Every Day I Think About Posting Something...

And every day, I fail. Until today. I'm stopping all else to write a few things down now. Even if just to clear my head, organize my thoughts, maybe even, if I'm lucky, come up with a plan.
     And what you don't know is that those sentences right there were as far as I got before remembering something else I needed to do for work--and so off I went to complete the task ... 30 minutes ago. 
     Now, I'm back. Each day I have little thoughts, experiences, conversations that I feel like I should remember or record. They're things that relate to how I want to live, to what I want to do or learn, to who I want to be. But finding the precious moments to unpack it all and get it down on paper (or computer, as it were) is a little more difficult than I'd like it to be. I'll try to do better. Because I need to do better, for me.
     This past weekend we were out to lunch with Randy's family to celebrate his son Caden's birthday. Randy's mom asked me if I'd begun working on this book idea I have, and I quickly answered: "No, not yet." But that wasn't altogether true. Everything I write in this blog will somehow shape what I do with that idea. Everything I learn or read about or try out or fail miserably at or investigate will somehow play out in that book. And the fact is that everything about that book is everything I want to BE ... and everything I AM is aimed at forming the foundation of that book. Does that even make sense? I'll try to explain.
     Grow, Eat and Dye ... The idea of the book is to cover exactly that: Growing food, eating it (or rather: cooking it, canning it, freezing it and THEN eating it) and dyeing fabrics and fibers from those same foods and flowers that I grew. Basically, a few months ago I announced to Randy that I wanted to know how to garden and to garden well and then, once everything was harvested, I wanted to know what to do with all of it. I wanted to give away food to friends and family, I want to cook spectacular meals with it for Randy and I, I want to can and save and freeze the food so we can reap the benefits of the garden all year long, and I want to be able to dye fabrics and clothes from what's left. I want nothing to go to waste. And I want all of that to then go into a book. Just for kicks.
     The bigger idea of the book, of course, is that we all grow, eat and die... It's our life cycle. And our life cycles have a great deal to do with our lifestyles. My optimal lifestyle (so that I can live and die happily, of course) involves eating well (I was born to eat! I swear!), exercising madly, feeding my body the vitamins and nutrients it needs, and feeling good about who I am and how I treat myself and others. It also involves learning new stuff all the time. This year, I have a lot of plans. They look a little something like this:

• My dad's giving me his old 1979 motorcycle. I'm going to learn to ride that thing, and that involves taking safety classes and getting licensed to ride it, etc. That's one goal. 
• I'd like to find the money to return to Colombia for a second mission trip. This time, I'd like Randy to go, too. I think he'd love it--he's super smart and skilled and he loves helping people. I think he'd get a kick out of building homes for people who need them, and I'd love to be able to go over there and help the locals start up a few community gardens or backyard gardens or gardens at the local public school where we did a lot of work last year. The folks organizing this mission trip are looking into what it would take for me to go over there and get some gardens up and running. What fun. That means I need to find sponsors or raise almost $3,000 so we can go on the trip in June. That's a lot of money to raise, but I think we can do it. We're also setting money back each week to save for the trip. Cartagena, Colombia is an amazing place. I can't wait to do good work there. I also can't wait to run along the bay with Randy at my side. 
• I'd also like to be in great shape. One of the things I love about my job is that I get to cherry pick the writing assignments. If there's something I'm interested in, I find a way to write about it -- so I can learn more about it. Because of that, this year I'll be writing about bicycling all over Indiana, getting in shape (Lisa and I are taking every fitness class possible all over the northside; my muscles ache...), and, as of this writing, I'm neck-deep in a story about where to learn how to cook in Carmel and Fishers. When I think about the types of stories I get to tackle, it's incredibly hard not to love my job and my life. 
• Work-wise, I want to continue to improve. I've been finding ways to better organize my days and to dive further into writing and editing. I'm taking on more stories, and volunteering to cover more tasks each year that I've been with Home News. I love working for that company, and though someday I hope to also find the time to spend a few days a week working in dirt, I want to work for Home News in some capacity until I retire. I love the opportunities and the people there, and they inspire me to want to do my best for them. No better place to be than that. 
• I have a few other more personal goals, as well. Those involve being closer to my family, being there for my mom and pops more, loving Randy well (and marrying the shit out of him one day!), and just being an all-around good and spiritual and loving person.

     There's a lot there to take to task. So, when Randy's mom asks me if I've started the book, my immediate answer is no. No, I haven't really written anything that's directly going into that book. But everything I do, every day, has something to do with that book. Simply because I'm living. I've signed up for multiple cooking classes over the coming weeks. I go to exercise classes every week. I try out new recipes each week, and I'm heading out for a few garden planning workshops soon. I browse websites that teach me stuff; I've signed up for e-mail blasts about gardening, living healthy and eating well. And I peruse my Small Farmers Journal like it's an inspired word of God. (I also read the actual inspired words of God as often as I can.)
     Every minute of my days, it seems, my efforts are focused on getting started on that book. But my eyes see an even bigger prize: My life -- lived just the way I want to live it.