One Year Without Coke (or Pepsi)

32 x 4 x 12 = worth it!

2010-04-13T07:36:00.008-05:00

I have made it one year without Coke, coffee or chocolate!!! And because 32 generous people stuck with me and gave 4 dollars a month for 12 months, $1536 has been raised for Compassion's Unsponsored Children fund. Thanks so much to everyone for your prayers and encouragement!

This "year without" gave me and my husband a way to pay for sponsoring Ucaya Vivian in Uganda. Learning about her and her family's life has given us a very different perspective on our own life here in the US. This year has also given me a chance to see that a break from caffeine is not always a bad thing! Will I eat chocolate again? Heck yeah - but now I can appreciate that a dessert without chocolate can taste good, too. Will I drink coffee? Now and then - but now I think I can actually switch to tea and enjoy it. And what about my old pal Coca-Cola??? It will be a treat if I'm at a restaurant, but if you see 12-packs piled in my kitchen, please take them away! Coke won't be allowed in the house unless it's a special occasion...No Jenny, folding a load of laundry is NOT a special occasion!

So, with the exception of today's celebration (Coke Slurpee for breakfast, chocolate party for lunch, vanilla Coke from Steak n Shake for dinner!) I actually WANT to keep the brown goodness in moderation.

Thanks for reading, and if you would like to make a donation of any size to Compassion on behalf of my year without Coke, please follow this link:

https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/unsponsoredchildren.htm?referer=101678

I can't think of a better way to end this blog than with the words of Paul to the Ephesians: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Update

2010-01-15T05:55:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone! Hope you had an enjoyable New Year's, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween...yes, it's been that long since I've written. Though I've just about given up the blogging part of this challenge, I have kept up with the important part: it's been 9 months without a drop of Coke, coffee or a taste of chocolate! And a special thank you to all the supporters who have kept on donating to Compassion these past months on behalf of me.

Hardly a day has passed where I don't miss the 3c's! But just taking a moment to look around at the world reminds me that it is a small sacrifice. The people of Haiti were struggling before the earthquake hit; what must it be like now? (You can donate to help Haiti via Compassion below). Ucaya, the little girl we're sponsoring in Uganda, lives in a nation where 85% of the people live on less than $1 per day. If you earn at least $3,256 a year ($271 a month), you are among the top 15% of the wealthiest people on the planet. This is a harsh world.

On a personal level, we have been working our tails off so hopefully one day more of our "top 15% of the world" income can go to helping people in need, and not so much to bills/debts/etc. Actually, Lee has been working two jobs, and pregnant me lounges around the house all day with our 4 and 1 year old (if you are a parent, or have even just seen children in action, you get my sarcasm!). Lord willing, baby will be here around the beginning of February, so I will have a legitimate reason to give up blogging for a good couple of months...but of course, not quite a legitimate reason to give up the One Year Without quest. So please keep me in your prayers as I weather a newborn and NO COFFEE!!! At the very least, I'll see you in April, when I hopefully announce that I made it an entire year!

God bless you all! - Jenny :)

Haiti Earthquate

The world is still hungry

2009-09-16T15:44:00.002-05:00

This article was a good reminder to my pregnant, nauseous, sprained-ankle self (pathetic but true) - the U.S. may be out of its recession, but one-sixth of the world is still habitually hungry:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090916/wl_nm/us_food_wfp.

Life Keeps A-Rollin'

