"Spend Out" Success!

Today was a day of failure and victory. I will start with the failure.

Well, actually, I will start with breakfast.

Remember that Quaker pancake mix I picked up the other day?

I broke it out today.

I hate syrup, so it's basically butter and peanut butter for me.

Yes, that's a 50% off sticker on there. You guys know I love a bargain.

I realized after I snapped that first pic that my eyes were bigger than my stomach, so I downgraded to one pancake.

So, after breakfast, things went downhill. We ordered pizza last night and there was half of it left this morning. Let's just say that it was all gone by 1pm. Then, I finished off two snack bars, a can of green beans, two persian cucumbers, and... I think that's it... Sigh... Oh, E.D., why do you hate me?... Telling you guys all about that is my way of being accountable. boo.

However, things looked up after Ryan came home. I got my new Lunarfly Nikes in the mail today. Oh, be still my beating heart.

Immediately, I fell in love. I've never had running shoes this cute. EVER! I got a chance to work on this week's "moral," Spend Out. The first thing I thought when I saw these shoes was: I don't want to get them dirty on our running path!

Then, I got my Health magazine in the mail. Again, I was like, "Oh, I don't want to read that yet." I always want to "save" it, since I won't get another mag for a whole month.

THEN, I realized I was on my last "running" bandaid and wanted to save it.

I realized... WHAT AM I SAVING FOR?!?

So, I reminded myself that I need to SPEND OUT. Quit saving everything for later. Enjoy the moment!

I opened up my mag.

Put on my running bandaid (it's covering a blister).

And, I tied up my laces and went out for a run with my hubby! He pushed me SO hard, too.

SUCCESS!!!!

I felt so bad after my binge today, but my run completely turned that frown upside down. :D

For dinner, I made chicken and rice with brussels sprouts.

Ryan's plate:

Mine:

After dinner, JGago came over for some after-dinner coffee.

I mixed a bit of this with some instant decaf. Yum!

See? Everyday can be a success. You just have to take the time to something good for YOURSELF, and remember to spend out your goodness. :)

**Silly Survey**

Do you put off things that make you happy so you don't "use them up"?

What are some of the little joys in your life?

What do you do to turn around a bad day?

Have a great night/day everyone!

Tootles,

Be Nice More, Nag Less: Day 1

So yesterday was my first day of the 12 Commandments idea. If I had to give myself a grade, it would be a C.

Nagging is in my blood. My mother and grandmother before me pretty much mastered the characteristic to an art, so I'm having to go against both habit and blood (if such things can be attributed to heredity, which I think they can).

Last night, the moment Ryan walked in the door, I went to give him a kiss and a smile. I want him to feel good when he comes home. Atleast, that's my goal. I started to put away his lunch box and do my general follow-him-around-like-a-puppy routine (I work from home. This is standard.), and I tripped over one of two large containers that he'd taken out of the closets on Sunday and hadn't put away.

My instantaneous reaction would be to feel and act SUPREMELY ANNOYED, because I generally pick up after myself, so that kind of thing is "extra" irritating.

What I did was this:

(trip)

"Babe, can you please--" (pause, as I scream in my head for a dramatic second because I'm supposed to BE NICE MORE, NAG LESS).

"I love you," I continued. "How was your day?"

Okay, so on the surface, I did well. But, honestly, my irritation was just barely contained. I can do better. Really, I can.

The rest of the night was generally rather mild, except for a few moments of defensiveness where I had to remind myself to BE NICE MORE. See, Ryan is my editor, and he's really good at it. Many nights we will sit on the couch, him playing a video game and me reading a chapter of my book to him. When he comments or asks questions, sometimes I get defensive, when I know I should just be thankful I have a husband willing to listen to my rewrites (and rewrites of those rewrites and rewrites of those rewrites) over and over again. He actually enjoys the process, so for me to be a jerk about him not understanding a paragraph is definitely something that I need to work on.

Today, I think I did okay, considering he's at work and I spent the first few hours of my day alone at the San Diego Museum of Art. I seriously love art museums. It's pure joy to me. I particularly love going by myself, because I like to read about the artists almost as much as I like to look at the art itself. I hate when I'm with someone who looks for a second and walks away. It drives me nuts.

