7.14.2011

thank you thursday (day 58)

 




My favorite time of the week again!

This week I am thankful for...

...giving myself a day off. Yesterday I didn't go to work. I didn't watch TV. I didn't play on the computer. It was just one of those days, like Amber put it, where I needed my brain to be non-stimulated. I finished all of  my homework for the week early in the day and spent the rest of my time focusing on my breathing, stretching, and just sitting quietly. Which is not easy for me to do. I'm always doing 2 or 3 things at once. But my brain just said STOP! so I did. and I'm grateful for my quiet reflective day.



...reaching a decision about my fall semester classes. I had considered changing my emphasis from multimedia to print media, but yesterday I realized that wasn't what I truly wanted to do. So I switched around my schedule and I'm excited about the classes I chose! It's amazing how much happiness listening to that little feeling inside of you can bring :)


I am taking:
Modern Humanities
Photoshop II
Dreamweaver/Web Page Design I
Creative Writing: Poetry
Illustrator/Computer Drawing


I dropped:
American Government
Intro to Graphic Design
Advertising Layout


...books. I think I might have a slight obsession and lately it's been a little out of control but I can't help myself! Here's the books I've bought and checked out from the library this week...


from top to bottom
We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg
A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White
Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen
The Next Eco Warriors by Emily Hunter
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
Tomorrow's Garden by Stephen Orr
Sustainable by Aaris Sherin


...learning how to french braid my own hair! I have been french braiding other people's hair since I was little, but only recently with a little practice have I learned how to do my own... and my secret is that I have to close my eyes while I'm doing it! If my eyes are open, it just doesn't work.




...eco-tips. One of my favorite blogs, Inspiration Earth, Melinda shares some pretty wonderful eco-tips. Her last eco tips post, which can be read by clicking here, inspired me to take a trip to my local health food store last Sunday. Using baking soda, sea salt, peppermint essential oil and water, I made my own toothpaste! After reading her post about toothpaste, I can assure you I will never buy mine from the grocery store ever again! I also made my own deodorant (which passed the test of doing yoga in a hot room with no air conditioning for an hour last night) and detergent to use in the dishwasher. I even washed my hair with baking soda instead of shampoo and used apple cider vinegar instead of conditioner... the result? Extremely soft clean hair! It was cheap and gives me satisfaction knowing that I'm doing a little something for the environment and my own well being. 




...the return policy at Verizon Wireless. I've been complaining about my old outdated almost 2 year old Motorola Droid phone for a while. After careful consideration, I ordered the brand new 4G Samsung Charge. It came in the mail last Thursday and I shipped it back out to Verizon today. The notification light didn't work, the ring volume didn't work, it wouldn't let me play 95% of  my 1,025 songs, and the battery would die before noon. I've long been a fan of android phones, but I think the time has some for me to try out the iPhone. 


What are you thankful for this week?

To see past thank you posts, click here.


Day 58 - A picture of your favorite animal.



I've been fascinated with Orcas for as long as I can remember. My mom even 'adopted' a whale for me after they were in Free Willy and became really popular. She still reminds me at least once a year about her dream of me becoming a marine biologist. I went to Sea World (I know, I know... it's wrong to keep all those animals in a park, but I really really wanted to see them up close!) last year and the first stop was the Orca show... and I cried. Seriously sobbed uncontrollably. I had never been so happy to see something so beautiful in my whole life.

7 comments:

  1. I really like this post. I am actually sitting in a web design class right now- good luck with all of your class- looking forward to hearing how they go lady <3

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  2. My books are out of control, too!

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  3. Your classes sound so interesting! I wish I had something graphic-design-related in retrospect. I enjoy learning things as I go but having that knowledge now would be amazing! And you hope you enjoy reading those books! I'd love to read more eco-friendly tips for the household- about the shampoo, is it just baking soda, or do you mix it with anything?

    I just love all your posts, you are so versatile and interested in so many cool things!

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  4. Oh, I love your orca story, there definitely seems to be a connection there! I'm so glad you took a day off for you, that makes me as happy as if I took it off for myself! Sounds like doing so opened you right up and all the answers started flowing! :) I'm glad you figured out your school direction, I bet that gives you a great sense of relief. I'm also loving your book stack! I just ordered Alice in Wonderland which the girls and I will start reading next week. Since I wasn't up to the $25 through Amazon to get the free shipping, well... I just HAD to order myself some more books! ;) It's time to dig deeper into my meditation and see where that can lead me. I'm so, so happy that you embraced the whole baking soda thing! Living green is so extremely SIMPLE, isn't it? The more I dig, the easier it all becomes, and as you know I am a huge fan of simplicity. :) Did you have any trouble adjusting to the toothpaste? It can taste surprisingly salty after commercial toothpastes! ;)

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  5. Well, there's definitely nothing wrong with having a lot of books! ;) Haha, I have SO MANY books. I'm almost out of space on my bookshelves, but there's nowhere to put new ones. :O NOOO!!!
    Someday, I'm going to fill a whole house with books! ;D

    And I'm glad you got to spend a day relaxing at home! :D

    Hugs!

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  6. Thanks Tia! Hope you enjoyed class... I'm definitely looking forward to mine!

    Renee... it's good to know I'm not the only one :)

    Katie... Thanks! I usually just learn things as I go, but I decided I wanted a degree and graphic design seemed perfect! You add 1 tbsp of baking soda to 1 cup of warm water for the shampoo. I love eco tips too!

    Melinda... Thanks! I'm happy that my day off made both of us happy :) I love Alice in Wonderland!! and I do that exact same thing when ordering from Amazon! But now I have a Student Prime Account :) My yoga teacher taught us a good grounding meditation and I practiced while I was at work today... shows how stimulating my job is haha! Living green is so simple that it makes me crazy that everyone doesn't do it... I just want to tell the whole world and make them listen! I actually like the saltiness of the toothpaste... and the peppermint is delightful :)

    Taylor Lynn... I don't think so either! and that's a dream of mine too... I want bookshelves in every single room! But to keep it under control I sell some of mine back to Half Price Books... if I didn't I'd have a whole room full by now!

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  7. Hey Sara, that list of classes sounds like so much fun! Way better than American Government, Bleck! Did you learn anything expressive and painterly in your photoshop I class or was it commercial graphics oriented? I was thinking of taking a photoshop class, but I kind of like learning on my own by happy accidents, and I know I'd feel confined by assignments. What's that illustrator/computer drawing class about? Is that photoshop?

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