A Penny Saved

A very happy April to you! The first quarter of 2019 is in the books, so I thought I'd start with a Take It or Leave It update. So far, I've tried making twelve small changes in my life and decided to keep most of them, which is great...but the flip side is that I started losing track of what I'm supposed to be doing and when. So I set up a spreadsheet to organize what I need to do every day, every other day, or a few times a week. I think that's going to help, and hopefully I won't have a hot mess on my hands by mid-year.

April is also the month for Blogging A to Z. I'm not doing that this time around but will be visiting as many blogs as I can. I really like seeing the fun, smart, wise, and poignant themes people come up with. And I met a wonderful group of bloggers last year, whose blogs I still very much enjoy.

All right, back to Take It or Leave It...

I love a bargain and always feel good when I can save a bit of money, so one might assume I'm a whiz with coupons. I'm not. For years, my MO was to cut them out and then find them crumpled in the bottom of my purse three weeks later. These days, I'm inundated with coupons and "special offers" from all sides, so I thought I'd devote a week to trying to maximize my savings potential.

Digital coupons are much easier to use than paper ones and do not result in purse trash, so those were my go-tos at the grocery store. Before I went to shop, I scrolled through the store's app and clicked on the coupons I thought I might use. This took some time and patience and honestly didn't result in much savings over and above the store's sale prices. Ditto for Target. Maybe I didn't buy enough, or didn't buy the right things, but it really didn't seem worth my while.

Kohl's is a different story. Even my sons, who are not shoppers, know not to ever pay full price for anything at Kohl's. My 20% off mail coupon was digitally upgraded to 30% off, plus an additional $10 savings. That's all very well and good, but the thing about coupons is that I often end up buying things I don't need, from a box of crackers to a polka-dotted jacket. Stores know this, of course, which kind of makes me resent the whole process. Plus, having to download all the various apps, each which requires setting up a separate account so I can receive dozens of emails I don't want, drives me nuts.

I didn't do as much shopping this week as I thought I might, but, hey, not buying something is like saving 100%, so I no doubt came out ahead. Going forward, I will still look for a good deal for big ticket items, clothing, and admission fees to theme parks and the like. For routine purchases, however, I just don't have the commitment to make the coupon lifestyle pay off, so this one is a Leave It.

The Pen is Mellower Than the Sword

(Hello, last Wednesday of March. Where did you come from??) As part of my resolution-making way back in January, I decided I would learn a new skill this year. For some reason, my brain settled on calligraphy. I don't really know why, except that I do love writing with a nice pen on nice paper. Not long after that, I was poking around in Barnes and Noble and came across Suvana Lin's Chinese Calligraphy Workbook: 50 Characters to Inspire PEACE and CALM. (Yes, capitalized and everything, so you know it must be true.) 

I had thought I would start with Ye Olde English Calligraphy. But I was intrigued by the idea of inspiring peace and/or calm, and Lin's book is pretty to look at and very straightforward. A few key points about the process:

"Center."

• China's earliest form of written communication is oracle shell writing, which dates back approximately 3,500 years.
• The Chinese consider calligraphy to be a regimen to calm the mind and nurture the heart.
• Traditional calligraphers make their own ink by grinding an ink stick in water on an ink stone or slab. This has the additional benefit of warming up the hand and wrist.
• The preferred paper is Xuan paper, made of 40-80% elm bark.
• Each character belongs to a "radical," which is like a root. The radical for waterfall, for example, is water.
• The 8 basic strokes are always done in order.

I'm sorry to report that I did not grind my own ink. Instead, I used a brush marker I picked up from the craft store. The book includes plenty of practice space, so I didn't feel the need to track down the special elm bark paper, either. Each day, I practiced for at least fifteen minutes. As advised in the book, I started with the easiest character: one--a single, straight horizontal line. In addition to representing the number one, it also means "only," "single-minded," "special," and "unique." 

Over the course of the week, I grew fairly comfortable tracing even the more elaborate characters but was less successful winging it on blank paper. I usually got close enough, though, that someone who knows could probably recognize what I was getting at--the same way I can read a teenage boy's messy penmanship. Because I was pretty focused on trying to do it right, I didn't achieve much peace or calm. But with practice, it seems entirely likely. There is something very meditative about completing the correct strokes in the correct order, with the result being both beautiful and meaningful.

There are plenty of characters in the book for me to continue to learn and practice, so this one is a Take It.

