All Kinds of Public

I wrote on Facebook that I am giving up soda and stupid computer games. Why is it when we know something is stupid to do, we do it anyway? I have a million reasons to give up these things, and have known them for a long time, but am committed to doing it now, finally.

For me, it was Diet Coke. (See how I did that just there? Past tense. Affirming that it is not a problem  for me.)

Ok let's see... High fructose corn syrup, articial everything, gets you even more addicted to sweets (oh yea, an afternoon candy bar went hand in hand, literally), not to mention the money I was wasting, (oh wait, I mentioned that) and the awful cycle of staying up late because I'm hyped up on caffeine and then gotta have caffeine in the morning because I didn't sleep well... There's also some issues I'm having with my health that STUDIES have shown the diet sodas actually EXACERBATE. But to my defense, can I just say BOTH of my doctors (one for depression, a different one for chronic vertigo) told me the studies weren't conclusive, and it really wasn't a big deal and I could go on drinking it. Hello! Doctor?!! Why oh why did you just give me a free pass on something with no health value at all when I was working on knocking it off? I do take full credit for my own choices and actions, but come on!!

And the games? Well, here's the thing. I've never been one to play dumb, mindless games. On the rare occasion I'm going to spend time like that, I will do mind-bender type games or sudoku or crosswords... Stuff where you actually have to think. But I check out the games my kids play to, you know, check on them. Usually I roll my eyes, thank the stars above that they are just dumb and not X-rated and carry on.

But this one was so stinking' CUTE. And the company updated every dang week so every time I tried to NOT spend so much time on it, well there was something new!!  My son is a missionary for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his letters are full of great spiritual strength and constant reminders to read scripture and pray and truly come to know the Savior and His Spirit. That sweet admonition has really been tugging at my little soul lately. The five minutes here and there on that dumb game... Well five minutes of whispered prayer gives me great strength and insight. And the scriptures are just as easily accessed on my iPad as the game was. MUCH better use of a few minutes here and there.

I know it is the Spirit that whispers to me, "You can do this. It's time." (Actually I think it is way past time, but the Spirit is very nice.)

Yesterday was my first day without soda or the game. It's the third time I've deleted the game, and I can't begin to count how many times I've tried to give up the coke. I work next door to a convenience store, so this is quite a challenge on all kinds of levels.

But I'm ready for day 2.

A word is worth a thousand pictures.

I am a perfectionist.

This does NOT mean I do things perfectly.

It means I get annoyed and irritable when things are NOT perfect.

My canned goods all have to have the labels facing front. My DVDs are alphabetized. The towels in the linens closet have the folds on the outside.

I am also a mom. Perfectionism and mom-ness seldom go hand in hand.
You have to learn to let some things go.

I really, really, really wanted to take a picture of my frugal, healthy, kid-approved TREAT that I made. It was even all my own idea - no Pinterest or nothin'.

But I am NOT a picture person. Cameras and I do not play nice together. When I do actually take a picture, I have no idea how to get it from the camera to my computer. My husband has shown me COUNTLESS times, but I have too much time in between picture-to-computer moments to actually remember the steps.

So I'm gonna let the picture go. (You have no idea how hard that was for me.)

*****

I was doing a shopping trip, making sure we had all the stuff we needed to pack lunches. Bread, check.  Peanut butter - in bulk from Sam's cuz four people packing every day means a LOT of peanut butter. Strawberry jam. Homemade, tons in the freezer. Check.

We usually do something like goldfish or granola bars for a treat, and they will throw in an apple, orange or banana. Done.

But every once in a while I will splurge and we will get yogurt cups or cookies or Pringles. (The Pringles usually happen when *I* went them, but that'll be our little secret, okay?)

Not feelin' the Pringles that day, and saw the yogurt cups WITH cookie crumbles oh-so cleverly separately packaged to maintain crunch.

Price tag and no coupon meant I walked on by.

But I was thinking... Cuz my little guy REALLY loves those.

I bought a giant vanilla yogurt for less than $2 and a package of hard chocolate chip cookies for 99 cents. I already had the cute the little containers for the yogurt and then I crunched up the cookie in a ziploc snack bag. Zing. WAY more helpings than the dumb four-pack in the store.

I'm so proud.

Was that a no-brained for you? Well, it was fairly momentous for me.

Score.

Getting Ready for a Game Plan

I titled this blog Brand New Second for a reason, remember? I always seem to need a do-over.

That's my disclaimer for the game plan. I am a big believer in positive thinking, but I am also doing a reality check here about my own time-proven habits and behaviors.

I am promising myself if I DON'T carry out one of my goals, I will not ditch the whole plan and give up.

If I get excited about cooking up a truckload of chicken because I got it on sale, I will NOT berate myself because I didn't make the homemade laundry soap that was the plan of the day.

I will celebrate every small success and not get all disgruntled and bent out of shape because it wasn't an earth-shattering, life-changing kind of day.

I will remember every tiny baby step I make toward saving money, helping my family and being more self-sufficient is a WIN.

Ah. Good pep talk.

Time to get crackin'.

The Rant

I promise I am not going to call names or be all political.

Like the rest of the nation, my paycheck was a bit thinner last payday. You can do your own research on the social security tax change and why it occurred. I get the reason, I understand - whether I agree or not is a pointless discussion because I can't do a thing to change it.

The bottom line of it is, for me, less money that always seems to have farther and farther that it has to go.

Everyone has a different family make-up, different routines and different methods of doing things.

MY story is a family of 5 at home. And although only two are actually teenagers, all bellies under this roof seem to EAT like teenagers. And we are all watching those grocery prices continuing to go up, right? We are a two-paycheck family, and we are supporting our oldest boy who is serving a mission for our church. (read: not living at home, still needs money, but for a really good cause.)

I have ALWAYS lived frugally. But we finally got to the point where we lived frugally in some areas (cheap meals) so we could splurge in others (dinner out once in a while).

But now I seem to be back to HAVING to be frugal so we can stay fed and housed and clothed.

And while I hate being in that position - I'd much rather be playing the game of "how teeny can we keep the grocery bill so we can go to Disneyland?" - it's a challenge that I'm up for and am determined to win.

Blogs are a groovy way to stay accountable.

Tackling the food budget is an on-going project, with a bazillion different possible places to start. Tomorrow I'll make a game plan and decide where step 1 is this time around.

The First Second

I've decided that I need a lot of "fresh starts" in my life.

Reality never seems to match up to my good intentions.

And I've recently come to the astonishing conclusion that I am not the only person in the world whose brain runs way faster than anything I can physically do or say.

I'm taking advantage of the possibility of that fresh start -- I am getting a fresh start every single second of every single day. Because I'm allowed to have that many do-overs if I want them.

My first second is going to be frugality. Watching the pennies. Tightening the belt.

I avoided the rant.

Because it's Sunday and that just doesn't feel right.

But there will be a rant tomorrow.

If I can make my brain remember to come back here.

Will you?