QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 31 - LAST DAY!

I went one whole month without shopping or buying one thing! Who knows what will happen tomorrow??? I'm going to a morning Tea Party for Spatulatta www.spatulatta.com, and there just happens to be a little Condo sale nearby. You never know what you'll find at a condo sale. My theory is that Condo sales have the best things because the people already down-sized from a larger space, and what they took to the condo was the best stuff. So we'll see. There just happens to be a major snow even happening outside now and tonight.

Tonight is action packed with TV. Two new hours of LOST and two hours of Celebrity Apprentice. And of course, In Treatment, the new HBO show. Add that to my line up of What's My Line, Craft Shows and the 60 Minutes I fell asleep during on Sunday, and there's a lot to do TV-wise.

I'm almost finished with the Living Room Curtain Tie-Backs. They are coming along beautifully. I have three more pages to complete on the Yearbook. They aren't due until March, but I am planning on completing two of them in the next couple of days.
Then...there won't be much hanging over my head as obligations, and my plan is to be creative all the time.

I've got to find a new topic for this blog. It has such a great name; I've really got to live up to it.

I've just had an idea! How about in February, A Project A Day. This is where I have to create something new every day. Preferably something sewn. I have a lot of sewing projects. And each day I'll post a photo of my accomplishment. I'm warning you, some days it may be a completed Sudoku. But we'll see. I'm as inspired about this new idea as I was about the Quitting Shopping on January 1st.

QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 24 AND MORE

I wonder if I should quit shopping some more after this is over? I love all the down time, and the lack of stress of shopping. Here's a great movie recommendation. This is right up there with Bossa Nova and one of the others.....

A Good Year: Russell Crowe plays a hot shot London guy who goes to Provence. I don't want to say anymore about it except to say that it's wonderful. There's a quick scene near the end, when he goes back to London, when a fellow who looks just like my brother walks through the scene. We 15-second-backed it five or six times! I loved the movie so much that for the first time, I'm tempted to tell more about it, but you'll find out more from the DVD cover if you peak. So it's on HBO now, possibly On Demand, or search the menu for it and record it on your dvr.

How about these DVRs? This little machine is the best invention of all the new technology if you love tv. The only thing that could make it better for me would be if it could record three shows at once, and if it could hold even more programming in memory. I typically run it at 70-80% full because I like to keep good shows on there and watch them over again. And there are only so many tv watching hours in the day!

Celebrity Apprentice isn't as good without Gene Simmons. But I'll still watch.

QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 22

No one is more surprised than I am that I haven't bought a thing since before January 1st. I have a little pent up demand for things that I'll buy when this is over, but it because of our frigid weather, it hasn't been so bad. Today I started on the project to make tiebacks for the living room curtains. I want them to be nice, professionally done, and I've only had the fabric and lining piled up for almost a year. I've just completed six of the lining-over-heavy interfacing pieces, and tomorrow I'll cut my fabric and complete the tiebacks. The fabric is beautiful....sort of a silky fabric with embroidered flowers and vines on it. It will add some richness and elegance to the curtains which have been held back with strips of narrow ribbon since I don't know when.
Here's a picture:
It's not quite as bright as this, but this gives a good idea of the look. There are a lot of prints now going on in that room, but nothing really clashes. It's where we watch tv and relax at night. It's on it's way to being a prettier more pulled together place where we watch tv and relax. The tiebacks are fun to make so far because they are easy and fast. I'll have some fabric left over, becuase I bought enough for 12 tiebacks, but now I have the curtains sort of framing the fireplace and the other wall so I only need 6 tiebacks now. Hmmmm. What can I make with the rest of the fabric? Maybe there will be enough to cover the ottoman or to make a table cover. Or some runners for the dining room table and mantle.

