I’ve been making intermittent efforts to eat locally produced food since I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle some years ago, although I’ve never had the dedication of Kingsolver’s family to eat exclusively local. I try to grow some veggies at home, but my success with gardening varies. Foreseeing that weekly Saturday morning visits to the farmer’s market would likely be a challenge this year, I recently signed up for a CSA share.
The news of the Cambridge Analytica scandal has led a number of my friends, no longer comfortable with the amount of data amassed about them, to declare that they are leaving Facebook. People exiting certain social media platforms or abstaining for extended periods of time isn’t new. For years now, I’ve seen posts from acquaintances stating that they are dissatisfied with what Facebook has become or how it’s affecting their lives. It seems most of them usually return eventually. It’s hard to free oneself of social media these days. Everyone uses it. It’s how we stay apprised of happenings in each others’ lives, spread information about events, and even learn about breaking news.
Though the temperatures have dipped again, we had a few warm spring days this week. After many months of neglecting my yard, I took advantage of the nice weather and child care assistance (thanks, Yia-Yia!) and set out to do some weeding and garden clean-up.
I tend to treat gardening much like house cleaning: I aim for good enough rather than perfect. My goal in terms of my yard is generally to keep it from getting so overgrown that my neighbors look at it with disdain. When we bought our house, I knew the lawn maintenance would cause me stress. The previous owner was an avid gardener who had done all kinds of lovely landscaping. I’ve tried to maintain it, but in fewer than three years, it looks much less attractive than it did when he left. The funny thing, though, is that while I look at my overgrown garden and feel burdened by it, I actually enjoy gardening when I’m in the process of doing it. As with many things, the procrastination and anticipation are worse than the deed itself.
I’ve written a lot of posts about steps I’ve taken to improve my day-to-day life and overall wellness, like reading books, meditating, language-learning, and exercising. I’ve even described myself as a bit of a self-improvement junkie. I am constantly consuming media about the latest health-related studies and how to become more efficient and effective in my professional and personal life.
I believe this continual learning and experimenting adds value to my life, but it’s easy to let these habit-related, day-to-day pursuits distract me from long-term planning. Setting big goals and grand-scale intentions is something that I haven’t done very often in my life, though I know it’s important. I’m talking about envisioning my life decades from now and asking myself what I want it to look like. What contributions will I have made to the world? What kind of lifestyle will I be living? If I could call myself an expert at something, what would it be? Read more
If you’re really on top of things and heed the identity theft-prevention advice to file your tax returns as early as possible, you may have already received and spent your tax refund. Good for you! We’re still waiting for our refund, because newborn (and, let’s be honest, because of the same procrastination that hits every tax season). Of course, not everyone gets a refund. Last year, we were in that camp and had to pay the IRS — not a fun surprise. But the average federal tax refund is $2,895, and for many Americans who don’t get annual or quarterly bonuses from their employers, it’s their only unbudgeted monetary windfall.
No matter your current situation, a couple thousand dollars can go pretty far in helping you to achieve your financial goals. As I mentioned last month, I’m making an effort to buy fewer things, and I don’t want to watch my tax refund dollars evaporate in a shopping spree, spent on things that will just further fill my house, only to be discarded in a future decluttering effort. If you’re in the same boat and are looking for some more intentional uses for your hard-earned money, here are a few ideas. Read more