My practicum went really well.  I was there from 9am - 1pm.  We saw two clients for a whole intake assessment (50 minutes), and then another patient of my supervisor’s stopped in for a few minutes to chat about starting counseling again.  I just sat there the whole time, and observed.  I need to understand and watch the practice first, and then I’ll be able to do it myself!  I have to audio record myself in these sessions, and I need people who will allow me to record them.  That might be pretty tricky, and I hope I don’t have problems with it. But I only need to have three sessions recorded.  I need the first one by mid March.

I can’t go back tomorrow, because I have to babysit at 10:30 until 3ish (yay money!)  Unfortunately, my supervisor is going to Aruba on Thursday, and won’t be back until March 2nd.  I’ll have just under two weeks to get my first recording.  I can definitely do that!

After I was done at 1pm, I went home and had lunch.  Then, I went out to run some errands. I went to the Salvation Army, and didn’t find anything that looked good. Then I went to Michaels and I finally bought my yarn and needles for my afghan.  I bought size 50 needles, and the largest ones I have ever used in the past are size 13!

Here’s a picture of me with three sets of needles.  The blue ones are size 8 that were the first ones that I ever knit with (I made a scarf).  The pink ones are the biggest I’ve used in the past, and the huge red ones are the ones I just bought.  They’re called “Speed Stix.”  They’re so large that it makes knitting go faster.  But the afghan will probably be holey. But I think that’s what makes it an afghan.

I’m so excited to get started!  I have eight skeins of yarn that I have to roll into balls (it makes it easier to knit with).  The total of all my stuff came to $43 (I bought a cute pack of note cards for $1 - they have an ‘R’ on them and they’re blank inside).  I had a gift card that I got from Dylan for Christmas, and I figured I’d just front the rest in cash.  After the gift card went through, I only owed $3!!!  Dylan had gotten me a $40 gift card!!!   I called him to thank him, and told him I was able to buy everything with the card. Yay Dylan!

I stopped at the library and picked up 5 books.  One of them is Angels and Demons, which I want to read before the movie comes out in May.  I’ve heard from many people that it’s much better than the DaVinci Code. I think the other four are all memoirs.  I’ve like to read memoirs lately.

On to dinner!  I used the Sloppy Joes recipe that I got from the Low Iodine Cookbook.  My mom and I both give it 5/5 stars.  It is SOOO delicious.  Absolutely amazing.  I ate it on one hamburger bun, open faced, and doubled up on my meat.  It was so messy!

Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef or turkey or Quorn (beef only for LID)
1 small chopped onion
1 small chopped green bell pepper (cut really small)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup (to make it LID compatible, use no salt ketchup)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Combine first three ingredients in large skillet. Cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble, scoop the fatty water out of the pan with a spoon.
Add rest of ingredients to skillet and mix. Simmer 15 minutes.
Serves 4-5.

You know how good it was?  It was so good, I licked my plate clean.

Megan and I have a history of licking our plates, especially if there is pie involved.  I’ve gotten in the bad habbit of doing it even when there is no pie involved.  I physically had the plate up to my face, licking it with my tongue.  I was in the middle of talking to my mom, and she didn’t even flinch.  I think she’s used to it, too.

I start my mini internship thing tomorrow at a hospital!!!  Wahoo!  I’m psyched.  I go there at 9am, and I’m going to wake up at 7am and go running with my dad.  I’m going to do 2 miles, and my dad will try to do as much as he can.  He hasn’t run in three months, so he may not be able to do all of it.  That’s ok, and if he has to turn around, I’ll just continue by myself.  That’s what I did on Sunday morning.  He made it to about .8 miles, and then had to turn around.  He was ALMOST half way there, and he could have made it…. but he chose just to turn around.

I am still working on my skirt/bag, and it’s great!  Right now, I’m doing the handles…. those are a big challenging.  But so far, it looks good!  I’ve been watching Greys Anatomy while I work, and I love this show!  I love all these shows where people work together and they are happy.  It’s nice.

