Thanks for all the positive feedback on my visit. I knew I could count on you! I will let you know my plans closer to the actual date--and yes, a visit with some former work pals is definitely on the menu.

Habit forming...

How many days does it take to form a habit or change your behaviour? Apparently 21 or 30. A new friend M said it was 19 days. She was pretty close according to my limited research. Today is January 13--for those New Years Day resolution makers that means you are half or just over half way to making your resolution a new habit. Congratulations! Or have you laid that project aside already?

If you wish to change a habit or behaviour in your lifestyle you need a plan. If you are going to stop smoking--what are you going to do instead? If you want to exercise every day what are you eliminating from your schedule to fit it in? Have you written down a plan of action? Have you written down your goal? Your reward? What happens if you fail? Do you give up entirely or re-group, evaluate and try again?

I have attempted several times in my life to give up pop. Diet Pepsi specifically. I just don't seem able to break the habit. The little voice in my head is always saying "If this is the only bad habit you have why give it up? You aren't addicted to crack cocaine...it's only pop." And I always agree with the little voice and crack open another can. Ah, refreshing. Long time readers know I even wrote a post one day about my love of diet pepsi. Can I give it up? Why would I give it up? I am preparing to potentially give it up--again. It is more of a financial thing that anything. It costs me a fair bit of cash to support my habit. It may not seem like a lot of money, likely about $7.50 per week on average. $7.50 X 52 weeks is $390.00. That is one sweet shopping spree at my favorite clothing store or a couple nights in a hotel somewhere.

Do you get the feeling I've been looking at my budget lately and crunching some numbers? LOL. I blame TLC. Over the holidays they kept showing all these budgeting shows and how they people on the shows can save some money. I figured after looking at my budget I should give it a try and pare back in a few places. There are a number of fixed costs that can't change, so something that is an elective needs to be cut/eliminated/cut back. It's something I think I will try and do every six months or so. Hey, I purge everything else in my house a few times a year--why not my finances?

The first cut was to my cable/internet/phone bill. For the next 6 months it will be half of what it presently is at the end of the 6 months it will be about 75% of the current bill. I'm switching companies. Simple. Done. What next? What else could I do I asked myself? Ah, the food budget. The one area I've always allowed myself to just spend what I want. I still need to eat and I like to eat well so what could I do? Hmmm, I looked at the case of DP sitting across the room waiting to head to my office and knew. It must be the DP. Perhaps it is the limited Catholic training in me saying that if I am going to give something up it needs to be meaningful and be hard...not like giving up dating for lent...cause I haven't dated in months...so giving it up for lent wouldn't mean much would it? Giving up DP will have meaning in my life.

So...19, 21 or 30 days...it's all the same isn't it. So...here's the game plan. I have a few DP left at the office...I am allowed to finish those over the next couple days...then give them up and not buy anymore. I am leaving for Cambridge Bay in mid-February and that will about a month for my experiment. The plan...cause if I am going to take DP out of life I need to find something to fill the gap. I am now officially a tea person so I am going to buy myself a nice green tea to fill some of the gap and some Crystal Light water flavoring to fill the other part of the gap. There will be an initial outlay of $ for the tea and flavoring, but not as much as the DP costs over all.

If I fail, I am not going to worry about it--after all this is diet pepsi we are talking about, not crack cocaine.

Let the experiment begin!