21 Things You Should Never Buy New

Yahoo had it right this morning! This was a featured article:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/21-Things-You-Should-Never-usnews-2356162080.html?x=0

-Courtney

Refurbished is new to me!

I got an iphone. No, not the fancy new model, but the 3GS. And its awesome. But that's not what this is about...

I don't know if its because I bought it refurbished or because the new one just came out, but it only cost me $90 through the AT+T website. Pretty amazing. And the device itself is pretty amazing.

And the phone works great. Looks brand new. And it is...to me. :)

-Courtney

I kinda cheated...

Okay, so I moved this weekend. Again.

It was a good weekend all and all. I feel really good in my new space. The energy in my house is clean and free and well...me. I feel like myself again.

BUT

I bought a few things. Not used. New. Bathroom stuff. Here's the list:
a shower curtain
2 bathmats
a toothbrush holder
a toilet paper holder

I felt really weird buying this stuff used. Just cause it kinda grosses me out. My kitchen and bathroom are always pretty spotless, and the thought of reusing things that have come in close contact with people's bowels, dirty bodies, and saliva kinda gave me the hibbie jibbies. So I caved. And didn't even try to find these items used.

BUT

I bought the stuff at Big Lots, which resells stuff at a discount price that wasn't selling in another store, so it's not totally cheating. Right?

-Courtney

MS150, Flat Tires, & Reaching Goals

Last year I set a goal for myself: I would complete the MS150 bike ride in 2010.

That goal was born days after Brian was diagnosed with MS last Spring. By the time we were both out of tears, and in true Stacey fashion, I decided I had to take action and do something to help fight this life-altering disease.

(Let me just pause here and say that I’m aware that any good psychologist and most rational people would agree that I was deflecting my own feelings of helplessness away from the situation and pouring my efforts into the futile cause of training to ride a bike for 150 miles in one weekend – and for the most part they would be right. However, it seemed like a good idea at the time and proved to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.)

But, underlying psychology aside, three big things stood in my way; 1) I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in years 2) I was deathly afraid of going down hills on a contraption with only two wheels and no seatbelt 3) I didn’t own a bike

At the urging of my friend Darcy, I, quite impulsively, purchased a road bike. I happened to mention this fact to my friend Jen, who, as fate would have it, agreed to “teach” me and Katie (also a new cyclist at the time) the ins and outs of road biking. Jen taught us everything from how to clip in and out of our pedals to the proper way to scare off a crazy dog chasing us through the back roads of Pennsylvania. And, after a year of training, my goal actually seemed attainable.

The three of us, and Jen’s wonderful friend Brie, formed a team called “The Flying Pigeons” (yoga friends, feel free to roll your eyes) and managed to raise $1,270 for the MS Society. (Thank you, sponsors!)

The ride started off great. But as the first day continued it was getting harder and harder for me to keep up. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but my legs were more tired than normal and I felt like I was working twice as hard as the cyclists passing me. Still, with the support of my team, I finished that first day with a smile on my face.

The second day of the ride started out the same as the first until a friendly cyclist whizzing by me grunted, “It's none of my business, but your tires look really low.”

And, in fact they were. As it turns out, I had ridden nearly 80 miles on practically flat tires making the job of propelling myself forward much harder than it needed to be. Jen seems to think there’s a lesson here, offering the motto, “When the going gets tough, check the air in your tires.” And maybe I too will see the metaphor when my legs stop hurting, but for now I’m just grateful to have accomplished my goal.

So, why bring all of this up on a blog about not buying new things?

Well, because I’m learning that the things that really matter in life can’t be bought or sold, they can only be lived and experienced.

~Stacey

Is An Upgrade Really Upgrading Anything?

My friend Monica just made fun of me for my phone. Which is appropriate. :)Look to the left, and you'll see a picture of my model.

In an age of iphones, I guess my phone is a little sad. Now, I don't mind it so much. It does what I need it to do...call people, text people. I don't have email on it, but I actually really appreciate that disconnect. But the trouble is, Verizon keeps messaging me that I am up for an upgrade and they keep tempting me with amazing deals and discounts and coupons. Any other year, as soon as I got the first message for an upgrade, I would have run to Verizon without even thinking of it. But now, that I am thinking of it, I think how silly that really is and how many old, perfectly good phones I have laying around. My phone works just fine. The buttons are getting a little worn and harder to press, but the phone is still doing its job.

Think of how many of us rush to get whatever phone is bigger and better when we have a perfectly adequate phone in hand already. It saddens me to think of how wasteful that is...to our environment and our sensibilities.

Next time you get that "you are up for an upgrade" message from your phone company, think about it. What are you really upgrading? And what are you wasting?

-Courtney

Stacey's Visit

Stacey and Katie (the computer giver) were just here to visit. It was fabulous to meet Katie, who is a solid gold person. And the three of us had nothing but fun.

Stacey, Katie, and I(and Brian, Stacey's hubbie)had a wonderful weekend doing lots of yoga, laughing, eating and drinking wine...which is what Stacey and I's trips usually involve. I really value that our time together doesn't involve shopping and purchasing or spending time anywhere near retail. Instead, our friendship is centered around activity, talks, and nourishing our bodies with food and exercise. (Maybe not the wine.) :) I think its why the two of us are such great friends and have such a strong friendship, even after not having lived in the same city over the last 7 years. I encourage you all as the weather gets better to pick more activities with friends that involve sitting and talking or riding bikes. Its good for the soul. And your friendship.

I also had people over for dinner again on Monday evening for the holiday. I'm learning that its a huge way to give and show love to my friends in the ways I used to with material gifts. And it gets everyone together, which is never a bad thing.

On a side note and with summer approaching...I am getting the itch for new, cute yoga tops...and I hope I'm not stealing this post from you, Stacey. But I've been taking a lot more yoga classes and with being single and going through this break up, I'm looking around in class and guiltily thinking...I want a cute top like her! I want! I want! It will pass. But its a little challenge I'm facing.

-Courtney