Earthboundgrowth's Healthkicker

Plant Drama: X_X

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:50:18 GMT

So, I thought my miniature rose was a goner...but now there's new leaves on it.
My mimosa's been mangled by our cats...

My dracaena is haaappy.

Norry's adjusted rather well, and has taken to bothering me while I'm trying to sleep -- that is nipping my fingers because I'm not petting him, heh.

My dandies are pretty OK, but the fact remains that I sortof have to defend my plants against the cats...and it's stressing me out sommat awful.

I'm disorganized, Mom wants to order some new seeds...we've a ton of cookbooks and gardening books from the library to get through still...some of which're due tomorrow.
And in a week, I gotta start my own education...

And I just don't want this free time to end, but it's gonna after the weekend. *sigh*

It's the dread of maybe losing one of my plants to the cats that's really getting to me, though. The rest I'm not THAT bothered by.
Ah well, I'll deal.

Beauty is thy name!

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:47:11 GMT

That on my bed's laundry, and behind me's my closet, ignore that, lol.
That's my "lucky bamboo" Dracaena. I've wanted one for a long time...this is actually technically three plants.

My new baby! Technically, this is one of my plants that has no real use other than being pretty and something I enjoy. For those of you who have some of these, you know that they're not REAL bamboo but related to lilies.
They don't grow as fast as real bamboo either -- a lovely lookalike, in other words.

It's sturdy enough that the cats won't want to eat it, that I can keep it in my room.

Mom got it for me today with the giftcard she got in the mail.

I'm so tickled!

Spiritual health

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:24:58 GMT

I know, you wouldn't take me for the religious type, huh?
Well, lets just say it's something I hope to work on in 2009.
At this point, then, you're probably thinking that I've got a ton on my plate next year...and gosh, how am I going to accomplish it all?

Well, let me tell you, I have a lot on my plate every year.
Just normally...I don't have a gameplan.
'Cause normally I can't plan. But that's another story...probably not one suited for my blogging on here.
But this time 'round, I've got a plan and somehow I'll manage it.

That long search for balance, right?

Anyway, busy lives often mean less time for the spiritual.
Four -- nearly five years with an actual faith to speak of, and a handful of instances that I've been able to do anything remotely related to my particular brand of religion each year. Half of those were holidays.
Considering how busy and stressful my life tends to be, it's not that I forgot or that it wasn't important to me...it was just that there was never any time and I always take others first, myself second.

Fun times. But life's best with a balance. I saw that myself in 2008.
You've no idea how good it feels to be able to get a moment's peace just to meditate -- pray.
To be well-rested, to have a few days where you didn't worry about such and such needing done, or who might need me. To be able to actually RELAX for one whole day.
And, while I wasn't completely worry-free about my MENTAL health this past year, this pretty much marks two completely sane years for me (something I've sortof struggled with, a bit, since I was a preteen -- two housefires, bad situations, extraordinary circumstances...I'm not nuthouse crazy, though I'm pleased to act that part when people assume I am)...something I'm pretty proud of, actually.

So, with all this progress, I'm encouraged to press forward.

I don't ever expect to be problem free -- stuff like depression and a little crazy-ness doesn't just go away (and at some point, you get so used to it being part of your character that you can manage it better), nor does workaholism, or a hyper responsible personality. You manage your quirks...or you snap.
NO PRESSURE.
*cackles*

Alright, I'll stop kidding around, seriously though...balance means alot.
Mental health, spiritual health, physical health, and emotional health all tie into eachother, in my humble opinion.
Even if you disagree with me on THAT bit, even if you thrive on chaos...like I had to do, you gotta agree that balance -- even in chaos, especially in chaos -- is best for most things in nature.
You hear it all the time, "Part of a balanced diet --", "She had to balance her work life and her family life...", "He achieved a balance work schedule.." and so on.
It'd seem like a total crock, seeing how often it's used in slogans and commercial campaigns...if it weren't actually true. Try it sometime, hm?

So there you go. That's what I've been shooting for...for, well, a couple years now.
Ever since I went beyond struggle -- and hey, that wasn't even mostly me, I had help.

So that's another goal.
I don't aim low, do I?

Lets count all the goals I've talked about on here so far!

Change the world (One small step at a time, through farming, through blogging. Walking the talk, so to speak)
Help people.
Find my own balance.
Make time for the spiritual.
Take care of my own education, screw the colleges, heh.

High number! But at least three of those...well, three and a half, of those, I've been working on for a while.

