My prolonged absence

It's entirely possible that no one is reading this anymore.  Who could blame you?  There's been a lot going on in my life since my last post, some of which I have been torn about whether to blog about, so rather than make a decision, I've just been avoiding my blog.  Further evidence that indecision is, in fact, a decision.

So, what's been going on?  Well, we got excited about the marriage equality bill being signed into law in Washington and decided to get married in August.  Then we learned that the actual implementation of marriage equality was likely going to be delayed until after the fine citizens of the great state of Washington have an opportunity to vote on the issue.  But we decided to have a wedding anyway, because we deserve to have a celebration of our relationship and our commitment to each other regardless of the legal status of our relationship.  So there's been a lot of wedding planning going on.  Which is both fun and stressful, but definitely time and energy consuming.

Choir also took up way more time than I had anticipated.  It was a wonderful experience, but I'm also glad to have a summer break from rehearsals.  I'm likely going to be re-joining them again in the fall, and am looking forward to that.  We're going to be doing our concert with Cris Williamson, and the focus of the program will be on equality for women.

The other big time, energy and emotion-consuming change that's going on in our lives is that I am trying to get pregnant.  This is what I've really debated about blogging about at all, but have decided that it is important for me to have an outlet to talk about some of the issues that are coming up for me around this.  Trying to get pregnant sounds like great fun, but in reality it's quite stressful.  Far more stressful than I ever anticipated.  This is one goal I'm extremely stressed about accomplishing.

Another goal that I've accomplished is going to check out the Unitarian Universalist congregation in my town.  I went over the Memorial Day weekend, and it was lovely.  Apparently the tradition at this church is to talk about a famous Unitarian Universalist on Memorial Day weekend, and the minister talked about Rod Serling.  I learned a lot, and have a renewed interest in watching the old Twilight Zone series.

So that's what's up in my life.  There will likely be more updates to follow.

Choir Update and Other Miscellaneous Things

So, I have a choir audition for the Seattle Peace Chorus in two days!  It's mostly a formality (probably to help filter out the truly terrible), but I'm still a little nervous about it.  Singing a song for the audition is optional, and I'm still debating about whether to do that or not.  Then, rehearsals start on Monday!  The only drawback, really, is that rehearsals are from 7:00-9:30PM on Monday nights.  You may or may not know this, but I've turned into the sort of person who is typically in bed by 9:00 on weekday nights.  Not necessarily asleep by 9:00, but definitely in bed.  In addition, the rehearsal site is a good 30+ minute drive from where we live.  So it's going to be a challenging adjustment, but I think it will be well worth it in the long run.  I'll keep you posted.

I've also been wanting to write a post about some chemical-free cleansing routines I've been trying.  I read about folks stopping shampoo use entirely several years ago.  If you want more information about the how and the why, you might check this out.  The premise is that shampoo is a detergent that contains all kinds of scary chemicals and encourages your hair to produce more oil by stripping the natural oils from your hair, thereby solidifying your dependence on the shampoo.  A lot of folks have stopped using shampoo and just use a little baking soda and water to clean their hair, and a little apple cider vinegar and water to condition it.  I tried this for a solid two months.  Unfortunately, my hair never really slowed down the oil production and I just couldn't stand it anymore.  I'm not using shampoo, though.  I'm using liquid castile soap, which is an olive oil based soap that is much gentler than any shampoo, and I only use it every 2-3 days.  My hair is still a little oilier than it was when I shampooed more frequently, but not enough to send me back.  Ultimately, I still feel better about using something that's a little gentler on my body and the water supply.

My new skin care routine, however, is glorious.  Funnily enough, my little sister saw that I had pinned it, and started using it long before I did.  The routine that we are using is the oil cleansing method.  Essentially, the idea is that oil is much better at cleansing your skin (oil dissolves oil) without stripping it of its natural oils than any other cleanser is.  In addition, you can use your cleanser as a moisturizer, if you find your skin needs it.  Essentially, you massage an oil blend into your face for several minutes, then wet a wash cloth with the hottest water you can stand and hold it over your face until it reaches room temperature.  Then you repeat the wash cloth step once more, and at the end, wipe off any remaining oil.  Sounds totally counter-intuitive to everything that we've been taught about skin care, but it's amazing.  Truly, my skin has never felt better.  I've also had fewer breakouts, and the breakouts I have had are much shorter in duration.  In addition, my skin is so soft and none of it is dry.  It's been totally revolutionary.  I'm using a mix of organic extra virgin olive oil, tea tree oil, emu oil and castor oil.  In addition to the skin benefits, it's also a really lovely and relaxing routine at the end of every day.

These are all changes that I've made relatively recently that I'm really pleased about.  Maybe they'll inspire you to try something new as well.  Hope you're having a happy new year.