These Small Hours;

My small town, close to nature, country roots are starting to show.

• I am one week in to the "No 'Poo" lifestyle. That is, I have not used shampoo or conditioner on my hair in a week. Instead, I'm washing with baking soda and conditioning with apple cider vinegar. My hair gets just as clean and feels just as soft as it ever did, and once the vinegar gets rinsed out, there is no smell. If I wanted it to smell good, I would just mix some essential oils into one or the other, but for right now that isn't a real concern of mine.
  It probably sounds crazy, but it just makes too much sense right now. How does shampoo work? The shampoo removes all of your hair's natural oils, often with the harsh detergent SLS; in turn, your scalp goes crazy and overproduces said oils, which makes you have to shampoo again. It's sort of a vicious cycle. I already only wash my hair every 2 or 3 days, so it isn't as bad for me, but it would be nice to only have to wash once or twice a week. Plus: saving money & wasting less plastic? I am absolutely okay with that.
  Shannon and I were going to do it together over break, but somehow I ended up starting it this week instead. Oops.


• I have been stalking Crunchy Betty, a wonderful blog I just found. She does all sorts of fun face scrubs and other related things. I just ordered a face scrub from her (made of oats, coconut, clay, chamomile, & white rice flour), and I'm thinking about making some of her other scrubs as Christmas presents.


• Finally, Shannon and I are thinking about doing a baby version of Six Items or Fewer. It is a challenge to pick only six items of clothing and to wear only that for a month. It does not count under things, socks, shoes, accessories; it's just the important things, shirts and pants. A month is a long time, though, so we are thinking about trying to start at just a week or two and seeing how that goes. I have too hard a time getting up in the morning and staring at my closet full of clothes but never feeling like I have anything to wear. It would be interesting, and way more fun if there's someone else to share the experience with.

I generally just forget that LJ exists. There isn't anyone in my life here that I don't talk to other places, really.

However, I still feel it necessary to stop by and announce this important moment in my life:
I am engaged.

This morning, I woke up. I picked up the living room. Took out the trash. Cleaned my room. Practiced for an hour. Then I wrote in my journal for the first time this (decade) year, and this is what I wrote:

"Today, I will live the best day I can live. I will choose to drink water instead of soda. I will choose to not mindlessly watch 12 hours of HGTV. I will do yoga before 1 in the morning. I will play piano; I will warm up, practice tehnique, run old pieces, and look at new ones. I will shower and feel myself washing away my old, negative energy. I will be happy, and when I am not happy I will take deep breaths until I have regained my balance.
I am going to take care of myself from the inside out, and that starts today."

Last night was my first pedagogy class. The first thing he did was hand us all a letter written by Arne Duncan this month, sent to all school & education leaders country-wide. I really want you all to read this. I have to admit that I don't really pay attention to government, but this letter alone makes me really approve of Obama's choice here.


( A letter from the Secretary of EducationCollapse )

I wasn't freaked out by H1N1 this summer, but I am starting to be now. I have a friend in LA who had it this summer and I knew about that, but I found out this afternoon that one of the girls who went to London with me is just recovering and one of the girls I accompany is in quarantine right now. :(

One of my required classes is Piano Pedagogy, and I'm really very very excited for this class. It's my only class on T/Th, at noon, and that's awesome because it means I get to sleep in for the first time EVER.
Erin texted me last night and said, "Hey, do you know what room ped is in? My kyou says that it's at midnight and doesn't have a room??" So I looked. Mine didn't have a room, either, and it also had no time. I told her this and we were both, obviously, confused.
She went in to the office this morning and they told her that apparently there's a new teacher for that class and it's now "by appointment." It might end up being T/F evenings. Or Saturday mornings. Or some other time entirely.
Which is a PROBLEM because I'm taking class Tuesday evening and Yoga Thursday evening and Erin is teaching Friday evenings and FUCK class on Saturday and that is only the two of us, I don't WANT to know how screwed over the rest of the class would/will be.
So first of all, I am not okay with them changing the schedule of a required class. I am really not okay with them changing it the DAY BEFORE CLASSES START. And most ESPECIALLY without even TELLING US. How is that okay? I don't understand.
So I might not have classes Tuesday/Thursday. And if I have a Saturday class I swear someone will die. Uuuugghhhh.

Haven't yoga-d in a couple days. Tired of the same video over and over. Bought a second one but don't like it as much at all. Hmph. Should really just sign up for a class, since they start in two weeks.

I also need to check on my parking pass. I thought I ordered one but it still hasn't gotten here, so I need to make sure I didn't just imagine that I did.

My car is finally fixed. It's so nice to be able to drive myself around again whenever without worrying about it

Michelle has been gone since Wednesday morning. I miss her. It's a good thing I'm not living on my own, I think, I get too lonely and freaked out.

Hm. That's all.

Yesterday and today I managed to check everything off of my list. It's only 2 this afternoon and it's all done. I am pretty pleased with myself. :)
I have learned how to make scrambled eggs. I rearranged my bedroom. I cleaned my bathroom.
My parents might come out again this weekend, if my Grandma's chair is done being reupholstered. I am excited to have the chair from my childhood and excited to spend an afternoon with them. I couldn't move back home without being sick of it, but I grow fonder of them every day.

It's only 83. I hope that's warm enough to go lounge in the pool, because that's all I want to do after 4 days of rain.

I have to write lyrics ASAP. Sigh.
All I have right now is ...nothing special. Hm. We'll see what happens. Hopefully it happens... before the next week, since I then have to write the music & perform it.

Ryan has started running for the past week. He feels fat--and he has put on weight since coming to college, so I am really glad he's finally doing something about it.

I am happy today.

Driving into town, there were 30 people lined up on the corner of 23rd & Iowa holding signs that say, "Abortion Kills Children," "Abortion Hurts Women," "God Forgive Our Country," and so on and so forth.
It's my body, not yours. It's my choice, not yours. Even if you're Sarah Palin; just because you're a woman taking away my rights, it doesn't make it better. You're still taking away my rights.

And that is all.