Anywho, I did however have to work on my BE NICE MORE rule while I was at the market buying fresh produce. I was walking out to my car and I saw a political bumper sticker that REALLY made my blood boil. I really hate it when people have snarky political bumper stickers. I don't care even which side they are on. I cannot stand snarkiness. I had to really fight myself to not say hateful things in my head. Mission accomplished.

Today, lunch was light, very light, because I had an AMAZING cheese roll while I was at the market. They were fresh and smelled delicious. I couldn't resist. Serious caloric and filling, though, so all I had when I got home were some persian cucumbers sticks with lemon and sea salt. Yum.

Now, I need to get back to work. Have a nice, nag-free day!!! :)

**Survey Questions**

Are you a nag with your significant other? How do you keep yourself from nagging?
Do you have bumper stickers on your car?
Do you follow politics?
Do you have alot of opinions when it comes to politics?
Do you like to go to museums? What kind?

-----------------------For all of the 12 Commandments, click here.

To answer a question from yesterday...

"Spend Out" defined -- I took this phrase from The Happiness Project directly, but maybe a better term for it would be "Use it Up" or "Squeeze Out the Last Drop." Basically it means to "use up" your joy rather than saving things for a more special day or time that may never come. "Using up" spending means using the things you buy. How many times do we buy something and then put it on a shelf because we're afraid to "use it up" or to get it dirty? Or, how often do we rush around through our days just so we can "relax" later in the day or hurry the kids from one place to the next because we want to just get on with our day. We're probably all guilty of that "living for Friday" feeling. Life is always happening, even when you're running errands, even on a Tuesday afternoon. Yes, save time, save money, hurry if you must, but remember to wear that little black dress sometimes, dine on your best linens, and be happy it's a Tuesday night just for the sake of it, because you really can't bank on tomorrow.

My 12 Commandments

In the spirit of self-improvement, which admittedly is a luxury of our American world, an idea has sparked in my wild mind. Lest it naggle and flit around like an irritating fruit fly, I have to see it through. For some time I've been wanting to devise a way for me to be a better wife, friend, and all-alround awesome person. I've changed alot since I first lost that 200 pounds and not all of that has been physical. A huge portion, in fact, has been internal.

I've recently been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It's cool. It's basically a right-brained attempt at answering the question of personal happiness, very technical and yet humorous at the same time. Go check it out if you have an interest in such things.

Anywho, back to MY 12 Commandments.

I've wanted to create a way to measure the positive characteristics in my life ever since I heard about Benjamin Franklin's idea of "Moral Perfection." Though this idea is revisited in Rubin's book, I first heard it when I was reguarlarly attending a zendo in Pacific Beach. His program was to focus his attention on one moral "code" each week, and through habit his behaviors and character would improve. LOVE the idea. I have always said that all things we do are the results of habit. His "virtues" are:

TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

These are awesome and all, but I wanted something a little more Jasmine. Why 12? Well, I'm not religious, which is why I didn't have to stick with 10. Plus, I really couldn't widdle them down to 10. Old Benjamin has 13, which just seems unlucky. So, 12 it is.

Here's mine:

1. Be Nice More, Nag Less.

2. Spend Out.

3. Love as Action.

4. Complain for a Purpose (or Not at All).

5. Listen Closely.

6. Practice Order.

7. Let it Be, Let it Go.

8. Be the Change.

9. Commit Fully.

10. Give Blindly.

11. Thank Life Daily.

12. Be Here Now.

This week (Mon-Sun), I will be focusing on nagging less. This will almost exclusively be practiced within my marriage for obvious reasons. However, the "be nice more" part can be practiced in every situation. Tomorrow, I will post about Day 1 to let you know how it went. I am a major "nagger" so this is going to be rough. Wish me luck.

Housekeeping Stuff. This is still a food blog, but I'm branching out. When you improve one part of your life, all things improve, I think. Let's see how much I can "improve" in the next 12 weeks.

This weekend, I tried the Fiber One Blueberry Muffins for the first time. I was very impressed.

I had some frozen blueberries in the freezer anyway, so I threw maybe 1/2 cup in. Otherwise, I followed the box.

These came out great. Hubby LOVED them.

We ate two before I remembered to take a picture. :p I highly recommend these muffins. Very filling, great taste.

**Survey Time**

Blog Questions

Do you prefer blogs that only talk about food?

Do you like the idea of incorporating a self-improvement section into a "healthy" blog?

Do you follow mostly food blogs?

What other kinds of blogs do you enjoy?

Is your blog focused exclusively on food/exercise?