2009-08-10T12:26:00.002-05:00

Sounds like a title to a Lynyrd Skynyrd song, right? But that's the only way to describe how I've been feeling about OYWO these past weeks! Before I began, I had thought through many of the ramifications of no coke, coffee or chocolate for a year: a summer without Slurpees, a fall without mochas, a Christmas without 7-layer or rum-ball cookies...
But for whatever reason, I hadn't thought of being pregnant. Yes, there is a baby in my belly now; and Lord willing, will be born around the beginning of February! This is not a complete surprise, we had planned on having more kids. But the surprise is how I COMPLETELY DID NOT CONSIDER being preggers without a little caffienated goodness to ease my queasy stomach. It just hadn't crossed my mind. That was probably for the best, though, since I admit there were more than a few times when I've thought "I'm pregnant - I can't possibly keep this up now!"
Now, if you've never been pregnant, or been around someone who's pregnant, or if you are a "pregnancy purist" who only eats organic carrots and homemade yogurt while with-child, you might not understand my panic. But if you are like most NORMAL pregnant women (or you've known one), you realize that growing another human being in your body warrants a piece of chocolate or sip of coffee every now and then! 200 mg (yes, now it's 100 mg) of caffeine a day is considered safe during pregnancy. FYI, 100 mg of caffeine = 2 and 1/5 cans of coke a day...
So, I'm not quitting and I'm just gonna roll with it. :) It is nice not having to count my milligrams, or worry if I've gone over the limit! I'm also hoping this caffeine-free baby will be one of those who just falls asleep in my arms as I hum, or on the rug while playing with blocks (wasn't that lucky with our first two). Just don't remind me about those first couple months of baby's life, where "a good night's sleep" doesn't exist - remember, this goes all the way until April!

On a more serious note...

2009-07-22T21:23:00.002-05:00

...check out the recent post by Morgan, a young woman who visited a Compassion project in the Dominican Republic. The post describes her trip to a trash dump, and the people (kids included) who make their living there: http://morgan-givetolive.blogspot.com/2009/07/choice-is-ours.html.

Dear Blog,

2009-07-22T20:45:00.003-05:00

I haven't forgotten you!!! It may seem like it, but I remember you each day. I have been wondering, though - will I forget the taste of Coke? Like Gollum, "forgetting the taste of bread", with the difference being my prrrrecious Coke becoming less consuming, instead of more?

Would I even want to forget the taste? Should I? I know you'll tell me I'm crazy, but the memories of Coke are all I have! Not to mention imagining black coffee with a pinch of sugar in the morning...just thinking about it helps settle my nauseous stomach! (more on that another day).

Well, I hope you're hanging in there, I know the blogosphere can be rough. Is Google being good to you? Has Blogger stopped messing around with your comment sign-in?? He'd better, or he won't know what hit him once I get to his IP address!

Take care, and I promise I'll be better at keeping in touch.

Friends Forever,

Jenny :)

Chocolate in the blood

2009-07-05T23:09:00.002-05:00

While I've discovered that my first caffienated love is Coke, chocolate is a solid second. My son proved to me today that, yes, we both have a genetic predisposition towards chocolate ("my genes made me do it!"). He made sure that we dug to the bottom of the Munchkin box (leftovers from my husband's band kids' pre-parade-breakfast, we don't ever buy that junk ;) ) and retrieved for him "the black ones". That's right, my son chooses chocolate over powdered sugar and jelly-filled Munchkins - what kid does that??

This reminds me of the time my Aunt Lin took me, my sister and my cousin to see the Nutcracker when we were little girls. During intermission, like any normal kids, my sister and cousin picked out gummy bears for a snack. Did I want to miss with that fruit-flavored nonsense? Heck no. I, like my aunt, made the much more refined (well, actually weird for an eight-year-old) choice: Andes candies. Chocolate-mint goodness.

I'm telling you, it's not my fault, it's in my genes!!!

Church

2009-06-25T11:57:00.006-05:00

Let me start by saying that in my past ten years of following Christ, I've never really been one of those people who "just loves going to church!" I'm not very social in the a.m. (especially on a weekend!), I'm super picky about music, I don't like to throw around the "Christianese" lingo...

But though I have a few legitimate and many more illegitimate concerns about how and why the churches I've attended do what they do, I know meeting with other believers on a regular basis is important.

So, that being said, you can trust me when I say that the way Compassion works through local churches is very cool. And this is not coming from some starry-eyed-preacher's-daughter! What they do makes sense, and it works. Instead of just swooping in with the screech of an American eagle, Compassion empowers the local church to serve the children in their area.