 

Please don't grade my work

It's No Spoonful of Sugar

Perhaps you've heard of tractor pulling, taffy pulling, pulling your weight, and pulling over for emergency vehicles, but how about oil pulling? Though it sounds like something from the petroleum industry, it is actually a very old technique to improve dental health by reducing the number of harmful bacteria in the mouth. It might seem like a bizarre thing to do, but the benefits may be more than just anecdotal. One study, for example, showed a significant reduction in Streptococcus mutans, which contributes to plaque buildup and tooth decay.

The process is simple: swish some oil around in your mouth for a while and spit it out. The type of oil can vary. Sesame is a traditional choice, but coconut is also popular due to its natural antimicrobial properties. As for the amount and duration, it appears that anything between a teaspoon and a tablespoon swished for 5 to 20 minutes is acceptable. Some proponents recommend brushing before, and some after. 

Open wide!

Easy enough, right? Except that the first time I put a heaping teaspoon of coconut oil in my mouth, I nearly gagged. I thought there was no way I could swish it for my starting goal of 5 minutes. But I distracted myself with a little Saturday Night Live, and before I knew it, the time was up. I spit out the oil in the trash (to avoid clogging the drain), rinsed my mouth, and was pleasantly surprised to find that my teeth felt pretty darn good.

Over the course of the week, I extended my swishing time by a minute each day until I made it to ten. It did get easier, but, honestly, this whole deal really is kind of gross. What starts out as a mouthful of oil (bad) becomes a mouthful of oil mixed with saliva (worse). My sister suggested adding a drop of tea tree essential oil, and that helped. A little. With practice, I got better at oil pulling, but I never looked forward to it.

I'm really tempted to call this one a Leave It. And I probably would, except for growing research that potentially links oral hygiene with a list of health problems, including heart and respiratory diseases, pancreatic cancer, and Alzheimer's. Apparently, when bad mouth bacteria migrate to the bloodstream, they can wreak all kinds of havoc. So, I think I'll keep up with the oil pulling a while longer and see if my dentist notices a difference.

This week: a reluctant Take It.

Mmmmm...oily

Kon-do or Kon-don't?

Japanese organizing consultant and author Marie Kondo is all the rage right now. Her 2011 book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up is an international bestseller, and she has a new show on Netflix. Her method, called KonMari, involves these six initial steps:

.

• Commit yourself to tidying up.
• Imagine your ideal lifestyle.
• Finish discarding first. Before getting rid of items, sincerely thank each item for serving its purpose.
• Tidy by category, not location.
• Follow the right order. (I don't know what that is, because I haven't read the book.)
• Ask yourself if it sparks joy.

The crux of the process is getting rid of items that lack value, and (in the case of clothes) goes like this: 

• Take everything out of closets and drawers.
• Make a big pile.
• Consider each item individually to determine whether it sparks joy.

I am intrigued by the sparking joy part, but I also know that I don't have the stamina right now to KonMari my life. If I were to make a pile of all my clothes, in a few days, I would have...the same pile of clothes, but with a couple of helpings of guilt and irritation on the side.

But that doesn't mean I can't take small steps toward "life changing magic," so my Take It or Leave It for last week was to clean one shelf or drawer every day. This was in addition to the routine household tasks that somehow need to be done approximately every six minutes. 

Although I didn't go full Kondo, I actually made demonstrable progress. Most of my projects took less than ten minutes, and it was pretty satisfying to throw stuff away. (BTW, I didn't ask if the old underwear sparked joy; I just pitched them.) 

I look at this week as practice for a time in the future when I'm willing to commit to a big KonMari purge. But maybe if I wait long enough--decades, hopefully--I can jump right into Margareta Magnusson's book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, which, in a nutshell, involves getting rid of all my crap before my boys have to deal with it.

This mini-KonMari Take It or Leave It is a Take It, but probably only two or three times a week instead of daily.  

I'll leave you with this quote from Beauty and the Beast Marie Kondo: 

It is only when you put your house in order that your furniture and decorations come to life.

Pull Up a Chair

Ayurveda has a saying: "When you eat standing up, death looks over your shoulder." That strikes me as especially dire because it's a bad habit of mine. I'll eat half my lunch while I'm standing at the counter making it and half my dinner while I'm cleaning up the kitchen. I'll grab a few nuts and eat them on the way to the laundry room or a few crackers as I head out the door. I'm a roving nibbler of the worst order. In a traditional hunter/gatherer society, I'd be the one who returned home with an empty basket every time because I ate all the berries as I was walking along.