About my internship, I’m worried that I don’t have enough business type clothes.  I have two cute light (spring!) cardigans, that are yellow and one that is pink.  And I can wear those with a t-shirt underneath them.  I’m also going to wear my black crocs instead of the nice heels that I just bought, and wear my hair in a low ponytail, because I want to make a professional first appearance.  After the first day, I will get a better sense of what other people are wearing, and I won’t worry about it.

Oh, and I’m sucking at that whole go to bed by 10pm thing.  Do’h!  It’s 10:27 right now, and I am not in bed.  But I’m heading off right now, cause I have to wake up at 7am!  For a run in the cold!!!  Brrrrr.  But it’s a great way to start the day!!!!

I don’t know how long I’m going to be at my internship thing, my guess is I’ll be home for lunch.  Then, I will post about what we had for dinner tonight.  Tomorrow night, mom night we’re having homemade Sloppy Joe’s!  Classy.

Sausage Minestrone soup was pretty good. It wasn’t fantastic, but it was good. It was a bit too spicy, so I’m going to cut the red pepper flakes in half, from 1/4 t to 1/8. I’m also going to add more pasta, because my dad and I felt there was too little. It was a nice dinner with Italian bread and a salad. The bread was store bought. I should look into making my own sometime, and do a soup and bread night like Megan used to do. Here is the recipe for the soup with my added changes. I think I liked the pasta e fagioli better, and that didn’t have meat in it.

Sausage Minestrone Soup

2 T Extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10.5 oz) chicken broth
1 t dried basil leaves

1 t dried oregano leaves
1/8 t crushed red pepper
12 oz Italian turkey sausage, thoroughly browned
2/3 cup pasta – ditalini or small shells
1 (16 oz) cannellini beans, drained

Heat oil in large saucepan over med heat. Add onion and garlic cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, tomatoes with liquid, broth, basil, oregano and crushed pepper. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, cut sausage crosswise into ½-inch slices. Cut each slice into quarters. Stir sausage, and pasta into soup; simmer 13 minutes or until pasta is tender. Add beans; cook until heated through.

__________

Speaking of Megan, she called me today, and we talked for a whole hour! I still miss her and I still wish that she and Mac would move home to the US. She said that Mac wouldn’t be able to get a job, but they could live near me, and he could help me run my garden and tend to the chickens! We would have our own little eco-community.

I spent a lot of time today looking at recipes to make later this week. I think I want to try a potato soup. It will be like a clam chowder, but without clams. They make a good one at Panera Bread that I enjoy. It’s the only one I’ve ever had. Monday night I have class, so I won’t be making anything. Wednesday night we’re going out to dinner with Bob and Gail for Gail’s birthday. That’s two days I don’t need to make dinner.

While talking to Megan, I mentioned to her that it seems like every single dinner they make is delicious. She is always writing on her blog about how wonderful their dinner was. I don’t understand how they can continuously cook fantastic meals. Megan explained it differently, and said that perhaps she just isn’t picky. Either way, I still find it amazing that they are able to cook meal after meal that she (and probably also Mac) find delicious. I thought the pot pie was delicious, but I don’t think that this soup was. I’d give it 3/5 stars. The pot pie gets 5/5!  Perhaps I should start rating all of my recipes like this.

I also need to get better at photographing my meals.  I should decorate my plate with fancy napkins, and decorate the food with fresh basil or parsley.  I also should not use my iPhone as my camera!  It makes the food look not-so-good.

Update (the next morning):  I tried my first hand at food photography!  I think they came out pretty damn good!  Muuuuuuch better than the iPhone.

I was just reading a blog where they said something about a “game” where you post the 4th picture that is in the 4th folder of your picture collection on your computer.  I had to modify it a bit, and do the 4th picture in the 4th folder that was in the fourth folder.  It went 2005>Halloween 05>4th picture.  It was just absolutely too hilarious to not post it.

This is my dad on Halloween.  He and my mom dressed up and stopped by the Halloween party I was having at my apartment. He got this outfit from his uncle Ray.  I’m not sure what it really is, but I think it might have to do with Egypt or some other middle eastern country.

