping together change from the couches to go get one, and I paid with dimes and nickels. Happy face. There was nothing I could do except get a job, and that wasn’t going to happen because I was a full time student and didn’t have the time to get one. Yes I was spoiled in that aspect, but my parents only gave me enough money each month to pay my bills and a strict grocery allowance. Anything over that paid my cell phone bill. I was making hats back then too, and I do remember that was my other income.

Now that I do have extra money each month, it’s hard not to find the penny candies to buy with it, but I am more conscience about than ever before. With no credit cards, the money we make is the money we have to spend. Which is totally a good thing, because I think we all have this urge to buy a flat screen. Rodney and I have talked about "living off the land" and it would be pretty cool. Some log cabin in the Blues, with antlers, bear skins and a Topsy Turvy plant is what I picture. Hard work, but a cool thought. The only thing that comes to mind right now is the length my armpit hair would be.

Back to the lucky part of this month. I went to the casino with a group of girls from work to play BINGO last Thursday night, and yes I swiped my debit card to pay for the packet of games. :) BUT hear me out, turns out it was well worth it, because I got a BINGO and won $150! WOO HOO. See, spending money has rewarded me. So I think that made up for all the times I swiped that card this month when I probably should not have!!!!!

That reminds me of the time that I JUST HAD TO HAVE Fazzari’s pizza. As most of you know, your bill will be minimum 30 bucks whenever you go there. And I’m not sure we had $30 bucks to spare, in fact, I know we didn’t. But I ordered it anyway, and went up the street to pick it up (hey, at least I was saving the delivery charge) and wouldn’t ya know they burned my pizza and made me another one for FREE!!!! Its as if I have Life credit card with points that keep rewarding my spending.

My birthday is tomorrow, and I will be 29. Wow. Think of all the money I could have right now had I never spent any money on rediculous items like the SpongeBob SquarePants Snow Cone maker or those Moon Shoes.

April oh April.....

Not gonna lie. April’s been fun. The previous months have been sorta fun in their own unique way, only because I was testing myself to see if it was even possible. So far, so pretty good. We're already 4 months into 2011. Crazy! So are you on pins and needles as to what April took away from me? Well, I'm switchin it up this time. I'm not taking something out of my diet/lifestyle, but rather forcing myself to actually DO something. I think the last blog I mentioned running everyday, or getting at least 30 min exercise each day, but April 5th rolled around and I had done nothing close to either one. Actually, there was only one clear thing that I had already done everyday in April (besides eat,sleep,poop). So I would have been cheating had I actually chosen exercise or something else, right? With all that leadup, I had to chose to drink alcohol for 30 days. HA. It sounds so easy right? As if I’m giving myself a break, right? Nooooo. Its been pure torture! :) It all started as a funny comment I made to my brother who was in town visiting from Vegas........

I have been training for Bloomsday for the past couple months now, so I’ve been exercising a lot and drinking a ton of water, plus eating well. So it was harder than, lets say, had I chosen to do this in July. Summer and and ice cold beer just go together. But its totally Murphy's Law that January, when I couldn't drink, I was being offered drinks left and right, and this month I HAVE to drink everyday and I'm drinking alone just to complete the task at hand!

Around this time each month, I hit the proverbial wall. January I broke down and drank on the 28th (it was a Friday! And Hogans had Mac and Jacks, ok???), February I was over at my parents house soaking up every possible cable TV show I could, and around March 25th I was eating bacon bits. So yesterday the wall was that I could NOT bring myself to drink. It just did NOT sound good. So the only alcohol I had, I believe, was the drips of mouthwash that made their way down my throat by accident. Wait, did I even USE mouthwash yesterday? Yikes. That reminds me of the episode of Intervention where that mom was chugging mouthwash. Gross. I’m sure her breath was always nice though. Don’t worry gang, I climbed right back on the horse today.

