This 20Something Life

A place to muse

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

My dad died.... so here’s to honesty, starting over, and working on myself

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

I was so pumped when my second hand jeans were made from partially recycled materials!!! 😍

I’ve been working toward living a more sustainable life. There are weeks, days, and months that are better than others. With my new job, class, and other constraints, I’m not taking the bus anymore. That’s frustrating, makes me feel guilty sometimes. But then I remember, I’m still car pooling. I’m still doing better than I have in the past. I’ve replaced one small thing at a time.

-wooden and metal hangers instead of plastic.

-beeswrap instead of Saran Wrap.

- wool balls instead of dryer sheets.

-goodwill instead of target.

-organic and local when affordable and available.

-shorter showers, saving grey water

-air drying dishes and doing them by hand!

It’s not enough yet... I know I can do better. But it’s a start. It’s better than nothing. And if I share and encourage, then maybe there will be more starts, more people getting better. Not all of us are ready to go plastic free in one fell swoop, but we can still make a difference.

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

Text from my boss last night: Can you drive in the snow?

Me: Yes ... why?

My boss: I’m paranoid it’s going to snow tonight and I cant drive in the snow #portlandlife

Me: What do you need?

Because #movedherefrommichigan

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

This last weekend we took a much needed break, from work, school, and the other stressors of life. We adventured to the Pacific coast, explored Ecola State Park, Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock, tried clamming for the first time, beach combed, and stayed in a quintessential A-frame beach house.

It was a wonderful reminder of how much good can come from a break. How much progress even. And also why they used to send ill people to the beach... that ocean air. More soon, but in conclusion...

What kind of rock is this?!?!?

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

Indian Beach, Ecola State Park OR

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

Slow but sure knocking things off the list :) here’s the closet organization :)

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

There’s not an herb garden yet, but more house plants have been added 💕🌱

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

I’ve started my recipe box :) I think I’m enjoying these different kinds of goals.

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

Today on Christmas

Musings and thoughts as I read my magazine, then my new “Mindful Evenings” book. Gotta love Christmas and the weird but maybe interesting gifts.

I want more plants... suculants, air plants. I want an herb garden. A Christmas Cuctus, and lots of other little joyous oxygen creators.

I want to clean my my house and keep it that way. But it’s all a process. Slow but sure. I will get there.

So a few things to start of my New Year to-do list.

-more closet organization

-goodwill donations

-art supply organization

-start a recipe box

-paint my nails :)

So in reading the introduction to this book, it talks about the importance of the evening... it being the “exhalation of the day”... a time when we start to let go of, and complete to bits of our days, both joyous and tumultuous.

Being as close to the New Year as we are I can’t help but compare this to the closing of this current year. Much like the end of the day, we might judge ourselves, an act which I think bleeds into the next year, reflected in our lists, goals, and rules. Harshly contradicting our nature or our needs.... take the time. Think about this year, both good and bad. Congratulations you have made it around the sun again, and all we can do is smile, write our last words, and close the book on this year. Let it be. And don’t allow the judgements and imperfections to mark this New Year with the idea that you aren’t enough.

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

Christmas Boats in Portland, Oregon. December 2018

[inthis20somethinglife-blog]

“We only have now. All we have ever had is now.”

- unknown to me