June 5, 2007
I feel like it went REALLY well. We’ll see what the outcome is in a week or two (or however long it takes them to deliberate).
I went in feeling confident and it turns out that I knew two of the panelists. One was my voice teacher when I was in the Applied Music program at SBCC (which you have to audition to get into), and the other was a faculty member that Nathan was close to and has heard me sing at various times at SBCC.
I took the rest of the afternoon off and it was delightful.
June 5, 2007
Disclaimer: Depending on your definition and comfort level, part of this post may be considered over-sharing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So I’ve been on a journey lately to simplify my life and my home, and be a bit more purposeful in how I live. Part of this has been de-cluttering (motivated largely by the impending move), part of it is making more earth-friendly choices, and part of it is making more wallet-friendly choices.
(Oversharing about to begin)
The Land Down Under
Nearly a year ago now, I switched from using tampons to using the Diva Cup. I had a variety of reasons, but the main ones were financial and environmental since it’s reusable. Considering that women use about 16,800 pads or tampons over their lifetime, that’s a HUGE savings of both money and landfill space. The Cup has paid for itself a few times over by this point (it’s generally around $30, but I’ve seen it for as little as $20 online) and it’s still got at least another year, if not a few years, of life left.
Not only that, but I don’t have to worry about the toxins that can be found in standard tampons (it’s debatable that this is an issue, but I would rather not risk it), or the fact that tampons soak up vaginal fluids that are necessary to maintain a healthy pH balance in the land down under. I’ve also noticed that some of my period “symptoms” have actually changed for the better since I started using it too. I have a feeling it’s linked to the pH balance factor.
Anyway, there are a lot of other reasons I could tell you about as to why you (or if you’re a man, your wife, sister, etc) should try it out, but I’ll get off my soapbox now.
My point is, I decided to also start switching over the cloth pantiliners for backup support.
The first one looks like crap and I put one of the snaps on backwards, but hey, it was my first try. The one on the right is the pattern I think I’m going to go with. It fits perfectly and is very comfortable. I used a cotton jersey fabric I had on hand and it doesn’t slip around either (using flannel on the bottom also helps with that…some have had success using pads and liners without wings by using flannel).
Eventually, I’d like to get some natural (non-dyed) and/or organic cotton to use, but for now I’m using the fabric I have on hand.
(Oversharing is over now *wink*)
Sewing
It was really nice to pull out the sewing machine after a long hiatus too. I think I might try making one of these purses next (discovered on Abby’s Knits and even cooler looking in person). I love bags, especially roomy ones, and I think these would also make awesome gifts for the birthdays coming up in my family and for Christmas.
Food!
Another aspect of the whole simpler living business is food. I’ve been buying bulk from the IV Food Coop for the last month or so and I love it! They have excellent produce there as well. It’s a little more expensive, but the quality is even better than Trader Joe’s and I limit it to just a few things (avocados, bananas, apricots, and lettuce at this point). I’m sure the dairy is very good there too, but TJ’s prices are half the coop’s, so I can’t justify that.
They have a lot of bulk goods including spices, baking items, beans, cereals, nuts, dried fruits, chocolate-covered items, and also things like oil, peanut or almond butter, liquid soap (Dr. Bronner’s), and yeast.
So far, the bulk items I regularly purchase there are white and whole wheat flour, semolina flour, yeast, brown rice, oats, cornmeal, polenta-style cornmeal, sugar, choc chips and whatever misc things I might need. I love that I can get *exactly* the amount I need, and a lot of it is either organic or close to it.
I’ve been making more things from scratch too. I’ve really been enjoying baking our bread and smelling it as it bakes. I’ve worked out some kinks and have begun experimenting with recipes.
Below I’ve got the latest batch of bread along with homemade cornbread. The bread is from a basic recipe that I’ve used to make wheat bread. This time, I used about 1/4-1/2 C semolina flour in place of the white flour to add extra flavor. It turned out really well and I finally got the bread to rise to sandwich size. This was also the first one I baked in glass rather than metal and used the bulk yeast from the coop. I think the glass bakeware made a big difference in the second rise.
I really have loved this process. I am a natural domestic!
February 6, 2007
I haven’t knit a single stitch (other than at Knit Group on Thursday) for a week. I am having knitting withdrawals I think. I keep toting it around with me, in the hopes that I’ll catch a few moments to be able to knit.
I had to go to a meeting thing at SBCC in order to get a student loan, and I was SOOOOOO itching to pull out my knitting, but I refrained since it was a smaller group of people than I expected and I didn’t want to be distracting/rude to the people speaking. *sigh*
Tonight, I am determined to find a few minutes between class, prepping for the audition/placement tests, and sociology homework (which I am sorely behind on *double sigh*).
