Peace Y'all.
Thrift stores, second hand stores, consignment shops... They all used to places where I could find a deal. Deals on clothing, shoes, boots, home goods, furniture, etc. I have never been ashamed of my hobby.
But now a days.... I hate to say this.... there is nothing but junk in the thrift stores. I have had the privilege of finding designer bags, furs and clothing in these stores. But not of late. I suppose this economy has hit all of us hard enough to make folks reconsider the malls. And I suppose I should be happy that people are choosing a more environmental option to new purchases. But it's messing with my ability to plump my closet with flyness....
****Sigh****
I suppose I'll live
Peace
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Long Over Due Update.....
Peace Y'all,
I know it has been a minute since I have gotten back here. I'm not sure I have Built here this year! I have 2 readers and I feel responsible to post something at least a little regularly. I'm a do better....
That being said....
This economy sucks! They say it is rebounding but I see no evidence of it. Maybe they are trickling down. But they haven't gotten to where I am yet. And that trickle down theory is old bull. Showering the top of the food chain will have little to no effect on the people at the bottom. And we have to wait for some nasty, used foolishness to get to us when they damn well feel like it.
So what am I doing now a days to maintain my cipher and help my own personal economy? I have been bringing my lunch to work. That may seem like a no brainer, but think about it.... How many people do you know who consistently bring their lunch to work rather than eating out locally? I don't know very many people who do that. When I'm riding mass transit, I don't see as many lunch bags as I don't see. It's not even 50/50. More like 65/35 Not bringing to bringing. So folks are either not eating or they are buying their lunches.
Now I ain't one to tell folks what to do with their money, because I don't want anyone telling me what to do with mine. But bringing my lunch has considerably helped me out. It forces me to cook. If I cook, that means I'm probably not eating dinner out. The preparing of my lunch in the morning, has me eating while I do it so now I have breakfast. And I don't need to buy the little snack I allow myself.
You know what sparked this change? The cafeteria at my job. They did not raise their prices. The decreased their portions. I am NOT paying the same price for 1/2 the amount of fries. So I'm boycotting their facility or purchasing things they couldn't change. Like a veggie burger or an egg. But a veggie burger is not good without the fries so that squashed that.
I really notice the savings too. I don't drive my car much. I take mass transit, so I'm saving on gas. I refuse to purchase garbage bags. Why buy something that you are pay to through out? I am going through my stash of grocery bags quickly. I ain't scared. Whenever I need more bags I ask for plastic instead of paper, or leave my reusable bag in the car. I am still making all my own condiments and blending a lot of my own skin products. This may sound crazy, but just from those few changes, I feel healthier. I am kind of avoiding grocery stores in favor of markets. I assume the produce is fresher. It is certainly dirtier. And I will start my garden eventually.
What are y'all up to?
Peace
I know it has been a minute since I have gotten back here. I'm not sure I have Built here this year! I have 2 readers and I feel responsible to post something at least a little regularly. I'm a do better....
That being said....
This economy sucks! They say it is rebounding but I see no evidence of it. Maybe they are trickling down. But they haven't gotten to where I am yet. And that trickle down theory is old bull. Showering the top of the food chain will have little to no effect on the people at the bottom. And we have to wait for some nasty, used foolishness to get to us when they damn well feel like it.
So what am I doing now a days to maintain my cipher and help my own personal economy? I have been bringing my lunch to work. That may seem like a no brainer, but think about it.... How many people do you know who consistently bring their lunch to work rather than eating out locally? I don't know very many people who do that. When I'm riding mass transit, I don't see as many lunch bags as I don't see. It's not even 50/50. More like 65/35 Not bringing to bringing. So folks are either not eating or they are buying their lunches.
Now I ain't one to tell folks what to do with their money, because I don't want anyone telling me what to do with mine. But bringing my lunch has considerably helped me out. It forces me to cook. If I cook, that means I'm probably not eating dinner out. The preparing of my lunch in the morning, has me eating while I do it so now I have breakfast. And I don't need to buy the little snack I allow myself.
You know what sparked this change? The cafeteria at my job. They did not raise their prices. The decreased their portions. I am NOT paying the same price for 1/2 the amount of fries. So I'm boycotting their facility or purchasing things they couldn't change. Like a veggie burger or an egg. But a veggie burger is not good without the fries so that squashed that.
