Live below the line, day 5

Easter egg radishes, just harvested (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thank goodness, this is the last day of this challenge.  I had a rough time today…had a rough day at work…so busy that I didn’t have time to take breaks or lunch…headache from not eating…really, really wanted to stop and get a pizza after work, but talked myself out of it…if I were truly living in extreme poverty, stopping for a pizza wouldn’t even be a possibility…so I did make it thru the final day.

Let’s see, how did I do?

Breakfast:

(Once again)…2 slices of toast  10¢,  1 T peanut butter  6¢,  6 oz oj  14¢,  8 oz skim milk 15¢

Total for breakfast…45¢

Lunch:

no lunch…no time…did drink a diet Pepsi tho…so the cost of that was  46¢, so I’ll count that as my lunch

Total for lunch  46¢

Dinner:

grilled cheese sandwich   20¢, radishes (free-someone asked about the radishes really being free, cost of the seeds and all…yes, I did buy seeds a couple of years ago, but let one of the radish plants go to seed last year and saved the seeds…so surely we can consider that to be free now, right?), celery  8¢, pickle chips  14¢, hot tea 4¢

Total for dinner…46¢

Total for the day  $1.37

So…not the healthiest of days today…but I did it.

What did I take away from this challenge?  Well, obviously how difficult it is to eat a healthy, nutritious diet when you have to scrounge for pennies to buy your food.  Also how much planning and preparation would go into being able to eat even semi-well for such a miniscule amount of money.  I definitely have a greater appreciation for my mom and grandmother and all of the time they put into gardening, preserving what they grew or gathered, and cooking.   That’s a lot of work…and they did it year in and year out.  But we always had enough to eat and a much better variety of food than what I spent the past week eating.

I have always thought we need to teach people to be self-sufficient…after this week, I believe that even more.  Now to figure out how to go about doing that…what organizations are already doing this?  And what can I do to help?

 

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Dance like no one’s watching

CajunPitStop-1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The music ends.  Sean and Becky, both breathless, remain on the dance floor, hands intertwined, the magic surrounding them.  As Sean feels himself falling deeper into Becky’s gaze, the corner of his mouth lifts in a half-smile.  “Wow.  Just wow.”Becky releases her pent-up breath, looks away, then looks back into Sean’s deep brown eyes.  “Right.  Wow.”  She smiles up at him, blushing.

As Sean returns her smile, he asks, “So…uhh…you want to get a table and maybe talk or something?”

Chuckling,  Becky nods her head.  “Yeah, that’d be good.  I’ll let my friends know, okay?”

Sean gently rests his hand on the small of Becky’s back as they make their way to the table where her friends are sitting.  As Becky gathers her jacket, she nods toward Sean.  “We’re going to sit over there and talk for a bit, okay?” Her friends nod in agreement, smiling at each other as Sean and Becky walk away.

Before they sit down at their table, Sean asks Becky if she would like a beer or something.  “Well, I…uh…I don’t really drink beer or anything.  A water would be good though.”

“Seriously, you don’t drink?  You’re not kidding me?”

“No, I never really have.  Is that…uhh…is that a problem?”

“No,no…not at all.  Whatever you want is fine with me.  I’ll grab a water for you and be right back.”  Sean turns to walk away, then turns back around, walking backwards with a huge smile on his face.  He lifts his hand, pointing his finger at her, “Be right back.”

Becky returns his smile, shaking her head as she watches him watching her.

When Sean reaches the counter, he says, “Hey, Bill.  Can I get a couple bottles of water?”

Bill raises his eyebrows, “Water?  Really, Sean?”

Sean shrugs his shoulders, “That’s what the lady ordered.”

“Well, gotta give the ladies what they want, right?”

“Oh yeah, for sure.”

“Saw you dancing with that little gal.  She new around here?”

With a slight shake of his head, Sean answers, “Ya know, I don’t really know.  She’s…uh…I don’t know.  But I think I’ll go find out.”  Sean pays for the water, turns around, nearly colliding with a very tall, very sexy brunette.

“Oh, sorry, Bethany…didn’t mean to run you over.”

With her beautifully manicured hands, the brunette grips Sean’s upper arm, leaning into him and caressing his arm.  “Hey, Sean…are you going to be around all night?  Maybe we can do something later.  It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Sean’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes as he steps away from the girl.  “Umm…yeah…well, I’m with someone else tonight, Bethany.  Maybe some other time.”

Bethany steps back, trying to hide the pain with a smile, “Sure, Sean, some other time.  Whenever you want, let me know.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

As Sean walks toward the table where Becky sits waiting for his return, Bethany glares at the tiny blonde, muttering,  “You little bitch.  You will not take him away from me.”

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