This is the month for elections and turkey in the United States. For some folks, it seems like we will elect a turkey to run the country (or the turkeys are the ones doing the voting).
I promise that will be the only political joke I will put in this blog. I follow the ideals laid out by Linus Van Pelt in Peanuts, in that one doesn’t discuss religion, politics or the Great Pumpkin.
At least one of them only comes around every October 31, and the other only periodically. Thanksgiving is a set holiday on the fourth Thursday every year. That’s about two weeks after we learn whether we should splurge on the annual family dinner or tighten the purse strings.
That’s a political observation, so it doesn’t count.
November is also National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. I’m slightly behind on the second day, but this weekend is where I will catch up and exceed the word count to stay ahead. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in the month, starting officially at midnight the morning of the 1st and ending at 11:59:59 on the 30th. That averages out to about 1667 words per day. Fortunately I have three consecutive completions under my belt, so I’m not worried if I don’t reach the goal for a fourth year. A hat trick is an accomplishment; more than that is extra gravy.
At my age, I need to watch my gravy intake. It all packs on pounds.
November is a great month to stop doing something, such as snacking, smoking, consuming a daily two-liter bottle of soda or not walking more than a thousand steps a day. This month for me is going to be a no-spend November. I have one day in which I’ll be doing planned shopping, and that’s it. Nothing from Amazon or my favorite websites for this month. Fortunately my holiday shopping is finished. This means no shocking bills come January. Nobody wants to start out a new year with a payment plan (other than tax time).
If you take on the No month challenge, it helps to have something to do instead of the thing you plan not to do. If you normally guzzle a big bottle of “Hillside Condensation,” try a bottle of essence or vitamin water instead. Instead of the bag of chips, try a bag of grapes. Instead of sucking in chemicals, try a throat lozenge. If you can’t get outside to walk (like on lucky days when it actually rains), take some stairs or a tour around the building or the block, or even around your yard. Cell phones have great step counters.
A friend of mine hauls out her phone regularly to track her steps. She usually meets her goals. I don’t pocket my cell, so I don’t know how that will work for me. I would need a wearable counter instead, and those are about as fashionable as Halloween glow-in-the-dark neon necklaces.
So for me it’s no spending this month. I already have groceries except for regular essentials such as bananas, milk and eggs.
And a turkey that won’t be running anything except my electric bill.
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