"Wasting" time

A huge topic that I've wanted to address for a while now is the concept of wasting time. 

Productivity: 

pro·duc·tiv·i·ty

  [proh-duhk-tiv-i-tee, prod-uhk‐]

noun

1.

the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create,enhance, or bring forth goods and services: The productivity of thegroup's effort surprised everyone.

I told a coworker today that the highlight of my weekend was going to Fairmount Park and reading my book (The Husband's Secret). Her response was to question how I could justify "wasting" an afternoon outside. I was totally taken aback. Waste my afternoon? I was absolutely flabbergasted because to me, my Sunday afternoon wasn't wasted, I totally embraced the free time to myself. I explained to her that I was entirely in the moment when I was reading, so how could it have been time wasted? I went on to describe how pleasurable reading is, what a gloriously simple pleasure it is.

If I'm enjoying my time, even if it means letting an entire afternoon "slip by", I'm content. I could have done a slew of random tasks around the house (laundry, clean the kitchen, etc), but to me it would have been a bigger waste of time to race around doing chores than to take two hours to myself to escape into my book. It's the same as watching the sunset, lying in bed listening to your favorite song, building sandcastles, moseying around the farmers' market, playing peek-a-boo, admiring a beautiful flower garden, sitting in front of a fire, relaxing in front of your favorite movie - all of these things might be considered by people like my coworker as "time-wasters", but really, if you're in the moment and simply enjoying yourself, it adds immeasurable joy to your life. 

Click here for a long list of 101 Simple Pleasures compiled by Andrew Reiser at Huffington Post.

I'm FRUGAL, not cheap...

"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone." - Henry David Thoreau 

I am often regarded as cheap. I don't go out to eat a lot (hello free samples and work party leftovers for lunch), I walk whenever I can, I get the bulk of my groceries at bargain warehouses, and I haven't had a TV since I moved to Philadelphia about two years ago. I enjoy living with this (modest) level of simplicity that includes not relying on ludicrously expensive city parking garages when I know that Septa will suffice, and not needing to be in first class when coach will get me there in the same amount of time. And I like knowing that my paycheck is going to buying stamps to send homemade cards to my family abroad instead of feeding my old addiction of frequenting Starbucks once (okay fine, sometimes twice) a day. (This article on how to crack the specialty beverage habit was key.)

Here are some super easy, incredibly basic ways to add frugality to your life while ALSO adding significant value to your routine:

1. Get rid of your TV - I promise, between Hulu and the abundance of ways to stream shows off the web you will save money AND have the added incentive of not wasting an afternoon on mind-numbing reality shows
2. Instead of going out to eat, allow each of your friends $5 to spend on groceries and then prepare a meal with only what you guys purchased and what you have in your kitchen already
3. Instead of going to the movies rent one instead and then post about it on an online movie-rating forum (like Rotten Tomatoes)
4. Don't just "go to the mall" - the temptation to make unnecessary purchases will go through the roof, instead go to a free museum
5. Ride your bike instead of driving (extra points if you wear a helmet and smile at old people as you go by)

These are just a few ideas. Come up with five of your own and share them below if you'd like.

Strawberries

The number one marker of the summer is a ripe, juicy, ridiculously red strawberry. 

And all you have to do is buy them at your local grocery store. So not only are you getting the first, subtle (but important) reminders that the polar vortexes of the past few months are behind us, you get that taste of truly pure, sweet delicious summer in berry form. There couldn't be simpler way to usher in the summer than with a big bowl of fresh strawberries. I suggest savoring every last one while listening to your favorite music or a really good book. A pack of berries might cost $4, but the value of quietly welcoming in the summer is priceless.

Or you could try making an exquisite homemade ice cream 

BURSTING with the essence of the summer.

Nothing makes me happier than when I see spring and summer produce pop up at farmers' markets and in the grocery store. Only then has the season changed - when the (actual) fruits of the earth appear. Take time to celebrate the change in seasons by munching on the fruits of mother earth's labor. They are delicious, any way you slice them. 

And just FYI - They pack quite a nutritional punch too.