How is it November?

I cannot believe it is November 2014. I honestly feel as though I blinked and spring, summer, and fall have passed me by. It's winter now and the year feels like a blur. the business of life hasn't changed. My attempt at living a more green 2014 didn't change either. I'm going to have to shoot for 2015 on that one...

Now that my Master's thesis has been submitted, I have a little more 'me' time. That is, until I need to start preparing for my oral defense to earn PhD candidacy... and if I'm speaking honestly, I should have started that weeks ago. But now I'm tired. I'm really, really tired. In an attempt to break this, I'm starting with a small goal. Yes, someday I'd love to work out, eat 3 healthy meals a day, and sleep either hours a night. But that's not realistic for me right now. I had oyster crackers for supper. I'm failing in all areas 'adult'. But whatever. I don't have time to deal with that now. But I do have time to make myself drink water. That is quick and requires little effort. Sounds like an easy enough thing to do. I have decided to drink 1 oz of water for each pound I way. This puts me roughly at 100 oz of water a day. I'm going to document how my body responds and maybe even post a before and after photo. I know all of the things I list will not be fixed by drinking water, but I did want to write it all down so I can address each issue at some point in my life. It would really be nice to feel like I am in control of my life again at some point in time... whenever I have enough time to deal with it.

At the start this how I feel:
-constant headaches. Some more severe than others, but I rely heavily on medication to get me through some days. The worst are the days I go to bed with a headache and still wake up with one the next morning. My worse headaches do seem to coinside with 'that time of the month'.
-dark purple circles under my eyes.
-very dry lips.
-very dry skin.
-cold all the time.
-nails are brittle and peel and break easily.
-not many breakouts in terms of acne, so that's at least one good thing.
-when I shave I get terrible razor burn on both legs--especially my thighs.
-very dry nose to the point where it bleeds a little each day from the painful cracks.
-extremely tired. Tired to the point of feeling like I will never be fully rested again in my life.
-stressed about many things, but mostly my performance in school and about my professional future.
-my skin feels lifeless.
-my skin looks lifeless. It is lacking color and fullness--just feels like it is hanging there on my face.
-my hair is dry and has dry ends. It does shine nicely if I take the time to blow dry it, but I know I could at least use a haircut.
-My eyes often have a slight pink color to them when I look in the mirror at night. They are stressed. It is also very hard to me to read anything farther than 10 feet away without my glasses on.
-I am often not hungry, but I think that is because my stomach has shrunk due to poor eating habits--mostly not eating in general. Too busy I guess and have learned to survive with minimal amounts of food with minimal amounts of nutrition. I would not recommend this.
-I have weak ankles and knees. I can tell when I run across the street that they are on the brink of getting twisted each time. Not such a good feeling.
-I am often sad and feel bummed about being in school and my career prospects. I have a pretty good attitude on life in general and am a happy person, but school has broken me in ways I did not anticipate. It is a constant struggle to try and succeed--and most of the time I have been met with failure. It is an interesting sort of lesson to learn over and over, and I can't say I am good at dealing with it yet.

I think that is good for now. I'm excited to see what the next week brings. Most likely a lot of more time spent in the restroom...

A More Green Twenty-Fourteen

I took a hot shower this evening to get ready for a good night's rest.  The shower itself was relaxing, but now I have a terrible shave irritation on both legs.  Ow ow ow!  I have had a lot of trouble with shave irritation and little hard bumps, chicken-skin it's called, since high school.  I use new razors, shave gel, and moisturize religiously, but they don't disappear no matter what I have tried.  And worse yet, they are just plain unsightly!

This got me to thinking that my 'chicken-skin' have to be caused from the shave gel or the lotion that I am using.  My skin is very sensitive in the first place and can break out in bumps, redness, and itching pretty easily.  So, to put my hypothesis to the test, I will be looking and testing more natural and non-toxic products to use as moisturizers.  I have read things in the past about using oils and other natural ingredient moisturizers--some you can buy and some you can make.  I am not opposed to making my own lotions at all, as long as the irritation stops!  Any conclusions I draw on natural remedies to decrease irritation will be celebrated and shared!