I really notice the savings too. I don't drive my car much. I take mass transit, so I'm saving on gas. I refuse to purchase garbage bags. Why buy something that you are pay to through out? I am going through my stash of grocery bags quickly. I ain't scared. Whenever I need more bags I ask for plastic instead of paper, or leave my reusable bag in the car. I am still making all my own condiments and blending a lot of my own skin products. This may sound crazy, but just from those few changes, I feel healthier. I am kind of avoiding grocery stores in favor of markets. I assume the produce is fresher. It is certainly dirtier. And I will start my garden eventually.
What are y'all up to?
Peace
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Look for the Union Label
I recently watched a documentary on what has happened to the garment industry. It chronicled the decline of said industry. At one time, the garment industry was the largest employer in NYC. Now less than 5% of clothing worn in this country is made in this country. The reason why this latched on in my mental mind, (1) because I have been on a purchasing fast with regard to clothing and (2) my mother took me shopping for my bornday. She wanted to buy me something pretty.
I buy as much American as I can find. I have owned 5 cars, all of them American. I really wanted a Prius this last time, but I could not bring myself to buy one. And every time I see one pass me I tear up a little. But I think it’s important to support your own. And since I am a resident and citizen of this country, I feel it’s our duty to make supporting your own a priority.
In this society we have moved away from ‘we’ to ‘me’. That’s not cool. Me cannot support a whole country and our nonchalance for what happens to others will eventually slap us in the face. If our choices cause another family to starve, then our taxes will increase to support them on welfare or in prison. And there are more than just one person losing the ability to feed their families. Then it will become too expensive to own property. You got it like that?
You cannot have a society where all three classes are not represented. Low, middle and upper. It is real easy for people to turn their noses up at people who work jobs you think are beneath you. Blue color jobs in this country, support this country. But in the last few decades, it has become shameful in being a blue collar employee. Very few children now a days aspire to jobs like firemen, police officers, teachers, hairdressers, and so on. People usually fall into these jobs because what they were shooting for didn’t work out. But what happens when there is nothing to fall back on? Then what are you supposed to do? And don’t get it twisted, there are some jobs that grown folks just won’t get hired to do. Yeah, you got grown folks delivering papers, but how many grown folks you see flipping burgers. And you wonder why there are so many homeless, jobless folks out there. Being middle class has become shameful.
OK. I have said all of this to say, it is important for all of us to be mindful to support our own. Yes you may feel, and validly so, that big companies won’t miss your money. But for every cheap blouse you buy, you are supporting some Indian or Chinese family while starving your cousin in NY. For every foreign car you purchase, you support a German or Japanese family but causing widespread poverty in Detroit. You free to do what you want, after all this is America. But if we don’t look after our own, who will? You think people abroad are buying Chryslers and Fords? And do the Knowledge, the United States of America does not have a big export market unless you wanna count the military.
Peace
I buy as much American as I can find. I have owned 5 cars, all of them American. I really wanted a Prius this last time, but I could not bring myself to buy one. And every time I see one pass me I tear up a little. But I think it’s important to support your own. And since I am a resident and citizen of this country, I feel it’s our duty to make supporting your own a priority.
In this society we have moved away from ‘we’ to ‘me’. That’s not cool. Me cannot support a whole country and our nonchalance for what happens to others will eventually slap us in the face. If our choices cause another family to starve, then our taxes will increase to support them on welfare or in prison. And there are more than just one person losing the ability to feed their families. Then it will become too expensive to own property. You got it like that?
You cannot have a society where all three classes are not represented. Low, middle and upper. It is real easy for people to turn their noses up at people who work jobs you think are beneath you. Blue color jobs in this country, support this country. But in the last few decades, it has become shameful in being a blue collar employee. Very few children now a days aspire to jobs like firemen, police officers, teachers, hairdressers, and so on. People usually fall into these jobs because what they were shooting for didn’t work out. But what happens when there is nothing to fall back on? Then what are you supposed to do? And don’t get it twisted, there are some jobs that grown folks just won’t get hired to do. Yeah, you got grown folks delivering papers, but how many grown folks you see flipping burgers. And you wonder why there are so many homeless, jobless folks out there. Being middle class has become shameful.