Most of the child-sponsorship funds are funnelled through the churches, who purchase food and supplies from the people in their area. Compassion also makes sure the churches receive training and other resources for working with the kids. And they are held accountable for their end of the partnership. (An interesting article on this can be found at http://blog.compassion.com/10-questions-with-jeimy-reyes/.)

Have you read the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis? It's written as a set of letters between a

high-ranking devil, Screwtape and his student, Wormwood. Screwtape is discussing Wormwood's progress on his "patient", a man who became a Christian. Screwtape basically tells the junior devil to not worry too much about the man going to church, since he will be distracted by his neighbors there that "sing out of tune, or have boots that squeak, or double-chins, or odd clothes" and that he will "quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous." Come on, if you've ever been to church, you've thought things like that, haven't you? I know I have.

But the best part, at least of that letter, is to hear Screwtape describe what the Church is really like. And he's not describing a building, but the body of Christ, all who believe in and follow Jesus: "... the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans." Well Screwtape, not today. We both know that the little congregation in Honduras, or Ethiopia, or down the street, is part of something much larger, more powerful and more meaningful than what it seems. And the lives of children around the world are eternally better because of this thing called the Church.

(You can find the book online at: http://books.google.com/books?id=HpydZ7Xl1xwC&lpg=PA81&ots=hJkV_hn42G&dq=screwtape%20letters%20church&pg=PP1)

Finally - it's here!!!

2009-06-17T13:04:00.002-05:00

Yes, I have finally finished the "official" OYWO website: www.oneyearwithout.wordpress.com. It's been a long time coming, but I was able to do it for free, and it is worth the effort. And y'all are very special, because you chose to get in on the "ground-floor" by supporting my year without Coke! Just think, if this were the stock market, you'd be on your way to becoming millionaires! :)

Why I need to keep blogging

2009-06-07T20:32:00.002-05:00

I really need to keep at this whole blogging thing. Tomorrow will be 8 weeks without a sip of Coke, coffee or a bite of chocolate, so you'd think I'd start to "acclimate" by now - you know, sort of "lose the taste" of it, and not really mind going without.

Ha-ha, yeah right. Here are some of my recent temptations:

1. 99-cent lattes at Dunkin Donuts ("You kin stop being so appealing, Dunkin!")

2. M&M's at a wedding

3. free cans of Coke (only Coke) at Reggio's Pizza

4. a simple, strikingly beautiful Pepsi vending machine...

It would take one decade, not one year, for me to ever "acclimate". And that's not happening. Besides me falling into utter despair, you'd be stuck reading about it. 365 is enough torture for all of us.

(oops, I forgot a title)

2009-06-01T09:03:00.007-05:00

You haven't heard from me for a while, because I've been spending my weekends and evenings at 7-Eleven with my mouth under the Slurpee machine - cold Coca-Cola Slurpee, dripping off my face...then, to thaw out my brain, I drink a warm cup of dark roast coffee, which btw, goes great with a chocolate brownie, and then I drive to Starbuck's and...

[SLAP]

Wake up, Jenny! Don't you hear the Wayne's World "doodleley-doot" noises?? It was just a dream!!! (But a good one.)

I'm still surving - so far, 7 weeks without the 3c's. My lack of blogging lately doesn't have anything to do with late-night caffeine binges as it does with dragging my feet on the general OYWO website...like, I might actually have to write like an adult on it! What a pain! ;)

I'm also going to throw in my 2-cents about the murder of George Tiller - it was wrong! The ends don't justify the means...two thinkers who articulate this more clearly than I can are Dr. Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, and Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Below are links to their statements on the matter, if you're interested.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDM5NGYyYWMxZDY3NWFmYjhjZmJiNTI2YmRjZmRlYWE=

http://erlc.com/article/richard-land-condemns-the-killing-of-tiller/

Yet keep in mind that while one guy chose to murder another man, thousands of people, like ya'll, chose to help kids in poverty...right now, there are over ONE MILLION children being sponsored through Compassion International! And that's not even counting all the other community work Compassion does, like the AIDS Initiative, Malaria Intervention Program, Child Survival Program and Leadership Development Program. An overview of their programs can be found here: http://www.compassion.com/about/programs/default.htm.

