My new blog!

Welcome to my new blog!

There are several things that I really enjoy....such as crafting, gardening, the environment and politics.

The last one is great because I can love it and I can hate it. But I am passionate about it, and it is the field I hope to go into.

I think my love for the environment came from my parents. When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my parents built a house that was totally off the grid. We had solar and wind power and a well for water. I remember when ever we wanted to watch tv or use the computer, we had to go check to see if we had enough power.

It also made us think in creative ways. My sister and I learned how to sew using a treadle sewing machine, which uses no power at all. My great-grandma and grandma taught me how to crochet when I was 11. We had a garden (even though it was in Arizona, not the best water or soil situation) and grew great tomatoes. Even though they were gross, I loved spending time going out with my dad to pull the tomato horn worms off the tomatoes by hand.

My great grandma was also the best gardener that I knew. Sometimes my mom, sister and I would take her to the nursery, where she would sneak "pinchings" off of the plants, then take them home and grow plants from them. My dad got her roses one year, and she grew a rose bush from the stem!

I was also always sort of an activist. My grandma loves to remind me of the time that we were in California and there was one of those pony "carousels" out in the parking lot of this store as a draw. I was so upset that the water was not nearby for the horses and they were forced to let little kids ride on them all day, that I stormed back into the store and told one of the clerks....my guess was that I was maybe 12....

So now I have become involved in politics. I am mostly involved in the local political scene, and have run campaigns in my area after I graduated from school. My major was linguistics (some of my favorite political people are linguists, like Chomsky and Lakoff) and minors in Poli Sci and Environmental Studies (go figure! ;)

I am married to a great guy (and have been for 8 years now) and have a dog, cat, and 3 chickens, which I love. I will get pics of all of them up soon. My sister lives with us, and she has a turtle and snake of her own. So we have a full house.

My goals for this coming year are to create a better garden and fix up my yard. I also want to take the GMAT and get my application in for business school to get my MBA. I may not get in this year, but I want to get the process going, and the deadline in March is good for me. I want to work on my crafts, and do better with the craft booth my sister and I have in the Saturday Market here in Eugene. And I want to train to run in the half marathon this May. (And this will probably be the hardest for me...I suck at running....)

So I am happy to be starting this blog and to be sharing my experiences with those that choose to read it. And I think that this blog will also be a great way for me to keep track of my goals and keep striving for a better life.