Progress encourages me. Helps me keep hopeful -- even if I am crazy.
Maybe I really am amazing as they say?
(Well, maybe not. xD)

So, to all you here with goals...I salute you.
And may you do far better than I have...maybe break the world record for accomplishing a goal?
=D bet you can, bet you can.

Higher education schedule.

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:29:47 GMT

Third week of January, starting on the Monday of that week.

Fencing: Twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. Following the MIT courses with maybe whatever extras I can scrounge up elsewhere. Fridays is when I normally exercise, so it'll be a more official extra. I'm adding roller skating to my usual "routine" as well, but it's not going to be considered part of my education, heh.
Ecology & Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary sciences: Wednesdays? I won a big science textbook in a raffle a couple months ago thanks to Treehugger.com, so that'll get me started. I'll have to pick and choose with the MIT courses on this one and see if I can find any other books at the library...and polish it off with scraps I can find on the 'net. Might "test" my knowledge every other week, so I'm going to maybe talk to my Mom about it so she can come up with the tests (it'll help my learning be more efficient).
Economics & Business: Fridays? I've picked up a bunch of books about this recently, so I've something to start with + MIT online courses and what I already observe in the news online.
foreign languages: This one's tougher, there's less resources for me on this, if I pick french my Mom can help...but I'd really wanted Japanese and Latin. I'll put this one on Thursdays, toward the end of the week to give myself extra time to figure out how to do this. Work for this will be memorizing words, grammer, and attempting to write in it while regular study will work on my pronunciation (I'm usually pretty decent at speaking different languages, fortunately...it's just understanding them that I should work on).
Political sciences: THIS should be the least hardest subject for me, though I'll have to be a bit creative in finding books for this. I -should- move past recent events and observe history a little more, I was always a poor study with history...so it's an area I need brushing up on. Perhaps ancient cultures' politics? This is also something I can look through the free MIT courses for. Thursdays.
Urban studies: This stuff's probably gonna be primarily on the internet, and with the MIT courses. Quizzes should be Tuesdays, and I'll do my reading on Mondays.
Writing: This one probably looks deceptively easy to me, but this one's one of the few that I have plenty of materials for. Wednesdays. Maybe write papers on writing heh, which would be set for Thursdays.

The miscellaneous stuff I'll spread out throughout the whole week and leave it up to what I'm feeling up to that day. It'll keep it spontaneous enough for this all not to wear on me too much and make it more fun.
certain things I might try to test my knowledge on by writing papers on it or quiz myself. These tests I think I'll put on Mondays.

I dunno, it doesn't seem like much to me right now...but that might just be because I gave myself until the Third week of January to get started.
Lately all I want to do is sleep -- ever since I stopped working for the SA in fact.
After I start on all this, Mom'll work on buying my books so I can finish high school, so this stuff will probably be added onto that...and THEN it'll seem like alot, heh.

This clickable text is the related entry:
Higher education

I should probably figure out how I feel about him coming here

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 06:41:01 GMT

I'm hiring him as a farm hand and giving him a place to stay until he can get a place of his own. He'll probably be spending a couple years with me.
My ex. After everything.
Lets rule out what I'm not: I'm not upset. I'm not angry or bitter.
Here's what I am, and I'll try to be honest: I am a little apprehensive and I will be a bit tense, but strangely...the idea of being able to finally give him some stability...to get him away from those people who've surrounded him for most of his life, makes me happy.
...having reliable help with my endeavors next year's a big plus too.

Mom loves gardening, but she'll stop helping with certain things if she gets upset...and she gets upset so easily.

"Strays" she said, heh. I don't know, I think that's a cute way to put it.

I guess, to tell you the truth, all I've ever wanted to do for that boy is to help him find a way to be happy for always.

I can't not be a little tickled that I might get the opportunity.

And maybe that's the best way to kick off this whole scheme of mine: by helping someone and having that person help me. The entire idea is to inspire others, leading by example.
If all this won't be inspirational -- especially for me -- then I'm not sure what will.

And we'll just have to see how 2009 goes. The world's gone mad and continues to go down an unpredictable path. I think I've chosen the best possible choice for my life given this aspect, and like I've said, I'll be damned if I let him get stuck in Michigan...because it seems to have a dead economy and will probably sometime start decaying.

Surely, with help, I can do this thing. I can start a micro-farm and be successful at it -- especially considering that food is recession-proof, Great Depression 2-proof, and catastrophe-proof.

