Hibernation

So things have been pretty difficult lately here in Louisiana and I've been feeling anything but authentic for months, so I've decided to just take a break from blogging for a while. I'm not sure how long it will last or even if I'll come back to it, and truthfully it's not like I've been a consistent blogger for the last year anyway. I still realize I don't have it that bad though--as always I'm not being persecuted, I'm loved and supported, and I have a roof over my head and food in my fridge.

The good news as of late is that I planted some lettuce, turnips, and green beans--all of which are coming up but I am not sure how well they'll do. We actually had frost on the ground the other morning and some days have been chillier than I'd expected. Since they're coming up next to the house, hopefully they'll get some residual heat also.

I also had my first day of subbing finally on Monday of this week. Pretty regular sub experience except for the fact that the kids say "yes, ma'am" and wear uniforms. The uniforms I felt were a benefit as the kids could still express individuality via accessories (shoes, belts, sweatshirts) but I didn't have to worry about kids being inappropriately dressed at all. The school is fairly small (grades 7-12; 450 students) and lacked resources, but I was impressed with the variety of course offerings and the small class sizes.

So I hope for the best for you and yours, and I feel the most authentic thing I can do is take some time to pause until I can regain what my own authenticity actually is....May each of you have full moments and complete appreciation for that which we all do have.....

Visitors! And Realizations too!

So my brother and his wife have been visiting us since Saturday. It's been nice having them here and having them get to know my husband and this place we currently call home. However it's also been interesting having them here, as it's made me realize just how much this place has become home to me. It's been interesting seeing others respond to the state the same way that I initially did, but it's also let me know how much I've grown in my acceptance of this place. I've adjusted to waiting a long time for food when eating out, to having to enjoy a lil' more fat and other dietary choices due to those options being what is served down here, and to not having all my usual shopping options available to me. (Although in thinking about this post, I did wonder if I'm becoming too complacent about some things.....??)

The husband was able to ride with his buddy to work the last two days, so we let them take our car for some site seeing around the state (such as New Orleans). They've been able to see a variety of different locations, and it gave me some time to clean up the house again and hang out with some of the other wives yesterday afternoon. The cleaning piece is something I try to stay on top of all the time (especially now with the pets), but it's something that is really important to me when we have guests. I know how much I judge others based on the comfort and cleanliness of their homes when I stay with them (I actually won't stay with relatives and friends who don't provide this), so its incredibly important to me that my home (and the shower, linens, and the like) be clean yet comfortable for people who stay in my home. I also know that allergies are common in my family, so I've been trying to keep the dust and pet dander to a minimum during my brother's visit also.

But I must say that yesterday was one of the best days that I think that I have had here. In the morning I received a text from my dog walking friend asking if I wanted to join her, and although I got to it too late (since I was cleaning! :-)) it was nice realizing that I'm actually making some friends in this place. My husband had the new guy in his unit over for lunch for the second day in a row, and in the afternoon I had two of the other wives spend the afternoon over here just gabbing and watching a movie. I went for a run and walked the dog, and then the husband and I just enjoyed some down time doing whatever in the evening. Realizing that we really do have our own routine and are able to interact with a variety of people (sometimes helping to take care of their needs) on a regular basis was a very nice touch to the day. It was a nice thought--realizing how much we do have...being here in this place together.

So it's been wonderful having family here for the week--being able to catch up on the familiar and just spend time together. But it's also been wonderful realizing how much this lil' place has that homey feel to it now too. The saying really is true: Home is where the heart is...and truthfully, the heart can reside in more than one place.

Blessings to you and yours!

Walking Away and Bringing the Smoothie Back...

So as I stood looking at myself in the mirror last night, I got that highly annoyed feeling; as in "hmmm something doesn't look quite so right here?!" I'd been noticing that my jeans and other bottoms were feeling tighter lately, but I attributed it to less walking while on my trip and the treats in recent care packages. I had figured the 12-15 miles a week walking the dog would right the clothes and comfort ratio back to normal, until noticing last night that several other areas of my body were also starting to fill in. Luckily my husband will be honest and understanding with me, and he pointed out that since relocating, I'm walking less over all and eating more, especially richer foods. A recent article I read had reported that 3-4 daily miles is needed in order to maintain weight. Since I've been doing 1.5 daily exercise miles and minimal routine walking, except from the living to the kitchen to the bedroom etc, then it made sense that I'm just not getting enough movement.

