I am a list-maker. I have a list of things to today, a list of things to do this week, a grocery list, a list of places I’d like to visit, a list of characters in my novel, a list of home improvement projects, a list of books I’d like to read, a list of ideas for this blog, a list of story ideas, a list of job contacts. Now I'm facing days of downtime between projects. For a compulsive eater/food addict like me, that could be dangerous. So I decided to make another list: a list of things to do instead of eating. I established two rules for the list: nothing on it could require the use of my car nor could anything on it cost me money. This is what I came up with:
Things to Do Instead of Eating**
**This list is neither entirely serious nor entirely tongue-in-cheek.
1. Make a list of things to do instead of eating
2. Write in my journal
3. Work on my novel(s)
4. Work on my quilt
5. Read the dictionary cover to cover
6. Play with Benji
7. Go for a walk
8. Write a new short story
9. Rearrange my books by color
10. Ride my stationery bike
11. Paint my nails
12. Rearrange my books by size
13. Watch my Slinky walk down the stairs
14. Try on and sort through my clothes
15. Pack a box to give to Goodwill
16. Rearrange my books by copyright date
17. Pack a box of books to donate to the library
18. Jump rope
19. Write a letter
20. Watch a DVD
21. Write a blog post
22. “Window shop” online
23. Clean my house
24. Make a mess
25. Clean up the mess
26. Update my address book
27. Expand my “to-read” list
28. Shred my junk mail
29. Count the coins in my change jar
30. Find fifty more people to follow on Twitter
31. Take a bubble bath
32. Change the sheets on my bed
33. Alphabetize my pantry
34. Change the sheets on my bed again
35. Teach myself yo-yo tricks
36. Teach my old dog a new trick
37. Mentally redecorate my house
38. Reread the longest book on my bookshelves
39. Compare my reading list with the library’s catalog
40. Write a really bad poem
41. Copy my favorite passages from a famous work of literature
42. Write an episode of M*A*S*H
43. Rewrite “I Will Survive” to “I Won’t Eat Pie”
44. Make sock puppets
45. Embroider my bath towels
46. Create a plan for Middle East Peace (which should be much easier than solving this Debt Ceiling Debacle)
47. Proofread CNN’s News Ticker
48. Take a nap
49. Call someone
50. Find books to add to my reading list
51. Call someone else
52. Test all the pens in my desk to see if they work
53. Sort my coupon collection by expiration date
54. Alphabetize my coupon collection
55. Throw away the expired coupons in my collection
56. Clean out my kitchen junk drawer
57. Braid my hair
2. Write in my journal
3. Work on my novel(s)
4. Work on my quilt
5. Read the dictionary cover to cover
6. Play with Benji
7. Go for a walk
8. Write a new short story
9. Rearrange my books by color
10. Ride my stationery bike
11. Paint my nails
12. Rearrange my books by size
13. Watch my Slinky walk down the stairs
14. Try on and sort through my clothes
15. Pack a box to give to Goodwill
16. Rearrange my books by copyright date
17. Pack a box of books to donate to the library
18. Jump rope
19. Write a letter
20. Watch a DVD
21. Write a blog post
22. “Window shop” online
23. Clean my house
24. Make a mess
25. Clean up the mess
26. Update my address book
27. Expand my “to-read” list
28. Shred my junk mail
29. Count the coins in my change jar
30. Find fifty more people to follow on Twitter
31. Take a bubble bath
32. Change the sheets on my bed
33. Alphabetize my pantry
34. Change the sheets on my bed again
35. Teach myself yo-yo tricks
36. Teach my old dog a new trick
37. Mentally redecorate my house
38. Reread the longest book on my bookshelves
39. Compare my reading list with the library’s catalog
40. Write a really bad poem
41. Copy my favorite passages from a famous work of literature
42. Write an episode of M*A*S*H
43. Rewrite “I Will Survive” to “I Won’t Eat Pie”
44. Make sock puppets
45. Embroider my bath towels
46. Create a plan for Middle East Peace (which should be much easier than solving this Debt Ceiling Debacle)
47. Proofread CNN’s News Ticker
48. Take a nap
49. Call someone
50. Find books to add to my reading list
51. Call someone else
52. Test all the pens in my desk to see if they work
53. Sort my coupon collection by expiration date
54. Alphabetize my coupon collection
55. Throw away the expired coupons in my collection
56. Clean out my kitchen junk drawer
57. Braid my hair
58. Take another nap
59. Find out how to grow potatoes in a garbage can
60. Teach myself to draw a straight line
61. Teach myself to draw a circle that's actually circular
62. Give myself a tattoo (with a Sharpie, not a needle)
63. Do twenty-five jumping jacks
64. Write "I will not eat unless I'm hungry" 500 times
65. Find out how long I can hold my breath
66. Try to do a cartwheel
67. Clean up whatever I knocked over when I tried to do that cartwheel
68. Read my list of "Things to Do Instead of Eating"
68. Read my list of "Things to Do Instead of Eating"