This all brings me to my next point--I have set a goal to live a "More Green Twenty-Fourteen."  Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?  I'm so glad I decided start such an initiative this year because I'm not sure what I could rhyme with twenty fifteen... oh, I guess the same thing... well, whatever.  Then on to the next mantra, "There's no time like the present!"  

To achieve my goal of a more green twenty-fourteen, I will be making and testing several different homemade cleaners and household products.  On the top of my list at the moment is obviously some sort of moisturizer, then deodorant, laundry soap, hand soap, general purpose cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, window cleaner, and the list goes on and on.  I have already tried an excellent tub/shower cleaner using Dawn dish soap and white vinegar, but I will post more on that later.  Hopefully with great before and after shots. 

Found on Inhabiat.com

If I am being honest, this initiative has been a long time coming and has been spurred on by a few different reasons.  First, we have realized how much money is spent on store bought cleaners and how much we could save if we made our own.  This ties in to our Financial Peace University class and just being more budget conscious in general.  Second, we realized that many store bought cleaners contain harmful and toxic chemicals that are quite frankly unnecessary.  We basically have a chemistry stock room right  under our bathroom sick!  I work with harmful organic solvents every day at work, and this is something I'd like to keep in the laboratory and not in my home.  All the research I have done on natural cleaning products claim to be just as effective has cleaners with harsher additives.  Now, is there proof in their pudding?  I will be judge of that!   Third, we have more than a few family members suffering from terrible cancers and other medical issues.  These are devastating on all levels.  We know that we cannot completely safeguard ourselves from harmful chemical exposure on a daily basis, but I want to do everything I can to reduce the toxic substances that enter our household.  And again going back to research I have done, it looks like we can keep the same cleanliness levels, or even better, using homemade cleaners with natural ingredients.  So why not???  Lastly, this may sound pathetic, or extreme, or just weird but we recently adopted a sweet little kitty by the name of Bug.  She has been our best investment in a long time, and we love her!  But watching her walk around on the floors I just mopped with store bought wet-cloths, and seeing her drink directly out of the sink I just cleaned with a harsh chemical cleaner really made me realize all the chemicals we use in our household.  Maybe it is just because she is so much closer to theses areas with her legs being so short and her being so small or maybe it is because I have taken on a motherly role with her, but I don't like seeing her so close (rubbing against, laying on, or licking) areas that have been cleaned with non-natural chemicals.  

I know I will feel even more strongly about this subject when/if we have children of our own, so I thought--why not start now?  Make good habits now, so everything is already in place for any new additions to our family.  So here is goes!  Updates to come with each new recipe...

Zero Balance Budget

Found on https://fpucentral.daveramsey.com

Yes!  We did it!  N and I made it through our first month through Financial Peace University, complete with building a $1000 emergency fund and a successful zero-balanced budget!  We have been working with a budget for a few years now, but we were always running into one trouble or another and it just never seemed to work as smoothly as it did this month.  The difference?  We finally budgeted working from paycheck to paycheck instead of just a month at a time.  What a world of difference this made for us!  And now it seems so obvious.  Why would we ever have budgeted for a straight month at a time when our pay periods are never on the 1st and 15th, but always every other Friday--which can fall anytime during the month?  Duh, no wonder it wasn't working!  And plus, now we are already saving for our domestic travels (we have five weddings this year already planned) and even have started to save for an international trip to Austria and Italy.  It feels great to see both of those funds building, 1) so we don't have to break the budget when plane tickets go on sale, and 2) we can a nice trip to Europe to look forward to in three years.  Yes, it's three years away, but we know it is going to happen if we keep saving like this, and that is an incredible feeling.  We are in charge of our money!  

I can't wait to take out our envelope money for the next two weeks... more on that later!

History's Anonymous Woman

"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman."

--Virginia Woolf--

Who is History's Anonymous Woman?  To me, she is each and every woman, both past and present, who has worked towards the common good of mankind.  Wether that be in raising for her children, making meals, educating youth, advancing science, starting a company, or caring for those in need.  Woman are influential in so many facets of society and often their contributions have been overlooked.  Through this blog, I will share my life experiences through the lens of a mid-twenty-year-old woman trying to do life in an real, honest, and meaningful way.  I do not know what direction this blog will head, but as one of history's current 'anonymous women,' I seek to give an accurate portrayal of my experiences, interpretations, and reactions to life and those around me.