I imagine all this stuff all at once will be slightly overwhelming, but the more I think about it...the more I think it's probably the best thing that could happen. Maybe not just for me, either. Hopefully not just for me.

Mom's warm about the idea, so that's a good sign. I wasn't sure how she'd take it when I asked her.

I got sheers, scissors, and more freezer bags last weekend, so I'm almost set on business supplies.
Now I just gotta get a few more plants and save up a little money and I'll be ready.

Finished with our finale day of ringing bells for the Salvation Army for the season

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:00:59 GMT

Just today, that is. There was a high of 13 degrees, with a breeze that made it feel like it was 0.
We were outdoors, my Mom and I. At walmart.
All bundled up. Amazingly, we weren't popsicles by time we were done today. I think we've become hardier as we've experienced increasingly cold temperatures.

Thankfully, today was not as cold as yesterday. Yesterday it was a high of ten degrees and it was one degrees right before evening. Minus three after the night was all told, with winds that made it feel minus twenty five.

Here's pictures of how we couldn't see very well out of our windows, this picture was taken of our back doors:

It's only grown thicker, as well.

The winds made a chill come off our windows, which made even my dandelions unhappy!

I believe I've lost my lemongrass and my miniature rose is dying. I've failed to wind over the mold, even though I had some success last week that made me think I had.
...I'm trying to take this all with heart, but it's hard. I've dearly loved my rose. Now I can only hope that my rose bush outside will be alright and if it is, will bloom next year so that I can finally figure out what kind of rose it is.

Speaking of, since Mom's cat went outside and never came back she got another one that really needed a home:

Meet Norman. I call him Norry. He's mostly Maine Coon. He's six months old and already GINORMOUS. He looks like an adult cat, but is still technically a kitten. He'll continue growing for five more years, most likely.

He likes cat nip. It makes him playful. We give him the kangaroo to wrestle with so that we don't have to worry about him accidentally hurting us (or the other two kittens presently in the house).

Size comparison! Bear's around five months old himself now.

He's fond of my room. That happens to be my bottom book shelf. (Thank Goddess, because he'd made the flimsy shelf collapse, on any other shelf...as heavy as he is)

Bonus!:

Moving on!

My dandelions are getting pretty big!

And here's more pictures of our kittens.

Thoughts about eating: Fats, carbs, blah...blaaah

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:09:55 GMT

What gets my goat is how people think that this or that such and such is absolutely EVIL.
...or that it's actually possible to eliminate something like fat completely from your diet and be completely healthy.

Did you know that your brain needs sugar to operate properly?
Did you know that if you have ZERO fat that you turn into a living skeleton more easily?
...did you know that if you had little variety and don't eat a ton of fresh stuff that you're more likely to get ill?

There IS such a thing as eating too healthily.

The KEY, of course, is balance.
You need to know your own body to figure out your individual needs and go from there.

I struggle with the fact that I tend to prefer veggies and fruits over much else. I sometimes do not get enough fat as I need (among other things). Since this is a habit I've developed since young, it's now something I'm working to correct...especially as I grow older and perform more strenuous activities (aka, lifestyle)...and build up a greater requirement to burn larger quantities of fuels. Yum, food.

It's not something I constantly worry about, though, because I adore variety and it gives me an excuse to mix things up and try new things.
Helps I love to cook, I suppose.

The problem, at least as far as I can see, is that people don't like to think.
Food is often regarded as SOLELY an ends to a means.
It's only one way I think people are so focused on only existing, instead of truly living.

But then, I never claimed that I should decide how people should live...or exist, however the case really is.
I'd never be so arrogant to say what people should eat or how they should think.

But I have tried to lead by example. It's part of my hope to make micro-farming my profession.
Walking the talk, as it were.
I want to provide good food to people and only stuff I myself or my family would and will eat.
To encourage creativity and innovativeness...like how I create my own business and cook.
I prefer subtly mixed with the direct approach, instead of one or the other.

One again: When you're faced with two paths, take the third one.

Whether or not I'll accomplish anything history might even mention, or maybe even the mainstream (or alternative) media -- I don't know.
I've mixed feelings about history. I won't write it...and while I won't be alive once it's written, I never had fond feelings for fame (great or small)...as is exampled by my fiction writings lately.

Health is more than just your physical self. It's your emotional, mental, spiritual health as well.
It means every piece of you, being healthy.
For that to happen, you have to be able to savor life. To be able to enjoy the small things, like the warmth of your home in winter...accomplishing something beautiful with your own hands...or your supper meal.

