Inblognito: Blogging Undercover

The first task for 2010 is here! (And may have been here for quite some time, just as well blogging more often wasn’t my new year challenge .)

I love the way Shai calls these ‘New Year Special Goals’, because I am not a resolution person (although post-christmas does always seem the time to start exercising more, eating less etc.). I also kinda covered off my hopes and dreams (aka goals) for 2010 in the previous task. So what I’m going to do for this task is talk about how I’m going to achieve some of my goals.

I think I’ve figured out a way of curbing the chocolate cravings, treating myself with a splurge each week and celebrating each week with a little treat at the end. I’m calling it ‘Treat Friday’s’. The rules:

• No chocolate till Friday, then I can have a small, preferably dark chocolate treat. Maybe on the odd occasion a larger portion of my favourite trade aid chocolate, or a couple of very special chocolates from a gourmet place. But it’s small, it’s once a week, and I’m going to make the most of it and savour this small treat, instead of eating however much I want, whenever I want. Eventually the goal is to become sugar free, but this, I hope, will keep me sane in the interim.
• One new CD each Friday. I really want to get to know more new bands, and listen to more albums instead of random pop hits, and with all my walking (an hour a day) I have plenty of time to listen. This is also designed to help me with my financial goals. The premise is the same as above though, no spending all week and I can have one CD at the end of the week. I’ve also factored in coffee into my budget and will withdraw my coffee money each pay day and keep it in my desk at work. Otherwise I spend all my money and put coffee on my credit card till pay day, which is not on!! And yes… I can’t give up my daily soy lattes. I love them too much. Plus I have a little coffee thing going on with a friend at work, so I don’t wanna break up the party.
• Because my CD ventures will take me down town, I’m also going to treat myself to a second Friday coffee at my new favourite cafe. This is unnecessary indulgence, but if a $4 coffee is as bad as it gets? Then I’m doing pretty darn well! It will also go very nicely with my chocolate, unless I’m saving the chocolate to take home for the weekend.

So, we’ll see how it goes over the next few weeks. I really hope it helps. Even buying CDs, chocolate and coffee every single Friday will cut down my unnecessary spending by so much, if that’s all I buy. (Barring real emergencies, such as urgent medication, and the odd very  special dinner out with friends.)

As an aside, the chocolate thing totally seems to be working already,  because while I was writing this I had some cookies in the oven. I love baking and I love sneaking cookie dough and chocolate chips and licking the beaters. Tonight? Haven’t touched the chocolate and didn’t sneak any dough, I did lick one teaspoon after I’d finished putting loading cookies onto the tray, but haven’t touched the bowl. Yet. It is sitting on the bench still, but I distracted myself with this blog post, without even realising I did it. Huge progress in my world, even if you don’t fully understand! I also made a half size mixture. The cookies are for a friend, but rather than give them some and end up with half a batch to eat, I just didn’t make the second half. Finally, I bundled up the leftover chocolate chips (which would normally be finished tonight) and hid them at the back of the freezer. Hopefully they will be forgotten until the next batch of friend cookies!