This occurred years ago  (15 Sept 2006), but I just found it, and thought it was hilarious:

Megan: you’re not around, are you?
_____________
Auto response from Robin:
Ginger: Hey stud, where do you keep your wet ones? I need a shower!
Ned: Oh we’ve got a real shower, upstairs!
Ginger: Upstairs!? I hit the jackpot!
_________________

(a few minutes later)
Robin: I am around…. but as you can tell from my Simpsons-themed away message, I was in the shower
Megan: hi!
Megan: ohhhhhhhhh
Megan: I thought it just meant you were upstairs
Robin: oh…no
Robin: well, yes
Robin: both are true
Megan: yes
Megan: so are you upstairs still?
Robin: yes
Robin: but you’ll have to speak up, I’m wearing a towel
Megan: hahahahaha
Megan: you are AMAZING

I ordered a Diva Cup through our local organic foods store.  It ended up costing me $31.  On Amazon.com they’re only $17.50, but I figured with shipping, it’d be close to $25, and for the extra $6, it’s best for me to support a local business.  I’m excited to try it out, and hope it goes well.  I’ve heard lots of good things about them, especially on all the green chic blogs I’ve been reading lately.

First thing I saw this morning was that the stone house where Megan had her wedding reception this summer burned down!!!  It’s the stone house in this beautiful park in southern Fitchburg.  The park was devastated after the ice storm, and it has been locked up ever since.  When the fire officials got there, the fire had already been burning for several hours, and it was at the point where it had burned up all the wood, and there was nothing left but the stone.  I took a picture of the paper and e-mailed it to Megan because I thought that she’d want to know.  Her reply:  “That SUCKS!!!”

Here’s what the house used to look like.  It was very beautiful, and very unique.

I had to babysit today, and we had a winter storm all day.  Luckily, my car is pretty good in the snow, and I had no problems as long as I went super slow.  On my way home, I drove by my doctor’s office, and remembered I had an appointment scheduled for tomorrow at 2:45.  I decided that I’d stop by today and see if they had any cancellations.  I had a book with me, and I was okay with hanging out for a bit and waiting.  The lady checked me in, and I was seen within 5 minutes!  I didn’t get a chance to read hardly any of my book!!  The nurse practitioner I had the appointment with (tomorrow)  was in between appointments, and luckily I just had to chat with her for a bit.  It was perfect timing, and now I don’t have to trek out into Leominster tomorrow.  It was a great idea on my part, and another way that I cut down on driving.

When I came home from the doctors, there was about 6 or 7 inches of snow in the driveway.  I went inside, changed my clothes, ate an orange for fuel, and went out to face the snow.  It took me a couple tries, but I finally figured out how to start the snow blower.  I finished the driveway, and did all of our sidewalks and the paths to both our doors.  It took me exactly 50 minutes.  It was a good workout, but the snow had turned into freezing rain, and then regular rain, so I got a bit wet in the process.  My parents walked in the door about 10 minutes after I had finished, and as they opened the door, I heard my mom say “Do you think Robin did it?”  They didn’t know who had done the drive way!  Our neighbor had done it previously, and they weren’t sure if he was at it again!  But she walked inside and she asked if I had done it, and I told them yes. Not only had my mom gotten to leave work early (at 5pm, instead of 7pm), but both of my parents were able to come home and not have to go right back out to shovel.  It was nice that I was able to help them.  They were extremely thankful.  They even asked what they could make me for dinner!  I must admit, there was a moment when I was outside shoveling where I thought “screw making dinner, let’s get take out.”  But that thought didn’t last long.

At 6, I started to make dinner.  Last night, I made shrimp scampi for my dad and me, and mom ate it sans shrimp.  It was very good, and my mom loved the recipe.  Tonight, I made pasta e fagioli.  It was a very easy recipe, and maybe only took 15 minutes of prep.  The rest was just waiting for it to cook!  Both of my parents really liked it, but next time, I want to double the beans (two cans instead of one), and add less pasta.  But it was really good, and it was a recipe I had never made before!  My mom said this one was a keeper, as well.   (It thickened in the fridge a bit, that’s why it doesn’t look very soupy in the picture).