But I have some good news! We’re getting a sizeable tax refund and this loan will help us transfer some higher interest balances so we can pay off as much debt as possible before we move. Yay!!
Now if only I can get SFSU to cooperate with me!!
Announcement!Knit & Pearl at 5 E Figueroa is now has a knit group that’s currently scheduled for Sunday afternoons from about 2-4:30pm. I’m gonna try to make it at least part of the time on Sundays (probably more after the dreaded audition), so I hope to see you there! One of the gals who was there is planning on joining the JS group too!
August 22, 2005
Lately I’ve been thinking about life and what really matters.
I wrote out my life purpose for the money map thing and I realized that a lot of the things that our culture values aren’t necessary to fulfill what I believe my purpose during the short period of time that is my life.
Here is my life purpose:
My Life purpose is to glorify God through my relationship with Him (through prayer, worship, reading my Bible, and acting on the things that He calls me to do), through loving and serving my family and friends and giving them the grace that God gives me, and through serving and ministering to people by using the gifts that God has given me.
I feel that all the details of my life with work out for the best as long as I live with that purpose in mind, because I know that wherever God leads me is the perfect and best place for me to be. My life so far has been nowhere near what I expected, but I love it, because I know that I am right where God wants me and there are good and wonderful things happening!
A lot of people lately have been telling me what they think I should do with my life. I realize that it’s out of love and caring, but it’s frustrating to me sometimes. The things they mention (education, finances, etc) are important to me, but whatever it is that GOD has for me is much more important. I know that God will give me the education I need (whether it’s at a University, or whether it’s through reading my Bible and living life), the finances I need (whether it’s a lot or a little) and everything else. I would really like to finish my education and get a degree, but if I don’t, that’s not the end of the world. My degree isn’t going to matter in heaven, and it doesn’t even matter on earth if that’s not something I need.
What is important to me is that at the end of my life, I can look back and see that I was faithful with what God entrusted me with…my life, my mind, my talents, my family, my friends, the people in the circle of influence. If getting my degree means missing out on something better that GOD has planned for me, I don’t want it.
What I’ve said won’t make sense to a lot of people, I would imagine. But I don’t want to make sense to the world, I want to follow God’s leading in my life.
A lot of these thoughts are prompted by people who are pressuring me and Nathan to wait to get married (we’re planning on next summer, probably August) because Nathan’s parents will pay for his education, but not if we’re married, so the last two years of his education (the most expensive years) will be our responsibility financially. I understand this concern, but I think that if we manage our money well, we will be able to handle it with no problem. It is a worthy investment into our future.
The other issue is about my own education…I am taking a break right now for financial reasons (I haven’t been able to get financial aid, since my parents wouldn’t fill out the FAFSA), and assuming Nathan and I get married next summer, we will stay in Santa Barbara and work for about a year before going down to LA for his education, at which point I would work fulltime and Nathan parttime while he finishes his education. This makes the most sense because of my experience in the insurance field allows me to get a better job.
I feel very strongly that next year is the right time for us to get married. Also, it is important to both Nathan and I that we be together wherever we go, and I would not want to move down to LA without being able to come home to him, as my husband. It doesn’t make sense for me to follow him without that commitment of marriage. Plus, on a practical level, it would be a pain for each of us to find apartments and all that by ourselves, and probably have to find roommates, or get used to new roommates. And for me, I don’t want to uproot myself from Santa Barbara where all my friends and family are, without knowing that Nathan and I are joined together as husband and wife. And finally, if we did wait till Nathan was done with his education before getting married, we wouldn’t end up starting a family until I’m about 27 or 28 because we both agree it’s best to wait a couple years after getting married to have kids.
So, those are my thoughts on everything. And I feel very much at peace about it all. I feel that God is leading us to get married next year, and I know that He will provide for all our needs.
~M
August 19, 2005
God is awesome!!!!!!!
I just talked with my mechanic and….
MY TRANSMISSION IS FINE!!!
He told me that he tried fixing this one switch thing that sometimes wears out that is what changes the gears or something, and he replaced it, then drove it home in the evening, then back to work and it was fine!!
He told me that “someone up there is looking out for you” — Oh yes He is!!!! I told him I’d been praying *huge smile*
So between a few minor services and adding some free-on to my car, it’s only gonna be a few hundred, rather than $2500. He said he can’t guarantee that the transmission will stay fine, but at least it’s working right now
GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!! *WOOHOO*
~M
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