My quest for a simpler, more sustainable me from the Midwest to the Northwest.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Trials and Tribulations from Being a Student Again

The reason I moved back to the midwest is to finish my master's degree.  Otherwise, I would probably still be living it up near Seattle.  Being a student again has proved to be quite a challenge. From adjusting to a new, strange schedule to the financial tole of going from full-time work to part-time, to dealing with financial aide again (who I am currently furious with) it's been a rollercoaster the last few weeks.  Thus the reason for not having posted in a while.  To my two followers --sorry about that.  :) 

Beyond all that, I've had many occasionas recently where I thought...hey I need to discuss this in my blog!  And of course, I can't remember all of them.  Really need to start writing those ideas down. 

Today I'd like to touch briefly on the challenges of being a student and eating localally, healthfully, organicly, and plantely on a budget.  In a acorn nutshell (they're local to IL), I don't have great answers to this yet.  It has been tough.  The Farmer's Market, of course, has been wonderful and cheap.  And being a vegetarian saves money for sure!  The one health food store in my area does not focus primarily on local food and it can be quite expensive.  However, a friend linked me up with a Springfield Locavore blog that is very promising.  It's a family that is committed to eating local in Springfield, IL.  They offer lots of wonderful resources and I've already found out about a Farmer's Market I didn't know existed.  yippee!! 

Of course, one of the best and cheapest ways to eat locally is to grow your own food. This has been difficult for me as I just moved to Springfield a couple of weeks ago and it's already late in the growing season.  I'm going to try to get a few herbs going indoors and maybe some quick growing veggies.  If you live in a small space and don't have a lot of room or a yard, you can still grow many things!  I highly reccomend Scott Kellog's book on Radical Urban Sustainability.  He has come up with some amazing ideas for not only growing food but living a sustainable lifestyle in a small, urban areas.  It's a really reader-friendly guide that gives you step-by-step advice. 

Ok that's enough for today.  I'm going to try to be more consisted with my postings.  You can tell I've been thinking about food a lot lately!  Enjoy the weekend!

Peace, Namaste, and Planetoneness,
Courtney :)

P.S.  I said I was going to incorporate music into this blog and I haven't yet...Here's what I've been listening to a lot lately The Black Crowes new album Before the Frost...Until the Freeze.  Kick ass classic Crowes with a bit of funk, especially on I Ain't Hidin'. Fantastic song.  Can't wait to dance to it at The Pageant when I see them live in November with my bestie Mer!  How do the Crowes tie into Sustainability?  They recorded this new double album over a couple of days in Woodstock, NY (yes, that Woodstock) so they saved tons of energy by doing a live album!  Yay Crowes you get two gold cucumbers in my book!

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