5 posts tagged “suze orman”

This morning I stopped at Starbucks on my way to read. I had a tall Skinny Vanilla Latte and it was good.

Three weeks in and I am done. The valuable lesson is that I do eat out too much. But instead of it being about the ease of eating out, it helped me see those meals are essentially my social life.

For the last three weeks, I have eaten nearly every meal alone and it was really starting to affect my attitude. And not for the better.

I've been getting crankier, which has kept me keeping pretty quiet (as to not offend folks more than normal), which in turn isolated me even more. A few days ago, a close friend called me out on it:

I really wish you'd call a halt to the eating out ban. I don't think that is healthy for anyone. Life is way too short. I wish you'd go to Starbucks and order your fav and enjoy.

It made me smile that she cared enough to say something. And it made me think, "She's right. This is stupid."  It got me to thinking about how isolating it'd been and freed me to break up with the idea.

I did good for 20 days, but it's over. Sorry Suze.

Today is the half-way mark in my quest to go one month without eating out. I had a clean week, but it is difficult. I think about eating out every day. Starbucks is probably been the hardest to give up. Pei Wei would be a distant second. I guess I see Starbucks as a treat. Not something I do every day, but I've probably thought about it every day. For instance, I have a "lab" appointment with my doctor this week. When I saw it on my calendar, I automatically thought of it as a time that I could stop at Starbucks after. Then I remembered.

Obviously I've not been as successful posting every day here. I think about it. I even have a list of potential topics. I sit at my Mac every night. I just don't write.

I love my iPhone. But after last months text charges, I signed up for the $5 for 200 minutes deal. Cause apparently 300+ individually paid texts equals $68. I am such a ding-dong sometimes.

Mom got great news this week. She went to the oncologist for her three month checkup. She's coming up on the "gap" pat of her prescription insurance already. That meant $900+ for 90 days. So I suggested she ask Dr. K if he knows if that drug maker (or other program) helps cover the costs. Instead he got up, brought her 90 days of pills and told her to come back when she ran out. He told her not to "sweat" it, that he'd keep her in meds. He is such a good guy. If I ever get cancer, he is so my guy. Oh, and all is well on the breast cancer front!

I'm going to Africa. In 121 days!

I had lunch with a friend today, but she paid. We tried a new Indian restaurant, but it wasn't that great. I'm glad mom is gone for the weekend so I don't have to resist temptation from her!

I've had thoughts every day about buying something to eat, but it only takes a sec for me to remember the challenge.

I have wrestled with buying Chinese stir-fry from a local grocery store (made fresh in front of you). I feel conflicted, wondering if it doesn't count as eating out (even if I take it home). I figure if I feel conflicted, it counts.

After my Godson's basketball game last night (last one of the season for me - boo!), I made several stops along the way home. But I hadn't had time to eat at home before the game. So I was hungry. It would've been so easy to just grab something. But I prevailed. And ate a candy bar at mom's house while I fed her cats. Maybe that wasn't so much of a win, it being candy and all.

Sunday morning usually means a trip to Starbucks. I'm kind of lost deciding what to do instead (oh, and there are lots of options around this house, let me tell you). I've had a small breakfast of fruit, a granola bar and oj, but something is definitely missing.

And this afternoon I'm going to see "Milk" with The Movie Club, and, you know, what's a movie without snacks? I am going to smuggle in a diet pepsi.

It's funny how once you can't have something, it's all you can think about!

Earlier in the month, I mentioned watching Suze Orman on the "Live Your Best Life Now" week on Oprah. At the time, she issued a 3 Step Challenge:

• For just one day, do not spend any money on anything.
• For just one week, do not use a credit card.
• For just one month, do not eat out at a restaurant.

The first two are very easy for me. Something I do all the time. The third would be the real challenge. One I've decided to take on for the month of February. No eating out at a restaurant. I'm including Starbucks, trips to the "little store" (at work) or a convenience store. No buying or eating of any food item that did not come from a grocery store.

The only gimme I will allow is if someone wants to take me out for lunch/dinner/coffee.

This will be especially hard for mom and I on the weekends. We talked about it yesterday and figured we'd spent about $60 on meals Saturday and Sunday (eating together). And, we're both lazy cooks. This will definitely be a challenge!