My weekend.

12 books due at the library Monday that can't be renewed + Wednesday's looming move out deadline + 8 yards of fabric and bondable web + a sick kitty + a messy, messy desktop on my computer + personal project and web projects to kick start and complete = my weekend which WILL be fun regardless :)

When I grow up...

I've been keeping a mental list of things I really want to do/have when I grow up (code for, when I am working and Erik is working and we are a two-income family). Do you keep such lists? Mine includes the following:

• Taking an art class
• Begin writing my book
• Become fluent in Spanish (that would fall under taking a few more classes)
• Join a book club
• Watch more movies from our Netflix subscription
• Get real furniture (and second hand is totally okay, as long as it's real, moderately sustainable furniture)
• Grow a garden
• Bring a puppy home
• Digitize my family's history (this coincides with one of my long term life goals)
• Be active in my community in some capacity
• Become much more active in keeping in touch with people in my life
• Own a treadmill and/or stationary bike
• Tutor and mentor community youth
• Develop an incredible collection of art at home that no one else has 
• Write a family cookbook that explores our history and life milestones
• Build a nice professional set of clothes. What I have now is nice and appropriate, but I have not shopped for myself in months and I have not invested much effort in building a sustainable, timeless collection
• Time to visit my friends and family spread throughout the country

What are your grown up aspirations? I like to think I'm not too idealistic, but, what I'd really like is happiness, health, and strong, committed relationships with the people in my life. We've always been a very simple family, and we've never been a family of haves [nor have we been of the have nots, since we've almost always had our basic needs met]. I kind of want to keep it that way. 

Earth resolutions

Admittedly, I'm not the most eco-conscious nor eco-guilty people. I live in an eco-friendly city, but I'm not one to put enough effort into doing things that contribute to a greener planet, and it's not just because I'm lazy (I'm not). It's sometimes a matter of not thinking about it enough. But I think Earth Day is a good time to think about environmental resolutions. 

When I graduated from Cornell, I signed the graduation pledge. I certainly haven't forgotten about it. I still have my card and the bookmarks I made to promote the cause. As soon as I am employed with an organization, I hope to be able to contribute to that employer's green side in simple and effective manners. But the pledge is also personal, and I think it's easy to forget some of the simple ways that I already do think consciously about my environmental impact and the ways I can do better.

First and foremost, there are things Erik and I do do that take into account the environment. All of our light bulbs are  compact florescent, for example. We don't buy bottled water because we have a perfectly good tap and filter. We have one car because I rely on public transit in Austin. We buy our groceries at the local chain that is close to home, as well as mostly filled with products that are moderately local. We have few lights in our place and only turn them on when needed (or I end up doing it when someone forgets he doesn't need the kitchen light on when he's in the living room). When I lived more centrally and on my own, I only used recyclable grocery bags since they were easier to carry. We are also big believers in donating our unused or unwanted stuff to Goodwill, saving it from landfills and allowing it a second life. We use environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies that don't add to the chemicals in the air. Lastly, Erik and I have been committed, as I mentioned in an earlier post, to reducing our collecting of stuff. 

We know there's a lot more we can do. 

As of today, Earth Day 2009, we're pledging to do better. What we can do to improve our planet is so easy, but it's also easily overlooked. Some of our resolutions include: 

• Recycling our empty cans -- as diet coke drinkers, we often throw the cans out because recycling them requires a lot of effort on our part living in an apartment complex. But it's not impossible, and it's something so simple we CAN do.
• Bringing our reusable bags to the grocery store -- I did it before, but since we use a car now, we don't think to do it. 
• We're cutting cable, reducing our electrical use of a television.
• Eating seasonally -- I have a wonderful cookbook that focuses on eating foods that are in season, and it's something I'd like to try. As convenient as it is that we can get blueberries any time of the year, there is a major environmental impact on that in terms of transporting and growth.
• Reusing broken or old items in new ways. 
• [here's your tmi] Actually using my diva cup rather than having it there and relying on tampons
• Purchasing items with the least amount of waste

All are simple but are effective some how, even if it's effective only because it reduces our load on ourselves. 

What are your eco-resolutions? What are you doing to help motha' Earth?

Feeling like Alexander.

I will not be blogging today. I am blogging to say I will fail at being a successful blog participant today. Blog, blog, blog. 

Stressed (no desserts here, please).

It's going to be a busy, busy week. Erik and I decided we want to be totally out of our place by Sunday. To do that, we need to keep packing and moving, including making some more donations and trips to the dumpsters outside. 

I've taken on a new personal project, to be blogged about soon. I'm the mistress of the personal project, and I need to get all of those things together and better organized so I can be more effective. Clean your house, clean your computer, clean your projects, right?

This week, I hope to eek out a little poetry. I also have a blank canvas here just begging for my attention. We have a space in the kitchen, and now it just needs its masterpiece.