About halfway thru this month, I came across a copycat. On CNN.com there was an article about a guy that decided to go thru Lent (46 days) by drinking nothing but water and Illuminator Dopplebock, which is 6.7%. He drank 12 oz for breakfast, another at lunch, another at 3:15 for his snack, and then again at 7:15 for dinner. He even kept a keg at his office! Apparently the monks he was emulating would give up eating and drink the “liquid bread” to get them thru Lent. I’m preeeeeetty sure where I work would not be as accomodating.

The month is almost over, and I’m onto another 30 days. May is my b-day month, so I need to be very careful in choosing the challenge. But then again, my birthday is on the 28th so whatever I choose, I’ll just hit the wall on that day, and then continue on as if nothing ever happened. Wow I’m smart! I will have to admit that there were a few, ok two, days that I forgot and had to hastily find alcohol to drink. I remember one day after I came home from the gym I realized that I still needed to get my drink on, but there wasn’t any beer in the fridge. I was waay too lazy to put my shoes back on and drive to the store, so I mixed a drink with the bottle of Triple Sec I had leftover from New Years’. And again last week I found myself in the same predicament. Except this time the triple sec was gone. Weird. So I turned to the bottle of Peppermint Schnapps that was also a New Years leftover and mixed it with a cup of hot cocoa. I only ended up drinking about ½ because my sugar conscience got the best of me.

It will be nice to not have to keep somewhat track of those extra liquid calories/carbs. How annoying/unflattering is a beer belly on a girl!?! I feel like I'm back at WSU. :)

Big gulps, eh? Welp, see ya later!
Cheers!

YAY! March is almost over!

I wouldn't normally be so happy that time is flying by so fast, but I really need meat. I know this, because I have started dreaming about it. I dreamt I was eating a fatty (thick not actually fat) burger and it tasted sooooo good. Next month I'm going to DO something instead of NOT DOING something. I'm thinking about exercising 30, no 20 minutes each day. This way I don't have to give up anything besides maybe my muffin top. HA. Which by the way Oxford dictionary had added that term to their reference book along with LOL, BFF and OMG. Thank goodness. I'm sick of having to tell people what those mean. This blog has raised some questions among friends, and quite frankly is there a real reason behind anything we do besides go to work, poop and pay taxes? I'm doing this blog, and more importantly doing the whole 30 day thing to make 2011 memorable, and to accomplish things I probably would never try. And so far I have pretty much succeeded. Granted I only went 26 days without alcohol, and I did see some bacon bits in the pasta salad I ate last week, (but pretended they were artificial flavored bits) but overall I have surprised myself with going without the few things I really have regarded highly in life. I'm not quite sure when or if I will attempt to go without caffeine, but I still have 9 months to go to figure it all out. I'm always up for ideas if anyone has any. Maybe I should go 30 days without referencing poop in my blog.

Carnivores vs Herbivores

Its the morning of March 20th, and I'm still not eating meat. Proud? Surprised? Intrigued? I know I certainly am all of the above.

I've always taken the stand that God made the animals for us to eat, hunt, and enjoy as pets. I believe he also designed our bodies to be able to chew and digest meat. Herbivore dinosaurs had flat teeth designed to grind the plants. They also had cheeks that they could store food in for awhile because they had to be constantly eating to get enough calories. Man, can I relate to that. My source also said that some dinosaurs ate rocks to help grind up some of the fibers in their stomachs. I say my gardenburgers are the rocks of Mesozoic era.

My diet thus far has consisted of the same veggies I was eating before. Asparagus, Cucumbers, Spinach, Carrots, and Brussel sprouts (completely obsessed with, and have been for about 2 years now. Even made an attempt to grow my own last year!). But now instead of pairing that veggie with its main entry, its paired with, well, ranch dressing and cheese.

I recently had a run in with a few thousand maggots. No, I wasn't trying to add more protein in my diet, but now that I think about it, I probably could have topped some bruschetta with em. Anyways, after the maggot incident, I was eating my quinoa and noticed the similarity between the little grain and the little bugs. But I was starving. So what else is there but to use my Charlie Sheen inspired warlock mind tricks to overcome the feeling that I was eating maggots.

