Gin & Tonic...hold the gin.

Well, $H*! I didn’t exactly stop cursing last week, and not for lack of trying. The challenge was still worthwhile, because it made me realize when & where I do it. (It’s mostly around Ben or when I’m alone). It’s also helping me to do it less often now.

On Monday, I began my Week Without Alcohol. It conveniently coincides with a I’m-trying-to-lose-weight week J I enjoy drinking, and I enjoy the feeling of getting drunk & letting loose* once in a while. However, I don’t feel like I rely on it to relax. It’s just a tasty way to do it once in a while! J I’m hoping this week will help me lose weight & remind me that I don’t have to drink to have fun on the weekend.

I’ve got a Game Night this Friday night, followed by a very early morning (4am!!) for a relay race. I’m volunteering, not running, but there will likely be celebration afterward. I’ll be booze-free for both. If anyone needs a ride home, I’m your DD this week!

*Do you notice how everyone misspells lose/loose? It drives me insane. win:lose::tight:loose , people!

$#*^!&@^!

This week, I went with my mom’s suggestion: A Week Without Swearing. I’m not too bad when it comes to cursing, but I’m definitely more crass than I used to be. I’m pretty sensitive to people cursing when there are children within earshot, I don’t use foul language when my grandma’s around, and I know when to behave myself. But already, this week is making me realize that I curse a lot at home or when I’m...by myself! I guess I hold it in until I’m ready to unload on an inanimate object, a bad driver (with my windows rolled up, of course), or my own mistakes. If you’ve known me for very long, you know that I usually say I’m “honked off” if I’m annoyed. If I stub my toe or my computer crashes, I might mutter “frick on a stick!” (ala Elliot Reid). You probably also know that if I’m joking around with you at the bar, angry, nervous, or well…just want to emphasize my point, I might drop the occasional F-bomb. Sorry, Mom & Dad.

This week will be more of a mental game than previous weeks. Prepare to meet mild-mouthed Nikki!

D'oh!

I’ve been eating at the table by myself, reading magazines cover to cover, and playing online games to keep myself away from the TV. Then I went tailgating. Maybe it was the beer, or maybe it’s because I don’t typically watch sports on TV. In any case, I forgot. I watched the Husker game on TV at a bar. And I didn’t even realize I had cheated until a friend pointed it out to me later that night as we talked about the game. “So…is it this week or next week you’re giving up TV?” D’oh.

One more day of this until I can go back to basking in television’s warm glowing warming glow…

Cheating on the TV

I’m halfway through my week without TV. So far, it has NOT made me more active, which I had predicted. It HAS made me:

- Fall asleep faster

- Use Facebook & play online games non-stop

- Get ready for work a little faster

- Cook/clean more

- Question what qualifies as “TV”

- Listen to a lot of “This American Life”

You’d think Ben & I would be spending a little more quality time together instead of sitting in front of the idiot box. You’d be wrong. Ben eats dinner in front of the TV while I eat at the table and play on my laptop. He watches TV in the bedroom while I try a new recipe.

I’ve been home by myself a lot these past couple days, and it’s been a little weird not to have the TV on, but I don’t miss it half as much as I thought I would. I still see bits & pieces of shows at work, and I still get to watch stupid YouTube videos online. Although I haven’t watched any full shows online on Hulu or movies on Netflix, I have watched a lot of video online on sites like ted.com or wimp.com. I wouldn’t classify a funny :30 cat video as “TV”, but when the link is a 2:00 clip taken from a British TV show – does that count? How about a 20 minute lecture? I guess I didn’t realize how much programming I watched away from my TV. Sorry to cheat on you, television. I'm seeing the radio and the internet on the side.

My first FAIL!

Well, I almost made it. I didn’t spend any money until Saturday at 7:30pm, when I donated $20 at a fundraiser dinner. Sabotaged my week without spending, but it was for a worthy cause.

Friday and Saturday were significantly more difficult than the rest of the week. Since I played in a kayak polo tournament in Omaha both days (and stayed the night in between), I needed to pack my own meals. FAIL! Ben bailed me out and gave me the peanut butter sandwich and Triscuits he’d packed for his day in Omaha. (He went to Burger King instead) Phew! Plus, my teammates are the nicest people ever and kept giving me food to snack on between games. (Thanks, Honey Badgers!) No hotel cost, because my friend Jessica lent us her guest room! Here’s where it gets a little iffy: Ben & I BOTH used my car to get up to Omaha, because we both had events there. We’ve also both been using my car this week. I don’t know for sure if the remaining gas in my tank would’ve lasted. In any case, Ben put some gas in my car. He also bought me dinner on Friday & beef jerky/Sun chips for my Saturday snacks during games. It’s fair to say that even though I didn’t technically spend money, Ben bailed me out.

This challenge definitely made me think twice about how much I spend & how much I need. I didn’t think that my standard of living had changed that much in 10 years, but I go out to eat way more and spend money on things I didn’t used to – like getting my nails done and buying things for the house. This week made me look into the back corners of my kitchen cabinets to really inventory what I had – I had to get creative with a couple meals. I hope I continue to do that & waste less.

This week I’m giving up TV at home. Forewarning: I’ve already failed. I turned on the CBS Early show while ironing my dress for work this morning. It’s ingrained in me. Since I can’t “block” TV like I did Facebook, I may have to unplug our TVs or hide the remote controls this week. Yeah, it’s that bad. Due to the nature of my job, I’ll still have TV at work, but I don’t really consider that cheating. “Watching TV” at work is more like “having Ch. 10/11 programming on in the background while I may or may not be at my desk, and intermittently monitoring promos & PSAs which air during the commercial breaks”. Trust me, it’s a far cry from kicking back and watching Simpsons on the couch. Here goes…

I rule!

