Happy Day, Earth!

 In honor of Earth Day and the cold, cleansing rain pouring down outside, I thought I'd take a moment to jot down a few beginnings I'm either looking forward to in the near future or wanting to initiate into my life.

First and foremost: the idea of moving is getting closer and closer! Now, if only I could get my renters to start paying rent, then we could we move out this weekend if we so decided.
    Sidenote: I never imagined being a landlord would be this ridiculous! Instead of receiving a check once a month without complaint or question, I'm constantly investigating and tracking down what new phone number the renters may have or leaving voicemails on the  one of twenty numbers I do have. What seemed like a breeze has turned into a hurricane.

This posting was not meant for complaints, so let me continue...

Secondly, I feel as if I'm am doing about -50 on a scale of 1-100 in my effort to help the environment. Now maybe this realization stems from the fact that there was a huge Earth Day Festival article in the Union Tribune a few days ago, or the fact that I've been reading a great book called The UnHealthy Truth, but I feel it's an important commitment to make not only to other human beings on our planet, but the plants, animals, water, etc...You get the picture. In my younger wanted-to-be-a-hippy-but-really-it-just-meant-wearing-a-tie-dye-shirt days, I thought it would be nice to do it just because it's trendy. But now, my feelings are slowly changing. I want to recycle, I want to eat and buy locally, I want to get involved in a local farmer's co-op. When we move out, get ready for an excuse, I plan to do so. I know, I know, why not now? Well it's a lot more difficult in our current living situation. But I promise! We will be making a concerted effort to do some of these things, and hopefully others as I continue to do research in the area.

To tie into my last paragraph, this book has made me aware (and still is, as I'm slowly getting through it) of the ever-rising number of children who are being diagnosed with food allergies, asthma, auto-immune diseases, and a whole slew of other things that are ravaging their bodies. This is one of my other reasons for wanting to switch to organically grown, little-to-no hormones, and reduce the amount of processed foods we eat. Of course, this will be much to the dismay of my son who currently chooses to live off of Goldfish and Gerber snacks, regardless of the tasty veggies I try to disguise as avocados.

Next, I really, really, really want to go back to school. It's funny because when I was attending Pepperdine, I kept telling anyone who would listen, "I am so jealous of you! You get to work and not take anything back home with you. No homework, no papers...I'm out of here as soon as I get that diploma!" I wouldn't say I miss homework or papers, but I do miss learning. I miss the random facts I would learn in Psychology and dissecting sheeps' brains in Biology. Most of all, I think I miss working towards a major goal. I'm not sure I'll do grad school, as I pretty much ruined that opportunity since I thought I'd never want to go. I'd love to go back and major in English, then continue to get my teaching credential. The appeal of a credential is so great because I would be able to spend summers with my little boy, as well as be off in the evenings to have dinner on the table! I know it would be a lot of work, raising a family, working, and going to school, but how many mothers, sometimes even single (!), have done it? I can count at least 5 or 6, my mother included, who have worked wonders while going to school. Even if I have to start back at Grossmont, it's worth a shot; I'm young and have time to kill.

Lastly, and again tied into some earlier stuff, I want to start living a healthier lifestyle. Because I'm so young, it's easy to use the excuse of age for not taking care of myself. I have to time to kill (literally!). But really, not really. I want my son to know that exercise, eating right, little TV, and sleep are all important components of living a complete and healthy lifestyle. The only thing I think Adrian and I have going is the sleep!

Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day...I hope at least it passed some time for you at your desk!