Complete Convert - A List of Resolutions

The year is nearly over for me.

I leave the country (for a long visit in California) on November 17th, and so I'm considering that to be the end of the year, in terms of "normal life" here. Therefore I'm getting my affairs in order, and preparing my list of resolutions. Which, for once, I'm fairly serious about. I realise, of course, that I don't have to wait until the new year to start - but it makes a nice break between the "old" and the "new" and furthermore makes a great baseline.


The Resolutions:
1) Live as a Compactor with perhaps one or two minor tweaks. Basically I want to not buy anything new, except for food, underwear and healthy/safety/medical/hygiene items. I'm not sure whether buying wool (or other "raw" materials) would count but I don't think it should, and nappies may become an issue as well. Probably a good thing that I'm not planning to start until the new year, because I think this one could probably do with some refining (mentally at least) before then.
2) Be completely caffeine-free by the end of June.
3) Clear out all of "my" excess clutter from the house. If I don't use it and/or don't love it, it goes.
4) Keep Zamara's baby albums up to date.
5) Use the car no more than two days a week if at all possible. (Exceptions to this would be for work, particularly Creative Memories classes)
6) Work out a way to live within our means. (May well be an ongoing trial-and-error...)

I'm sure I'll come up with more before then.... but for right now, it's a good start :-D

Informed Consent

When I was growing up, it was implicitly understood that science was a Good Thing. There were two main reasons for this as I understood it, though I'm not sure there was ever a solid discussion about it. One was simply that Science = Technology = Progress and Progress was always a good thing. The other was that Science was Education's best friend, and Education in my household was The Most Important Thing.

And yet, now that I'm an adult, I'm finding that more and more I turn my back on "progress" and strive to live 'naturally'. This manifests itself in a variety of ways.

* I use modern cloth nappies instead of disposables
* I use modern "mama pads" instead of disposables
* As a household, we're in the process of going organic on all our fresh produce
* Natural and homeopathic remedies are relied on at least as much as Western "medicinal" remedies

And most recently, I've (mostly) made the decision against giving my daughter the MeNZB vaccine.

The ironic thing is, in regards to every decision above, the decision was not simply a negative reaction towards science. Rather, each decision was made after much reading and research on said topics. And, granted, some decisions were far easier to make than others. Still, every time I make a decision that seems so anti-science, I surprise myself. There's a little part of me that wonders "how did I get here?"

Then, of course, I remember. I got here because this is the point I was raised to get to - the point where I can do the research and get the education and information. It's that information that allows me to make a truly informed decision about how I will lead my life. It's not turning my back on my upbringing... but rather, a continuation of it.

All I Want for Christmas...

Dear Santa,

I've been a really good girl this year. Technically I've only had half a year to show off what a wonderful girl I am, but I'm only little so that shouldn't count against me. I've learned how to be wonderful and charming when people come to adore me, and can even laugh when people make monkey faces at me. I've showed my parents that I can roll over, and am even clever enough to know not to do it when prompted.

For Christmas this year, these are my top wishes:
Babylegs - I really like these because they allow my bottie to get some air when I'm awake, but my legs can still stay warm! Plus they'll grow with me, and even help to protect my knees when I figure out the crawling thing.
Fuzzibunz Cloth Nappies (or the NZ specific website with online store)- I'm almost a size medium in these, and some of my older friends report that they last for a really long time; I'll probably still be wearing them well after I'm walking!
Books! Both nice ones for mummy to read to me, and hard wearing (board or cloth) books for me to explore. (Mommy says to mention that I already have The Very Hungry Caterpillar)
Clothes from size 6 months and up (often labelled as size 0). Mommy says lavender looks really nice on me.
College fund (or start thereof)

I reckon that my Mommy's also been a really good mommy this year, and I've certainly been sure to test her! Therefore her top wishes are:
Yarn and wool - the KnitPicks stuff is really nice and I know I've seen her drooling over the Knit Picks Options needles
Anything from her Amazon Wish List
And of course she always appreciates money!

Thank you Santa, I know this is the beginning of a great relationship!

Love,

Zamara