The Snooze (and Shopping Hiatus)

You Snooze, You Lose

That couldn't be more true. Some of you commented on the last post that hitting the snooze is a bad habit from which you suffer as well. Glad to hear I'm not alone! The longer I work, the more I hit snooze. It's bad. (It also doesn't help that the Blackberry alarm's first option is "Snooze for 5 min.") And I am 100% totally and completely convinced that the more you snooze, the more you lose. In other words, not waking up immediately after the first alarm blares means more difficulty getting up when you actually decide that you cannot call in sick and spend the day dreaming away.

I typically find myself in one of 2 scenarios:

1. Alarm blares. I can't bear the thought of getting out of my warm and comfy bed because I didn't get enough sleep last night (probably b/c I was up way too late watching Netflix episodes of Law & Order: SVU). Lola is adorably snuggled up against me. Snooze at least 3 times before getting up.

2. Alarm blares. I can't bear the thought of getting out of my warm and comfy bed because I've been having a great night of sleep, at least 8 hours, and I want more more more. I am, no doubt, in the middle of one of those deep, vivid and pleasant dreams. Each time I hit snooze and shut my eyes once more, I am immediately transported back to my dream. Sleep is so good. Snooze at least 3 times before getting up.

Both scenarios suck. The moral of the story? Don't hit snooze. It's bad news. Every article and blog post I've read about "becoming an early riser" says to set your alarm every day for the exact same time and to stretch and spring out of bed immediately after the alarm goes off. The first time.

Admittedly, I did not follow this rule this morning. I could not, for the life of me, fall asleep last night despite being in bed by 10. I knew I had to be at work before 8 a.m. today (that's REALLY early for moi) so I knew I needed lots of sleep. I didn't get it. I tossed and turned until 2 a.m., and even when I heard the alarm go off, I knew I had yet to fall into a deep reverie. I hit snooze twice.

So, from now on, there's a new policy in my house. Absolutely NO SNOOZIN'. Who's with me??

Shopping Hiatus (Attempt Deux)




Remember last year when I implemented a self-imposed shopping ban for a month and failed miserably? Yeah. This time we're doing things differently. Following suit from Joslyn's shopping hiatuses, I'm going to attempt to not buy extraneous and unnecessary items, but if I do mess up (and inevitably I will), I will come clean on the blog and move on. That way, there's no guilt or pressure but I'm still held accountable. Sound good?

No Impact Man

I'm not sure if you know, but Whole Foods is doing this rad thing called "Let's Retake Our Plates." It's all about knowing where your food comes from and your decisions about what you eat affect the entire planet. One of the fun things involved with this project is that Whole Foods around the country will be screening certain films relating to this concept of conscious consumption. One of the films is Food, Inc. (no surprise there), and my friend Jenny and I are going to go see it when it airs here in Austin (Jenny's going veggie for a month - yay!). As I scrolled through the list of films, another one caught my eye... No Impact Man.



As soon as I got home from work today, I started watching via Netflix (yes yes I re-subscribed...) and was immediately enthralled. This family spent an entire year attempting to eliminate their carbon footprints. Oh and they live New York City. UH HUH! They did things like get rid of the TV, stopped eating out and buying any kind of packaged food, committed to no riding in cars or traveling by plane, stopped making garbage, used cloth diapers (yuck) and... for 6 months, they GAVE UP ELECTRICITY IN THEIR HOME. Uh huh... yeah. I'm talkin' lots of candlelit dinners. I'm talkin' weird makeshift refrigerators (that ultimately didn't work). And they're not like hippie alternative New Yorkers, they're like... the real deal. Fifth Avenue residing, designer clothes wearing professionals.

The film is so good. SO good. And you know what? It kind of slapped me in the face. I try to be "green". I carry reusable shopping bags, I rarely buy bottled water (and only when it's my only option), I recycle as much as possible (my apt doesn't recycle glass and b/c I can't bear the thought of just throwing it away, I save it and either drop it off at Whole Foods or take it to my friends' houses who have recyling bins), I never brush my teeth with the water running, and I turn off the lights as much as possible. And yet...

I find that I've gotten lazy. I use way more ziploc bags than I should, I create an enormous amount of garbage for one person (and two pets), I subscribe to way too many magazines (half of which I don't end up reading), I keep the TV on when I'm not watching it, I use baby wipes and cleaning wipes like they're going out of style (OCD much?), I stopped buying recycled toilet paper (b/c it kind of feels like sandpaper), and I just... I got lazy. It's really easy to do that in this capitalist, consumerist society, especially when we're so far removed from the effect of all this consumerism and waste. This film reminded me of just how important it is to think twice about my carbon footprint.

I'm inspired, and I hope you will watch the film and be inspired, too.