OK. I have said all of this to say, it is important for all of us to be mindful to support our own. Yes you may feel, and validly so, that big companies won’t miss your money. But for every cheap blouse you buy, you are supporting some Indian or Chinese family while starving your cousin in NY. For every foreign car you purchase, you support a German or Japanese family but causing widespread poverty in Detroit. You free to do what you want, after all this is America. But if we don’t look after our own, who will? You think people abroad are buying Chryslers and Fords? And do the Knowledge, the United States of America does not have a big export market unless you wanna count the military.
Peace
Thursday, November 5, 2009
You know what I did last night?
I made my own salad dressing and it wasn?t that difficult and it wasn?t nearly as expensive as I thought it was gonna be. Hmmm?..
One of the things I said I was gonna start doing was make more of my own food items. The items that we buy without giving much thought to it. Like salad dressing. mayonnaise, ketchup, stuff like that. Since I have come to read labels, I have noticed that there are disturbing additives in prepared and processed foods. DISTURBING. And to be perfectly honest, I have no remembrance of NOT purchasing certain foods. Condiments, syrups, bread, fish sticks, etc. We are so removed from the cooking process and have become disconnected from the food we put in our bodies. Maybe that?s one of the reasons why we are so fat as a Nation. We don?t have respect for what it takes to get food to the plate. How animals are slaughtered. How labor intensive it is to grow food.
I grew some cucumbers this past summer as an experiment, and I have to tell you, it was not easy. And I grew them bad boys in a container at my front door and I bitched? a lot. But I have a ridiculous respect for cucumbers and now I know what they are supposed to taste like and I know that it is not an easy process. It reminds me of grace that I used to pray over my food in the 85% day??I thank you creator for all that it takes to move food from your bounty to here on our plates. Peace.? That prayer wasn?t good enough for Christians then either. I swear you can?t please them, But I digress.
So I made an garlic, orange, ginger olive oiled based dressing to be a dip for some nori rolls. It is delicious. Damn delicious is a better description. I put some on some left over kale salad and it was off the chain. And I didn?t buy anything special to make it with. Just used some stuff I had laying around the kitchen. Here are some of my observations?. When you make a something, especially the way I made it, you cannot guarantee that it will taste the same every time you make it. Any food that I consistently make from scratch taste different every batch. Another thing I can say that I might have a problem with is that I didn?t make a whole bottle of it. And probably would never unless I was having a dinner party. When you make foods yourself, you are preparing them sans the preservatives and they will go bad quickly. So you have to make it every time you want to use it. That can be off putting. I have some ketchup that has been in my refrigerator for nearly 10 years. Yes it separates but all you have to do is shake it up and it goes back together. Don?t forget about adding water to it and shaking it up. I probably have 5 more years of ketchup in that container, that will be just as red and just as sweet in 5 years as it is today and was 10 years ago. That should be off putting.
Well, with anything new and important, there will be a period of adjustment. It took me a minute to get used to using grocery bags as my garbage bags and now I think of them as garbage bags as soon as they are empty. I have even made a dedicated spot for the reusable bag in the truck. I don?t know how much money I have saved but I do feel heartily satisfied. That I am doing something rather than just jaw-jacking.
So for those who follow me? (Teehee) You have homework. Make a list of all the food you absently purchase from the grocery store. I?ll leave mine after the Peace.
Peace.
Mayo
Salad dressing
I used to buy bread but I make it now, but I make it bad
Tofu
Ketchup
Mustard
Beverages
Chips/junkfood
Veggies
Pet food
Spreads
Pasta
Rice
Beans
Soup
Seasonings
One of the things I said I was gonna start doing was make more of my own food items. The items that we buy without giving much thought to it. Like salad dressing. mayonnaise, ketchup, stuff like that. Since I have come to read labels, I have noticed that there are disturbing additives in prepared and processed foods. DISTURBING. And to be perfectly honest, I have no remembrance of NOT purchasing certain foods. Condiments, syrups, bread, fish sticks, etc. We are so removed from the cooking process and have become disconnected from the food we put in our bodies. Maybe that?s one of the reasons why we are so fat as a Nation. We don?t have respect for what it takes to get food to the plate. How animals are slaughtered. How labor intensive it is to grow food.
I grew some cucumbers this past summer as an experiment, and I have to tell you, it was not easy. And I grew them bad boys in a container at my front door and I bitched? a lot. But I have a ridiculous respect for cucumbers and now I know what they are supposed to taste like and I know that it is not an easy process. It reminds me of grace that I used to pray over my food in the 85% day??I thank you creator for all that it takes to move food from your bounty to here on our plates. Peace.? That prayer wasn?t good enough for Christians then either. I swear you can?t please them, But I digress.
