Aspirations

if there is one thing i have, it is good intentions and aspirations. the execution and follow through proves to be quite a bit more challenging. here are just a few things on my wish/idea list - if only i had the motivation and dedication to see it through...baby steps may be the solution.

1. remodel the house. sure, we are fine in our 1274 square feet. there are plenty of people in the world that would consider 400+ square feet per person a luxury in fact. but i am going to step inside my selfish world momentarily and say that one bathroom has gotten crowded now that caleb is finally potty trained and we sure could use some storage space and i would just like to update and redecorate. or maybe we just need less crap. i am thinking it is surely the latter - but i would hate to admit that. so the issue becomes - am i ready to pack it up for 4-6 months and spend $100K+ that i don't really have to do this thing once and for all? no, not really. but yes, really because i take one look at those bathroom fixtures in the ikea catalog and i get all excited again!

2. eat locally. the past 3 books, maybe more, have all been food related (surprise) and of course the evils of processed foods that travel thousands of miles and the virtues of home grown produce, farmers markets, locally raised meats etc. i am a believer - seriously. but i still find myself succumbing to the temptation of large scale agriculture and unwilling to put a better effort to really commit to local sources. i failed to dig the asparagus bed earlier this year and while we have done a fair job with tomatoes and cucumbers, we are still cheaters because it is not technically our garden.

3. have a nice backyard. i love the idea of a tranquil, green, lush backyard but what i have is the disastrous aftermath of a rash decision to rip everything out. I am left with prehistoric size wisteria stumps that continue to sprout, 'grass' that is in fact 60% weeds, a rotting shed, poison ivy that prevents Erik from really digging in - a job far too big for me to even know how to tackle. what i want is: a shed like the one next door, a hedge of the tall skinny evergreens like they have in europe, a vegetable garden of our own WITH an asparagus bed, some grass to play in.

BABY STEP GOALS

1. call matt, spend the $500 for energy audit, measurements and initial plans

2. better meal planning, have erik stop on his way home from work

3. borrow the bobcat from joe and just start clearing. if this fails, hire someone to do it.