Revive Ye Olde Blogge, or Make a Fresh Start?

That is the question.  As you probably noticed, I did a bit of redecorating. I was sorting through my thousands of digital photos, which are only as organized as iPhoto's default settings (they're roughly sorted by date and otherwise a mess) when I found my old blog header from over a decade ago.  It remains one of my favorites. I still have that clunky-cute MacBook, and it still works, though of course the OS can't update. I still have that coffee mug too.

2018 is grinding to a creaking, rattling conclusion.  Parts are falling off at this point. It's a scary time, and it'll get worse before it gets better, I'm afraid.  I've spent much of the past two years engrossed in watching the national shitshow unfold, and calling, donating, writing postcards, doing what I can as a little grandma in Florida, and we HAVE made big strides toward saving democracy.  We are just days from a new Congress, and a new sheriff in town (in her badass red coat and shades), and that's a very good thing.  Staying engaged, speaking up:  that won't stop, it can't stop. My granddaughters' futures depend on what we adults do now. Hell, MY future depends on it - I'm afraid to look at my 401k right now. 

Meanwhile, while I hate that overused phrase "self care," it really is very important. I've been a bit better at that in the past year, but there's plenty of room for improvement.  I've been walking more, doing yoga semi-regularly, and in November, following my daughter's example, I rejoined WW.

I'd been a Weight Watchers online member a few years ago but  gave it up out of boredom with tracking and counting and blah blah blah. Snore.  I was intrigued by the description of their new program and they were running another one of their frequent specials, and I figured I'd give it a try.  I'm down about 7 lbs. so far, 8 lbs from my first goal, and loving it.  I don't really participate in the chatty stuff, I just track my food and activity, but it's working! It's really easy!

So WW is one thing I'll definitely take with me into the new year.  Otherwise, I'm making some changes.

I'd been thinking about this for some time when I got an email from Rachael Herron (I'm subscribed to her mailing list).  She described her 2019 plan to cut back on spending, and in the email discussed her online shopping, and the lure of Buy with One Click.  I was laughing and cringing at the same time, it sounded SO very familiar. (Hi, I'm Catherine, I have an Amazon Prime problem. And a BookBub problem. And to a lesser degree, an Etsy and Zulily problem.)   I love all of those sites, but I also have belatedly figured out that I've spent too much money, $1.99 at a time, for most of the past year. I don't drop hundreds at a time on designer clothes or handbags, I almost never eat out, I don't even buy Starbucks, but damn, I have been blind to how much I do spend on "bargains."  I mean, some are very legit bargains: I'd been looking at a particular tote bag for work for months but it was over $100, so fuhgeddaboudit, and then I found it on an online discount site for like, $24.99, and SCORE! But still, did I really, really need it?  No, I did not. It was just "too good to pass up!"

I don't just do this online.  I am also the queen of bargain hunting for BOGO cleaning products, cosmetics, etc.  I have enough toothpaste, mascara, foundation, body lotion and other grooming supplies to easily get me through much of 2019. I hereby vow to CHECK THE CABINETS before assuming I need anything, because I probably bought it and forgot it. I'll replace expired sunscreen, that is all.

I do this with crafting supplies too.  I do not need to buy any yarn, beads, markers, notebooks, etc. etc. etc. for a long time.

Rachael is going to do a year of buying less - I am too. I'm going to structure my pledge a bit differently, though - I'm going cold turkey on shopping, other than for consumable items, for the first quarter of 2019.  Why a quarter, you ask?  If you saw my sorry ass wardrobe, you'd understand. By the time the weather turns really hot again, which for us kicks in right around April, I am going to need clothes, especially if WW, walking, and yoga keep working for me.  At the end of the first quarter I will assess my wardrobe and add what I need. And I'll bet that if I stop mindlessly spending $2 here and $20 there and one-clicking on Amazon for three months, I'll be able to afford a trip to the outlet mall.

I am not going on a no-shopping plan just for three months; I do plan to do it for the entire year; but every quarter I will pause and evaluate where I am, what, if anything, I genuinely need, and how much money I've saved.

So I've been making a list of topics to blog about in 2019, and I'm still sorting out whether that means reviving BLD or creating something new.  But when I found my old blog header photo, I felt like it was a sign that BLD should continue.