Last week, I tried to break the habit...or at least put a dent in it. My rule was that I could only eat while I was sitting at my dining table. Frankly, this was not my most successful endeavor--partly because of a family circumstance that threw me off my schedule and stressed me out, and partly because this eating-on-the-go habit is more deeply ingrained in me than I imagined.

I'm not a drive-through person, so eating in the car isn't an issue, but apparently anywhere in my house is fair game. (Except the bathroom, because ewww.) The ridiculous thing is that it somehow feels more efficient to eat when I'm doing other things. Multitasking, you know. So, even with a concerted effort to pull up a chair every time I put food in my mouth, I probably only remembered to do it about 60 percent of the time.

When I did remember, I usually felt pretty good about it. Sitting down allowed me to be much more mindful, and I'm sure I consumed fewer unnecessary calories, too. But it was occasionally a little irritating, as if I had not death looking over my shoulder but a nosy little hall monitor telling me to slow down, there's no fire.

I would love to say that this is a slam-dunk Take It, that I saw the error of my ways and will now sit, relax, and enjoy each morsel of food, but this one is going to take some time. At least now, though, I'm more aware of it, and sometimes that's half the battle.

Bon appetit!

When TED Talks, People Listen

   

This TED...

Hello and happy Wednesday! Considering the adversarial, and often downright ugly, tone of the news these days, it's easy to forget that the world is full of people who know and do interesting things and are willing to share them with the rest of us. I reminded myself of this last week when I decided to watch a daily TED talk.

Not this Ted.

If you are unfamiliar with TED, here's what the website says about their organization:

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

TED has also expanded to include the TED Radio Hour, TED Masterclasses, the TED mobile app, and TED-ED animations, which are short, fun videos that use fun graphics and music to explain a variety of science and lifestyle topics.

Other than catching snippets of the TED Radio Hour in my car, I've been in a TED-free zone for quite some time. It's one of those things I tell myself I should do more of--"Hey, self, you should watch more TED talks!"--but then I never actually do it. So I was grateful for my Take It or Leave It kick in the pants, because I really enjoyed my daily dose of TED.

I learned, among other things, about the physics of bubbles, the science behind human organ regeneration, and how dog noses work. I was inspired to re-think my personal narrative and persevere in the face of failure. I got some tips on how to get better at the things that really matter to me. I listened to a guy talk about how he tried something new every 30 days, which confirmed to me that small changes in our lives are much more sustainable. Last but not least, I watched a semi-compelling animation about why humans should eat more insects. (Bugs look much more appetizing in cartoon form, I must say.)

Many of the TED talks are quite short, and there was no need to devote hours and hours to broadening my world view. But once I got started, it was easy to just keep watching. All in all, this week of TED has been one of my favorite new activities, which makes this Take It or Leave It a definite Take It.

5-Letter Word for a Rectangular Board

Unless you've been living in a fitness blackout zone (I honestly don't blame you if you are; no judgment here), you've heard how important strong core muscles are. Because I often feel like I have the core fitness of a mushy apple, I decided to try a week of planking. Note that I'm referring to the exercise, not the weird fad of lying face-down in unusual places. (Apparently, that is also called the Lying Down Game, which sounds like something invented by the desperate parent of a toddler who will...not...nap.)

Planking: the fad 

The internet is full of planking challenges, but mine was short and simple: three planks a day. I started with thirty seconds per plank on the first day, which didn't seem quite painful enough, and finally settled on a minute. Other than the occasional forearm plank, I didn't change up my form. No side plank, stability ball plank, reverse plank, or walking the plank. (A little pirate humor for you, arrr.)

In general, I am not averse to strength training exercises, but I discovered over the course of the week that I don't really enjoy planking. Sometimes my wrists hurt. Sometimes my back complained. Sometimes my dog came to see what I was doing and licked my face. Every single time I planked, I was glad when the minute was over. I could, however, feel all the muscles engaging as they are supposed to, so I'm sure planking is good for me even though I kind of hate it.

Planking: the cat

Now I must decide: take it or leave it? According to the internet, the benefits of daily planking include increased strength and flexibility, improved posture, decreased risk of spinal injury, better balance, and a boost in metabolism. I could use all those things. So I guess this week's Take It or Leave It is a grudging Take It.