I am also happy with myself for taking more photos for the yearbook today, and getting them from my camera to the computer. So that tomorrow I can make two more yearbook pages. I will be so relieved when that project is over. The good thing about it is that I practiced photoshopping absent students into group photos. A couple of them are pretty good if I do say so. BTW, when people send you email forwards of unusual pictures, please know that they are fakes. With digital manipulation, photos can be changed to look like anything. Today I received photos of an albino deer. (This might have been real) But come on, is there really an albino peacock out there in the world? I think that one is a fake. Unless I see it with my own eyes, I don't believe that one exists. Be a skeptic. That's what I say. And believe in yourself.
Know what you believe from a core place. When someone tells you something, consider it, and then decide if you believe it. And decide how you want to incorporate it into your knowledge and beliefs.

QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 21

I can't believe I've gone 21 days without shopping. It's actually getting easier. I wish I was getting more done, but that's just how it goes. At least I'm not getting nothing done and then shopping too! The thing about shopping in the 2000s is that everything is very generic. There is not much original to shop for....which means that I've been shopping for fabric and yarn and beads and scrapbook stuff so that I can create the original myself. And now I have a lot of stuff with which to create. And I will create and I will post the pictures here on my blog.

Inspiration and Creativity: I just read that Jimi Hendrix said something like First learn everything there is to know, then forget all of it, then go on and play. I think it was about playing the guitar, but it applies to anything. I tried to find the exact quote, but came upon a website with other Jimi quotes, and got sidetracked for awhile. Did you ever notice that the biggest sidetracker of modern life is the World Wide Web?
Is that good or bad? Probably both. So where was I? And the better you are at it, the more of a sidetracker it is!


Vanity Fair: This is a wonderful movie with Reese Witherspoon. A period piece with beautiful scenery and scenes. It's a great story. I don't remember being aware of it in the theatres, but anyone who loves 18th Century British will enjoy this one.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend: Better than expected, but only if you watch it for free On Demand, or wait until it's on cable. It's a fun movie for a family with older children. Who doesn't like watching Luke Wilson?

Unaccompanied Minors: A great family movie in the kids on their own genre. We really enjoyed it and were laughing out loud throughout. This is great for children of any age. Thanks to Val for recommending it!

QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 15!

I can't believe that I've made it 15 days! There was almost a relapse. I put myself in the way of temptation on Saturday by walking down the block to a house sale. Thankfully there was nothing to buy. The best thing is not to put myself in the situation. Since I love going to the library, that satisfies my urge to go somewhere and get something!

It seems like some of my blog fans have missed me this last week. Funny, because it's the same fans who would like to see a bit more "edge" to the blog, but must also enjoy reading "sweet, light" postings. Yes, everyone, this is blog light. Or Bloglite if you will. There is a contingent who doesn't like to comment, but emails me at home on my personal email with their comments. You know who you are.

Many of my New Year's Day tasks have been completed, but my list is endless. (Meaning that many are not). I had a note around here somewhere with blog ideas, but now I can't find it.
The notes-to-myself and lists situation is a bit out of hand!

The highlight of last week was going to Jenny's Lake House with the Bead Group for an overnight last Thursday. This is a fairly decadent experience where you get to be like you were in college. Except without the classes. And in a super clean super nice dorm. With great food.
And a constant fire in the fireplace. Oh...so how is it like college? Well, there is nothing you HAVE to do. No one to answer to. Lots of laughs. No rules. Except the new rules referred to below.
Jenny makes an excellent bartender too. Since it is winter, we drank Winter Wonderland Martinis. Something like Cranberry Vodka, White Cranberry Juice and Triple Sec. Yum. Then play this great game called Rumikub. With new rules.


We Are Marshall: Very Sad Football Movie, but worth a watch if you want to see a good story.
Pretty good acting...watchable move.

Lives of Others: OK, people. This movie came highly recommended when it was in the
theatres. I'm so glad that I didn't waste my money or time to go see it.
East Germany 1980s story before the wall came down. I found it to be
slow moving, especially at the beginning. Then I got into it and stayed
awake to see what would happen. I wouldn't watch it again.