I'm for sure, for reals, a carnivore. Unlike February's no cable month (which is still going on) I will be adding red meat and chicken and fish and turkey and bacon and ham and cow BACK INTO MY BELLY come April 1st. We recently went to Grumpy's for dinner, and I'm not kidding, every single menu item contained meat. Except the dinner salad and french fries. So thats precisely what I ate. And I felt really bad about it afterwards. Not in my conscience, but my stomach didn't really appreciate all those fries.

I've been putting a lot of though into what the rest of 2011 has in store for me, because I do plan on continueing this quest of doing or not doing something for 30 days. I've brainstormed with a few people and my mom suggested going without gas for a month. This weekend alone I used a quarter tank. Would that even work? I like to ride my bike, but not to work. I have a look I have to maintain, and a sweaty pitted out dress is not what I have in mind. I've also given thought to no caffeine. As I typed that, I got a little scared. The big difference between the no beer month and no caffeine is that I don't drink two 20 oz cups of beer every single morning. I'm pretty sure that going without that will be my hardest month. So I'm still debating that one. I'm also thinking about wearing the same dress for 30 days. You won't know because I would be accessorizing and camoflauging the heck out of it, but it sounds kinda fun.

A few people have been asking if I gave up meat for Lent. Short answer, sure. Long answer, didn't even know it was that time of year. But giving something up for a whole month does give plenty of opportunities to really think about why I'm doing or not doing something. No alcohol made me realize that I'm not as dependent on it as I thought, but that I still really want it. No cable TV has taught me that I'm saving money and time, but that I still really want it. And not eating meat has made my poop float, and made me realize that I still really want it. Sorry Mom, had to put that in there just because you said not to :)

March-No Meat

The No Meat March. I should start a parade in honor of this feat. Ok, so I'm only on day 1 of no meat, and does chicken broth really count? I mean, I did not have chew any meat, so have I already cheated myself? Lets pretend it was vegetable broth. Just like the times at my old work that we would serve that asswipe of a "vegetarian" soup that was made with chicken stock. LOL. I mean, he was wearing leather shoes, so I can tell you he wasn't hardcore.

A couple months ago when I decided to try going 30 days with or without something, I really wanted to go vegan. But absolutely everyone I talked to gave me a wide eyed loud and firm NO. Jeez, did they think I couldn't do it? Or were they actually looking out for my best interest? I mean, would I be able to actually survive 30 days without any animal bi-product? And by that I meant ingesting it, but I was quickly told that the vegan lifestyle is WAY more than going the "guinea pig" diet. I was informed my shampoo was most likely not vegan, (still not sure why) and that most of the everyday items I use were not. SOOOOO, that leads me to just cut out meat. I bought tofu yesterday. Not even remotely sure what/how I will incorporate it, but I thought I should probably "treat" myself to sumthin nice.

I eat a lot a lot of meat. I'm not scared so much that I won't be able to, but more that meat will sneak its way into my food and I will be oblivious and/or tricked into eating it. Wait. Does this mean no fish? I looked in my freezer and fridge yesterday and noticed quite a bit of meat. Deer steaks, cow meat, bag-o-meatballs, lunch meat, chicken breasts and not a whole lot of veggies. So I'm now stocked up for this week. Brussel sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, cheese, yogurt, bread.....wow. I'm really hungry.

But at least I can chase the tofu with beer now!

February- NO CABLE TV

So I'm back on the sauce. Thank goodness, only because people were starting their own conspiracy theories as to why I wasn't drinking. Because it couldn't be as simple as I am choosing not to. It had to be because I was either secretly pregnant, or had hit rock bottom, and some terrible event had occurred, scaring me into sobriety. But I stuck to my plan, well for the most part. I made it 26 days, and that 26th day happened to be a Friday, a Friday that was meant to be shared with a cold beer immediately after work. I know, I'm sure I'm dissapointing all of my imaginary blog readers, but I was proud that I made it 26 days!

