Keep Dreaming, Baby!

When it rains, it pours. Right now it seems to be "raining" good things and I hope it stays that way. I interviewed for a job yesterday and I think I may get it. It would be a part time, weekend job, but it would be a great one. A fun one. Another job opportunity came my way today and I will hopefully be interviewing for it this week. At one time the idea of holding two jobs at once sounded frightening. Something that would be more than I could handle, but instead it just sounds so very exciting.

I could have the more light, fun job on the weekend evenings and the more serious job where I would be doing some good, helping people, making their lives better in such a small but significant way during the week. I welcome the challenge. The opportunity to better myself and my knowledge. I'm going to do whatever I need to to make sure I take both opportunities with courage and open arms.

I am so thankful. I want to pay off bills, and begin saving for a "rainy" day. To be able to say, "I like that, and I can actually afford it without worry." Oh how lovely that would be.

There are so many things I want to do. I want to go back to school too! Be able to afford classes and have the ability to secure them. It's been such a challenge trying to get classes at the community college level. Everyone is scrambling to better themselves and their knowledge like myself. I want to get my associates degree and then move on to my bachelors. Get a degree in science. Environmental Science.
Be able to design green homes and/or landscapes. Maybe even minor in creative writing while I'm at it. The sky is the limit!

I want my own garden, to remodel and do as much DIY decorating in my yard and my home. Things can't be perfect, but I could have something close to it. Something that I am proud to say I did, all by myself. Even if not all by myself, there is never anything wrong with getting help when you need it, but to be able to say that I did it. I hated school when I was there, I always thought negatively of myself and I let people feed that feeling. But no more. In the end all I have is me and I have to build me. I have to look to me to achieve all the things I want to and am capable of. And I am capable of so much. All I have to do is put my mind to it ( Thanks Doc Brown ;D ), put my will, my drive and my heart and soul into it. And it all starts now.

I had the most wonderful day on Thursday. I got some cleaning done in the house and took Moon for a walk. It was so gorgeous outside. Such a warm, spring-like day. The flowers were in full bloom and it just made me feel so happy. I sneezed like crazy, but things were just too lovely for me to care. To stay inside. I decided to spend some time in the backyard. I put a blanket out on my hammock and some pillows and lay back and enjoyed the sun, a glass of delicious riesling and the latest book I'm reading.
It was a relaxing and wonderful way to spend a lazy afternoon. I need to do so more often.

On Thursday night, while on a run to Walgreens I saw some small pots of Hyacinth and bought a pretty little purple one. I have it sitting on on the table next to my ivy topiary and I'm waiting anxiously for it to come to a full bloom. I want more greenery, more flowers in my life.

I adore fragrant Stargazer Lilies. They had bags of bulbs all ready for planting at Costco and I bought a bag. I found these cute multi-colored planters at Walmart for about a buck and I bought one. I plan to sit out on the deck tomorrow and plant a few bulbs in it, get some ready to bloom in summer. I can't wait to see some green start peeking through the dirt and know that I have some lilies coming. Instead of buying expensive bouquets at the market, I can grow my own to cut and have in vases in the house. Have their beauty and delicious scent on display.

It's the little things that make life grand and I plan to find and bring all the small and simple things to myself so that I can find something around and within me every day to remind me that though things might look bad at one moment in time, there is something to always be thankful for, to strive for. And I will pick myself up, dust off and keep going. For my readers, I hope you will do the same for yourself.

xoxo,
    Gina

Down a different path...

Since visiting the Natural History Museum in LA with my sister a few weeks back, it's prompted a change of heart. I so thoroughly enjoyed working in the lab, and it transported me back to how much I loved being in science class/labs in high school.

Like any college student, I've changed my mind about what I want to study a couple times now, but I think I've finally found exactly what I would love to do.

Since 2006 I've been heavily into the Green movement, reading constantly about green architecture,
specifically pre-fab home and landscape design. I've been looking for ways to be greener in my everyday life, from recycling plastic bags, working to use fabric bags for groceries, recycling, changing light bulbs, looking into solar and wind energy options, and finding a greener alternative to my car.

I LOVE thinking about and working to do these things, making my home and myself live more sustainably.

And now with my project of growing my own vegetables and possibly having a few hens for fresh eggs, I really want to study something that is good for myself and good for the earth. After expressing disappointment that my community college doesn't seem to have much in regards to "green jobs" training  he told me I should look at Cal Poly Pomona.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they had a huge agricultural department and a great architecture department as well.

They have so much hands-on learning opportunities available and acres of land devoted to farming, greenhouses, livestock and much more.

I've made an appt to see my college counselor to change my current major to a transfer degree.
I'm hoping it won't be stretching myself beyond ability to major in Landscape Design and minor in Agricultural Sciences. I'll obviously have to discuss how that works out with my counselor.
Also, this is an opportunity to use both degrees as one, or work in one and fall back on the other if need be.

I'm really excited to start working on this. I finally mailed my request for my state birth certificate to begin the process of getting my tribal affiliation in order so I can have help with paying for college and I'm hoping to find a seminar to attend on FAFSA so I can better understand how it works.

So this is where I am now and I am very excited. Cal Poly also has an open campus program during the summer and if I can get the money to afford it, I won't have to worry about taking classes at Chaffey, I can hopefully get better classes during Cal Poly's open summer session.

As far the garden project, Erik will be coming over sometime this weekend to finish getting all the rocks and debris out of the yard so we can start the process of building a raised bed. Gary and I are looking for a good composter and I'm hoping that when we attend the Earth Day Festival in Claremont in Saturday that I'll be able to talk to someone to point me in the right direction for a dependable composter and educate me more on how to do it.

Not only do we have the Earth Day event in Claremont, but Friday through Sunday is the Lemon Festival in Downtown Upland. The booth line-up there isn't looking all that exciting to me, but I still want to go check it out. I'll be posting pics of what I see at the events.