Sacrifice

1. Laundry
Husband's latest idea - powder laundry detergent. It wouldn't be so bad if they just made it without the smell, I prefer no perfumes.

I remember when I first left for college, mom gave me a 10 gallon bucket of powder laundry detergent. I think it lasted 2 years!

When I hit pay dirt with my first job out of college I swore off powder laundry detergent. I guess somethings are just not worth fighting for - except to beg for no perfumes next time.

2. Water
I adore bottled water. When given a choice of beverage at Whole Foods I will choose Smart Water or 365 electrolyte water over all other juices and sodas. As a substitute I was buying Target's brand of water by the case. I'm now on a bottled water hiatus. Justification is that it clutters landfills and research shows tap water is just as good and sometimes better then bottled water. Although I'll argue Smart Water beats tap water for purity/quality ANY day!!! I'm now down to enjoying the occasional bottle on spa days.

3. Eating out
I've sworn off eating out with co-workers (with the exception of Birthday Lunches, a time honored tradition of taking the birthday person out for lunch, it's expensive because each person picks the top restaurant but at least we only have 9 people). Justification is the average lunch is $10 x 5 days = $50 x 52 weeks per year = $2,600 (packed lunches are ALWAYS cheap). Even if I went out by half that is still a number I'm not willing to spend. Subsequently I'm getting depressed at being stuck at work all day (I've been doing this for almost 7 months) so I need to make the following concessions.
- My church is starting up Thursday ladies lunch for $5.00 and I'm fitting that into the weekly budget for a mental break.
- At least once a week I'm going to the little park one mile from work and eating outside.
That gives me at least two breaks from office life.

4. Eyebrows
I've stopped getting my eyebrows waxed. Husband hated it anyway. And the last time I went, when laying back in the chair I still look a little pregnant and the other Asian beautician grinned, pointed at my belly and then rubbed hers. I'm not going back for that reason and I save $10 every two weeks.

5. Gas
I've started playing this game where I see a red light ahead and coast to a stop. It works best on weekends because there is less traffic to get annoyed that I'm creeping up to the light at 20 miles per hour. People like to rush to the light and break suddenly. They will pass me, jump in front and then break quickly. My goal is to use stop using gas when I see I have to make a stop ahead. My husband will just die when he reads this one because he's familiar with me rushing to stop lights.