So onto February. I know, its March 1st, but February was a short month, and March snuck up on me. February was interesting as far as this experiment goes. We just so happened to cancel our cable on or around the last week of January, and I decided it would be an "easy" and simple idea. I say "easy" because if you know me, going without cable is defintely NOT easy. In fact, I would say I would rather go without beer than cable. When I was not drinking, I still could live vicariously thru the "Bad Girls Club" and Snooki. I didn't realize, or maybe I should say I wasn't aware of exactly HOW much TV I watch. Cable TV has been a very close friend to me, well, as long as I can remember. Summer breaks would consist of waking up at 8 and starting the "program". I had my entire day mapped out with tv shows. I remember The Brady Bunch re-runs on TBS were a vital part of the day, even though I knew I wasn't missing anything that hadn't actually happened since 1975, but I was sure there was going to be an episode I had not seen, and would never get the opportunity to see it again. I can still remember when that one Saved By The Bell episode came on that I had, for reals, never seen before. It was the gecko episode :)

We still don't have cable, and I'm not exactly sure when we'll get it back. And notice I didn't put if, because we WILL be getting some sort of cable back. I just couldn't justify $80/month anymore thru Direct(ly out of your wallet)TV. Oh, and if anyone is thinking their bill is getting too high, just call them, tell them you're done and wish to cancel. They want you BAD. They offered me 3 months free cable! So obviously I accepted their offer. That was back in November, and they totally thought I would forget after those 3 months. HA. I showed them. Well kinda. When I called them at the end of the 3 months, I had called 4 days too late, and they had already charged my debit card for the next month......lovely.

We've been watching A LOT of our DVD collection, and utilizing Redbox and Netflix. I think this has made the last month easier. Is that cheating? Or could I have been drinking O'Douls the whole month of January? I know for shiz, that if I had gone cold turkey from my TV set, I would have gone thru withdrawls and bouts of crying. Its just soo entertaining, and I really do actually feel the need to keep up with the kardashians, check in on those Teen Moms, and see what shenanigans Russell is up to on that island!!!

January-No Alcohol

I'm in. I'm doing it. Blogging. That kind of sounds like my dinner didn't agree with me. Actually, quite the opposite. Dinner was fine. Water with dinner was even better. :) Which brings me to the whole point of this blog. I'm sure the title of this post surprised some, made others laugh, and made most think that I made some crazy new years resolution. This however, is not my resolution. Its more of a Morgan Spurlock inspired journey. I've decided to do 30 days (in some cases 31, and next month 28) of commitment towards enriching my life. So, starting last Monday, which was the 3rd, I stopped drinking alcohol. Honestly, I thought it would be hard, only because I'm a big fan of alcohol. I like beer, clam diggers, gin and tonics, margaritas, wine, well you get the point. I like to drink alcohol. I'm not a fan of hangovers, so I try my darndest not to drink too much, but we all know how hard that is when you're playing flip cups, Presidents, Kings, Partini, beer pong (which Rodney and I are usually undefeated, so I'm not actually having to drink that much) or watching the Seahawks play....wow. That list could go on and on.

Week 1 was easy. Then the weekend arrived, and speaking of the Seahawks, they played AND WON. *SEAHAWK KNUCKLES* We ended up having probably 15 people over to watch the game. Everyone brought beer. The sound of the can opening seemed to be a little louder as if trying to tempt me, so I filled a big beer mug with the best ice cold Clarkston well water, and I woke up Sunday feeling excellent!

I guess and hope the rest of the month is going to go pretty much the same. There will be situations where I'm offered a drink, or I'll need one. But if Mr. Spurlock can eat McDonalds for every meal for 30 days, which by the way will NOT be one of my 30 day ventures, then I can do this! Jeez, writing this makes me sound like I'm a little lush....but when there's always a reason for the season, its easy to find yourself drinking 3-4 out of the 7 days.

So. January is no alcohol. What about the next 11 months? Thats where I need ideas.
-Go Vegan
-Wearing the same outfit
-No celebrity gossip (ya right)
-No TV (sounds harder than no alcohol)

Just to name a few of my ideas. What would you like to see me do/not do for 30 days?