April Showers

I CANNOT believe today is the last day of March! I came across my March goals today, hastily scribbled on a legal pad at work, and realized I didn't do too well. Well about 50/50...

1. Complete 21-day kickstart - SUCCESS!

2. Save money for NYC trip in April - SUCCESS! I am extra proud of myself for this one!

3. Attend two yoga classes - FAIL. Not even one...

4. Don't get angry - Um... success and fail? While I find that I let things go much easier these days, there are certain buttons of mine that, when pressed, lead to some pretty ugly behavior. Working on it!

Personally, I'm THRILLED that it's April! I have so much going on this month, I know it'll fly by. Here's a sneak peek at my April happenings...

- Trip to Dallas for Easter festivities

- Trip to Houston for work (Bonus: Get to see my law school BFF (Remember Pony?)!!!)

- Trip to NYC!!! I am SO excited for this trip, I can hardly sit still. I'll be there for 4 nights/5 days, and BONUS, Ma Soeur will be there for part of the time, too! I adore my NYC friends and can't wait to explore the city (and check out lots of vegan eateries!). 22 days and counting!

So basically, I'm taking lots of trips. :) Might as well make some April goals, oui?

1. Spend more time in the kitchen! I've noticed that I've been a little lazy since the Kickstart ended, and I find myself not prepared when it's dinner-time. More prep and more time in the kitchen will remedy that situation. For example, last night I made Chana Masala for tonight's din!

2. One "long" walk with Lola per week. Taking more walks w/ Lola was one of my Anti-New Year's Resolutions. So far, it's been a big fat fail, but last weekend, I purposely took her out on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and had a great time. I get exercise. She gets exercise. It's a win-win situation!

3. Stop hitting snooze. I'm planning an entire blog post about this one. I am a notorious snoozer, and I think it's really screwing up my chances of ever becoming an early morning riser.

4. Declutter. No need to explain that... you saw my paper stash.


So tell moi, what're your April goals? Any fun Spring trips planned? I wanna know!

Mexican Crack

Look at it. In all its bottled glory. Yes, my friends, that is the infamous Mexican Coke that has, in many ways, taken over my life. (Okay, not really.) You see, Mexican Coke is made with sugar. That's right, no high fructose corn syrup here, just sugar. Now sugar is arguably just as bad as high fructure corn syrup, but OH, it sure does make this coke taste 10x better than this crappy U.S. coca cola we've got in the States.

In the past, I've reserved Mexican Coke for tres special occasions and enjoyed one once or twice every couple weeks. I had to buy them individually at Central Market, a local Whole Foods-esque grocery store, and they cost almost $2 a pop (the bottles are also bigger, which = way too much cola for this chick). But this past weekend, one of the partners at the firm (my office BFF) who knows of my intense love for Mexican Coke picked up a case for me at Costco. (Bless his soul.) 24 bottles. $16.99. Heaven.

Now, I intend to ONLY have one per week, so in theory, this case will last me 24 weeks. Let's see how that goes...

Vlog: Excuses Excuses!

Bonjour, mes amies!! Guess what? I followed through on my promise - voila a vlog! It explains... well, you'll see. ;) Psst you also get to see my darlings Puffin & Lola in action.



Not to sound crazy vain, but I seriously don't know WHAT was going on with my hair during this video. I promise it looked better... here's a pic I snapped as I was waiting for my friend. See? Normal hair. The temp dropped about 30 degrees last night, and today was FREEZING! I didn't mind though b/c I had one more opportunity to don my fave faux leopard. :)



Btw we ended up seeing Alice in Wonderland instead of Shutter Island (sold out). It was really good! Very... Tim Burton. Helene Bonham Carter was INCREDIBLE. I could've done without the dancing bit though...

Slacker

I know I've totally been slacking on zee blog... my apologies! I've been trying to blog daily on vegan tomato for the 21-day kickstart, so Hang On Little Tomato has been un peu neglected. But I promise an update coming soon. Actually, I'm out of town for work Friday and Saturday, but I'll be back Saturday night, and I plan to film a vlog JUST for you! I'm gonna get dolled up for a fun date with a friend that night so I figured it'd be a good time to bust out the flip. ;) Merci for your patience!

Capitalism & Le Weekend

{DIY Fabric Poms, originally spotted on Luphia loves}

Ever since I rejoined Netflix, I've been on a movie watching kick. Wednesday night I watched New York, I Love You and adored it, as I knew I would, and last night I watched Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. Michael Moore... well you either love him or you hate him, but I will say this - I learned more about the financial crisis and bank bailout from this flick than I ever did from watching CNN.

Anyway, back to what's really important here - TGIF!!! My weekend is full of visiting with old friends (one came all the way from Zurich!), dining out, squeezing in a yoga class, and hopefully finally making it to the Boggy Creek Farms Market on Saturday morning. What're you up to?