Last night, I made up a cheesy chicken/broccoli/rice casserole in the crockpot which turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever made in there! (probably cuz it had fatty cream soup in it – ha!). No dessert? No problem. Things tend to show up around the office. Too many things! Today there were banana bars from a birthday, homemade black bean brownies from a reporter, and the guest dietitian on the noon news even brought frozen banana "ice cream" down to our lunch table! I’m starting to think I could go a week without bringing my lunch at ALL and still scrape a meal together.

Tomorrow, we have a birthday in our department, so I was a little worried about what I could make & share. Found a red velvet cake mix in the pantry – bingo! So I made some cupcakes but had to make frosting. Most recipes I found called for milk. Ben was sweet.

Me: All of these call for milk, but we don’t have any!

Ben: Do you need me to go get some?

Me: No, I can’t buy anything.

Ben: But *I* could buy it so you could make it.

Me: No, I can’t ask you to buy stuff for me.

Ben: Ok. (pause) If you want milk, just give me the signal (taps nose)

A tempting offer, but I didn’t cheat! Found a frosting recipe that worked out great. A little bittersweet, but no one turns down free food at the office, so I’m not too worried. Treat made, no money spent. I rule!

Cheapskate

I’m a pretty good cheapskate!

Gripe: No Coke Zero

Solution: “borrowed” some of Ben’s regular Coke from the mini fridge

Gripe: No grocery shopping

Solution: Fresh tomatoes from mother-in-law’s garden. Who’s got an onion?

Gripe: No fast food

Solution: Producers brought back free food from the Burrito Shack shoot

Gripe: No eating out

Solution: I found a gold mine! Gift cards to the Olive Garden! I’m hangin’ on to these in case I’m desperate for a dinner date later this week. In the meantime, I’m getting creative with my crock pot.

Gripe: Couldn’t buy an ice wrap bandage at Walgreens

Solution: Used freezer packs on my leg & ankle. I’ve used duct tape with them before, & I’ll do it again. Yay for ghetto remedies!

…most of my gripes are food-related (and very minor) so far, but I’m sure I’ll run into some other obstacles. Honestly, I don't need fast food or restaurants, but I'm just excited to have found work-arounds. Fortunately, unless I’m overlooking an event on my calendar, I don’t foresee any gifts I have to buy this week. I don’t really shop for fun, so I’m not missing clothes shopping, etc. I’ll be in Omaha this weekend for a kayak polo tournament (paid for last week), so I’m wondering if I’ll run into some miscellaneous expenditures: rentals, fees, beer? J

I'm spent.

I think I could become a permanent vegetarian pretty easily. When I started this week, I thought I would miss meat a lot. I don’t. A lot of times, it’s just convenient.

Saturday, I went to the Huskers’ season opener against Chattanooga. Although there weren’t really any vegetarian options at the tailgate, I took the turkey off of a turkey sandwich and ate a couple cookies. Plus, there’s no meat in beer – which really worked out in my favor this week. After the game, we went to BisonWitches, and I had no problem finding vegetarian options for a soup/sandwich meal. +1 for artichokes on the veggie sandwich!

Yesterday, I used fake meat crumbles for the first time. I made a breakfast scramble-thingy with potatoes, mushrooms, and soy crumbles. Soooo gooood. I also went to a wedding, which had surprisingly nice options for vegetarians! I had a green salad, a really good pasta salad, green beans, & a roll. So, even in some tricky situations, it really wasn’t difficult to avoid meat.

Overall, I think my week without meat helped me get more fruits & veggies into my diet, made me read menus more carefully, and made me more conscious of what I eat.

This week, I’m going A Week Without…spending. I already pulled into the Walgreens parking lot this afternoon and had to pull away. This could be rough. I didn’t prepare, so I’m thankful I have a full tank of gas. I’m also regretting not buying Coke Zero. As it turns out, I’ll be giving that up for another week. Ha! I’m not counting things that are on auto-pay (I’m not going to rearrange a gym payment around this), and I’m going to try my darndest not to rely on Ben and ask him to buy things. I guess I’ll be cooking a lot this week!

Meatless is effortless (so far)

I am halfway through my week without meat. Weekdays are easy! My breakfasts are typically vegetarian anyway, so that’s not a sacrifice. Lunch & dinner are vegetarian some of the time, so that hasn’t been too big of an adjustment either. Nutritionally, I think I’m doing about the same, but it *is* making me want to cook a little more. I made Moroccan Lentil Soup and some mini veggie pizzas this week. It’s also making me examine menus differently. I had a vegetarian sub at Jimmy John’s. It was good but fatty because of all of the cheese (I normally have turkey breast/no mayo). The (cute) employee at Oso Burrito recommended the curry burrito with tofu. It was awesome & fed me for two meals!

I’ve had a pretty normal week though - no lunch meetings or parties with pre-planned menus...until now. Tonight was our staff BBQ. Hy-Vee grilled burgers & brats, so I handed them a pack of veggie brats and asked them to throw them on the grill. Tasty! Someone there also mentioned that vegetarians leave a much smaller carbon footprint. I have no idea if that’s true, but if it is, I may make this experiment more of a habit!

Saturday is game day, and I don’t think many of the tailgates or stadium vendors will have a lot of vegetarian (or healthy) entrees. Plus, Sunday I have a wedding to go to, & I know it’s going to have really good food – but vegetarian is doubtful. Maybe I’ll be eating a lot of salad and cake?