So I made an garlic, orange, ginger olive oiled based dressing to be a dip for some nori rolls. It is delicious. Damn delicious is a better description. I put some on some left over kale salad and it was off the chain. And I didn?t buy anything special to make it with. Just used some stuff I had laying around the kitchen. Here are some of my observations?. When you make a something, especially the way I made it, you cannot guarantee that it will taste the same every time you make it. Any food that I consistently make from scratch taste different every batch. Another thing I can say that I might have a problem with is that I didn?t make a whole bottle of it. And probably would never unless I was having a dinner party. When you make foods yourself, you are preparing them sans the preservatives and they will go bad quickly. So you have to make it every time you want to use it. That can be off putting. I have some ketchup that has been in my refrigerator for nearly 10 years. Yes it separates but all you have to do is shake it up and it goes back together. Don?t forget about adding water to it and shaking it up. I probably have 5 more years of ketchup in that container, that will be just as red and just as sweet in 5 years as it is today and was 10 years ago. That should be off putting.
Well, with anything new and important, there will be a period of adjustment. It took me a minute to get used to using grocery bags as my garbage bags and now I think of them as garbage bags as soon as they are empty. I have even made a dedicated spot for the reusable bag in the truck. I don?t know how much money I have saved but I do feel heartily satisfied. That I am doing something rather than just jaw-jacking.
So for those who follow me? (Teehee) You have homework. Make a list of all the food you absently purchase from the grocery store. I?ll leave mine after the Peace.
Peace.
Mayo
Salad dressing
I used to buy bread but I make it now, but I make it bad
Tofu
Ketchup
Mustard
Beverages
Chips/junkfood
Veggies
Pet food
Spreads
Pasta
Rice
Beans
Soup
Seasonings
Saturday, October 24, 2009
8th Jewel
One of my goals with my clothing is to reduce the amount of clothes that I have by 1/3rd. this weekend I am swapping out summer clothes for winter ones (I really should only have a single wardrobe, since GA has a temperate climate), and I did not need to forcibly close the trunk. Actually there is room in the said trunk. Amazing. I have not had room in my trunks in over 10 years. And the thing that truly surprises me is that I don't feel like I'm 'poor'.
I didn't grow up with a lot of my own clothes. I went to Catholic school and had to wear a uniform. The only other lothes I had were 4 dress for church (2 summer, 2 winter) and a pair of jeans and a few sweat shirts. I shared my closet with my mother and she had the chest of drawers in my room. We weren't poor, far from it. But my practical mother could not fathom why I would need more clothing than that. I never had appropriate clothing for any activity outside of school and church. I used to go to an after school program and wear the same pair (the only pair) of jeans I owned every day. The other kids caught on and teased me unmercifully. When I told my mother about this she gave me some words to tell them rather than buying me some more clothes. I really wish y'all could see the walk in closet she had. SMH. Anyway... I learned to fight and was often suspended from the program. Mommie thought I had some kind of mental defect and spent money sending me to a pychiatrist rather than buying me some new clothes.
All that changed when I turned 16. I took a job in a woman's clothes store and proceeded to pump my wardrobe. My mother didn't care. What shocked me was she said that this was what she was waiting for. Waiting for the moment when we could do fashion together. I interpreted that then and now as we can share fashion only when I could afford to carry my own weight.
Well since that day, as long as I have had access to money, I have made it my business to have a bulging closet. But since this last year, since fasting from buying new clothes, I have finally murdered that particular devil. Now I'm at the point where I can get rid of so much.
It was not my intention for this blog to be as long as it is. But it just flowed out of me. But... It feels good y'all!
Peace
I didn't grow up with a lot of my own clothes. I went to Catholic school and had to wear a uniform. The only other lothes I had were 4 dress for church (2 summer, 2 winter) and a pair of jeans and a few sweat shirts. I shared my closet with my mother and she had the chest of drawers in my room. We weren't poor, far from it. But my practical mother could not fathom why I would need more clothing than that. I never had appropriate clothing for any activity outside of school and church. I used to go to an after school program and wear the same pair (the only pair) of jeans I owned every day. The other kids caught on and teased me unmercifully. When I told my mother about this she gave me some words to tell them rather than buying me some more clothes. I really wish y'all could see the walk in closet she had. SMH. Anyway... I learned to fight and was often suspended from the program. Mommie thought I had some kind of mental defect and spent money sending me to a pychiatrist rather than buying me some new clothes.
