Day Of The Weak, March 20th

I have a friend who maintains his strict diet all week– meaning no carbs, no sugar, no alcohol, and absolutely no processed foods of any kind. And then when Saturday rolls around, Jonny lets loose and goes absolutely ape shit. We’re talking a couple of bacon egg and cheese sammies for breakfast with a side of pancakes. Lunch is a few hours later with hot dogs, fries, beer, and an occasional burger. A thick chocolate shake washes all of that down. A few slices of afternoon pizza make a tasty late day snack. And dinner is usually a big Italian feast with heavy pasta, garlic bread, cocktails followed by wine by the bottle, and a decadent dessert. Saturday is his Day of the Weak– he gives into all of his cravings. I find it amazing that on Sunday he can go right back to the program, albeit a little hung over and incredibly full.

I have that same sort of issue, but instead of mine being centered around calories, I tend to go off the rails regarding shopping. Saturday is my personal Day of the Weak. I don’t know what happens to me! A typical week for me is traveling at least three days, so two nights in a hotel and meetings most of the time, combined with conference activities that run the clock until I’m ready to crash. So by the time I get home on a Thursday evening let’s say, I’m pretty wiped out and need a day to catch up with emails, laundry, and a grocery run since I’ve been out of town and the fridge is bare.

And then Saturday hits and I realize that I’ve been completely focused on work all week, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. So I want a treat and some sort of indulgence. I’ve earned it, right? So on my purposeful walk to the dry cleaner to drop off the week’s bounty, I might hit up Zara for some fast fashion and then pop over the GAP to see if my white t-shirt collection could use a seasonal refresher. Lululemon always has a style I covet and occasionally an offbeat color will grab my attention. Like a swirly green and white pair of pocketed leggings recently caught my eye. They seemed like the perfect pants in which to travel. (Justification!! But I have already worn them three times. Plus, they were on sale. Scooooore.)

Later in the day as I’m taking stock of the stock in my apartment, I notice I could use an identity theft protection roller stamp (if you don’t already have one these are cheap and great!), onion powder, texturizing salt spray for my hair, and wood cleaner. Off to Amazon I skip to let my fingers to the shopping. A few “buy now” minutes later, no less than eight parcels are destined for my abode. I can make quick work of errands.

And then comes the Instagram list. Instead of true impulse shopping, I tend to take screenshots of the “must have” new things that pepper my feed that I feel might improve the quality of my life. As a mostly responsible adult, I save them so that I can make level headed decisions later on without the pressure of Insta tracking my movements. As it turns out, I actually needed the new olive oil and vinegar collection with free shipping and a bonus spout from Brightland. With a slogan like “Drizzled in sunshine. Dipped in truth.” and ringing endorsements from Oprah, Food & Wine, and The Wall Street Journal, the packaging of this assortment was impressive and I’ve already used three of the four products. I liked it so much that I’m about to gift one to someone special. This was a great suggestion from the ‘Gram.

Still on my maybe buy list are the new Pony-O hair holder that makes your locks look thick and lush, miraculous teeth whiteners– although both Moon and Snow need more investigative research by moi before I pull the trigger, and an air fryer which I promise I will use longer than the three-day trial period.