“ABC’s of Less” – update #1

Posted on February 18, 2013

The ABC’s of Less

Week # 6 – Update #1

Every 6th week, I’ll be posting an update on how my “Year of Less” is going. I have found that if I don’t revisit my goals and commitments, I tend to let them “slide”… or make excuses not to follow threw. So here is my first update since starting my “ABC’s of Less”.

Less Alcohol. I have not had any alcohol since Jan 1st. I don’t need it. I don’t miss it. I know this would be difficult for many of my friends… but this one is easy for me.

Less Barista. I have not ordered any specialty drinks/coffee from any barista in 2013. This one is hard because every morning I walk with my co-workers to Starbucks so they can get their coffee/drinks. I don’t enter Starbucks…. I just stand outside and hold the door for all the Starbucks customers until my co-workers are done. It’s kinda fun greeting grumpy people that rely on their coffee to get them going.

On a side note… I sold my Stainless Steel Starbucks Card on ebay for $765 about 2 weeks ago… to a guy in Las Vegas… who must really likes Starbucks!

Less Caffeine. I have not had any Mountain Dew or any other soda since Dec 26, 2012. Honestly, I haven’t missed it very much. I have just substituted it with water, and 100% juices. I pee a lot more… I don’t feel any “better”… and I’m not losing any weight because of this decision. I’m pretty sure my kidneys are doing better however!

This is kinda weird… but I have discovered the hardest part of quitting Mt. Dew for me is missing the sensation of that ice cold aluminum can on my lips… again I know it sounds weird… but the physical habit of grabbing a can, bending my elbow, tilting my head, and drinking out of an ice cold can was harder to break than my need for caffeine. I can imagine smokers have a similar physical habit to break.

Less Devin and Ernie. We sold both Devin (our 2003 Cadillac Limo) and Ernie (our 2002 Eddie Bauer Ford Expedition) in the last 21 days. To replace them, we now have a 2005 Eddie Bauer Ford Expedition (named Benny), and a 2011 Chevy Caprice (named Charlee). I drive Charlee to work everyday, and Caroline drives Benny. We just hope they last as long as Devin and Ernie did. R.I.P D&E

Less Excuses. This was last weeks post, so not much to report here.. but I have been faithful to my commitment to post bible studies for my kids every day since Jan 1st. It turns out there are students that are doing these bible studies from around the country as part of their daily routine. I’ve made a commitment to continue these bible studies through May 2013. I’m going to take the summer off, and then decide if I want to continue in September.

So as of right now, I’m pretty pleased with how my ABC’s of Less are going. I know it’s early, and I’m only 5 letters into the alphabet, but at least I’ve had a good start.

Hopefully I can continue and finish strong.

gt