I want to play Scrabble. Did anyone see 60 minutes on Sunday? The founder of Facebook was on and Facebook has a way to play Scrabble with your friends that looks very easy. Who wants to figure it out and get a game going?

QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 7 - MOVIES

In 2008 I still haven't shopped or been in a store other than Panera for lunch today. Yea!
I'm not sure I thought I could make it this far, except this little blog keeps me honest. I've been watching a lot of movies, though. Mostly on TV, but also went to see Juno.

Juno - Loved this movie. It tells the story about someone nice and fun and different. It makes no judgements. You get to decide all for yourself what you think about everything in the movie. I don't like to give away the story when reviewing a movie. Which is why I don't read movie reviews. And when choosing DVDs I look for good comments and awards. I hardly ever see a bad movie with this system.

Paris Je T'aime - Rent this one. It's a series of little movies set in Paris. All different characters and many well known faces. It's charming, and made me want to go to Paris, except who can afford it right now with the dollar taking the hit that it's taking against the euro.

Bossa Nova - This is a wonderful wonderful movie loaned to me by my friend Susan B. She knows what I like in a show! Let's just say it takes place in Rio and it's a story about love. Beautiful scenery. There are those that would call this a chick flick, but Steve really enjoyed it, too.

Music and Lyrics - Saw it on HBO the other night. This is a funny and fun movie. I had no idea that we would enjoy it so much. Hugh Grant does this character like only he can do, and Drew Barrymore is sweet and likeable.

Accepted - A really funny movie. Don't watch it unless you want to laugh and give up all your expectations going in. The star is Justin Long, who is the Mac in the Apple commercials. Remember - if you take things too seriously, this isn't the movie for you.

Children of Men - A hollywood "what if" "end of world as we know it" type movie. It's good, just not my favorite genre. If there's nothing else on, it's a good watch.

And you know how that is....400 channels, a full DVR line up, and nothing to watch!
Life is Good.

DAY 4 - QUITTING SHOPPING - OBAMA YEAH! -

I'm bursting with thoughts and ideas today and don't know where to start.
I think the most important news is that Senator Barack Obama won the Iowa Democratic Caucus last night. His is a campaign about change and hope and his message is inspirational and believable. This man is intelligent, and he will share his intelligence, thoughtfulness and giftedness with our country if we elect him to be our leader. Listening to him speak is magical.

As an aside, I found it really interesting that two men with three syllable last names won the caucus last night. The last president who didn't have a one or two syllable name was John F. Kennedy. These candidates are making the race for President exciting. They respect the importance of the office and they respect us.

On a more frivolous note, I can't believe I missed the new Celebrity Apprentice last night! I still like the Apprentice even though the critics pan it. I think it's a good show and not only because I had a "brush with fame" 10 years ago when our family met Donald Trump at Mar A Lago. It was my aunt's 70th birthday and her boss was a member of Mar A Lago, so she took the family to dinner there. We were lucky. That night Trump was in the house and came over to greet the large party at our table. He was very gracious and it was a lovely and special evening. We all got photo ops that night, but the photos are in an album around here somewhere rather than digital, so no photo for now.

Today flew by, but shopping temptation is everywhere! The newspaper is a minefield of tempting sales ads, colors, % offs, additional % offs, coupons and huge fonts and exclamations! It's all on sale and all must go! But I will not go! Instead, here's what I accomplished:
Yes, I organized our spice cupboard. It's clean and alphabetical. By the way, that yellow white and red container in the front row is Cavenders Greek Seasoning. It's wonderful in salads, sauces and other cooked dishes. A long long time ago my college room mate Julie brought some home from the market one day as kind of a joke. She had no idea what she started!