OK, I'm done for now. I need to blog more often so I don't dump 10 days' worth of ramblings on you again! :)

Meet Ucaya Vivian

2009-05-22T15:48:00.004-05:00

After a month without blowing money on the 3's, I'm now able to start OYWO, Phase 2 (sounds official, right?) - sponsoring a child! Meet Ucaya Vivian from Uganda. She is 8 years old and lives with her father and 4 siblings; her mother is dead.

I know very little about Uganda. But Compassion's website is really helpful: I login, and they have a whole case study on Ucaya, such as her general level of schooling, whether or not she has any health problems, a list of her daily chores, her hobbies, etc. I really like how well they keep track of every child (all 1 million of them!).

Here are some interesting facts they had comparing Uganda to the US:

Literacy Rate (Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write.)
Uganda - Male: 76.8%, Female: 57.7% (2002 estimate)
U.S.A. - Male: 99%, Female: 99% (2003 estimate)

Percentage of population using improved drinking water sources
Uganda - Urban: 87%, Rural: 56% (2004 estimate)
U.S.A. - Urban: 100%, Rural: 100% (2004 estimate)

Percentage of population using adequate sanitation facilities
Uganda - Urban: 54%, Rural: 41% (2004 estimate)
U.S.A. - Urban: 100%, Rural: 100% (2004 estimate)

Life expectancy
Uganda - Male: 51.31 years, Female: 53.4 years (2008 estimate)
U.S.A. - Male: 75.29 years, Female: 81.13 years (2008 estimate)

Under-5 mortality rate
Uganda - 134/1,000 (2006 estimate)
U.S.A. - 8/1,000 (2006 estimate)

Number of people living with HIV/AIDS
Uganda - 530,000 (2001 estimate)
U.S.A. - 950,000 (2003 estimate)

Percentage of population living below $1 a day
Uganda - 85% (1995-2005 study)
U.S.A. - Data not available

Time for some honesty

2009-05-19T09:41:00.004-05:00

It has been a month without the brown goodness. And, all in all, we've saved a decent amount of cash from it. McD's tastes a lot worse without a Coke, ice-cream has little appeal if it's not chocolate, and I just growl whenever I see a Starbuck's sign. We have slightly increased our juice/iced tea consumption, but only to about 10 - 20% of the amount we used to spend on brown stuff. It's a lot easier to choose water over apple juice, versus water over a smiling can of cold Coke (what, your Coke doesn't smile at you?!?).

At the risk of looking like a back-tracker, I need to tell you that I did overestimate the amount I individually spent on the 3c's. I guess I was just thinking we spent $30 a month on cans of Coke, forgetting that I wasn't the only one drinking it. So, between me and my husband going one year without, we have about $45 per month to donate. This gives us enough to sponsor a child (more on her coming soon!) and the rest will either go to the OYWO website costs (still a maybe) or to the general Compassion fund. Just wanted to give you the facts.

The spirit of Swine Flu

2009-05-12T07:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I made it to the 4-week mark! Thanks so much to all the $1 per week pledgers out there for making your donations!!! [if you are on the list but didn't get an email from me yesterday, please email leeandjenny2009@gmail.com and I'll fix it]

I wanted to be celebrating yesterday, but instead I was sick. I knew I shouldn't have even typed the words "Sw--- Flu" on that last post. Blogging - yet another way to transmit the disease.

Yet even though I wasn't suffering nearly as bad as someone with the actual Flu, I was feeling achy, exhausted, and generally gross. Because of yesterday, and of course the past month in general, I now have a new level of respect for everyone who has or is working on kicking a real addiction. Since getting over the initial weeks of headaches and crankiness, there have been a number of good days - where I just want Coke, but am not desperate for it. But when things go bad, when you're feeling sick - that is much harder. It's like being kicked when you're down.