After moaning to my hub last night, he did agree to try to start running with me, but he also offered the question, "Really, what about motivating yourself?" Hmmmm.....good one!! So this morning, I went for what was my usual run before we got the animals. (Originally I'd hoped the dog would be a running companion...and while taking her gives me an extra arm work-out it really doesn't help with the running rhythm.) However, I had scheduled to meet another gal and take our dogs on the trail this morning also; so 45 minutes after running, Anna and I headed out to meet the two of them. I hadn't expected that the dogs would do so well today and that us two gals would enjoy talking so much again (last week I had an ear ache)! Thus after calculating my total distance today, it has to be somewhere around 8 miles. Hopefully I'll be able to start routinely moving more and thus keep the extra pounds at bay.

Lately I've been thinking about food too and ways in which to reduce over all calories. I've always been a fan of healthy eating, but I really enjoy some of the higher calorie foods and sweets that have become regulars in our home. So I've been slowly bringing back the smoothie again to make sure I'm getting wonderful nutrients and great taste all in one. (Beyond fruits and soy milk, I add sunflower seeds, flaxseed, cinnamon, honey, and a packet of Emergenc-E.) Now the trick is to watch the rest of what I'm eating and monitor just how many servings I'm getting each day. However, I'm definitely a fan of good food, so as long as it's healthy overall I'm much more the type of person to up my work out than decrease my taste buds in the long run.

Here are some pictures from the walk today:

Starting out on the paved trail. The trail itself is supposed to be about 10 miles long I think and the head of it is 1 mile from our house.

A surprise group of flowers along the path. They were full of bumble bees which was nice to see!

Anna and her friend Wall-E. (Yes, this means that I may have finally found a like-minded friend too....although again it's a friendship that is just blossoming...Here's hoping though!)

Accepting Routine

One thing that recently dawned on me was the fact that for the 8 days prior to yesterday, I only left the neighborhood one time to do a grocery run with the neighbor down the street who doesn't really enjoy doing things alone. Since my husband has been training and he actually only gets 50 minutes for lunch (with the construction happening in our neighborhood, it takes a good 20-25 minutes one way for him to get home) he hasn't been coming home for lunch and he's also had full use of our vehicle. Usually by the time he comes home in the evenings, we just want to enjoy his down time together rather than out running errands. In the 8 days though, I'd definitely gotten out of the house--taking the dog on a daily walk and interacting with our friends down the way, but it surprised me to realize that just so many days had gone by without actually exiting our little neighborhood area. However, I also didn't feel that I had missed out in anyway and if anything, I have been feeling quite content with life as of late.

Although I do a great job of wasting some time everyday, I've also really begun to embrace the down time I do have currently and have begun to invest more time and energy back into reading about many of the things that matter so much to me. Somehow, someway I've really begun to look again at all that I do have rather than feel that much of anything is missing. Overall, it's been a great place to be at emotionally, mentally, and spiritually as of late.

So how have I been spending my days? Why by being quite domestic of course! Each morning usually begins with my husband coming in to greet me still in bed as he's returning from PT (physical training). Soon after he lets the dog out of her kennel and, after she's been let out to potty, she's usually bounding back to the bedroom to spread her own morning greetings. After making the bed, throwing on some sweats, and picking up whatever clothing articles my husband has discarded on the floor, I turn the coffee pot on, wash my face and fix my short hair rooster tail, and then go around taking care of the animals (ie feed them, clean out the kitty litter, and pick up after the dog outside). Generally by this time, I send my husband off, scrounge around for some breakfast, attempt to keep the dog from playing a little too zealously with the cat, and then settle down with my coffee to get my morning internet fix (check 2 email accounts, facebook, pour over the 4 primary job board pages, scan the headlines, and recently catch up on/write blogs). Sometimes some of this internet stuff pours over into the afternoon and there's usually at least a couple times more a day when I'm checking up on the emails and facebook too.....I think I've become slightly addicted. Somewhere in the middle of the morning usually, I get dressed, put my make-up on, and fix my hair so it at least appears in control.