I think humanity's greatest mistake, in the last few decades, has been that we think that we can't have a fulfilling life to accomplish anything great and bigger than ourselves.
EVERYTHING worthwhile and remembered starts small.
Starts with one thing.

Slowly, we're beginning to understand that all you need is one person to begin living one way for others to be equally inspired...and for a cultural movement to grow.
We've seen it in civil rights, in lifestyles, in diet for nations.
For good or ill, we've seen it. All we have to do is realize it, consider our own lives, and simply...live.

Anywho, I've babbled on again, lol. I'll write an update about something other than my own thoughts (like actual life happenings) right after I post this.

You live to learn

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:50:45 GMT

Lessons of winter indoor-growing so far:
(1. Mold is EVIL.
(2. Always save some seeds of stuff you're trying out, in case it doesn't work out.
(3. Tropical plants should be tried out in mid-spring and summer when lacking proper equipment.
(OK, I knew this last one before I tried it, already. But I had hoped to be proven wrong)
(4. It's hard to kill dandelions.
(5. I can always give plants as presents to Mom.

I've learned how to kill the kind of mold that we've been getting (NO idea what it is. It's just gross)...pinch of baking soda in a drinking glass worth of water.
Regular water just feeds mold, but the baking soda KILLS it.
I was super careful because I know that too much baking soda can actually kill my plants as well as the mold. AAAHHHH.
Also, I put baking soda in the carpet around the area where the plants are (near the windows, and, regrettably, the heaters). This seems to have helped greatly.
The mold and some sort of mite was attacking my miniature rose, so I ended up having to trim off a whole bunch of limbs to save it. I also moved it up off the carpet, just in case. This seems to have worked well enough and it's already responded with beautiful new limbs.

I've also learned that wolfberry sprouts are surprisingly delicate. The last ones died because I accidentally knocked them over with water and haven't grown back.
Unlike lilacs, I suppose they're not capable of returning from the dead unexpectantly.
Or at least, I don't think they are.
So, when I try to grow them again -- which'll be toward spring, I'lll grow them in smaller pots, so that I can be more careful. I will keep some seeds to plant directly in the ground after it warms up, as well.
I'm trying to cover all the bases. I don't think Wolfberries transplant well, but then, since the discovery of how delicate they are, I'm not going to risk all of my seeds by planting them all directly in the ground.

My lemongrass is so far not improving, I'm afraid.

And I'm gonna have to take some pictures of my dandy's to show ya'll.

Higher education

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:55:18 GMT

Since colleges are now debt traps, I'm going to be working on my own higher education as I finish High school.
VIA online info from the MIT, and whatever else I can get my hands on. I figure I'll start at the first of the next year.

So here's my schedule so far:
Fencing -- something I should brush up on, to keep in shape as well as to refresh my rusty brain.
I don't have an actual fencing sword, but I do have a few other kinds...and can use the stuff I learn from fencing, like I always have.
Ecology & Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary sciences
Economics & Business
"Experimental study group"...which is a variety of things from the MIT, Physics, Gender issues, current events & social issues (basically a more intensive form of what I do everyday for blogging, lol), technology of the world (which includes robotics), art, ancient philosophy.
I'm gonna try to squeeze in foreign languages. Japanese and Latin, I'm hoping.
Political sciences.
Urban studies.
AND writing. This will be more intensive than my simple learning via book writing, story structuring, and observing authors' techniques from whatever books I can find lol.

Since I'll be teaching MYSELF, as usual (I love my homeschooling background, I'm more prepared for this type of thing than alot of people probably would be)...I'm gonna have to work out a schedule for January on.

The library and the internet will probably be my bestest friends too, heh.

It'll be interesting to balance education with working, and my usual stuff around here.

*will post my education schedule here soon*

Alright, I admit it, the few things I've splurged on this year have been for me

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 09:21:15 GMT

Or rather, my plants/business.

http://www.ethicurean.com/2008/12/04/victory-garden-wish-list/
"Victory garden wishlist"

^ That reminded me so much of the one and only shopping trip that's been accomplished by me in the last few months that I had to blog about it, lol.

See, unfortunately, I've only managed to scrounge up a few gifts all year 'round for this year at flea markets, online, and church sales...mostly because money's been tight and Mom needed me to lend her some...which ended up being all of it.
So, since I'm working atm, I've had a little money and I've been shoring the rest of it up.
I'm holding onto my money even more tightly than usual because I have priorities.