Normally, if I had the flu I would drink little bits of coffee throughout the day to settle my stomach, get a Coke Slurpee for my sore throat, and of course, to get through the day, drink Coke or coffee any time I needed a caffeine boost. Honestly, yesterday my brain was "reasoning" why a cold can of Pepsi was medically necessary. I was close to the edge.

But there was no giving in. Not at the 4-week mark. So the solution was simple: sleep, songs (more about this another day!) and suck-it-up. I'm still on the wagon. But thank God it's a new day.

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not AT ALL making fun of the the people who actually got H1N1, and even died from it. That is horrible, and I wonder how many deaths could have been prevented if the people had better access to clean water/medical care...another reason why I love the work that Compassion does.)

One month within sight!

2009-05-04T08:54:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday. Hopefully a week from today, I'll be able to tell my rockin' peeps out there who pledged their support to "fork over the four dollars - I did it!" ;) I love you guys! :)

If we happen to chat this week and I'm complaining of a headache, will you please remind me to drink water? I forget, since water does not have nearly the same loveliness as a cold Coke.

Lastly, I'm sad to say that this may be my only post this week. I'm going to need to resist talking with y'all so that I can work on another One Year Without page for other people who are interested in doing what I'm doing...like Swine Flu, insanity must be contagious!

Quick! Only 2 hours (central time) for 31-cent scoops at Baskin Robbins!

2009-04-29T19:42:00.002-05:00

Hurry! Go and get a scoop (or two or three!) of chocolate mint ice cream for me! You have until 10 p.m. I was also so excited because they had a coupon for a free latte with any purchase. "Great, lattes don't have chocolate in them like mochas do!" I told my husband. "Jenny," he said gently (he knew he had to be careful with me, since I was sitting four feet away from 31 cent chocolate cones) "latte - coffee - you can't have it." Ahhhh! All of the drama over not getting chocolate ice cream made me forget that I had also given up COFFEE. And he held me back as I attempted to flail myself through the window of Baskin Robbins.

What you can get for $1, what you can get for free

2009-04-28T12:20:00.004-05:00

New here? For just $1 per week, you can get your name listed on this Fantastic Blog. Really! Just ask the other 22 who have signed up at the left! (still need 18 more folks to meet my goal...)But I also wanted to remind everyone that Jesus Christ offers to forgive all our sins, be with us always, and ultimately give us eternal life for free. Just because I'm doing a fundraiser for the poor doesn't mean I'm "all good" with God - I'm a sinner who deserves hell, not heaven. If God allowed me to get into heaven "just the way I am" (crabby, self-centered, coffee-craving), how could heaven still be perfect? Jesus, Messiah of the Jews, died on the cross so that we can be reconciled and made right with God. If we repent of our sins and believe in Him, we basically get to stand behind Jesus on judgement day - and be pronounced innocent.

This fundraiser isn't something I "have to" do to try to earn God's favor; I "get to" do it. Not that I'm all happy-happy passing up those lovely Dove dark chocolate easter eggs! But many times I'm actually feeling joy and satisfaction that I "get to" play a small role in God's kingdom, and the joy of my life is that the King of Kings wants to be with you, and with me, forever.

Some serious prayer

2009-04-27T07:31:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone who is praying for the folks around the world who are feeling the recession in ways we have barely imagined in the States . And thanks for praying for me and the other people going OYWO ... our 'suffering' is so small in the big scheme of things, but the fact is that, at times, it is still a pain. A special thank you to Tina from the Compassion's headquarters who says, "This I can do…PRAY, PRAY, PRAY…more than ever. I dedicate myself to fast and pray every Monday on your behalf" and to "be more of a prayer warrior for the moms in other countries that feed their children dirt for food." Thank you Tina! Thank you everyone! I am humbled by your support and motivated to get more people involved! BTW, I've made it two weeks!!

