Meager March

Guess who's wearing mascara! After four weeks without makeup, I must say, putting a little on this morning felt like a chore, especially now that I realize nobody actually notices if I'm wearing it or not. Still, the fast has been broken. And it did feel good to smudge some concealer under my eyes.

Well, it's now officially Meager March, the third month of Discipline Year! I wish I'd begun ruminating on the rules for this challenge earlier than, say, this morning in the shower. But the basic idea is, I'm not allowed to make any frivolous purchases for the next few weeks—makeup, clothes, drinks and meals out, movie tickets, iTunes downloads, etc.

I was so cocky to think this month would be an easy one. It's not like I go shoe-shopping for sport or have my highlights done every two weeks. But after giving the concept a mere twenty minutes' thought, I realized there are a lot of things I'm going to be tempted by. All of them involve other people. I'm going to feel like a drip if my manfriend wants to go to the bar and maybe watch the Celtics play, and I have to cram a peanut butter sandwich in my face to stave off hunger and chug a glass of wine before leaving the house, then sit there while he enjoys a couple beers and an appetizer. I'll feel like a lame-o if any of my cousins want to meet up for a movie or lunch and I have to decline. And I'll most definitely be cheating in a week when my good friend (and faithful beta reader) is in town, orchestrating a small reunion from my old office. Men will be discussed, and wine will be consumed as a natural consequence.

There are some other expenses I'm yet undecided about—train fare to go in to the city for anything short of a doctor's appointment, gas and tolls to drive to Maine to visit my folks, cards or gifts for forgotten birthdays, postage for care packages, charitable donations… I'm going to be making a lot of this up as I go along. And fudging.

Luckily I bought hair dye ahead of time, so no moral panic there. I mentioned yesterday I also slipped a bottle of champagne in as a techniciality…if I make a new book sale I will be enjoying that frivolous pleasure in March, even if I made the actual purchase on the last day of February. So I suppose I'm confessing now: I'll do my best. And I will cheat. But when I do cheat, I'll fess up. That said, you should probably expect a lot of posts this month…