DAY 3 - QUITTING SHOPPING and BEAD GROUP

Day 3 was easy. It was still really cold and the Bead Group came over. Everyone was here except for Marge who had to work. We did talk about Quitting Shopping. Some think that no shopping or substitute shopping should be allowed. I say it's OK. For example, if there is something that is only found at a certain Dollar Store near Wendy's house, it is OK for me to ask her to pick up a few packages of Jolly Rancher Fruit n' Sours if she is ever in there, and I would pay her back. Also it would be OK for Steve to make a return at the Home Decorators Store and pick up some items that I ordered in December that have just come in. Sue says no on both of these, and now that I have written it out, the Dollar Store is iffy. The Home Decorators return and pick up still seem OK. There is no cash outlay, and the return means money back! Looks like a certain someone with a taste for Sour Fruit Candy might have to wait a month for his sweets. (I mean sours!)
BEAD GROUP: Thursdays are my favorite day of the week, because every Thursday for the past 12 or 13 years, a group of 11, now 9 of us get together for the afternoon around someone's kitchen or dining room table, and we chat and eat and bead and knit and crochet and wire work and chat for 3-4 hours. We laugh a lot. We commiserate if necessary. Everyone brings her own personality and love to the group. It's very special. Creativity is the common thread that weaves the group together along with open happy sharing personalities. We share good things and we've shared sad events because two of our own have died. Carol was an incredible bead artist with a strong no nonsense direct personality which belied a loyalty to her family and friends. Janice was a renaissance woman who knew something about absolutely everything. She was a gourmet cook, a crafter and a keeper of knowledge. She had great euphemisms.

So today was Thursday, and group was here, and as usual we had a great little time!
Sue even played half a Scrabble game with me, but had to quit when Wendy said it was time for them to go, and Sue had 4 I's and 3 other fun vowels on her rack anyway. Even vowel dumps couldn't help that line up.

Do I use too many exclamation points? There was a Seinfeld about that.

QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 2 - Lots To Do and It's Really Cold Outside

So far so good in 2008. I haven't shopped. Unless you count the 1500 flower pins I scrolled through on ebay last night. Does that count? I didn't buy one. Of course, there wasn't one to buy. There is one that's almost what I want, but not quite it. However, since it wouldn't require a cash outlay since I have paypal funds, I'm thinking that I could buy it. And I might not even win it anyway. Why am I looking for flower pins on ebay in the middle of the night when I'm supposed to be not shopping? I have no clue.

In the meantime, I did think of another
Thing I've Been Wanting To Do: Play Scrabble.

In person. Not online. There is nothing like the clicking of wooden Scrabble tiles on a Scrabble rack. Nothing like putting Z on a Triple Letter Score square. I also keep saying that I am going to memorize the two and three letter words. And the XJQZ lists. And the Q without a U words. And nothing like playing with people well matched to your game. Who wants to play? Last year, I found Scrabble Pants, too: If you've got something better to wear while playing Scrabble, I want to see it.The first time my mom wore her Scrabble Pants, she got a Bingo. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the parlance, a Bingo is when you use all 7 of your letters to form a word, and you get a 50 point bonus in addition to your points for that word.
I sold a number of pairs of these Scrabble Pants on ebay, and one woman gave them to her friend as a gift. She said "if my friend starts bingoing while wearing those pants, I'm taking them away from her".

QUITTING SHOPPING - DAY 1 - Special Holiday Sale Shopping

It's now past 5 PM on New Year's Day, and the stores are closed, so I made it through day one of quitting shopping. It wasn't too difficult, but the paper was full of great sale ideas. I spent the whole day messing around with setting up this blog. I want it to look good with consistent entries and colors I like. So I've chosen Lucida Grande for my font, normal for the font size and even margins for the margin setting. Back to quitting shopping. It helped that it's freezing in Chicago today and there is lots of icy snow on the ground.
It's tough to avoid the Special Holiday Sale Shopping. The department stores have fabulous sales on all the holiday items. It's a great time to buy 75% off Christmas stuff, especially wrapping paper and next year's Christmas cards. Except I don't send cards every year, and I sent them this year, so next year is an off year, so I don't need cards for next year. I hope I haven't missed out on gorgeous high end cards, but if so, there's always next year. Besides, I said I'd make next year's cards, not buy. And then I said that I'd send ecards next year to everyone with an email address with the reason (excuse) that it would be "green".

