Breakfast: Skipped it!

Lunch: Leftover rice and beans and an heirloom tomato salad

Dinner: Local corn (both bi-color and sweet), local string-beans, sautéed, boiled potatoes (This is my new lazy woman’s dinner.)

Cravings: iPhone, a three-day weekend in Block Island, RI and sweets, any kind of sweets.

Mood: Guilty

I’m still having nightmares over my behavior this weekend; but for the sake of my nerves and the ultimate readability of this blog, I’ve decided to move on. I haven’t even been tempted to cheat even though the husband did wave (and wave is the most accurate word I can use here) a pork chop in my face. And I seem to be in some kind of shock about the whole not-buying thing. That’s the part I thought would be the hardest but it turns out that I don’t miss it. You name a reason for shopping (other than actually needing something) and I’ve shopped for that reason: boredom, rage, entertainment, special occasions, emergencies. Shoot, before this project started I was thinking of taking up tennis because I really wanted to buy all that cute gear. (Perhaps, you need to know me to see how laughable my taking up tennis is but let me try to sketch it for you: I have very little athletic ability, poor hand-eye coordination and I hate to exercise. What else makes that proposition ludicrous? Oh yeah, I have a full-time job, a new husband and many many other loved ones who already talk about me behind my back because I don’t have time to call them back or get together.) And as for big-money projects that I already have in that hell-hole I call a storage space, here’s a short list: scrap-booking, knitting, decoupage, jewelry-making, glass etching and the making of at least three well-equipped home gyms. And don’t even get me started on collections. I collect everything. What’s the point of eBay if not to start new collections? To date I collect: red cocktail shakers, shot glasses, Christmas ornaments, magnets, postcards and vintages maps from my travels, Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, Steve McQueen memorabilia (against my husband’s wish that he be allowed to like Steve McQueen his own way and not through the prism of my compulsive buying), Fiestaware and about 17 other things I can’t remember right now. Vintage maps? I don’t even know why or when I started collecting those. I’ve even been known to purchase collections for other people: frogs (but not just any frogs, tasteful frogs) for the BFF, strong female Pez dispensers for my friend Heather, Civil War photography for my Dad and Batman stuff for my friend Michael. Trust me, not buying is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And my Mom would be so proud, after 37 years, I finally turn the lights out when I leave the room. If you happen to be in need of light in that room when I’m exiting it, tough luck. I’m learning habits for life. And (this is the best part), I still don’t feel self-righteous and that has led me to a new working hypothesis; "If you make all these changes at once, you’ll be too overwhelmed to feel morally superior and hence, you’ll be able to save your relationships with your near and gas-guzzling, a/c using, meat-eating dear."

Anyway, as I promised last week, I’ve begun looking into this idea of waste. And just to be clear, I’m not talking about the bits of your dinner you threw away last night or even the questionable items in your refrigerator that are thrown out rather than eaten (can roasted red peppers go rancid? How about a poorly covered can of chickpeas?). I am referencing the millions of pounds of food that never make it out of the grocery stores and are instead tossed in the garbage. A lot of it is thrown out, I saw it with my own eyes, BUT there is a non-profit, America’s Second Harvest that takes donations of surplus, distressed and unsaleable food and other groceries from the companies that make them (and also from the USDA) and distributes it to hungry Americans. These companies, I was shocked to see, include some of the biggest names around: CVS, Kellogg, Kraft, Nabisco, Target (my favorite) and Wal-Mart. America’s Second Harvest distributes over two billion pounds of food a year through their network of food banks and claims to reach over 25 million of the 35 million Americans who struggle with hunger. I spoke to their Communications Director, Steve McFarland and he told me how it works; "Companies supply us with food that’s safe to consume but there’s no room for it on the shelf so they give it to us. [I promise you that we will return to this topic of shelf space and it’s value - it’s really weird and fascinating.] and then we have volunteers at our various food banks to distribute it to people who need it. We’re seeing more and more companies turn to us. There was a time when most corporate partners would only give us overruns but now they’re stepping up to the plate." America’s Second Harvest’s corporate partners also donate money for things like refrigerated trucks so food banks can get fresh produce and dairy. Now, if that ain’t the Mother of all Freegans, I don’t know who is (check out their Website.)

Good News: Chocolate soy milk; I am immune to pork chops waved (directly!) beneath my nose.

Bad News: Still can’t get anywhere on time and gentle readers, if you have any advice on how to make okra that doesn’t look like it fell out of the mouth of an alien, I would very much appreciate it.

Worries: I think I’m getting sick.