So far, so good! That is the state of my Rest.
It is only a few days in, but if feels like MUCH longer. I have begun to get used to no cream or sugar in my coffee. And, no eating out so far. I’ve skirted opportunities to go out and people have been gracious in meeting me elsewhere. I’ve had several friends and family share their stories of starting in December, of finding a gift card from last year, of giving nice things away, because they were not being used and many other delightful accounts. I also have one friend who shared coffee with me that she wasn’t using and another, coffee filters that she had too many of. I guess they are anticipating that I might run out again!
I realized I only played Candy Crush once since last January and I am NOT going back. There is much more worthy of my time. Not that Candy Crush is evil per se, but even though I didn’t play compulsively, there was a tug to play when I might have been spending focused time with my husband or sleeping in preparation for getting up at the necessary time. Grateful is the emotion that describes this revelation. Well done last years Rest!
I forgot and commented on a fb post. I am trying to avoid facebook UNLESS it is art business or my pet project, My January Rest! I WANT the interaction on The Rest. Also, I looked at a necklace (no shopping!!!) but this is how it happened…and how easily it happens! I’m NOT in the market for a necklace, but we were debating a color…turquoise or sea foam green, so I looked it up online and under turquoise a beautiful necklace popped up. and I looked, then realized WOW, how easily those little distractions, innocently conceived, happen! Hop, hop, hopping down the rabbit trails.
I’ve been happily pitching sales flyers (before looking) and deleting marketing emails…so long! I hope to have time to set up a filter to send store marketing emails into Pending for 30 days, then IF (after January, of course) I am looking for a deal or coupon, I can look in Pending. Otherwise, I don’t see them.
No groceries purchased yet except for milk. We went through the freezer and made a hit list. Pantry is next. We made ham stock and potato soup using my neighbor’s infamous hambone, hambone. I have a couple more hambones too because I didn’t do a good job of making soup last fall.
I threw away a package of starch balls only to retrieve them out of guilt. They were suppose to be boba for bubble tea, but the instructions were in Chinese and I cannot read Chinese, yet. When I tried to cook them, they disintegrated. I was going to try to make a version of tapioca with these large balls, It might have been good and it was going to be fun, but instead, they are down the drain, literally. Ew.
Not only am I using things out our freezer, God has a sense of humor. We have a house guest and she brought me some onion and peppers that her husband wasn’t going to use! They promptly went into the chili made with leftover sloppy joe. Gone and yum. Also, when I make sloppy joe, I will purposely keep some back for quick chili or taco soup. It works great and because we don’t eat a lot of meat, a little bit, already cooked worked fantastically.
I explained that while we will be eating, it might be interesting eating with us this month.
We found several bags of green beans, so they will be a staple this month. I nuked some, then added some EVOO and sea salt and they were tasty. There’s more in the fridge and several more bags in the freezer…I’ll try to make them a few different ways for variety.
Canned oysters expired by years? Where did they come from and why didn’t I see them last year?! Does this happen to anyone else? Or what about the bags of stuff from my freezer, that I think was corn? Where was that when I was looking last year?! They are gone. I am a staunch proponent of proper food handling and storage. Somethings are not worth salvaging, I mean eating, and these were clearly in that category. Ew and double ew.
I’m now using up my daughter’s cream rinse that she couldn’t get out of the pump. I think has a fourth of a large bottle left. I’ll be using it in February and perhaps, next January!
I found a very interesting use for lip balm. I have a chocolate mint lip balm that smelled great but had an off taste, so I decided to use in on my scratchy, chapped heels and by morning, they were not prickly anymore!
I’m grateful that my daughter is doing a Rest of her own. She isn’t purchasing candy or snacks this month. She has plenty from Christmas, but what is in the store always looks better. She was drooling over a package of peanut butter bites and I said, “You know, we could make our own with crackers and peanut butter?” She had an amazed look with a smile on her face! Our kids think everything is pre-made and pre-packaged. It never dawned on her that she could make it and she would rather buy than make. But when buying isn’t an option, making sounds better than doing without and that goes for our kids too!
December 31st, while we were purchasing balsamic vinegar–a true staple in our home for my homemade dressing–she wanted me to purchase a different flavor. I said, “No.” She really wanted it, to which I reminded her that she had money and then she said, “No.” That was when I incentivized her. I shared IF she made her goal of no purchases of snacks or candy for MJR, I’d buy it for her in February. The fact that we were shopping for vinegar on the day before MJR began shows how big a priority it was!
There’s more, but this is plenty for you to consume. I love that the Rest slows us down and causes us to renegotiate our decisions, one choice at a time.
What choices are you making? Have you re-thought anything? Are you joining in the Rest? Try it for a day, a week or the whole month.
Uncovered 