Burnt Offering

2009-04-23T10:56:00.003-05:00

Thank you everyone, for your prayers and encouragement. I was even able to withstand a great temptation: baking brownies. They were for a friend, at my suggestion. I suppose I thought "I've gone 10 days without chocolate, I can handle this." Mixing the fudgy batter, pouring it into the pan, even scraping the bowl...I passed all these tests . But you know how it is when you cut brownies: some crumble, some break as you scoop them up, some are just too burnt to give to someone else. Ugly little pieces, but perfectly edible; I was left with nearly a third pan of Scrumtrulescense.
Have you ever wondered what the ancient Israelites felt like when they laid their offerings of rams, sheep, or grain on the altar to be burned? And not just the leftover, junky ones - only those that were pure and spotless, the best of the best! Well, I got a small taste of that feeling (pun intended). I couldn't give the pieces to my husband (he just joined me in a year free of the 3c's), and no one in their right mind gives them to a 3-year old. So I did what I had to do: I walked to the trash can and dumped in those perfectly good brownie chunks. I shouted, "Wess Stafford, why did I have to hear you on the radio???" Just kidding. Instead I remembered the kids eating dirt for dinner, and I was, at least at the end of it all, happy to make my little offering.

(nearly) One Week Complete!

2009-04-19T21:26:00.003-05:00

In a few hours, I'll have completed my first coke, coffee, chocolate-free week! To the wonderful $1/week supporters, I'm still planning on sending you a donation reminder email monthly, so hopefully on May 11 I'll be able to tell you that, yes, I won the bet, so pay your $4 to Compassion or else. ;) (Of course if you want to pay weekly, go for it! Link's at the left.)

I'd like to announce another crazy One Year Without person: Lee, my awesome husband (aww, what a guy!). He'll do the 3 c's with me...coffee isn't a problem for him, but Pepsi, Steak-n-Shake vanilla cokes and McDonald's chocolate sundaes really are! We also decided that two bloggers under the same roof is not cool, so I'll put a link up for his list of supporters soon.

Now, to avoid temptation, I'm going to bed.

Stop Your Whining, Jenny. You Still Have...(Part 1)

2009-04-18T16:34:00.004-05:00

I'm sure many of you (even if you love the 3c's like I do) can't help but notice the pettiness of my situation: one person in seven goes to bed hungry every day, and every day, nearly 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes; yet I'm whining about not getting a Coke with my McChicken and fries. Lame, to say the least. So as a way to better appreciate all I have, here's a list of 10 drinks and foods that I still get to consume, even though they're not my 3 favorites.

Stop Your Whining, Jenny. You Still Have: (part one)
1. carmel apples
2. Quaker Oat Squares
3. White Castle hamburgers
4. carrots
5. lime sherbet
6. green tea (yes, I know it has a trace of caffeine, but you don't want me to jump off the roof, do you?)
7. bananas
8. popcorn
9. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
10. turkey

BTW, I found the facts on world hunger at http://www.compassion.com/child-advocacy/find-your-voice/quick-facts/default.htm.

2 hours of clarity!

2009-04-14T08:21:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, my first day without coke, coffee, or chocolate, I had two whole hours where I was alert, thinking clearly, and feeling healthy! A taste of what's to come, perhaps?? I hope so, because the other 14 waking hours I either:

a. had a headache
b. felt like I was on Maximum Strength Benadryl
c. was sleeping with my eyes open
d. all of the above

But some more good news: I saved $3 by getting water when I normally would have been drinking Coke. I might have the $32 for a child sponsorship well before the end of the month!

More bad planning...

2009-04-13T10:04:00.002-05:00

This is my first day without the 3c's. If I had planned it better, I would have planned to start on a low-stress day, maybe getting a good night's sleep the night before.

Instead, we're about to leave for a rainy 3-hour car ride to the in-laws with a baby and 3-year-old in the back seat. Plus I really had to stay up until 1 a.m. to finish watching the end of Return of the King (again).

Soooo, in short, today's not gonna be pretty.

2009-04-13T00:31:00.000-05:00

Farewell, my friends!!!

