Simply Real: Part 2 + Some Updates!

 Life has taken a turn for the busy as of late, and what I thought was manageable at one time has turned out, in all honesty, not to be. Can't always plan and account for those uncontrollable factors in life like car accidents and not having a place of your own to cook and practice, ya know?

Regardless, life in my personal realm is actually quite nice right now. When you consider the big picture when it comes to the state of our world, you realize how blessed we really are, despite the inconveniences of modern life in a first world nation. My car got hit, but at least it still drives and no one got hurt. My name isn't on a lease right now, but at least I have a bed to sleep in at night. Matthew 6:26 says "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" I'm working towards a new place to call a home of my own, but I'm at peace until then. I'm feeling very drawn to a minimalistic lifestyle lately. For real, I could be content living in a tent in the desert (could just be I'm totally over moving stuff around to a new place every year, haha).

The audition for music therapy school is quickly approaching, and though I've experienced different levels of anxiety over it during the past few months, I've come to settle with whatever happens in peace. Whether I get in or not, whether I'm actually able to attend school if I get accepted, I'll be happy knowing that at least I tried, and my love for music is and will continue to be alive and well. I participated in a monthly jam-session night in December. It was rad. I met some cool people, and played music. I'll keep doing that if I don't get into school.

And if I don't get into school, my focus is going back into gardening, and farming, and sustainable food systems. This year, I want to learn more about agriculture. I'm attending meetings with a group of beekeepers in Phoenix to learn more about raising our lil buzzy friends, and even more exciting, I'm going to WWOOF this summer! WWOOF is a program which allows those agri-curious wanderers to live somewhere besides their home while learning hands-on about farming and agriculture. I'm seriously so excited about this, and am in the process of contacting some farms to go work on! Sustainability and taking care of creation is something I've always cared about, ever since I was a wee, 4-year-old rescuer of endangered butterflies. I'm ready to participate and be an ambassador for changing our food system to make it better for the long-term.

Finally, if you've been following along with the Simply Real series over the past several months, you've learned about the things that make our food healthy, and what it means for a food and a person to be "healthy". So you know the why's, but now how do you use that knowledge? Perhaps you already have a solid (or even decent) understanding of how to cook. You might be good to go! If not, this next part of the series will focus on:

• Recipe literacy
• Cooking methods for different foods
• How to customize and create your own recipes

 I'm excited for what 2017 is about to bring! 2016 was, for me personally, the greatest year I have experienced in a very long time. I'm praying that 2017 is similar, but if it isn't that I'll have the patience, strength, and peace of mind to deal with whatever happens.