i'm thinking of ....

menu plans

knitting projects

learning to sew

lights-free nights (reading by candlelight?)

car-free days

no spending days

cooking for someone else who needs/deserves it

home dinners/clothing swaps/game nights

reading on cold frames/growing your own greens

planting a raspberry bush

opening online ING savings accounts

cash budget pouches (hm ...heather's are beautiful....and inspiring)

cloth bulk grocery bags (again ms. heather comes to mind...)

homemade soaps/cleaners

reading novel after novel

giving more. more time, more money.

becoming a real listener.

getting back on the mat, both literally and figuratively. i've been falling off lately, and i'm hoping that's just being completely out of a routine. i also have gotten so used to being alone that it's hard for me to dive into a new relationship. but i'm being open and honest with him about all of it. it's a new thing for me.

becoming a leader in advocating a plant-based diet, and educating those who just don't know how/think they can't afford or don't deserve good healthy food. i *still* can't figure out just how to do this yet, but i try to think in baby steps. convincing whole foods to have a donated food items box for the holiday season? (because that *other* grocery store has bags of processed "junk" you can buy to help the poor ... while good in theory, you're in actuality just perpetuating the myth that this food is "good enough" for "those people" ... actually, food can become "those people's" biggest asset in the form of natural health insurance/preventive care)

a stint in Africa doing humanitarian aid work

washing underwear and cleaning rags in hot water and vinegar/essential oil in between trips to the laundromat

reorganizing my apartment's kitchen to be more energy-efficient

keeping a frugal living notebook .... with all this stuff, and maybe more, probably more, in it. like, it will hold me accountable to the changes i often dream of but then get "too busy" (BAH!!) to implement.

i hope you are all having a good week. as much as i wish for more restful vacation time, i actually am looking forward to a healthy routine of days again. it's going to be a busy year for me, not just in terms of all that i've just blogged. i also have school assignments to complete, and christmas projects to get underway, and 80 hours of student teaching to get through.

and speaking of "frugal living" notebooks, do any of you keep one? any suggestions?