At 7:50, I left the house for Niles’.  Every Wednesday a bunch of us go over to his house to watch LOST.  It’s great fun.  Tonight, because the weather was so crappy, and because I had already done my fair share of driving, and not enough walking, I decided to walk.  It wasn’t too far of a walk, perhaps a mile.  But I made sure that I bundled up, and I brought an extra pair of pants and slippers just in case.  The slippers came in handy because my socks got wet and I put them on his radiator to dry (they didn’t).

My feet got VERY wet on the way home (I need wellies, not stupid snow boots that aren’t water proof). While walking home, there were 5 people in front of me, and each person had a dog.  I thought it was very strange.  But then I thought “Hmm… I wonder if they have some dog walking club.”  And then I thought that was a very neat idea.  Get a bunch of neighbors together who have dogs, and walk them together.  That’d be a nice way to spend time together, plus give your dog a walk and get a little exercise.  If I liked dogs (which I do not), then that’d be a cool idea.  I like the same idea with little babies and mom with strollers.

I really liked walking to Niles’ house.  I have been trying to drive less, and walk more, especially if it’s somewhere close by (mostly the gym, I haven’t treked to the grocery store yet this winter, but when it was warm out, I did a couple times).  But walking to Niles’ house tonight made me feel very British.  I like how they walk everywhere.  Even if it’s crappy out, or raining, they have to walk, because they (at least Mac and Megan) don’t own cars!  Your choice is to either stay home, or walk in the rain.  I have also decided that in my little house, I don’t want to ever have paper towels, a TV, or a microwave.  I can get by pretty well without a microwave.  While babysitting, I was thinking “Wow, I don’t remember the last time that I needed to use a microwave.  Except…. 5 minutes ago when I made this cup of tea.”  But I could easily make a cup of tea with an electric kettle or on the stove.  But other than today’s rare cup of tea (which I want to drink more of, and I bought I Love Lemon herb tea today!), I never use the microwave.  It’s pretty great.

At Larry’s house on Friday night, there were a lot of people there that worked with my dad.  He would introduce me to people as his daughter, and several times that night, I was asked:

• “Oh, are you the one who is living in England?”
• “Are you the one who just got married?”
• “Are you the one who was in London for a bit?”

No, that is not me.  That is the other sister.  The interesting sister.  Stupid people.  My mom was sitting near me while this was all happening, and she noticed it, too.  She told me later that she kept waiting for me to say, “No, I’m the one with cancer.”

I thought of it, but I didn’t think that would be nice to throw that into these strangers’ faces.  They were just being nice by chatting with me.  I’m not sure what they would have thought if they were faced with “No, I’m the one with cancer.”  Would they feel bad?  Guilty?  Would they ask me about it?  I don’t want to make people feel bad.

Perhaps the problem is that my parents only talk about Megan?  It doesn’t come up that I got cancer, but it DOES come up that Megan got married, and is living in another country.  Bah!

When I got cancer, I finally thought that I’d be the interesting one.  That Megan would finally get asked, “Oh, are you the one with cancer?”  But then, when I finally had something interesting, Megan announced that she was getting married.  She stole my thunder.  So instead of having to tell people that one of their daughters was sick; they were able to be excited, and tell people that one of their daughters was getting married.

Again, I was struck with middle child syndrome.  I was upset that Megan had taken the same time that I was dealing with surgeries and radiation to be planning a wedding.  My mom went from having “Robin’s Medical Folder” to “Megan’s Wedding Folder.”  I’m sure it was much more fun to organize wedding stuff.  I don’t think I ever told Megan all of this.  What was I suppose to do?  My mom said I should have said, “Too bad Megan, I’m sick.  You can stick out teaching for one more year and get married next year.”  But I never even thought of doing that.

All I know is that I really hate it when people constantly come up to me and assume that I am my sister.  It makes me feel that I am not worth anything, and that I am not interesting enough for people to remember me.  I am almost done getting my Masters degree, and I was 23 years old and diagnosed with cancer.  What the hell?