The rest of the afternoons are usually spent in one or more ways: walking and playing outside with the dog, doing laundry and/or vacuuming the house (both happen 2-3x a week by necessity), visiting with the gal friend down the road, taking care of whatever other household need may be present, completing job applications that are available, sometimes watching a decent Netflix movie, and lately finally catching up on reading all my list-servs, magazines, and books. Evenings are spent hanging out with my husband (making and eating dinner together, talking, watching a show, just playing with the animals, or sometimes hanging out with the couple down the way), although now that football has started I'm doing even more reading in the evenings too. ;-)

Before bed, I take a shower and make the household rounds (wiping down the counters and putting any baked goods away from the bugs that may decide to want them, picking up whatever might have been spread around the house during the day, readying the coffee for the next morning, and getting the animals settled and in their appropriate sleeping spots).

While it might not be much to some, at this point I'm quite content with how my days are unfolding. I'll be happy when a job arrives, but I also enjoy the down moments I've been having. Time to rejuvenate, reconnect, and think---something that until now I may not have fully embraced. So often it's the simplicities of life that we so frequently overlook and so frequently take for granted.

So here are some of the little things I've enjoyed in the last few days:

--getting to eat lunch with my husband yesterday

--the morning wake up from my hub and dog

--moments in the evening when we're both reading in bed, the cat purring in between us, and the dog happily flopping on the bedroom floor

--noticing the butterflies flapping in the breeze

--watching the cat chase flies

--rain showers to remind me of home and the sun that breaks through the clouds too

--helping the neighbors down the way decide on a furniture lay out in their place and their willingness to loan us a futon while my brother and his wife visit this next week

Maybe not much but still significant to me. May each of you have a significant day in your own special way....

Sleeping Naked is Green...

So as discussed earlier, I spent the end of last week reading Vanessa Farquharson's Sleeping Naked is Green. The following is the mini-review I wrote on Facebook: After following Green as a Thistle throughout many of her 366 daily changes, I enjoyed reading the further insights provided by her book. Her dry British humor and Canadian bent often left me laughing, although I frequently wondered how her fellow friends and family felt about such personal descriptions in her novel. However at the completion of her story, I felt that it was a worthwhile read and I took away several new suggestions toward living a lighter life.

Vanessa's book also got me wondering about how many of her green changes, my husband and I are currently implementing in our home and how we are doing on consistency of use. So I started looking through her lists and this is what I came up with:

-I use an eco-friendly toothbrush and razors (Preserve)

-We both use natural shampoo, soap, and face soap in the shower (Burt's Bees)

-I use natural toothpaste (usually Tom's but when I couldn't find it here, I've fallen in love with Jason's)

-We clean with eco-friendly cleaners (glass and multipurpose)

-We use eco-friendly laundry detergent (usually Seventh Generation but my sister just sent us some homemade stuff too) and we wash in warm/cold....However we also hang about 50% of our laundry to dry on clothes lines in the garage which is something Vanessa didn't do in her challenge

-My husband utilizes paperless billing

-We always turn off the lights when we leave the home

-Although we do have a car, we share one vehicle (which is a financial blessing but at times a major difficulty too)

-We have about a 50% success rate of using our tote bags together and we turn down bags when we remember (and don't use produce bags); while environmentally debatable (believe me, I know plastic bags are bad!) we use the bags we do bring home for pet waste removal

-We both use our reusable water bottles, although my husband still prefers those toxin leaking plastic ones over his Klean Kanteen! (although in getting that link, I just discovered they just came out with a new version of the Kanteen that has all the traits he loves about the Nalgene!! woo hoo!!)

-We rarely use disposable eating ware, unless out somewhere and I even wash out and make the husband and his friends reuse their plastic beer cups (although he recycles them when I'm not looking sometimes!)

