We all have something we're putting off.
There's someone you want to call.
There's someone you've been wanting to have lunch with.
You really need to putty and paint that hole, repair a leak, print those photos, hang them...
You've been putting off rearranging furniture even though it's totally not working.
You cry every time you open the fridge but the thought of cleaning it makes you want to die even though you know you'll be so much happier when it's done.
There's a blog that your supposed to write on a weekly basis but instead you just don't...and you don't have a ton of followers so you think maybe no one will notice but what if there's that one person looking forward to it and now you're a huge jerk...for example.
Anyway!
I've been imaginary planning for hens...for six years. I have a Pinterest board with approximately eleventy-billion chicken articles and coop plans. Plus, a few things about goats, donkeys, and cows but there's only so much you can do with an acre on a steep hill...and my county is notorious for being snobby. Not exaggerating the county ordinances read like an HOA contract.
My goal this week is to create a one year plan to have everything ready for 4 hens next spring.
So far I know I need to:
-Take out $20 every time I use my debit card to save for materials and supplies
-Build or purchase a mobile coop with a removable run . Probably build since I'll be a SAHM next year and I have a million ideas which make for a very expensive pre-made.
-Mail letters to my immediate neighbors requesting permission or denial
-File with the Snob County (ask more permission through 9 pages of paperwork, already printed just so I can read it a few times. I won't need to turn it in until like February so maybe the laws will loosen a bit)
-Pay Fees that are more than the cost of eggs (assuming you shop at Aldi, probably less than Publix)
-Freshen up my veggie gardens so they have some good stuff eat when they arrive
Just some ideas to start.
What will you do this week? Write out/sketch your plan in your journal. No cheating by just making a Pinterest page. Make a page a reality...create a dream board like it's 2002! Call someone, make a special meal, plan a fun activity for tomorrow or this weekend, or just get something annoying checked off that list!
Don't forget to share :)
Go!
Monday, March 27, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Get Mad.
**bad words** Sorry, Grandma!
This is a journal. Not every day is joyful or inspiring, and as much as I preach practicing art every day...not every day is for art-making. Some days are for venting...some weeks are for feeling hyper-sensitive...some topics can instantly piss you off and throw you into a spiral, arguably against your will.
There are two subjects that send me into a fit, okay maybe a rage (but I'm small so people don't take my anger very seriously) ... the word "tolerance" and Generational Stereotypes. Those of you who know me know what's up. I will skip the word tolerance for today since some people would argue it a semantics issue (but it's really the most backhanded word in modern history, note the quotes and italics- super bitter typing ;) ).
Anyway, Generational Stereotypes.
Traditionalists are rule followers to a fault.
Baby Boomers are low tech.
GenXers are assholes.
(Oregon Trail-ers are the kindest, most empathetic people in the history of people because we watched out families die from cho-ler-ia on an Apple Macintosh)
Millennials are babies.
GenZ is basically Wall-E bound.
No one wants to be labeled this way...except Oregon Trail-ers. I cannot understand how a 20 year chunk of people can be labeled as the same. People can't even agree on the dates! Especially, now with the constant changes in tech, information access, tiny world, mobility. I am not an authority-hating, breakfast-clubbing, wolf of Wall Street, and I'm not an unmarried, basement dwelling, tech-drowning loser with a doctorate in underwater basket weaving. But I carry the weight of those labels.
I am one person.
You are one person.
Your kid is one person.
That guys over there is one person.
I was told my whole life to do what made me happy, do what I was passionate about, get a college degree and everything will be right with the world. I then graduated with a teaching degree...the year the market crashed and counties declared hiring freezes. I applied to more than 200, for arguments' sake -fake, over 200 fake jobs and received one rejection letter. Did I have the optimism of a Millennial? Absolutely! Did I quickly learn the pessimism of GenX? Absolutely. Because I am a person, not a generation.
On another personal note, I grew up in a retirement town in Florida. Half of my closest friends were over 65...probably over 70. I knew about cataracts before I had glasses. I know what respect is and no one ever had to hit me, I know what hard work is even though I've never plowed a field, and I know that I know literally nothing of hardship and need. Those qualities don't come from a decade, they come from people and experiences that we all have in common. First love, first concert, best friends, how your favorite songs make you feel- regardless of genre or time, pain, trust, fear, anger, joy, hunger, fullness...the things we're reacting to may be different but I don't believe they're different enough to fight over....so I'm mad and I'm fighting about it obviously.