I was cleaning my room this morning (I am on a roll with the cleaning!) when I heard the familiar “ping”  of a message via GMail Chat.  I was surprised to see it was Megan, asking me if I was watching the Inauguration.  I had a plan to clean my room, go to the gym, have lunch around 1ish, and then go run errands to prep for dinner.  But instead, I went downstairs, watched the Inauguration of Barack Obama with Megan (via GChat), and ate lunch first, before the gym.  Then, I ran my errands, came home and prepped dinner (let the salmon sit in its sauce, and prepared the root vegetables so they’d be ready to be put in the oven when I returned), and then went to the gym.  As promised, I walked to the gym.  I was nervous that I wasn’t going to have enough time, but I cut my workout at the gym short to make up for the time spent walking.  Tomorrow, I have to babysit at noon, library meeting at 5:30, and then dinner at 7.  Because I don’t know what time I will get done babysitting, I’m going to the gym first.

I always try to count backwards when figuring out timing for things.  I need to leave the house by 11:30 (which will probably turn into 11:38, knowing me), so then I should be home and in the shower by 10:30, so I need to eat breakfast around 10 (takes me about 10 minutes to prepare my eggs and cereal), so to be at the gym for 45 minutes, plus a half hour for walking, I need to leave my house for the gym at…..  8:45.  I don’t like not eating breakfast first thing in the morning, but I figure I’ll eat an apple and/or an orange for energy before I leave.  That should be good enough.`

I read somewhere today that it isn’t good to chug water.  I guess our bodies aren’t equipt to handle all that water at once.  It doesn’t do anything bad, but the body can’t absorb it all for hydration needs.  That makes sense.  I also read that if you’re properly hydrated (not only should your pee be clear), but you should pee once every night.  I used to be able to wake up in the middle of the night, take my pill, and go right back to sleep.  Now, however, I try to do that, and all I can think is “Oh man, I have to pee.”  Which sucks, cause I really don’t want to get out of bed.  But of course, I can’t fall back to sleep, cause I have to pee so badly.  So I end up having to get out of bed anyway.  I should just get up right away without torturing myself by trying to convince my head that I don’t have to pee that badly.  When really I do.

I could use some book recommendations.  I started to read The Host, and it sucked.  I got to about page 15, and I’m pretty sure I’m giving up.  I think I read somewhere that you should at least give it to page 50 or 100 (I can’t remember which), but I don’t think I want to give it that much of a chance.  And so, I need more books to read.  My mom brought me home Snoop:  What Your Stuff Says About You, which I started and it’s interesting.  It looks at things like:  in a person’s office, are their photos facing them (which says “Aw, I like looking at my family, they’re great), or are they facing the visitors (which says, “Look at how great my family is.  I have this hot spouse, and adorable kids).  I’m only on page 20 or so, I fell asleep reading it on the couch (cause I was reclined, and my eyes were just so tired).  But I’ll pick it back up tomorrow.

I found an article, The Art of Living in Small Spaces, which had good tips about living in a mini house.  I’ve also found it interesting that in all of my “daydreams” of this little house, I’m by myself, doing my own thing.  I don’t have a husband/spouse/partner/boyfriend or anything.  Maybe if I do get a boyfriend, I’ll make him live in his own mini house.  There will be plenty of room, because I started a mini house community.  We will all barter with each other.  Some of us will grow lots of fruits and vegetables, and others will have real jobs and work outside the house.  The real worker will buy things like milk and pasta, and we will trade our vegetables and eggs with him for his purchased goods.  I could barter therapy with him, but there are strict rules for that.  Each person must agree upon the terms, and it’s better to trade services (I think).  Because if he loses his job, and can’t provide me with 15 pounds of pasta, and 15 pounds of flour, then should I just stop giving him therapy?  It would be better if it was a service, like…. he would mow the lawn every week or something.  One hour of lawn mowing for one hour of therapy.