-We recycle pretty much everything we can

-When taking coffee from home, we use our reusable coffee cups

-We only drink fair-trade, organic coffee when at home

-We primarily eat organic, free-range eggs and organic yogurt

-I use an Oregon based mineral make-up (Alima) for face and eyes and the rest of my make-up products are natural options; I also forgo make-up remover

-I'm collecting our used batteries, but I'm not sure where I can recycle them

-Our housing utilizes CFL light bulbs (and monthly changes of our air filters)

-I've attempted natural deodorant; instead most days I don't use it and then just use the unhealthy mainstream stuff on days when I know I'm really going to need it

-We attempt to let it mellow when it's yellow (although some days this is just practiced during the night)

-Most our music is bought from Itunes, we read the news online (although I do pick up and then recycle the once a week, free on post newspaper), and we rarely buy new video games or movies (instead we use Netflix--although I'm not entirely sure how environmentally friendly this option is although I hope they recycle the paper packaging)

-I attempt to fill the coffee maker and/or kettles with only the water that is needed, and I use our left over water from our next-to-the-bed glasses to water plants in the morning

-When we do fly, we use the most direct flights, I request vegetarian meals, we just use carry-on luggage, we both bring our own headphones, and we use electronic tickets

-We rarely order take-out or delivery

-I always air dry my hair and almost never use a curling iron or anything like that on my hair; I don't dye my hair

-We basically only iron my husband's uniforms (although this could be because I seriously despise ironing)

-I also don't use nail polish nor wear perfume or fragrance

-At least half our furniture we got second-hand and most our art work are photos/art from individuals we personally know

-For the most part, we don't wear shoes in the house

-We donate clothing and other items to others that can use them or to thrift stores

-We save the boxes and packaging we get in the mail in order to use them to mail packages out

-I've also saved and reused the same moving boxes and packing paper for the last 9 years

-We have houseplants

-We reuse our bath towels and kitchen towels for about a week a piece

-We have a bamboo cutting board

-We don't use hand sanitizer or air freshners

-We share and borrow a lot of stuff with our friends down the street

-I attempt to make sure the shower curtain is pulled straight to dry

-We let dishes soak that need extra time

-I knit scarves and dishcloths and I mend/darn what I can

-We close the blinds and curtains at night to insulate; during the hottest parts of the day I close the ones where the most heat enters the house in order to keep it cooler

-I also keep the emails in my inboxes and sent boxes to a minimum based on what I'll still need or want to remember

Additionally there were several changes that Vanessa took on that I'd like to be able to implement, even if only a bit more frequently:

--Eco friendly kitty litter (and other animal food & products)

--Increase tote bag usage!

--Create a compost for our food scraps

--Turn off/unplug most unused electronics until they are in use

--Eat/drink only organic, free-range dairy and meat products

--Decrease water and electricity usage

--Switch to recycled paper products

--Resign up to block junk mail at current address

--Give greener gifts

--Buy more food in bulk (although this isn't an option locally)

--Buy more organic, local food (although again, not really an option unless we drive an hour)

--I'd love to find biodegradable pens!

--Donate to worthy causes

--I'd love to use biodegradable garbage bags (again they don't sell them here!!)

--Attempt more ethical, eco friendly housewares, clothing, and shoes when we need to get something new; or buy used when feasible

--Jam/Can/Preserve and cook more from scratch

--Turn down the water heater

--Use a rain barrel to collect water

--Use alternative energy methods (although again, not currently feasible)

So while there are several things we definitely could be implementing (although some of it is not easily feasible based on available resources), I actually was surprised by how much one or both of us is already doing. There were several things that I will not be implementing--either cause I'm not ready to go quite that far or because its not available here, but we'll definitely be implementing some of these additional things as we can. And while you're at it, why not pick up a used copy of the book and see how you rate?! ;-)