The point is: If you can't say something nice, shut up. Just shut up. Shut up and listen because the one thing most generations will claim as their own is "caring." So prove it. Be empathetic. Be friends with people because there is more to life than birthdays and who was president when you first went to a voting booth. Literally everyone has stories to share and I bet listening and sharing will make you and your new friend better people. Individual people who require love and attention, and deserve time and respect. All of us.
So this week, or whenever the mood strikes, whatever the topic, write it all out. Rage. Burn the page (in the sink...don't sue me GenXer! ;) ...see what I did there?). Take notes over a few days or weeks or get it all out in one sitting. I've included a photo of my page and after typing this I really do feel better...I still have a very specific Blink182 song stuck in my head but I'm working on it. If you don't know who Blink182 is they are a very angst-y, punk, pop, alternative band with real life bad parents so there are lots of bad words and loud noises.
Go!
This is a journal. Not every day is joyful or inspiring, and as much as I preach practicing art every day...not every day is for art-making. Some days are for venting...some weeks are for feeling hyper-sensitive...some topics can instantly piss you off and throw you into a spiral, arguably against your will.
There are two subjects that send me into a fit, okay maybe a rage (but I'm small so people don't take my anger very seriously) ... the word "tolerance" and Generational Stereotypes. Those of you who know me know what's up. I will skip the word tolerance for today since some people would argue it a semantics issue (but it's really the most backhanded word in modern history, note the quotes and italics- super bitter typing ;) ).
Anyway, Generational Stereotypes.
Traditionalists are rule followers to a fault.
Baby Boomers are low tech.
GenXers are assholes.
(Oregon Trail-ers are the kindest, most empathetic people in the history of people because we watched out families die from cho-ler-ia on an Apple Macintosh)
Millennials are babies.
GenZ is basically Wall-E bound.
No one wants to be labeled this way...except Oregon Trail-ers. I cannot understand how a 20 year chunk of people can be labeled as the same. People can't even agree on the dates! Especially, now with the constant changes in tech, information access, tiny world, mobility. I am not an authority-hating, breakfast-clubbing, wolf of Wall Street, and I'm not an unmarried, basement dwelling, tech-drowning loser with a doctorate in underwater basket weaving. But I carry the weight of those labels.
I am one person.
You are one person.
Your kid is one person.
That guys over there is one person.
I was told my whole life to do what made me happy, do what I was passionate about, get a college degree and everything will be right with the world. I then graduated with a teaching degree...the year the market crashed and counties declared hiring freezes. I applied to more than 200, for arguments' sake -fake, over 200 fake jobs and received one rejection letter. Did I have the optimism of a Millennial? Absolutely! Did I quickly learn the pessimism of GenX? Absolutely. Because I am a person, not a generation.
On another personal note, I grew up in a retirement town in Florida. Half of my closest friends were over 65...probably over 70. I knew about cataracts before I had glasses. I know what respect is and no one ever had to hit me, I know what hard work is even though I've never plowed a field, and I know that I know literally nothing of hardship and need. Those qualities don't come from a decade, they come from people and experiences that we all have in common. First love, first concert, best friends, how your favorite songs make you feel- regardless of genre or time, pain, trust, fear, anger, joy, hunger, fullness...the things we're reacting to may be different but I don't believe they're different enough to fight over....so I'm mad and I'm fighting about it obviously.
The point is: If you can't say something nice, shut up. Just shut up. Shut up and listen because the one thing most generations will claim as their own is "caring." So prove it. Be empathetic. Be friends with people because there is more to life than birthdays and who was president when you first went to a voting booth. Literally everyone has stories to share and I bet listening and sharing will make you and your new friend better people. Individual people who require love and attention, and deserve time and respect. All of us.
So this week, or whenever the mood strikes, whatever the topic, write it all out. Rage. Burn the page (in the sink...don't sue me GenXer! ;) ...see what I did there?). Take notes over a few days or weeks or get it all out in one sitting. I've included a photo of my page and after typing this I really do feel better...I still have a very specific Blink182 song stuck in my head but I'm working on it. If you don't know who Blink182 is they are a very angst-y, punk, pop, alternative band with real life bad parents so there are lots of bad words and loud noises.
Go!
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