#30daysofblogging Day 8: Currently

(as seen as the nursery today, more about that below)

Eating: For breakfast this morning, I'm still eating leftovers from the pre-Bay to Breakers meal I made to eat before the race (and didn't eat, as per usual): pan-fried new potatoes with spring garlic, and a side of Field Roast breakfast sausages. So good. And for lunch, I had some amazing ravioli and broccoli which will be the subject of tomorrow's post. So good. Not vegan, but close. Could easily be vegan, and next time, will be. Other than that -- I've been having Vietnamese food, tonight is going to be an Italian night, and I'm forever trying to think up ways to save money on food. Other than "don't eat out" I can't really come up with much. When I cook in my own kitchen, it's almost always vegan (occasionally vegetarian) and I try to drink cheap, cheap wine.

Thinking about: I went to a nursery near my office at lunch called Cactus Jungle. I knew they had cacti and succulents, but I was unprepared for all of the other amazing items they had in their greenhouse, and just outside the greenhouse: food plants/starts such as tomatoes, green pepper, basil; seeds for growing your own vegetables; an entire half greenhouse devoted to making your own succulent terrariums (I mean seriously!!!); a wall full of carnivorous plants, and perhaps best of all, two adorable tortoises! I need to go back to this place once I have more money. Or any money. Because I want to buy every single thing in the place. For a moment I entertained thoughts of buying tomato plants and hoping for the best, but I already know that the downside of having an apartment that never gets warm, even in the summer, is that we never get any direct sunlight. I am desperate to find some kind of solution that allows me to garden, particularly since I'll be in my 40s before I get a plot in a community garden in SF. That's not an exaggeration, that's just fact.

tomatoes! peppers! I WANTED THEM ALL for my imaginary indoor garden where you can grow vegetables magically. 

NEW FRIENDS <3

Working on: Right now I'm working on trying to be more self-aware, and to really grow from the last couple of years of experiences. Next month I'm turning 33, and though that sounds like it's boring, and uneventful, another year has passed, and I don't want to get stuck living the same old life I've been living just because it's easier that way. I want to continue to evolve and understand myself, figure out what I want and how to go for it. I just came off of a really amazing month, where I felt more like my happy self than I have in a long time, and I feel that momentum right now. I want to keep that momentum going. Keep trying new things, thinking deeply about life, loving the universe and myself and keep reaching higher and higher for the next ring. If that makes sense. I really don't want to reach 40 and realize I've wasted my 30s acting like I'm in my 20s. And that doesn't mean that I want to grow up (NEVER!) -- it just means, I want to use the wisdom I've gained over the years, not squander it.

Mmmm, Pinot Noir.

Drinking: Last week, two of my friends who also grew up in Oregon (Meghan and Mary Ann) and I went to an Oregon Wine tasting event at 18 Reasons. It was amaaaaaazing, and not just because we got to tell inside jokes about Oregon and bond with our tasting leader the entire time. The wines were really fantastic, and all of them were affordable. One of the wineries (Cooper Mountain) is located in our hometown of Beaverton, which was really exciting for all of us. There was only one Portlandia joke the entire two hours. It was just a really great evening, and now I know so much more about Oregon wines, and am learning not to laugh at people who are really snobby about wine tasting. If you want to check out a great wine, I LOVED the Division Winemaking Company's Pinot Noir. A lot.

Looking forward to: Practicing my clarinet when I get home today! I've been feeling more motivated to practice lately, after several months of feeling overwhelmed and unable to fit it into my schedule. I have so many hobbies, it's sometimes difficult to balance them all. Even if I'm only practicing for 15 minutes, that's still practicing, and the thing I need to do more of is read music. That's really the hard part for me at this point. I'm out of practice, is all. I am also really looking forward to relaxing this evening and hopefully getting a lot of sleep, and having some wine. I probably shouldn't look forward to the wine part, but I do. And then I also have tomorrow night to look forward to, when I'm going on a solo adventure (abenteuer, for those of you wondering how my German lessons are going) to the SF Symphony, which is right across the street from my apartment. I've never been to the symphony solo before, so really, that's the adventurous part. I'm going to see Bartok performed, which is really exciting. I love Bartok.



Currently is inspired by Sometimes Sweet.