Reverb 10- 11 Things

Prompt: 11 Things. What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

I absolutely love this topic (like, really, really like it!), yet I think it'll be tough to come with tangible things.  Topher's ideas? Twitter and American Idol.  First, I can't give up Twitter, as I'm not on it nearly as much as I'd like to be (I think I have like 500 tweets total in a year. womp womp. sad.) and I've never seen an actual episode of American Idol. Not sad.

So. 11 things I don't need.

1. Buying lunch. This is going to be difficult.  Often I have lunch in the form of soup in a drawer in my desk, but I get lazy or bored with the thought of low sodium carrots and I give in to my co workers going to Chipotle and I join in.  It's costing too much money and too much unnecessary eating.  I always feel so awful after eating an entire burrito bowl.  In 2011, I'm going to give this up except for twice a month.  


2. Extra poundage.  I did a great job losing the pounds for the wedding, landing about ten pounds above my ideal weight before the wedding.  I call it my ideal weight because when I think back over the last ten years, 140-145 is where my body naturally lands when I don't interfere.  When I lived in Rome for five months, I ate whatever I felt like and walked a lot.  I loved it, and without any freaking out by me, my body self regulates to this weight.  I'm far too much over this weight, and I'm going to get back there- see below for how.


3. Debt not related to my education. Topher and I only have one credit card, and unfortunately I've had to use it too often these past few months for doctor's appointments and the like.  I also hate my car loan, and am determined to get rid of all of this excess debt, outside of my college loans (which are pretty minimal) in 2011.  I'll do this by paying off the credit card and hopefully selling my car for adventures to come.


4. Stupid arguments with Topher. When I get tired or frustrated, I too often take it out on my husband.  It's wrong and dumb and I'm going to stop doing it by reminding myself that it's rarely his fault and I need to chill.the.f.out.


5. Excuses for not being active. So I commute, and it's dark, and I feel fat.  These aren't good reasons for continuing the cycle.  I am going to find activities I like to do- like walking Boomer with Topher or jogging with him (sometimes) or walking while watching a movie on my iPod at the gym- and do them as often as I can because I know it will make me feel better.


6. Guilt associated with eating.  I recently read Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi- and I plan on giving a bigger review soon- and I was incredibly struck by her current philosophy on eating.  She eats what she wants, when she wants it.  When you remove a stigma from a food- when you stop labeling it as "bad" or "good" and when you realize that you really could actually have it tomorrow or the next day or next month- you stop freaking out and bingeing on it.  I am very guilty of this.  I'll bake and tell myself "just eat four cookies tonight because you can't tomorrow," or when I go out to eat, I'll "splurge" on something extra creamy because it's a "special" night out and I'll just eat soup for the rest of the week.  It's so dumb and creates this vicious cycle of eating crap, feeling bad about it, trying to curb my eating in some unsuccessful manner, and repeating it all over again.  So, I started letting myself eating whatever I wanted.  On Friday night, Topher and I stopped at a little Tex-Mex chain and I got a taco salad.  After about ten bites, I was full.  Instead of telling myself I had to eat the whole thing, or I should, I stopped.  On Saturday, we stopped at a great grocer that also sells pre-made food and my favorite desserts in the world, including this mini, personal sized Mississippi Mud Pie.  In college, when I stopped there a lot (it was right next to the restaurant I worked as a server), I would eat the whole thing in one sitting.  This time, I realized half was more than enough to fulfill my chocolate craving.  I didn't finish it until tonight, and I wasn't really hungry for dinner after ward.  Not healthy, but also not feeling guilty about it.  It's likely a fluke, but in just four days of thinking about food this way (since being hungry again after being sick) I've lost two pounds.


7. Guilt related to domestic duties. I work a lot.  I feel like my brain is constantly thinking about how to be better at my job of supporting new teachers, and it takes up a lot of my mind's capacity and time and energy.  For these and many other reasons, Topher essentially runs our home.  He cooks, he takes out the trash, usually unloads the dishwasher, walks the dog, makes sure our bills our paid and manages our finances in general.  He often has to remind me of stupid things, and I hate it.  I hate feeling like a sub-par wife and housemate because I can't take the time to do my fair share of the required elements of living.  In 2011, I'm going to get over the fact that I really just don't have as much free time as others (including my husband), but I'm also going to dedicate myself to doing more of my share.  I want to be true halves.


8. Messiness. My "room" and side of the bed is always cluttered. Covered in clothes. I'm constantly behind in laundry, and I sometimes don't see the cup of water that I left two days ago.  There's no real excuse for this, and I'm getting rid of this.  It makes me stressed to see every night and day, and makes me stressed because I know it drives Topher crazy.  


9. Another evening in front of the TV or computer. Instead, I'm going to set up and attend cello lessons. I'm going to knit.  I'm going to read, just read.  I'm going to be active or simply talk with Topher.  Who needs 7 straight nights of blogging or watching pointless shows?


10. Over-spending. I make more than enough money to save.  My bank automatically deposits 100 dollars into a savings account, and every month this year, I've had to transfer it back- to pay for those dumb lunches I've mentioned or the like.  This stops now.  I'm going to be sure our finances are truly blended and only allow myself enough to live in, with one or two splurges a month.  I want to save and build some sort of nest for adventures to come.


11. Time wasted that prevents me from keeping in contact with those I love. I'm notorious for not responding to personal emails, facebook messages, texts and personal phone calls. I'm not proud of this fact, and I'm done with it.  I need to remember my blue tooth to return those calls, and even initiate them.  I'm going to treat my personal email and calls like my work ones- 48 hour response time.  There's no reason for my loved ones to be treated as if they are less important than others I professionally interact with. 


I feel like I could go on, now that I'm done with 11.  Anything resonate with you?