do-able ...

goals



stop buying crap



stop watching/reading advertisements



buy a new computer (majorly good investment, as the Internet to me is an important interactive tool, albeit not one that should completely take over life....which it can, and will do, if you do not get control over the habit ... )



get better at practical life activities: knitting, sewing, cooking, walking around the parks and woods, taking time for tea, enjoying being HOME.



invest in a bread machine.



let's go back to the first one for a minute: stop buying crap. this one is going to be hard as hell, because even for someone who enjoys buying local kitsch and from thrift and used bookstores, i tend to go overboard sometimes. it's easy to do, even in the confines mainly of what i call the "organic" world. i am taken in by fancy claims and packaging, even here. it doesn't happen often, but i'm not going to lie and say i'm not attracted by shiny things.



in her blog, rhonda touches on some excellent points, especially for people wishing to live a life similar to hers but not sure how to take the plunge from our consumerist brainwashed selves. here are my favorites, condensed:



*it's going to hurt to stop buying books, but Stop Buying Them. Really begin to utilize your public library, not only for books but for manuals, CDs and DVDs (rather than paying for something like Netflix, wow, not as "convenient" but easy way to cut bucks quick), as well (one thing I learned was to copy music into your ITunes!). Once or twice a year, shop the library booksales.

*learn to enjoy household chores as a never-ending stream of work to be done. once you stop seeing it as an end, you begin to enjoy the means. you stop hurrying to get it done, and you begin doing things more slowly and mindfully. perhaps these acts become meditation time in themselves. reclaim the kitchen, ladies, it's OK!

I've sure listed a lot of near-future goals here, but the biggest one for me right now is to stop. buying. crap. and that is also what she suggests doing first. making a budget, not buying crap. i think i do a pretty damned good job of that now, but she's saying for a while, and it will feel forced, don't even give yourself the occasional "treat." i.e. of a cup of coffee out with friends, etc. this is where she says you may have some explaining to do ... gosh, and i'd wager it to be a bit lonely at first ... but isn't the end result (read numerous blog entries about she and her husband's incredible "ordinary life) worth it? she seems to be proof that this CAN be done ...

i dunno. just read her blog, and be inspired to start your own. i did it, and so can you.

stay tuned for more posts to come. i am so excited and hope i can keep up with this.

namaste.