The Chickens are calling...

So the urban homesteading bug has bitten me good. I have gone gaga for all things farm. I can't stop reading or thinking about gardening, chickens, fences, goats, horses, hay, canning and baking my own bread! I am just so moved by this idea of being connected to land and to nature in way that just doesn't happen anymore.

I just finished the book Plenty by Alisa Smith & J.B. Mackinnon. Alisa and James commit to living off of food from a 100 mile radius in Vancouver, Canada. A bit more challenging than lets say a hundred mile radius in California, but not impossible. The going isn't easy and Jason is quite the experimental chef...I personally am not fond of blossoms as food, but they make it work. It makes it seem doable for the everyday person and shows you that you can come to these incredible insights to your life by putting seemingly arbitrary restrictions on yourself. I am not claiming the 100 mile diet is the new religion. Its not, but it is a new way of thinking and living and I like it!

And so my want (some would say my need) is chickens. I have wanted them since last fall and was primed to get them this year, but with the complications of our life we were thinking of postponing them until next year. And then I asked the question why and I realized it was just for our own convenience. So the chickens are back on the table.

We are searching and planning for how we are going to house them. I have trepidation. We are going against our HOA's, there are predators in our neighborhood and there is the constant care. But I just can't seem to say no. Life isn't meant to be lived in dreams or on the weekends. Your life is happening right here and right now. There might not be a later or a tomorrow.

And so chickens are on the menu (although later possibly on the actual menu).

ENFJ

I took the Kiersey Bates test...or at least a version of it and I am a ENFJ person. (Extravert, iNtuitive, Feeler, Judger) Obviously no surprises but it was interesting. I googled ENFJ and found some interesting web sites about that personality type the pros and cons and preferred career paths.

On the other hand, I am suspicious of tests like these. I fear they put people in boxes and people will always surprise you. Maybe I hate being predictable. I always see myself as more exciting than that, but maybe I am not seeing the reality.

I always felt that finding your path in life was more organic. Or at least I wanted it to be. I always hoped to cultivate this passion into something more. I haven't done too well on the cultivation part.

I am shocked sometimes about how much I don't know ten years after college. I really felt like I would have many more things figured out. I thought I would be on a much clearer path. I feel like I need to re-wind and do it again, of course with the knowledge I have now. (doesn't everyone) I was so concerned about things I should not have been in college. In my defense, I did have a lot of things going on and all I wanted was escape. Its hard to be thoughtful under duress.

I suppose what matters is what I do now. And yet again I am overwhelmed by the choices and find myself again under duress, although not quite in the same way as before.

I think its so easy for other people...I have to remember we all have our own personal demons to fight. I would swear mine seem particularly big and ugly. But its all relative right?

Urban Homestead

I want to create an urban homestead. What is an urban homestead you might ask? Well I didn't know either not so long ago. The basic gist is that you "get back to basics" like growing your own food, canning, conserve energy while living in an urban environment. There are various levels of how you can go about it and of course it all depends on your motivation, access to land and materials and sometimes money (if only solar was cheaper!).

For me it the idea of urban homesteading all really started to snowball when I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Her book is about her family moving from Tucson, Arizona (my hometown) to a farm in Virginia. Its her family's pact to live off their land (and other farms within 100 miles) for one year. I was hooked!!!! Not only had I lived in Tucson, Arizona where it is quite difficult to grow food but I finally moved to Boise, Idaho where (at least to me) anything and everything grows.

I then began reading more books like Fast Food Nation, Mad Cowboy, Plenty, In Defense of Food and many many others that I decided I wanted (and I needed) to change how I lived my life. So I am starting slow. I am learning about gardening, chickens, canning, bread making, sewing and myriad of other things so I can be self sufficient. I also believe that its the simple things in life that make people happy. There is also a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when you have grown and made things all on your own. I crave that feeling.

Here is some more food for thought: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPEBM5ol0Q&feature=related

The Happiness Project

I have been inspired. I am currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. The book is about the author embarking on what she calls a "Happiness Project" She is trying to figure out ways to make her own life happier and providing tips along the way. Its a fantastic read! The book is really speaking to me on many levels because its not just about happiness but how to accept who you are and push yourself to realize your dreams. Which I know, brings a person happiness. Its sort of a chick and egg thing...being happy allows you to accept yourself and accepting yourself makes you happy.

I decided that I needed to create a blog about being Nicole. What does it mean to be me? What really makes me happy? I know I am on a journey. Where am I going? What am I seeking? How do I know I am moving forward? All wonderful questions that I have no solid answers to at the moment. And what better way to explore them then in a blog...so the resolutions I create for myself might stick and I just might get some good feedback if there is anyone our there reading my blog. :)

Anyway. Here's to the journey!