Getting a jump on the Jews this year in financial atonement. (Yom Kippur is October 3-4 in 2014.)

I am cleaning my portfolio. I've lost a lot because I didn't manage trailing stops nor pay attention. Made two trailing stops for dog stocks, looked at Coach (

COH) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). I've read that COH and HPQ are in turnaround, but COH is maybe a quarter above its top target price. HPQ on the other hand is going up and has better fundamentals and less negative sentiment (looking at short ratios, price to free cash flow ratio, price to sales ratio). Cleaning out the portfolio is like using a dustpan and brush for scraping away dead flies and spider webs, or severing a relationship once promising and now lingering with the patina of hope.

This morning, typing out recipes from the Daniel Plan Cookbook. It has beautifully photographed meals: all these red, green, fresh and crunchy ingredients on white dishes. After a break, typing out recipes from Wheat Belly. I am afraid to use a scale, much in the same way I am afraid to look at a portfolio, or glance at any measurement or yardstick that may tell me I'm doing something wrong or that I am not good enough. Besides, if my muffintop is so large I can't fit into my current clothing size I know I'm doing something wrong, and if I can fit into a certain pair of khaki shorts without triangulating my body on the bed (knees to shoulders the hypotenuse) to zip up I am doing something right. If I can stand up from a seat without feeling my weight sink into my knees I am doing something right. And I will feel I have done something right when my thighs no longer touch. What I've done right so far: taken digestive enzymes before eating pasta or whey; reduced my meat intake by at least a third, replacing it with vegetables; reducing my intake of salty, lovely Lay's Potato Chips and replacing them with handcut sweet potatoes, personally seasoned, not using the homemade mayo-sour cream dip (so tasty though!).

Awhile ago I took out a terrific, hot book from the library, Lost for Words by Edward St. Aubyn if you want to know. I misplaced it while on a family jaunt downtown. I asked about at two places I believe I may have left it at. I feel wretched. I have to suck up the book's replacement cost. I'd like to get to the point where I don't feel like a maggoty piece of feces when I make a mistake. I know I'm not atoning properly: do the Jews feel purified, renewed, invigorated after a good atonement? What are the internal signs of a successful atonement?

I muffed GnuCash. I gotta RTFM.

On the plus side, I have cleared the credit card balance, and am 73 dollars closer to paying off my home equity line of credit.

Boldly deposited funds into Roth and personal trading accounts. Boldly bought (BRK.B, PCLN, PRF, ONNN) and sold (DBA). Postponed two to three buys (SDRL, SLB, OII, WMC) because I am not confident I understand the companies' outlooks, risks, and economic moats.

We went on a clothes shopping binge, the three of us. New hiking boots, pants, and coat for the boy, new pajamas and shirts for the man, and new pants and shirts for me. When I opened one new-to-us coat's pocket prior to laundry, I found a Swiss Army knife. Yay!

More on drinking sensibly: this weekend we made an excursion to a specialty soft drink/hot dog & ice cream retail parlor, lucking into a free tasting session. We bought one sensible pop drink each, and vowed to come back for more. I have been the most sensible of our family, with no Zevia, no cheap six-pack of beer, not even Izze or San Pellegrino on sale, just a Vernor's Ginger Ale. (Moxie I save for the special moments in my life.) They have do-it-yourself pop brew kits (ginger ale, root beer of course) and 12-packs of specialty pop.

Experimenting with GnuCash, the accounting double-entry system for Linux. It has a 168-page user manual, a Wiki, mailing list and some built-in help. I wish I'd looked at the help material prior to establishing accounts. I may restart.

I lucked into $6.70/lb fresh king salmon yesterday at the supermarket. I took about $20 worth of salmon home.

I did plan meals for the week. I'd taken out Keepers and Brassicas last month. My goal is to have either 1 cup of beans or 1 cup of seeds daily, and one serving of brassicas (cabbage, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, gai lan, mizuna, tatsoi, bok choy, rapini, broccoli rabe, kohlrabi, watercress, brussels sprouts) daily. So here are my week's dinner entrees:

Monday - Kale Carbonara
Tuesday - Salmon in Foil with Spinach and Cream, or Salmon with Cucumber
Wednesday - Kale and Sweet Potato Saute
Thursday - Salmon in Cream with Bay Thyme and Dill
Friday - Pasta with Red Sauce
Saturday - Mussels the Belgian Way

I must improve my planning. Our home assessment notice arrived: 10% leap from last year, so at least 10% leap in real estate tax. Sigh. Also, class year photos for child, activity fees, if you have or have had school-age children, you understand. I put some money on his prepaid bus travel card for the wet days he doesn't feel like scaling the hill to our house.