So it begins.

2009-04-13T00:18:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, April 12th at 11:59 p.m., I had my last swallow of Pepsi. So far, 25 minutes Coke, coffee and chocolate free. Only 525,575 minutes to go.

Fat Tuesdays

2009-04-11T20:14:00.000-05:00

This weekend is my official Fat Tuesday. The wise thing would be to gradually taper-off my coke consumption, but I don't want to leave you with a boring blog to read next week. So, for your sakes, I guess I'll just have to finish this 2-liter of Cherry Coke Zero tonight; you know, take one for the team. This (delicious, crisp, delightful) Coke's for you, readers!

Tomorrow being Easter, if I do blog, I'd like it to be meaningful...so I'll tell you about my Fat Tuesday (really Sunday) menu now. Since I gave up chocolate for lent, I'll be concentrating extra hard on squeezing as much of it into the day as possible:

breakfast: 1 cup of strong, black coffee; brownies
snack: dark chocolate M&M's; coke Slurpee
lunch: a few bites of real food since my mom and sister are great cooks; chocolate cheesecake; chocolate lamb cake; more brownies
snack: Starbuck's double shot
dinner: forget the real food! Warm Delights Molten Chocolate Cake; Breyer's Chocolate Mint Ice Cream; iced mocha
all day long: Cherry Coke Zero; Tums

Whoa - this is actually working!

2009-04-09T08:15:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago a random thought of "give up coke, and make a fundraiser out of it" idea popped in my head...and now things are actually happening:

1. 11 people have pledged $1 per week for the year - thank you! Still need 29 more...

2. Judith Tremblay has "gone off the deep end" :) and decided to give up snacks & soda for a year. See her progress at http://oneyearwithoutsnacksandsoda.blogspot.com/. You rock, Judy!!

3. Dr. Wess Stafford, President and CEO of Compassion International has visited this blog! And he didn't just give a little pat on the back. Here's what he said: "Also starting on Monday, April 13th I'd like to align myself with this clever and courageous idea! It should be intolerable to us who have so much, that anywhere in the world mothers are compelled to feed their children dirt. I want to join this cause by giving up stuff that is robbing the poor . . . like cacao. Goodbye to chocolate candy bars, hot chocolate and my favorite, chocolate chip cookies. Now that is a HUGE sacrifice!" Yeah Dr. Stafford! Now I really can't mess up.

Thanks everyone for your help and for spreading the word.

Clarification...

2009-04-06T17:31:00.000-05:00

To 90% of the readers out there: I'm asking you to give $1 per week to Compassion International for one year. I'm NOT asking you to give up coke, coffee or anything else. Just $1. And, por favor, tell your friends to give, too.

To 10% of the readers out there: I'm asking you to give up something for one year, blog about it and get supporters to pledge $ to Compassion International. But only if you really want to. It will suck...but it will be worth it!

I'm not starting the one-year-without until April 13th. But you can sign-up to pledge now! Just go to "click here to email me" at the left. Gracias, everyone!

A Purpose-Driven Pyramid Scheme

2009-04-01T12:40:00.000-05:00

So I originally wanted to get 100 kids sponsored thru this "no-coke" thing. But after I did the math, I realized that at $1 a week, I would need 800 people to pledge to contribute...whoa. I was dismayed for a bit, until I realized we could harness the power of the (low movie-announcer voice here) World Wide Web. And create a pyramid scheme: except for good, not evil. Yes, yes! And instead of the money going to some rich man in an office somewhere, it goes to child sponsorships. So really, it's not a scheme. But a good title for a post, nonetheless!

Proposal for a Purpose-Driven Pyramid Scheme:

P Pledge $1 a week for one year, 40 of you lovely friends out there.

Y You watch me suffer without coke/coffee/chocolate for one year.

R Read and share this blog with your friends.

A Another 19 addicts anywhere in the world decide to do "One Year Without ____" and they

M Make blogs about it,

I Inciting 40 of their friends and families to donate $1 a week to compassion International.