Here are the benefits of not going shopping:
*All the "Green" benefits. If you need these to be enumerated let me know, otherwise they are kind of boring.
*Saving Money benefit. Of course this benefit is slippery, because what am I saving it for? To shop more later!
*Saving Time benefit. This benefit is about having more time for my family, crafts and things I've been wanting to do.
Family: Kind of a joke. Steve is always working and keeps very busy with his own stuff. Peter is totally into WoW and happy to spend time at that and not with us.
Crafts: Where to start? I'm woefully behind on Scrapbooking and photos. The bead supplies are all on the dining room table where they have been for longer than I care to admit. (That's why you haven't been invited over for dinner). The wire working supplies are in a bag near the dining room table. The yarn and crochet stuff is in a few different places. The fabric and sewing supplies are all in my office and guestroom closet and I will organize it all and start working it while I'm not shopping this month.
Things I've Been Wanting To Do:
Decorating and Redecorating: This is fun, but is dangerously close to shopping, and may have to go by the wayside while I don't shop.
eBaying: I love this, but I've already sold most of the stuff that anyone would buy on eBay, unless I start selling things that I actually use in an effort to go minimal.
Straighten Out The Basement: This is a job that needs to be kept up with constantly. Right now it is somewhat neat but full to bursting. It's clean but full. It's full of decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of. It's a big thing to avoid.
Put Away the Christmas Decorations: Actually I have to do this, it's not something I want to do. But since this is the thing I'll probably do, then if I list it, once I do it, I can say that I did something and avoided shopping to do it.
Take Down the Christmas Tree: See Above.
Organize My Computers and Office: No Comment. What's less fun than this? I want to do it, I just don't WANT to do it.
Take Great Photos and Do Something With Them: This sounds really good. Maybe I could put them on my blog! Let's try one:

Cool! This is Pretty Bird, our parrot, as photographed by my friend Susan (wolfweave.com) a couple of years ago. I've been meaning to photoshop the water dish out of this photo.
Do More Entertaining: We have such wonderful friends and relatives. It would be great to clear off that dining room table and actually have them over for a meal. Made from things that are already in the cupboards since I won't be shopping. Oh well....there went that idea. There won't be any salad at this meal. Unless they bring it, but I like to entertain and have the guests be guests and not have to bring anything. Just come over without having to do any work for it. So maybe if we invite you over, and you say "Can I bring anything?" I might reply that you could bring a salad. I can probably scrape together the rest of the meal, especially if Steve barbecues.
Going Out To Lunch With Friends: Dilemma. This might be too close to shopping. Going out to lunch is not shopping per Se. BUT it puts you in the way of many shops between parking and the restaurant, and it's unnecessary spending and not using what you have which is part of what this is about.
OK, that's it for now. I've got to get to that putting the Christmas stuff away, finish reading the paper, and put some food into Peter.

My heart is now officially on my sleeve. I didn't start this post with a "Dear" but it now feels like a letter. You can reply to my letter by submitting a comment. Please?
Love,
Dianne

PRAYERS WISHES AND RESOLUTIONS

Prayers: That each person in the world would never hurt any other person in any way.
Wishes: For Peace on Earth
Resolutions: None really, unless you count that shopping thing, and maybe one that I will be nice to Steve and Peter all the time no matter what they do or say. (this is a VERY challenging resolution, by the way).

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

I was going to start this blog with an immediate jump into my first topic, which is about how I am going to not shop for at least one month, January 1 - January 31, 2008, but that seemed unseemly. Instead, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope in this new year, your prayers will be answered, your wishes fulfilled and your resolutions met (if you want them to be).