ask and you shall receive

I decided this week that one of my (many) goals for the Summer of Fun is to learn - or at least get a pretty decent start on learning - another language. I hadn't gotten very far in researching how to make this happen when I decided to check out Lifehacker today, and what do you know - there's an article on free online language courses! Perf. The actual site was totally overloaded after the Lifehacker article so I haven't been able to download anything yet, but I'm going to check back next week and see how it goes. Now which language to choose?

• Italian is tempting; it's so romantic *and* I just finished reading Eat Pray Love, so I'm daydreaming about 4 months in Italy eating.. and eating.. and eating some more.

• Hindi is a beautiful language and again, Eat Pray Love and India and yoga. :-) I also found this site that could help.

• There's always Spanish, which is useful if trying to find a job.. But I don't want to learn a language because it's practical. This is the Summer of Fun, after all!

• French: took it in high school so I have a head start. Or at least I'd like to think so. Omelet du fromage! (hi five if you know which sitcom I'm quoting.)

Of course, if I learn a new language I'm going to have to go study abroad and really immerse myself in the culture. Obvi.

can I live on $10 a day?

On a Saturday morning jaunt to the neighborhood coffee shop last weekend, Asher told me about the time he lived on $5 a day. And survived. It got me thinking about the silly things I find myself spending my cash on and how easily I settled into a lifestyle of basically buying whatever I wanted. I took the advice of my financial planner (those three words make me feel SO grown up) and started a money market account (again, grown up) last year and it's amazing how quickly you can save a good chunk of cash when you put it straight into savings. (His name is Brock Allender and he's with Northwestern Mutual. He also helped me set up disability insurance. You don't have to have massive amounts of money to talk to him. Trust me. Find him at http://brockallender.nmfn.com).

There are changes afoot (good ones, of course) which will necessitate some rather frugal living on my part. I'm moving out of my house at the end of April (as in a week and a half from now. eek!) and couch surfing for the summer. I have a storage unit, a PO Box, and friends in lots of other cities. My last day at my job is May 14th and after that... I'm free as a bird. I have plans to spend June in San Francisco taking dance and yoga classes and haunting the local coffee shops with some good books. I'm contemplating going back to school for a Visual Merchandising degree (my top choice is FIDM in LA) or just finding a job in a field that allows me to 1) be creative and 2) not be on a computer all day. It was a tough decision and I'm going to miss my friends (er, co-workers) but I cannot WAIT to see whats next!

So anyway, back to the $5 a day thing. I don't think I'm going to be quite so rigorous with my budget, but I do think $10 a day for food and fun is do-able, at least for the summer. That will help me manage my savings and find creative ways to occupy my time (hello, art projects!). Dance and yoga classes will not count as part of the $10, otherwise I wouldn't be able to eat.. But being frugal with my food/beer/coffee/etc money leaves more for fun things like classes. My goal for this week is to write a budget for the next three months. As part of my Quarter-Life-Crisis-I-Need-To-Find-Myself-Mom-Is-So-Proud-Dancing-Queen-Mega-Vacation Summer 2010 I'm going to blog at least once a week (day? hmm...) about what I've been up to, ways I've found to live happily yet cheaply (or not, who knows), and the people I meet along the way. Maybe you'll learn something along with me, or perhaps you'll just laugh as I repeatedly justify spending half my daily budget on a latte...

hiking outside leipers fork, tn

Since I'm moving soon I'm not supposed to buy new things

I found these boots at a yard sale this morning.

They clearly needed to come home with me.

Now, which ones should I wear to the dance party tonight?

Currently Listening...

Yeasayer: "One"

They won't let you embed the video, so you gotta go here

One's not enough
I won't stop 'til I've given you up
Clear-eyed as I am, it's hard having fun
It's much easier said than it's done

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Awesomeness

I. Love. This. Show.

Can't say that enough!

It makes me smile and cheer for the people who are trying to change their lives for the better - and shake my head in disbelief at those who are so determined to be unhealthy and eat utter sh*t day in and day out.

Jamie has taken on a massive project, there's no doubt about it. Check out his website and take a moment to sign the petition. It's absolutely sickening to see what America's kids are eating in school every day, plus they don't even get knives and forks to eat with! And don't get me started on the pizza for breakfast. Barf. The school lady (I forget her name/job title) came in and told him that his beautiful veggie pasta and fruit was not enough fruit and veggies but the fried chicken sandwich and french fries counted (because there was an optional salad that no one chose)... Unbelievable. How have we gotten to this point? And why did it take someone coming all the way across from England to start any sort of change? The way the current establishment has screwed over the youth of our country is deplorable and it's high time parents demanded better. We're dooming them to a life of obesity, diabetes, and so many other health problems (like the high school girl who has spots on her liver and was told she might have 7 years to live because of her weight). Things can change, but it's going to be a rough road. This show is the catalyst we need to really begin to see things happen.

::end rant::

Plus, Jamie Oliver is just lovely. ;-) Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed him for GOOP, check it out.

I have to stop here and say thanks to my mom and dad for insisting we sit down and have dinner almost every night of my childhood, and especially to my mom for cooking those meals from scratch every day.

Jamie's food philosophy:

My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that's alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don't eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you'll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they're in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you'll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you'll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you'll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you'll want something warming and hearty. If you've got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we'll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a 'healthy' approach to food, and eating better I'm talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then.