I would prefer goods.  I can mow my own friggen lawn.  Maybe there could be a clause “In the event that pasta and flour can not be provided, ____ will be substituted.”  That way, I get what I want if at all possible, but there’s a “just in case” clause.

Emiliano will be very happy that I have been using Stumble Upon lately. While stumbling this morning, I found this quote:

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.

~ Ellen Goodman

This is the exact reason why I want to move into my mini house, and NOT work.  Why do people work?  It’s stupid.  Think about it.  I don’t even need to mention any reasons, just read the quote.

I have been thinking more and more about the idea of me living a very minimalist life, and the thought makes me very, very happy.  I like imagining what it would be like, to live alone, to not have any worries, and to be able to wake up with the sun and work outside, and work, but work to live.  I don’t want to work for money: I want to work to eat, work to be healthy, and work to be happy.

Be happy.

I have not been happy lately.  There is nothing in my life that I am happy about.  That makes me very sad.  That is, in a word, depressing.  Megan said that I need to think about what things in this world make me happy.  Lately, all I enjoy doing is stumbling the internet, watching TV shows on my laptop, and reading books. I just started a new book called Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  My mother just finished it for bookclub, and she thought I would really enjoy it.  Gilbert goes through a terrible divorce, and she decides to move away for a year.  She lives in Italy and just hangs out and eats.  She makes friends, learns Italian, and she eats!  She’s a writer, that’s how she affords living without working for a whole year.  While in Italy, she writes about the difference between Americans working, and Italians working.

“Americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today. . . Of course, we all inevitably work too hard, then we get burned out and have to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas, eating straight out of the box and staring at the TV in a mild coma (which is the opposite of working, yes, but not exactly the same thing as pleasure).  Americans don’t really know how to do nothing.  This is the cause of that great sad American stereotype - the overstressed executive who goes on vacation, but who cannot relax.” (Gilbert, 61)

I don’t want to live like that.  I don’t want to live my life working everyday at a job that I don’t enjoy.  My sister works a 9-5 doing some sort of work for a large insurance company.  During her free time, she cooks delicious vegetarian meals for her and her husband, volunteers at a non-profit little art kitchen place called the Art House, and does environmental work.  She doesn’t get anything out of her job except money.  That can be said for a lot of people.  I don’t want to live like that.  I know Megan doesn’t want to live like that, either.

My latest TV show that I’ve been watching at the gym is Private Practice.  Adison Montgomery moves away from Greys Anatomy to LA.  She moves and starts working in this really cool private group practice; they call it a  medical co-op.  It has a very spa-ish, relaxing, dark colors, waterfall type feel.  There’s a beautiful lounge, a kitchen,  and a meeting room where they meet every morning to talk about their patients.  In the practice, there is a Ob/Gyn, a general practitioner, a holistic healer who does acupuncture, a therapist, and a doctor who specializes in helping women get pregnant.  All of the doctors are TV perfect (well, they’re all a little messed up - but good looking!), they’re all early 30s, and are pretty much friends.  They have fun together.  I would like to work in a place like that.  I want to work with people that I enjoy, I would like to work in a group practice like that.

Be happy.

Ok, so I will make a list of things that (will) make me happy.

• Reading
• Watching TV and movies
• Cooking and baking
• Gardening - growing flowers and my own food
• Going to farmer’s markets
• Riding a bicycle everywhere and not needing a car
• Having and caring for my own chickens (fresh eggs!)
• Baking fresh bread
• Working in a group practice, and enjoying it
• Knitting
• Exercising
• Being warm, and spending time out in the sun
• Hanging out with friends and family
• Blogging - both reading and writing
• Sleeping, and waking up early to make a wonderful breakfast

I was driving around today thinking how much I would love living in a little house, and then I remembered that I won’t be completely done with my degree until May 2010, and then I got sad again.  I guess all I can do is think about this crazy dream.  Maybe I will write a story about myself living in this house, and I will live vicariously through my writing.  I will also try to de-clutter my life, and do my best at saving money so I will be able to afford this house.

I feel that if I move down south into a little house, my parents will tell their friends “Well, she got cancer at 23, and then she went a little crazy.”

And it would be true.