Purchases and Debt

So unfortunately by being unemployed still...I'm financially dependent on my husband. This is a concept that at first was very difficult for me to accept, although he's been a good sport about it all and about having to think more about spending. After being a grad student for so long, I have the tendency to get a little cranky about money, but he also grew up having to pinch his pennies so we actually do alright. There doesn't tend to be much, if any, left over at the end of each month, but the current bills get paid and we have what we need plus a few fun things each month. I'm used to always having some sort of a cushion in my account, but I guess knowing the military will provide our housing needs and health care regardless makes me a little less leery about how close to empty we come most months. However, the husband knows how important it is to me to get out debt, so we're both trying to pay off what we have now (1 loan apiece) and plan for how to pay off what will be coming up due (my two student loans). Yet, as always is the case, there are some unintended expenses too--such as having to replace our car battery last weekend and the vet bill we accrued after first getting our dog.

The original plan was that my paycheck would automatically go toward paying off all of my debts; however with no job in sight my husband has had to pick up part of my burden. Yet we also unfortunately accrued some credit card debt with move expenses, setting up the home, acquiring the pets, and some recent trips (his for work which will eventually be reimbursed and my recent mental health break). Luckily, I had anticipated our use of a credit card and so I had closed out my previous $0 balance card and opened a new one that would grant us 0% interest for the first six months. Luckily, we should just be paying it off or near paying it off in the next month, which will be great as we won't get charged interest (especially as it would have been our highest interest rate) on most or any of it. Then I can increase the amount on my loan payment again until my other payments begin. Debt is a war I don't like to engage in, but I also feel that almost all of our recent financial choices have been worthwhile in the long run. Truthfully though, not a day goes by that I'm not hoping and praying that a job is actually going to open up soon, so I'll be able to contribute toward lifting the load that consistently weighs on my mind.

While some of our purchases could have been made more frugally or held off on, all of what we've purchased has been well worth it and most have been investments in other ways. Some that come to mind are the following:

--We bought a $50 bottom line vacuum that has consistently sucked up a ton of dust and animal hair during the 1-2x a week that I use it. I make sure to clean out it's HEPA filter each time I use it to keep it in optimum working order, and I'm hopeful that between the HEPA vacuum and the air filter for the house we can keep a lot of dust and potential allergies at bay. For the price we paid for the vacuum, I definitely am impressed with how well it does and hope it continues to work for quite a chunk of time.

--We've talked about the pets previously. While they cost via general upkeep and food, the initial "donation" we made for both of them was much, much cheaper than covering the fixing and shots for an animal that we could have found as a stray. We price compare their food and I've been making treats for Anna from scratch. We also invested in hardier toys for the dog, and the cat is a bit more easily entertained (and the dog would eat his toys) so we've only bought one toy for the cat. However, we get enormous amounts of entertainment, exercise, and love out of the creatures, and thus it feels they are worth the costs we do put into them and more.

--We ordered a box of products from Burt's Bees, as we use their shampoos and soaps primarily for health precaution reasons. Each item that we use, I have investigated in the Skin Deep data base in order to determine its safety rating and how it compares to other products. While it's a bit more to use these products, the long term health benefits are worth it. I also made sure to order enough to qualify for free shipping and so that we have enough on hand for several months. Plus that cuts down on the amount of times we have to order, further decreasing the environmental effects of shipping.

--I also have put my foot down about buying organic, free range eggs and organic yogurt. I started eating dairy before moving down here as it makes it easier for us to make meals together. It also makes it cheaper over all since we don't have to buy multiple products, and most soy products cost more anymore. I do still drink soy milk, and we buy the yogurt in bulk to reduce the cost and packaging also. I'd like us to get to the point where we're only using organic dairy for both of us and free range meats for the hubby, but at this point cost is too much of an issue to over-ride the health benefits and the treatment of the animals. I can't believe I'm writing that....sigh.

As much as I've accepted my current unemployment situation, I still can't help but hope that someday soon one of these job applications is going to pan out into a job that I can enjoy and that will help get us a little closer to the financial path I'd like for us to be on. I've definitely been applying for things outside my main interests and comfort zone--just hoping that something soon will develop into employment! Here's to keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers lifted!