First and foremostly:
I need to put some money aside for the business start up next year. I will be getting tidbits from month-to-month, to replace plants and tools, but I will need a little money for the actual selling process.
Which could mean gas and a few squares AS WELL as the renting of flea market spaces to earn money -- which I still need to figure out how to make up for what I spend on that via my food...and all I can surmise is to have a ton of cheap food with me.
TECHNICALLY, to keep the trip cheap, my Mom should drop me and everything off and go home.
It's harder to supply two people with squares and keep it cheap, granted that Mom and I don't really eat alot...but yeah...

DETAILS.

Anyway, I need to put at least thirty bucks aside and slowly put increments away until next July.

I might get away with making metaphysical supplies and selling them...which might be less fun than you think, since I'll want to keep a good chunk of 'em lol.

SECOND priority:
I need about fifty bucks so that my family can go down to see the grandparents for christmas.
We haven't seen them in year and having gotten word of recent health problems and everything, it's a reminder of how old they are and how we should see them while we can.

I'm likely to get slightly over this before the new year, when my job ends.
So I MIGHT just make it. I'm hoping that I won't have to make the full fifty bucks for the trip on my own. It'd be nice to have Dad's or Mom's help...they are THEIR parents after all.

I do have a little money in my bank...and I've something else sorta secret and extra that I don't really want to touch...even though...but yeah.

I admit, I was also slightly ridiculous with the previous bit of money I had. I splurged about fifteen bucks for me an' Mom to go see Twilight. It's just that we haven't gone to see a movie in years. And she and I both wanted to see that one...so...I splurged. *hangs head*

I KNOW, I'm normally so frugal, but with how strictly I'm gonna have to budget this next month...I feel a little guilty.

Anyway: Presents I bought for business/plants next year....
A new shovel. It was a dollar! It's sturdy, nice strong metal blade that shouldn't bend or break easily and a wooden handle.
A stamp. It says "Growth" in a pretty italic font. It was eighty cents. I thought this would be perfect for our lables next year. (Which I've yet to buy)
Three boxes of plastic bags. A starter for the produce next year. There's regular, small freezer, and gallon freezer bags. 100+ each box. These were a dollar for the first two, and a dollar eighty for the gallon freezer bags.

I found 'em all at Big Lots. GOD I love that store. We get a chance once every couple years or so to shop there and I always love it there.

So, here's a list of things I need to scout for and that Santa can bring me for my growing next year:
More plastic bags of those types. I'm probably gonna need alot.
Little baskets and containers to sell fresh produce in. (These are gonna be hard to find, though Mom thinks they'll be cheaper in bulk)
Plastic grocery sacks. (We've a very decent amount of these, but it's about enough for ONE flea market. Does Santa do freecycle?)
Flat, light-weight pieces of wood or cardboard...in squares preferrably, in varying sizes, that I can use for signs.
Black permanent markers.
A new carport and tent, ours are seriously grungy and will probably fall apart after a year's use. (Danged cheap equipment!) It'd be good to LOOK nice while selling things.
Wooden poles. Beans and tomatos galore this year...and we've only a handful of poles...
More pots would be awesome, we could always use more pots.
Stuff to collect rainwater in. Water drums or barrels or whatever they're called? Buckets'd work too.
A better ladder so I can work on a water collection system up on the roof. (Water is a farmer's most precious resource)

...and last but not least, please help me not work myself to death, lol.

...some of this stuff, I'm sure we'll be able to get for free. Freecycle, free boxes at church sales and flea markets, trash day...
Others I'm probably gonna have to buy, and predominately, this worries me because if affects how I'll have to price things. I'm keeping track of the start up cost so that I can see if I can at least earn that much back.
That's my bottom line. I at least need to earn my money back.
After the first initial year, THEN I can worry about making a profit.

See, it's a fine line. You gotta take care of yourself and be able to take care of your customers. Your goal if both of you. So it's a constant struggle not to slight either.
The goal after this line, is my future. I'm slowly structuring what I want...and it'll be a ton cheaper than alot of kids' plans in these past years, but it'll still take alot of doing...especially because of the current economic chaos.

This all gaurentees to keep me busy, at least...and at least I'm not alone. Alot of people seem to be seeing a future in farming now -- small scale, organic-based farming.

So yeah...Santa? Any bit of that, I'd be grateful for. Take your time. I have until next summer, for some of that, lol.