I got a bit of a head start on that today, by following step 1: Remove temptation. Doing all this helps put me in the mindset of not spending, which, for me, is the first step toward saving, and it’s the only reliable way to help me get started on a budget.

• Unsubscribe from all Living Social, Groupon, and other daily deal sites.
• Unsubscribe from mailers, catalogs, etc.
• If you get any catalogs, throw them out right away.
• Unsubscribe from any other email from any store I might want to shop in. The hardest ones were Ambiance‘s Twitter feed and ModCloth‘s emails. (OK, I didn’t unsubscribe from ModCloth. They have lots of styling tips…)
• Don’t visit online shops. Not even when you think you’re Christmas shopping.
• Avoid going into stores. (Starting a workout plan is a good way to do this. If you have to head home right after work and exercise, you will stay out of cute boutiques.)

There is much, much more I need to do for finance month. But I’m still focused on “Boost energy” month, so I need to take some melatonin and get to bed.

Tonight, I made pumpkin bread from scratch. Though, to be fair, I started on the pumpkin puree on Sunday. We went to Farmer John’s Pumpkin Patch in Half Moon Bay on Sunday to pick up some carving pumpkins, as well as a Cinderella and a Fairytale pumpkin for eatin’. Mrs. Farmer John told me that the Cinderellas were good for baking and the Fairytale was better for grilling, since it had less water.

I was thinking of roasting the pumpkins, like I often do with winter squash, but D wanted to use the pumpkins to make pumpkin bread. Good ol’ Cook’s Illustrated helped out here, with simple (though time-intensive) instructions for making pumpkin puree. We used the Cinderella for the puree and CI’s recipe for pumpkin-nut bread (leaving out the nuts). And voila! Pumpkin bread from scratch. We ate it with vanilla ice cream, after it cooled down a bit but was still warm from the oven. It was definitely a subtler taste than with canned pumpkin, but it was pretty darn tasty. Next time, I’d add a tiny bit more sugar and more spices.

Recipes: Pumpkin-Nut Bread (Cook’s Illlustrated). Although Mrs. Farmer John’s recipe (and pumpkin prep technique) is here.

Technique: Pureeing pumpkins (Cook’s Illustrated)

On The Happiness Project blog, this week’s resolution is to “hug more, kiss more, touch more.” I’ve been thinking about that a lot today.

Last night, ignoring my friend Jenn’s very smart advice that you should never work late on a Monday night (it sets the whole week off on the wrong foot), I stayed up until midnight finishing up some work. And of course, I burned myself out. By 2 pm (since I had also skipped lunch), my mind was a mess. I came home early, as my neighbor Pat was out back having a smoke.

Pat, a former hospice nurse, is a great neighbor and human being — he’s amazingly empathetic and very much in tune with the people around him. As we wrapped up the conversation, he gave me a big hug. We talked about hugs, and he said, “What I like to do is not hug too tight, but just to wrap your arms around someone” — he wrapped his arms around me — “And just breathe. I used to do that to my patients.” We took three deep breaths, then let go.

His hug reminded me of Fr. Andy, a Jesuit who worked at a retreat house along the Oregon coast and who was the best hugger I have ever met. Fr. Andy was tall, and his arms would encircle you. He’d hold you close and safe but not too tight — and then just breathe.

Photo: Some rights reserved by Kalexanderson

I’ve tried to start a Happiness Project a couple of times and failed utterly. Rubin talks a bit about having a tracking system for your various goals, but none of the ones I tried — those on her site, Google Docs spreadsheet (which kept me honest on my New Year’s Resolutions for a number of years), etc. — seemed to fit.

Finding the right tool for the job

So why apps? The best tool, ultimately, is the one that’s with you when you need it. The Happiness Project Toolkit required me to turn on my computer when I went home, go to the site, log in, and use its tools. Google Docs was more convenient (I could get to my resolution tracker within a few clicks of my home screen), but I still had to get on my computer.

My iPhone is the one thing I bring with me everywhere I go. I use Mint to track my spending (and before a recent update, I used CashTrails). I started using LoseIt to count calories and take off a few pounds. When I went back home, I used Nike Training to fit in a strength workout or two when it was too humid to run outside.

Apps for boosting energy

• Eat better: LoseIt
• Exercise regularly: Runkeeper
• Get more sleep: Sleep Cycle
• Declutter my house: This is, admittedly, a stretch. Apartment Therapy Home Cure iBook and ItsDeductible
• Tackle some nagging tasks: TaskPaper
• Act more energetic: No app can help here.

If all goes well, I’ll recount my experiences here, both with the apps and with the Happiness Project. We’ll see how it goes…

This one tip would probably make a huge difference:

Stabilize your camera. Use a tripod, or prop your camera on a high-back chair to help reduce the photo’s blurriness. This will eliminate the camera shake, you can also use a timer on the camera to be sure.

So, THAT’s what the timer is for.

Pan-grilled lamb shoulder chop (without the pan grilling or marinating)
Arugula and blue cheese salad. HTCE p. 95

I really need to learn how to take photos.

No-knead bread

Flash-cooked hominy with kale. HTCE, p. 193

Broiled chicken cutlets with cracked pepper (variation of Basic grilled or broiled chicken cutlets). HTCE p. 381

After I bought this bed, the lady at Harrington Gallery told me I could decide later if I wanted to have it delivered. “Just call this number,” she said. “I’m Gio. No matter what, I’ll be the one who answers.” She had slightly wild Gypsy-like black hair and wore red, as women with that kind of hair do (and should).

I thought about it for a day. I didn’t call any of my friends with trucks. I ordered the delivery.

On Tuesday, Adam from Harrington called. “We’re out in the Avenues so we should be by soon,” he said. “What’s your address again?”

”#### ##th St.,” I said.

“Riiiight. Street not avenue,” he said. “OK, we have a stop in Cayuga first, so it’ll be 20 minutes.” I had no idea where Cayuga was.

He came in carrying the footboard, humming a song that sounded familiar. When he came in with the rails, humming the same tune, I asked, “What’s that you’re humming? Is it Sinatra?”

“No, Beck,” he said. “He had some album out of goofy guitar songs, years ago. This is one of them. I probably haven’t listened to that album in like 15 years, but this song gets stuck in my head every single day.”

His hair stuck up on top, just above an indentation around his head. Hipster hat head. His maroon printed boxers poufed slightly above his dark blue jeans (sorry, there’s no manly verb that describes it as well as poufed), and his voice was gentle and friendly.

“Do you want help putting this together?” he asked. I didn’t think that was an option. I told him I was afraid I’d have to figure it out after I got home tonight. He chatted as he attached the metal rails to the wooden headboard and footboard, turning down my offers to help until we had to move the box spring onto the frame. It slipped right through to the floor.

“These old beds,” he said, “They’re not made to modern sizes. Sometimes someone was making a bed, and they just made it whatever size they wanted.” He told me that they could give me slats for the frame. He didn’t have them in the truck, but I could stop by the store. He’d have them ready. He measured the size: 55 inches.

“We can set up the bed for you, anyway, though,” he offered. “You don’t want to have to set this up tonight. When you get home from work, sometimes you just want to sleep.” We laid the mattress on top of the boxspring, inside the frame. After they left, I vaguely assembled the bedclothes on my new bed, then dashed out to work.

When I came home from a work dinner, after work, I just wanted to sleep. Thanks for your help, Adam.