Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Valentine's Day Euphoria

2/14/10

Since I started this endeavor I’ve purchased one new thing, well, actually two; damn it! The first was right after the beginning of the year and was a gift. I had little time and nothing in my ‘gift closet’ that was appropriate. The gift was about $15. I justified this purchase because it was a gift. Can’t get through a day without a good justification.

The second purchase happened today. I blame it on Valentine’s Day euphoria. I got out of the gym at about 3 p.m. and walked right next door to PetCo to buy Cadence, my dog, a new bone for Valentine’s Day. Not that he knows it’s a sweetheart holiday but I do and I felt that I needed to get him a new bone because I was planning on clipping his nails that evening and he hates it. So I walked in and instead of a bone, which counts as food so therefore, not new, I bought a stuffed, red, squeaky toy! I didn’t even think about it until I got out in the parking lot, realizing that I didn’t buy a bone but a NEW toy. Unfortunately, Cadence has to go along with this not buying anything new dogma too. At least he liked it and was happy to have it after the nail-clipping session.

So, two things in a month and a half. Overall, I think the experiment is going well. It's very liberating – really. I walked into Target a few days ago to pick up a prescription and normally I would stop and look at the sale clothes rack. More often than not I would buy a silly little shirt or skirt or something else I don't need. On this trip I walked directly to the pharmacy and walked out. I didn’t feel like I was missing out, I felt a distinct sense of freedom.

Speaking of Valentine's Day - I had decided back in December to send out Valentine's Day cards since I was too lazy to send out Christmas cards. After the first of the year, I realized that with my New Years Resolution I wouldn't be able to buy cards so I ended up making them from stuff I had in the house. I'm not super crafty but it was fun to do and I think my friends liked them better than a store bought card anyway!

2 comments:

  1. Love it! We, too, have a gift closet. We call them "mathoms" (here's why: http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-mat1.htm). Good for you. Can't wait to hear more about how it goes. P.S. Is that Magic Sky picture from Taos? Seems familiar.

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  2. This is a wonderful idea. Before I moved last week, I sent half my worldly goods to Tony at EcoThrift. I got to Bismarck, and I have to get rid of half of it again. How did I end up with so much crap? And I can't work out, practice music, or get started on my new life here until I get it all taken care of. Wish I'd have thought of not buying anything new a couple years ago.

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