D Donations are enough to sponsor 100 children. (with unlimited growth potential!)

(sorry if I offended any of my friends who are Purpose-Driven fans. Rick Warren and his churches do a lot of good...imagine how many kids could be sponsored if even half of his folks got involved!)

So is Compassion International legit?

2009-03-31T09:39:00.000-05:00

I wondered that myself, but before I give you some reasons why C.I. is cool, let me crack open this even cooler cherry coke zero...
Ahh, now I can think. Well, you can go to the link at the left and get all the info you want at their website. Here are my 3 favorite things about them:

1. They work through indigenous churches to provide the aid. The church then takes the money and buys the food/supplies from local farmers/businesses. So by purchasing food for the kids, the church partnered with C.I. is also stimulating the local economy. The whole "hand-up, not a hand-out" thing.

2. They are trustworthy. They were rated in the top 10 by a Wall Street Journal list of charities of you can trust, received 4 out of 4 stars by Charity Navigator, were rated as one of the American Institute of Philanthropy's "Top Rated Charities"... and they've helped over 1 million children!

3. Their focus is on breaking the cycle of poverty by focusing on individual child development, from the inside out: "We've discovered that changed circumstances rarely change people's lives, while changed people inevitably change their circumstances." The USA, richest country on the planet, is proof of how wealth alone does not solve all problems.

Compassion International is legit!

It started with tuna...

2009-03-31T08:26:00.000-05:00

Trudging to the kitchen a few weeks ago, I scanned the pantry to see what to make for lunch. The only protein source that my 3-year-old would eat was a can of tuna. "Ughhh," I thought. "Tuna with just mayo? I'm so mad we don't have any more organic celery!" I grabbed a can of green beans and a box of Triscuits to go with it. "I guess we'll just have to make-do with what we have," I grumbled to myself, turning up the radio to ease my pain. It happened to be a program called Midday Connection, and their guest was Wess Stafford, president of Compassion International. And there he was, describing how he grew up in Africa, side-by-side with some of the poorest people on the planet; then as a teenager coming to the US and upon his first visit at a north american grocery store, weeping. And how today, mothers in places like Haiti and Bangladesh had to give their kids dirt or 'warm water, because it at least feels like food to them'.

What a contrast! What a gracious God who forgives me for my head-in-the-sand greed. And if I claim to follow Jesus, he calls sinners like me to leave the sin and walk a better Way. So this is one, I admit, in the grand scheme of things, small, step I can take. And tuna, even without celery, is still pretty good.

So you don't blog? Great! I don't (really) either!

2009-03-29T13:22:00.000-05:00

If you're an experienced blogger, I'm sure you could spot that I'm not! And I'm guessing that many of the folks I've personally invited to visit here aren't either. But you can still join the conversation. I figured out how to change the settings so that you don't have to be a member of Blogger or whatever to comment. Click on the red link below the post such as "1 comments" and it will take you to a comment screen. From the pulldown "Select Profile", choose "Name/URL" and type in your name as you would like it to appear. No Blogger account is necessary. If this still isn't working, go to the pledge list at the left and click on "email me" and let me know. Hope this helps clear up any confusion!
I've also learned from reading blog articles that it's lame to shamelessly beg for comments (like I did on the last post). Oops! Live and learn.

Raise your hand if you love Coke! (or Pepsi)

2009-03-26T23:33:00.000-05:00

If your hand's up, you are my friend! I do have a few misguided, confused friends who don't share my enthusiasm for the most popular beverage on the planet (aw-yeah!). Weird how they are all healthy and don't get caffeine-withdrawal-headaches...
Someone out there, please let me know I'm not the only one who wishes Coca-Cola (or Pepsi or Cherry Coke Zero or whatever your poison) flowed out of the faucet! (Or tell me I'm nuts. But leave a comment, please, I like them! (and I like parentheses)).

(btw, to the juveniles out there who are like "huh-huh, she said coke!", I obviously mean the beverage, so get over it.)