The coming of Spring

There's something about Spring. It brings new life and new color into the world. The earth regenerates and brings rebirths. I love the new growth of plants and flowers. At lunchtime I take a walk around campus and sit in the sun, listening to the bird's new songs. It brings a reminder that there is more to life than what I am experiencing. There is a larger view and purpose than what I am seeing. Take time to look around and see what's new.

I'd rather be...

What would you rather be doing?

I saw a decal on a car this morning stating that the driver would "rather be fishing" than doing what he was doing today. It started to make me think. This phrase has been the statement of my life. Sometimes there are things that you need to do, like work for money to provide for yourself and your family. And then, there are other things you'd rather be doing, things that could be called your hobby but you know you will be doing for a long time.

I'd rather be working with music. I wouldn't care in what way I would be using it. I just enjoy playing it and singing it and sharing it with others.

Right now I am at a job that I "need" to do, a job that I feel I am at the point of moving on to do someone else. I go through this train of though every 5 years. Right after high school, I started thinking "What should I do next". So I did what any 19 year old would do. I started college and got my AA. I keep asking, "What's next", and I eventually move on to something else. I went back to college in 2008 and finished my bachelor degree.

Now I'm back to "What's next?" I'd rather be doing music 24/7 and earning money that way. But I have to find a niche and work towards that. If it is something along the lines of music I will be very happy.

I'd also rather be blogging, researching, and writing about the fun things I learned. This is why I blog. It gets me exciting about learning to cook new dishes or to create another craft.

What would you rather be doing?

Plans for the weekend

Are you excited for the weekend as I am? Although I don't get paid for memorial day, I get a whole day off to do whatever I want...which might mean sleeping in. But I do plan to do a few things.

I'm usually busy on Saturday, but tomorrow I have absolutely NOTHING planned! How exciting! Funny how we used to made sure we had weekends booked, and now that I'm older I enjoy some break time at home. I plan on doing some Yoga Meltdown and start on a bunch of crafts. Oh, and I need to get more supplies for my garden (so I can make a post on that next week).

Sunday is Fun-day Hair Day! Can't wait to see what my friend Melissa will do to my hair!

I know everyone in Florida will be at the beach, and I will go eventually. But I have so many other things to look forward to, especially on this weekend. You know, a lot of life changing things have happened on memorial day weekends in my life:

• Memorial day 2003 - bought my first guitar. It's our 10-year anniversary!
• Memorial day 2004 - going to the first of many retreats as a youth leader that changed my life.
• Memorial day 2005 - bought a bass guitar!
• May 2006 (close to Memorial day) - First real job at Starbucks (stayed there for 2 1/2 years).
• Memorial day 2008 - I was is a boat accident that changed my life. It made me think of everything in my life and made me appreciate what I have.
• Memorial day 2009 - my first flat tire, on the Howard-Franklin
• Memorial day 2012 - Started my first garden!
• Memorial day 2013 - New hair do!

I had to look at my old blog to "check", but life changing things did happen on Memorial Day!

Enough with my nonsense, and I hope we do spend a little time to remember why we have this holiday.

I'm getting my gym back!

I woke up this morning with a mission: to get my gym membership, one way or another (finally).

Here's the short of this long story. I've been working at a university for almost 5 years now. I was taking classes and working part-time. Now that I finished my bachelor degree in Sociology (in December 2011), I was hoping to get a full time job on campus with benefits. That way I can do my graduate classes fo FREE! That's right, FO FREE. This is why I wanted to get a full-time job on campus in the first place.

Anyways, it's been almost a year and a half, and no luck getting a full time job in the same position. I love my job, and I love helping the professors. The department has been trying to hire me for full time every since I graduated, but the higher ups are not budging (yet). So what the department had to do was keep me as a part time 20 hours a week employee, and they are paying me overtime of 20 hours. So I am working full time, with lower pay and none of the benefits. It's been frustrating at times, but I hope things will change by next month.

This lack of a full time position has stopped me from getting the benefits that I want need right now, especially a lower fee for using the gym monthly. So this morning, I woke up with the determination to get my gym membership back! If I can get a staff I.D. (since I am working full time), I can pay less monthly to use the gym. If I can't, I am still an alumni, and I have to pay $10 more than staff.

Either way, I am getting my gym back! It's been so difficult trying to exercise on my own. I have been eating better, but I need that extra time on a machine. With the gym on campus I get free classes, access to the pool and SHOWERS (thank you God for showers)! I worked out at another gym that had no showers. I felt so awkward going to work a sweaty. NEVER AGAIN.

 It makes me sad when I can't fit into my fat pants anymore. These extra pounds have got to go! NOW!

Easter weekend

I wanted to write a little bit about my other blog, Sara Silva Music.
I am a worship leader, and my favorite thing to do is share songs to encourage and tell stories about life.

As this Easter weekend begins, I wanted to share with you my first original song, called Your Loving Sacrifice. I wrote it last month at Organic Life Coffee House, a lovely Christian coffee house in Lutz. I just finished doing a 2 hour worship set that morning. I have been wanting to share a new song for a long time, a song that was written from my hands. These lyrics came out, and the melody followed.

This weekend, we remember what Jesus did and why He did it.

This year's garden

It's been a year since I talked about my garden. Most All of the plants in the post from last year have passed away. The cherry tomato plant and the strings beans produced vegetables. The other plants eventually withered away from the summer heat last year.   This year, I grew new plants from the seed (with help from my parents, of course). Here are some pictures:

This is a tomato plant I grew from the seed.

These plants are lemon and grapefruit, I think. I don't know which ones are which.

And these beauties are garlic cloves. I planted them in origami paper cups made out of newspaper. I was surprised to see how they grow. You just plant them, and I hear they grow in any type of dirt/soil.

There's a certain awe and feeling of accomplishment when I see seeds I plant grow. I am amazed at what God has given our hands to do.

Have you been growing anything? Do you plan to this year?

My plants

 

So I had an unexpected spring break on the 2nd week of March, but for reasons out of my control. In other words, I had pink eye and I couldn't go to work. On one of those days, I decided to stop by Home Depot to look for some yarn...I mean rope. I found a pattern for a market bag, and I thought I would make it using small rope. I walked in through the plant section and I ended up looking at the vegetable plants. When I was done with searching for rope, I picked up these plants on the way to the register: sweet basil, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, string bean, watermelon and a blackberry bush. I can't wait until something grows!