*Did you know there are 64 hours between 5pm Friday and 9am Monday. How do we feel about that? I say we better make the most of it! A few filter questions to ask yourself when thinking which events to schedule during the weekend: What's my gut reaction? Would saying no be a big deal? How do I feel once I think it over? How do I want to spend my time?
* I was reading a little magazine and came across this incredible finding: You can combine your e-mail, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter accounts at www.fuser.com. It centralizes each service you use, so all new message drop into a single online inbox, which you can sort by provider. Streamline and stay in touch with all those old friends! Genius!
*Party pounds, folks. Yes, it's true. We eat an extra 316 calories per day in between Thanksgiving and January 1st. Watch it people! No need to go crazy. I'd say that in between eggnog lattes and peppermint mochas we may be drinking more calories than ever.
*More on food: eating a little yogurt a day is good for your smile. You see, yogurt, besides having a gag inducing texture, is high in lactic acid and bacteria which in turn cuts your risk of getting gum disease by a whopping 60%! What the heck! That's enough for me to gag all the way through one of those bad boys.
*So it's not news to you that life is pretty crazy right now. In every single aspect of my life things are happening that shake up the norm. I think I'm navigating through it pretty well but one thing that would really help me to succeed is to suck it up from time to time and ask for help. I'm reluctant to ask for help because I've got this need for perceived control and this desire to keep up expectations that aren't even real. When I was at the doctor's office recently I had some time to catch up on my reading. An interesting article detailed a study at Columbia University that found people underestimate others' willingness to pitch in by as much as 50%. Therefore ask and you shall receive.
*Josh and I have some big goals when it comes to managing our money in these next few months. We've been doing such a great job, but we've got to keep going. To reach our goals we've had to do some readjusting to our budget, which has been very good but hard a times. I've sort of enjoyed starving the More Monster a little bit. I've truly missed shopping for the house and for the season. At any given moment I could tell you the top 3 things I'd buy if I had an extra $100. And for those who like to participate, I'd love to know what you would purchase if I handed you an extra $100 right now.
The most noteworthy thing about this season of tight wad-ness is that I must pay extra attention to where cash is spent. In doing this I've noticed some interesting patterns and trends about my spending urges. I have accountability and guidelines in this area of my life now. For example, I don't even go into Nordstrom's anymore (unless it is a quick, simple stick-to-the-list kind of trip to the MAC or Clinique counter every 6 months). I try to get as much household stuff as I can when I go grocery shopping, as opposed to taking a separate, tempting trip to Target.
Yet there is something else at play. My emotions and circumstances. They truly play a role in my money spending. Like the good student I am I googled this stuff to see what I could find. Low and behold the Journal of Consumer Research said that, "People are more apt to buy luxury items when they feel powerless". This is true for me. when life feels like a mess, the urge for a new pair of shoes or purse sky rockets. Sticking to small splurges (like lots of coffee) can keep us in a good place financially (although I think I've gained some weight. :-)). Another journal notes that, "buying something unfamiliar activates the brain's reward center and may compel you to purchase an item even if it isn't significantly different of better". I so do this. I fall for every "new and improved" sign or slogan. Ask Josh. I love commercials about the latest upgrade on my favorite bathroom cleaner, mascara or deodorant. Sheesh. I'm learning not to take the bait! Do you fall for this stuff, too?
*Do you ever have times where you get like really excited about something on behalf of someone else, but when you demonstrate your enthusiasm to that person they just stare back at you like you are a raging psycho babbling on and on making no sense? Just me?
Yeah. This happens to me more than I'd like to admit. Mostly with my boss or other older, cooler people that I'd actually like to impress. See, when it comes to my boss I would like his job someday and I really like him a lot. So I get excited when he does well, has a good idea, leads like a pro, says something eloquently. And if you know me at all, you know I don't keep things in too well. I let people know. My boss preached this weekend at big church and, in my opinion, knocked it out of the park. He spoke on Jehovah, which is a big concept for us humans to wrap our minds around. Today I told him how much I loved his talk. I noted all these specific examples, how well he did spitting out all these numbers without a cheat sheet, etc. And what did he do? Simply stared at me with this raised eyebrow, half smirk. It's funny really. I guess I can be quite amusing.
On the other hand, it kinda makes me a feel like an idiot. I always have to check myself after these incidents and I usually come away with the distinct feeling that I may have acted like a 12 year old. Still, if it were me and I preached and hit it out of the park, I'd want people to get excited with and for me. Sometimes it's hard to get excited for ourselves but when those in our life express excitement it gives us freedom to get pumped up, too. You know what I mean? I want to be the person in my friend's lives that gives them all the permission they need to celebrate their successes, big or small. So anyways, just a random reflection (hence the title of this post).
Signing off now! Ciao!
And thanks to Self magazine for some insightful tidbits!
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