All that changed when I turned 16. I took a job in a woman's clothes store and proceeded to pump my wardrobe. My mother didn't care. What shocked me was she said that this was what she was waiting for. Waiting for the moment when we could do fashion together. I interpreted that then and now as we can share fashion only when I could afford to carry my own weight.
Well since that day, as long as I have had access to money, I have made it my business to have a bulging closet. But since this last year, since fasting from buying new clothes, I have finally murdered that particular devil. Now I'm at the point where I can get rid of so much.
It was not my intention for this blog to be as long as it is. But it just flowed out of me. But... It feels good y'all!
Peace
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
I fell on Fall
Fall has finally hit here in Metro ATL. I awoke this morning to 49 degrees. Now that it is officially fall, I have begun to plan again. The coolness of fall has always been a signal to me to start some new stuff. I used to start school in the coolness. It will be noticeably darks as soon as the time changes. I ready to get on with the newness of it all.
Here is the plan…..
1.) It’s strange how un-vocally asked questions get answered quicker than vocally asked ones. I need a new job. My boss and I have gone as far as we can go. He’s tired of me and I of him. I need a new job/career. One that I love and suits me. I recognize that I have unique needs. I have dressing restrictions that are attributed to my lifestyle. I want to do something that makes a difference. And I need to be compensated well for it as well as have benefits. I need a job that has a greater educational requirement than “high school diploma.” Hell I have a doctorate. And I don’t expect to use it parse… It needs it to open some doors for me.
2.) I need to be more ‘bout it ‘bout it about my environmental footprint. I do not need to support any business that offers me styrophoam. That stuff NEVER decomposes. I need to only acquire used plastic; like from the thrift stores. Plastic can be recycled, but folks won’t do it if they have easy options. I need to be more of an environmental advocate on the job. I need to reduce the amount of useless stuff within my ciphers.
3.) I need to take more time for me. Folks would argue that since I live alone, that it’s already all me. That’s not true. I do a lot of cipher peripheral work. I need to develop moments where I’m in the tub with a good book sipping hot cider and just lounge. I don’t lounge. If I’m in the bathtub, it’s because I’m cleaning it out. And the suds come from the cleaners.
Bottom line I need to get myself completely together. And I will. It’s my determined idea.
Peace
Here is the plan…..
1.) It’s strange how un-vocally asked questions get answered quicker than vocally asked ones. I need a new job. My boss and I have gone as far as we can go. He’s tired of me and I of him. I need a new job/career. One that I love and suits me. I recognize that I have unique needs. I have dressing restrictions that are attributed to my lifestyle. I want to do something that makes a difference. And I need to be compensated well for it as well as have benefits. I need a job that has a greater educational requirement than “high school diploma.” Hell I have a doctorate. And I don’t expect to use it parse… It needs it to open some doors for me.
2.) I need to be more ‘bout it ‘bout it about my environmental footprint. I do not need to support any business that offers me styrophoam. That stuff NEVER decomposes. I need to only acquire used plastic; like from the thrift stores. Plastic can be recycled, but folks won’t do it if they have easy options. I need to be more of an environmental advocate on the job. I need to reduce the amount of useless stuff within my ciphers.
3.) I need to take more time for me. Folks would argue that since I live alone, that it’s already all me. That’s not true. I do a lot of cipher peripheral work. I need to develop moments where I’m in the tub with a good book sipping hot cider and just lounge. I don’t lounge. If I’m in the bathtub, it’s because I’m cleaning it out. And the suds come from the cleaners.
Bottom line I need to get myself completely together. And I will. It’s my determined idea.
Peace
Monday, September 14, 2009
It ain't easy
It ain’t easy. It's easy to move on a determined idea when you’re feeling passionate; but what about when you’re feeling blah? I feel mad blah these days. And I am dying to get all touchy feely with some cheese that I know could have been aged in a sack made from a hog’s belly. And for some reason, I have a strong desire for KFC grilled chicken though I have not eaten chicken in a decade.
What is the problem? Does this mean I’m slipping? I’m not so strong, but we’ll see what develops.
Peace
What is the problem? Does this mean I’m slipping? I’m not so strong, but we’ll see what develops.
Peace
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