I'm getting very excited about an upcoming trip. Erik and I are heading up to Chicago so he can get registered for school and we can figure out where to set sail for a couple of years. We're shocked with ticket prices, too. We had to fly up at the same time last year and tickets were $300 each way; we decided driving, even with the expensive gas prices and hotel stay, was cheaper. This time, they were under $100 each way. 

...This post brought to you by being uninspired. I promise something more exciting tomorrow! Monday is not my day today for creativity. 

Sunny Sunday

I am in love with the painting I finished last night. When I first began it, it kind of bothered me but as it grew, I began to really dig the images and I am in mad love with how vibrant the colors turned out. 

I am an artist of color and shape. I believe in using and manipulating shapes and colors to allow the image and vision to emerge. It sounds lofty, but I've really come to believe that when you do art, there is a reason and purpose behind it (even simply to tell a good story). Mine's simply shape and color. There is a story here. Can you see it?

The first real painting I did for pleasure was one that's traveled with me since senior year of college. My roommate was taking an art class and shared her canvas and paint with me. Again, shape and color tell the story. This one's got a lot of angles, but I like to think it's a woman in a parka on a park bench. Maybe you see something else. 

In entirely unrelated news, it's volunteer appreciation week at the place I volunteer. The only snag in it is that all of the events happen during the week; I happen to be a Sunday volunteer, so unless I make the effort to go in for my free Panda Express, I miss out. Fortunately, I work for such wonderful people, I got my appreciation today!

The library assistant brought me a big, bright sunflower. Just looking at it makes me so cheerful and happy. 

Perhaps more exciting than the sunflower was the compliment a patron shared today. She had asked me to get in touch with one of the nurses, and I said I wanted to make sure I was calling the right extension. I asked the la, who told me how to do it. I called it and handed the woman the phone. When she hung up she told me that was great customer service. Plus one on the happy points.

So a few minutes later, her son wanted to play a game on the computer. He was having trouble getting it to work, so I went over and walked him through getting it started on another computer through a mirror site. It got up and running and he was able to play. The mom not only thanked me, told me I gave great customer service, and said it was so rare to find, she asked the la if she was a volunteer and when she said no, she told her how great I was in being helpful. The la, after we had earlier discussed my 5 months of unemployment and rejection, asked the woman if she would hire me, and the woman said she'd not only hire me, but for that treatment, she'd want me to be helping run the place. 

It's really the small things that make your entire mood and day turn around. A nice painting, a pretty flower, and a wonderful compliment made today a wonderful Sunday.

Rad weekends.

So far, this weekend's been pretty great. 

Although the weather was not in our favor for the weekend, we used a little free time and dry time to head up to Ikea last night. We picked up a few more yards of fabric to finish up curtains in the new place, and then we had a delicious dinner at the Cracker Barrel. Before doing any of that, though, we went to Hobby Lobby and met our lucky day -- we were hoping to pick up some acrylic paints and canvas and it was all on sale. 

After dinner we spent a few hours painting. It was so relaxing and wonderful to have a nice creative outlet for a few hours. Part of the painting interest came because we needed a little more art in the new apartment. I'm a big believer in not owning art that everyone else owns, so what I have is a little of everything. I've got a couple of wonderful drawings I bought from a guy at Pike's Place in Seattle; a couple of photographs from a woman I met at the Maker Faire in Austin; a couple of photos from graduating seniors at Cornell selling from their shows; and finally, some of my own paintings. It's nice to add a few more of our own work and it's interesting to see how differently Erik and I are in our styles and visions. 

We slept in this morning, and since I got up before Erik, I got about an hour of reading in before we both showered and headed to the library. That place is an utter zoo on Saturdays because our city cut its Friday hours, and it makes me both excited and sad that Saturdays are so bad -- excited because people are obviously using the library and sad because people are obviously using the library but are being deprived of more time in which to do so. It overburdens the poor people working at that branch who already don't seem thrilled to be there. Alas!

After the library, we went back to Hobby Lobby and picked up some more canvas since it was on sale and we have plenty of paint left over from last night. We then did a trip to Target for a dvd (I've suddenly decided I wanted to try the 30 day shred workout) and Good Will for 2 bags of donated goodies. A lovely and healthy Japanese lunch was in order, and I picked up a salad for dinner tonight, too. If there's one thing I will *really* miss about Austin is the wonderful fast food Japanese we have here that is actually good for you. Yum.

Toss in some more cleaning, as well as some blogging and reading, and plans for more painting and a movie tonight, and so far, we're off for a winning weekend. I'll report back tomorrow, of course, but for me, the weekend is only Saturday since I volunteer all afternoon on Sundays. I have *the best* volunteer gig in the world, and I've been there for a whole year now. When we move, that's another place I will definitely miss more than anything. 

If you're curious, right now I'm reading The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubas III. Yes, it's an Oprah pick but I actually didn't know that until I picked it up. My best friend recommended it to me, and so far, I'm digging it. 

While the sun has decided to come out from hibernation, so has the humidity. We're going to be hibernating instead.