and yeah.

So Saturday, Toni, Kaylyn, Neil and I went to the Kansas City zoo, Neil and I wanted to take her since her second birthday is coming on the 28th. I begged and pleaded with my brother Nathan to come but he says no zoo will ever compare to the Omaha zoo (we took him there three years ago) and refused. Boo on him!





(this is the only time I've worn my bangs down..... and ew. I don't look right. how come all you other adorable girls can pull off the bang look and I look sooo weird??)

 
do you see that face?? she was soooo excited to be riding on the tram, I mean, she had some serious laughing going on here. silly girl. I would take her to the zoo everyday for that face!

And yesterday was Earth Day. I had a lot I wanted to say yesterday, but as previously posted, I just felt... ugh. ew. blah. etc.

BUT I do want to post something....
I'm not perfect and I don't like to impress my opinions on people (I seriously hope I don't come across that way either!). But I really believe, whether or not you believe in global warming and all those other issues, that every single person can stand to be less wasteful and more respectful. Just because, this is our home! We should treat it as such! I've got some links in my sidebars to some great sites, not just green sites but various places to learn and do good things.
Right now, I'm reading (well, thumbing through and reading here and there is more like it, I'm not one to actually read an entire non fiction book... too impatient! I'm a flipper!) The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved by Sandor Ellix Katz. If you're at all interested in the slow food movement, eating more local and healthfully or if you just want to know more about what exactly it is you're eating, this is a really great book. I've really enjoyed the part about meat and meat processing as well. It always shocks me how removed we all are from the food we eat and how little we actually know about it.
For the record - my husband and I are NOT vegetarians. I have nothing against vegetarians, and I don't find fault in such a choice, I've even dabbled in it myself! I would never try to get a vegetarian to eat meat. And I hope that no one would ever try to convince me not to. My husband is a hunter, and I eat what he hunts. Also, as you can tell by the links in my sidebar, we get the meat we eat other than wild game locally, from local ranches. We just started doing this, because we really believe in it and knowing where our food is coming from. Something that really bugs me, is when people turn up there noses to my husband and even myself because we are a hunting family. They are disgusted by hunting. But they have no problem going up to Walmart or wherever and buying a four pack of chicken breasts, from which they have no idea where it came, how it was treated, etc. etc. etc. I think society has become sooooo far removed from where our food comes from, especially meat production. I really believe in being a responsible meat eater, if it is something I'm going to consume, then it is something I should be more apart of. This has changed a lot of things in my life, eating out isn't always easy, and it's not always so easy to stick to my beliefs! Man oh man, I'm sooo not perfect. I think though, that when people think of Earth Day, they're thinking plastic bags, turning off lights, recycling, things like that. But our world's food production is also a big part of the problem and it's something I've been learning a lot about lately, just wanted to share some of my thoughts!!
Sorry if that was preachy at all or totally boring, like I said, I don't usually like to impress my opinions.... but being Earth Day I wanted to share something other people may not have thought about before!
I think half of the process, is just the learning. And it's slow and changing our ways is hard, but I really think it's worth it!

It was soooo gorgeous yesterday and it's looking like another lovely day. Neil is finally done with school until September and having him home last night was so refreshing.

I have an appointment today with a new therapist.... I'm a little nervous because I haven't been to therapy in five years. BUT there's been some things I need to deal with and get a handle on so I'm glad I'm going. I'm ready to really start getting out of this funk I've been in and start really living.
I know I'd been saying that I really needed to find myself, but then I came across this quote:

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” - George Bernard Shaw

how exciting does that sound??? I get to be the person I want to be. And that's what I want to do, I want to start and keep on creating myself.

And one thing I'm going to get as soon as I save up for a couple weeks, is a new little photo printer - because I want to journal more about the daily, lots of little pics, lots of little words, lots of daily life. I've been inspired to do that soooo much lately and the lack of printer is just killing me!!

you know what else.. I need some polaroid film..... I am going to the grocery store for some fruit later, maybe I'll find some. You know what I really wish they still made?? Izone film. miss that so much..

I'm going to end this with this very last thing, and then I'm probably done posting for the rest of the month. (though you know I won't go that long!)
I have to fill out a little survey for something, and one of the questions was "who is your significant other to you?"

This is my answer:
"You know when there is a very funny, silent joke happening in the room, or something very funny just happened, but you can't laugh at loud because you'll get caught or it would be rude? And there's that one person there who you CANNOT look at, because if you do, you'll both bust out laughing and be totally busted?? Well, that is Neil. He is that one person I cannot look at because we'll both just bust out laughing. He's that one person that after we've left the room, we will laugh and laugh for hours about it. He is the one who GETS IT."

I should scrapbook that, because it's exactly how I feel.

SOOOO done rambling on now, everyone have a happy Wednesday!