Monday Morning Temptations

I would love to just run off to the craft store to peruse the bead aisle today.

Really I WANT to.

I just don't NEED to.

The fact that beads are one of my Compact exemptions is good, but I am really making an effort to maintain the spirit of the compact and only buy what I intend to use. No mindless consumerism. Although I don't officially start the Compact until July 1, I am going to practice getting the concept of not shopping early. My goal today is to get a handle on my kitchen and all the boxed that we have sitting around and in need of unpacking. There is a lot of stuff still in boxes, like my set of Prismacolor art pencils, that could be pressed into service if I just knew where the heck they were. I feel like our garage is the ending scene of an Indiana Jones movie. Remember the warehouse where they stuck the Ark? Yep, now you get the idea.

So, instead of shopping and burning valuable fossil fuel and cash, I am going to hang close to home and work on getting it under control. I may go to the studio later to throw on the wheel, but I'll see how the day goes. Ideally I should go tomorrow after I leave the yarn shop that I volunteer time at. It is relatively close to the studio and would make more sense to go then.

At the end of the week, a friend and I are going to Overland Park, Kansas. We are taking cooking classes at the Kansas City Culinary Center. Originally we had signed up for a gluten free cooking class since Staci is allergic to any form of gluten, but that class was moved to a different date and we had already committed to the hotel and Staci had time off, so we were already committed to the date. We are taking a healthy cooking class and a pastry class. Although Staci can't eat the pastry (gluten), she is game to take the class.

Another reason I am really trying hard to not spend any money this week is the fact that Staci and I are going to visit two Half Price Book stores. It is a chain, but they have great prices and a huge selection. I have decided to take some books to trade in order to soften the blow. I always find something great there. However I am fully prepared to ask myself a series of questions to decide if a book is really useful or just clutter.

I'll let you know how that works.

6p.m. update : Spending $0, not even on the internet...yeah!