Pumpkin, Wisdom, & Magic

Monday, September 7, 2015

**  E N T E R :  F A L L  **

"We learn by being wrong."

-A quote from one of my professors this semester. Yep, classes have started. And the local coffee shops have started offering pumpkin. And I'm just having a good ol time.

Also, it's almost BIRTHDAY TIME! For me, and well, the majority of the rest of the world.

As usual, I'm planning something modest & magical.
If I made you curious, you're welcome to stay tuned. :)


**  E X T R E M E  C O U P O N I N G . . .  L I F E ?  **

A friend jokingly made the comment the other day that I “extreme coupon life.” Obviously she was being a little extreme herself, but what I think she meant was that I trim the financial “fat” where I’ve learned that I can. Admittedly, I used to be a self-proclaimed cheapskate. But let's be honest: People who worry about money like cheapskates don’t shop at Whole Foods or blow their savings on traveling to foreign countries every opportunity they get. So, I’m ixnaying “cheapskate” and embracing... "strategic prioritizer"? “extreme coupon life-r”?

Whatever you’d like to call it, here’s my savings tip for the week: Don’t be afraid to speak up at the cash register. “Do you give a student/military discount?” “I think that rang up incorrectly. It was labeled as [price] on the shelf.” Or, for goodwills, Craigslist transactions, or garage sales, “Would you take [x amount] instead?”

These things may seem simple, and nothing new to many who'll read this. But there's also many who balk at the idea, thinking that being so assertive is -- audacious? embarrassing? Whatever their reasoning, those people are free to enjoy their scruples. I’ll be eating organic food and cruising the River Seine.




**  F A V O R I T E  N E W  L I S T E N **

Mike Vass’ enchanting album, In the Wake of Neil Gunn



**  R E N E W E D  A P P R E C I A T I O N S  **

This last week I went on a sugar-free diet.

Let me stop right there and remind you that I don’t eat snickers bars or drink mocha frappucinos. No. This involved the removal of some big staples of my diet, such as granola, peanut butter, fruit for smoothies, and yes, even seemingly “innocent” foods like quinoa (carbs are carbs, and carbs = sugar). My meals started to consist of a heap of steamed broccoli and unsweetened yerba mate lattes. (Desperation leads to creativity, though; I found out that if you add almonds and Asian chili sauce to the broccoli, it ain’t half bad. I also learned to really like the subtlety of the unsweetened yerba.) By day four I had found enough loopholes that eating was no longer a complete chore.

I'm not attention-seeking or crazy; my digestive system was just out of whack, and a week of no sugar and lots of water and probiotics helped me get it back into place. But it made me realize how much sugar had found its way into my daily diet, and seriously renewed my appreciation for the wonderfulness that is food, and the ability to JUST EAT IT without dissecting it down to the molecular level. (I’m not bitter. Can’t you tell?) Also, my skin was clearer than it had been since the days I listened to Avril Lavigne and was impressed by Limited Too, with even deep red spots somehow disappearing. As much as I love a dewy complexion, though, I honestly think I love agave in my coffee more.


 **  F A V O R I T E  N E W  S A Y I N G  **

Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.


Proudly designed by Mlekoshi pixel perfect web designs