I was reading in the Boston Globe today that living in the city is bad for your brain.  I guess that nature is very beneficial for the brain.  They’ve done studies that say that hospital patients do better when they can see trees from their window.

It says “While people have searched high and low for ways to improve cognitive performance, from doping themselves with Red Bull to redesigning the layout of offices, it appears that few of these treatments are as effective as taking a walk in a natural place.”

They even said that a long time ago, they realized this, and that is why Central Park is in the middle of New York City.  People need trees and nature.

This is why I think it would be absolutely wonderful to live in a tiny little house out in a field somewhere.

This house is only 681 square feet.  That’s pretty little.  It has two bedrooms, and is a little bigger than their teeny tiny houses, which are around 100-200 square feet.  I would want enough room to not feel claustrophobic, and also enough room to entertain for dinner.  I think the first floor would need to be an open layout for entertaining.  I would love to live in South Carolina, and grow my own fruits and vegetables.  I think these houses only cost about $20,000 to build (and $700 for the plans), so that’s a very tiny mortgage!  Also, I think I read that it’s only about $60 in heating and electricity bills.  Even if it is ten times that amount, $600 a year isn’t bad.  I would want a full size fridge, (or almost full size), because I know that Megan has a hard time with a mini dorm-size fridge in England.

If I had this house, and grew all my own food, I think I would only work as little as possible.  With my Mental Health degree, I could see patients two or three days a week, and the other days would be for my enjoyment only.  I think I’ve decided I’d like to live a very minimal life.  I know it’s very hard to believe, because I love shopping, and my Coach bags, and my iPhone.*  I would love to be able to live my days and do things that I enjoy.  I would knit, and I would write, and read.  I would cook fabulous meals, and run, and invite friends over, and drink wine, and eat cheese, and other wonderful things like that.

I think that I am very very worried that I will end up working at a job that I hate.  And I will wake up every morning not wanting to get out of bed; not wanting to go to work.  I figure with a mini house, and growing my own food, I won’t need a crappy job, because I won’t need that much money.  Maybe Megan and Mac (my sister and brother-in-law, who live in England) could live with me, and we’d live on a lot of land, and we’d each have our own mini house.  Megan and I could look into making organic things and selling them… either organic soaps and shampoos, or organic clothes.  We could have our own line, and money wouldn’t really matter, because we’d make anything we’d need.  We could work if we needed to, but what would be the point?  We’d have food, and a house with no mortgage, it would be awesome!

Thinking about that sounds absolutely fabulous, and it makes me wonder why more people don’t do something like this.  Is it because land you can grow on is super expensive?  Maybe we could live somewhere inexpensive, but still warm enough where we could grow things all year round - like Alabama or Tennessee.  We’d have our own land and our own community, so it wouldn’t be like we were really in Alabama, because we wouldn’t be going to the Piggly Wiggly or Billy Bob’s Country Cookin’.  We could still have cell phones and internet, but a TV wouldn’t be necessary (I’m going with Megan on this one - when I get my own place, I don’t want a TV).  We’d also need a good local library, because with a mini house, we wouldn’t have much room to keep our books.  I would say e-books would be good, but I’m reading the final Twilight installment as a PDF document, and it’s a huge pain in the ass.  I’m just clicking the down arrow constantly, and the clicking noise is driving me insane.

You know what else I would have with my tiny house?  Cats.  And a hammock.  Hammocks are wonderful.

I could go on for hours about how awesome this mini house idea is, but I have to go to the gym.  Then, I need to come home and help around the house.  My mom is being really wonderful, and is just letting me lounge around all day without saying anything.  I’m taking some well deserved time off, but I need to get my butt in motion and help out for the second half of the day.

*This past summer, I walked to the local farmers market, and I brought my Chico Bag with me, and I was being very eco, and was buying fresh produce, and supporting the local farmers, and I was walking!  But as I was walking home, I realized that I was listening to my iPhone and carrying a Coach purse.  It was quite the contradiction.  But, I was able to take this beautiful pictures with my phone, and I only noticed it because I was walking: