My $3 Home Office Makeover

After reading 6 Tips for Designing a Cheery Home Workspace, I looked at my "home office" and realized I need some color and organization on my desk.  Although I don't actually work from home, as a full-time graduate student, I spend a lot of time writing and reading at my desk.

When I took a hard look at my desk, I realized how little workspace I actually had.

 

As you can see, it is lacking color, organization, and my post-it notes hanging on the wall are not exactly classy.  But I don't have money to spend on revamping my work area, so I decided to see what I could do with what I already had.

The first stage was de-cluttering.  I took the non-essential items off of my desk and into the rolling cart I have next to my desk (from my teaching days).

The rest of my papers went into my desk drawers, which were also cleaned out and reorganized.     

Next, some color was needed.  I started by looking for colorful things that I already had on my desk that I use as more prominent centerpieces.

After cleaning up my desk, moving things off, and pulling a few more colorful items that I had around the house, I came up with this:

 The last step was where my $3 renovation came in.  I purchased two black frames from the Dollar Tree, filled them with two inspirational quotes from Pinterest, and hung them up with picture hanging supplies that I also got from the Dollar store.  All together, this is what I came up with!

I'm enjoying my clean, organized, and colorful desk already!

Advocate for Economic Justice

15.1% of all Americans are in poverty.  That is the largest number since the Census Bureau started publishing poverty statistics 52 years ago! 

Not only that, but 20.5 million Americans are currently in "deep poverty" - which means they have an income of less than $11,150 for a family of four. 

As many as 49.9 million Americans are without health insurance.


When will we begin to speak out about the injustice that is happening in our country?  The growing gap between the income and wealth of the poor and that of the wealthiest is more unequal than at any other time since 1928 (right before the Great Depression).

I encourage you, actually urge you, to pre-order Ron Sider's newest book (coming out in March), Fixing the Moral Deficit: A Balanced Way to Balance the Budget.  You can order it here for a low price of $12.00!  I work for Dr. Sider as a research assistant, and although he has not asked me to promote his book in any way, as someone who has been able to preview the final copy, I have to say - you will learn so much  about economic injustice, the current problems that lead to the inequality between the rich and the poor, and a balanced, concrete set of proposals for what we can do as a country to work toward economic justice.   

If we want to ensure a better future for our neighbors, our children, and those who are the neediest among us, we must advocate for it.

The first step is knowledge - learning about the extent of the problem.  Did you know - the average CEO salary in 2010 was 185 times that of an average worker's pay?  In European countries, CEOs in similar positions earn 55% less than American CEOs do.

There are ways we can learn and do more:

• Read Ron Sider's new book - Fixing the Moral Deficit.  You can pre-order it here.

• Go to http://www.evangelicalsforsocialaction.org/page.aspx?pid=439 and read more, share it with friends and family, and find out what you can do to advocate for a more just society.  For other reading, check out this website.

• Read an earlier post I wrote about the defense budget and other concerns here; and in the "Labels" section of the site: mid-right column, check out "What's Really Important" for similar posts.

My Daily Schedule

The month of January has been completely different for me (although it is a lot like my summers when I was teaching).  I have long stretches of day without set structure, spend long periods of time reading, researching, blog-surfing and errand-running.  Without classes back in session until February, I have a few more weeks to get used to these kinds of unstructured days.

Last week, I was practically going crazy with the lack of structure - it's funny how much we dream of getting away from it all without any responsibilities, and then when we actually have it, we don't know quite what to do with it! (Just a note - I am doing work as a research assistant/web editor for my graduate school's public policy program - so I do some things to do.)

This week has been so much better:

• I made myself a schedule
• Have found other things to do with my days that I enjoy:
• Checking out books from the library
• Gotten back into blogging
• Listed new clothing for sale on eBay (you can check them out here)
• Set aside certain days to help my mom with housework since she has knee trouble

My best move though for making this month sane? Making a schedule.  The more structured I am, the better I tend to work and feel.  So here's an example of what my weekly schedule looks like:

Along with that, I have a monthly schedule that helps me keep track of the hours I need to put in for my research work, as well as which days I'm going to exercise (staying with my New Year's goal to exercise every other day).

This is still just an outline for me to work from, but just having these makes my life so much more productive and less anxious.  I'm still trying figure out what methods work for me to stay more organized in my home, life, and work.

What are your favorite organizational methods/ideas?

School work, holidays, and learning about myself.

It's time for Thanksgiving break (I get the whole week off from grad school!) and that means my mind is officially starting on ideas for this holiday season.  I'm a reflecter by nature, and so any time of transition or change of peace usually prompts me to start reflecting on how I'm doing so far, and what I want to change as I move forward.

I have a fair amount of school work to spend these next few days working on (3 major papers, 2 final exams, catching up on research hours) so I'll be pretty busy up until various Thanksgiving celebrations with our families.  Ben and I tend to say yes to all of the family things we can and end up with quite busy holidays!  Thursday with one family, Friday with another, and Saturday again with one family and Saturday night with yet another! Needless to say, we'll be eating a LOT.  I am thankful though, even in the busy schedule we'll have, that right now we have family near by enough to see, that we love our families and each other's families, and that we Ben and I get to do it together.  Holidays remind me how newlywed I still feel - holidays still feel like a luxury to be able to spend together!

I have a few goals for myself over this holiday season, some practical, some health-related, and others spiritual - all written with grace, realizing that they may not all be done, and will not be done perfectly, but that will be ok.

1. I'd like to be more expressive of what and who I am thankful for.  The next three days before Thanksgiving, I'm going to try to write a note to some of the people I am thankful for to send or give to on Thanksgiving.  I'd like people in my life to know that although I am grateful for many things, the people around me cause me to feel the most blessed.

2.  Morning needs to be a time for reflection - the way I start my morning affects my whole day - if I'm rushed, my whole day feels rushed.  If I don't get to have coffee before I run out the door, I'm a crank! If I don't start the day off with prayer, reflection, or a minute or two to focus on who I'd like to be that day, I end up feeling like I went through my day without any mindfulness of what it held.

3. Soda does not work for me - the guilt, unsettled stomach, and sugar outweighs that cravings I occasionally have for it.

4. One hour of the Today Show = enough for me.  I've found that's just enough to catch up on the news, and then I'm ready to get on with my work!

5. Some days, I just need to remember that spending time with my husband is more important that those pesky dishes in the sink.

6. School is reminding me how much I love to write.  I feel passionate and excited when I sit down to write - even when it's a paper... I think I need to figure out a way to integrate writing into my future career.


My thoughts are uncohesive tonight, no matter how much I love to write, and I think I will leave it there.  Dinner is calling, Law and Order and some tea sounds oh-so-good, and it's my last chance to relax with Ben before the busy week ahead.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

....3 Weeks Down!

 
Oh, life, slow down!  I am now into week 3 of my seminary Master's program.  I am loving it so far!  I just love the feeling of being in school - the new notebooks, smooth-writing pens, and books, yes, even textbooks (well, at least sometimes).... I just love them all.  I love meeting all the new, friendly people that I will be in classes with, eating quick-microwave leftovers with in between classes, and eventually become some new friends.

Since I love lists (have you noticed?), of course, since school has started, I've been keeping a mental list of what I've learned so far as a seminary student:  (and hopefully, not everything I've learned is actually on this list, or else I haven't been paying attention very well, or you'll be reading for a long time!)

1. When taking public transportation, you just have to be flexible - trains often don't go on schedule, no matter how mad you get!

2.  It is always good to have a few extra snacks along.

3.  Caffeine is wonderful.

4.  So much of life is not clear-cut - whether it be the Bible, lessons from history, or
     politics - most of the time, there are more questions than answers, but it is still worth
     asking the questions.

5.  Ask for help (how many times will this show up on my list!?).
      I have had to ask Ben for help with dishes, making meals, or running extra errands.
      Thankfully, he's been a great help.

6.  Calendars are essential, and sticking to them is even more essential!

7.  Waking up early is worth it.

8.  I was not very disciplined this summer, but I'm realizing pretty quickly that I need to
     develop it again!

9.  There are some incredibly wise, genuine, wonderful people out there in the world,
      especially when you have the time to get to know them.

10.  There is so much to be learned from diversity - in ideas, beliefs, backgrounds,
       ethnicity, and families.

11.  When you're in the right place for you, no matter how tired, "munchy", bored,
        unadjusted, or messy things might get around you, there is still peace.


12.  Poverty is the biggest problem in our modern society - not only in its scale and in the widening gap between the poorest and the wealthiest, but also in the way that we push it to the side to try to ignore it.


I'm excited to share more of my journey through this new stage of life, and many more learnings to come...!

Dreams, Transitions, and Peace.

I’ve been having the craziest dreams lately. I always seem to have the most “out-there” dreams, wild combinations of anything that may or may not have come into my day-to-day life. But lately they’ve been more realistic. I have had countless dreams of getting ready to go back to teaching (I have these every year around this time), but not being able to find my new classroom, forgetting to set up my room before the students come, or in my latest dream, being assigned to teach Spanish and not knowing it until the day before. I’ve talked to other teachers, and dreams like this seem to be more normal than I realize. It’s part of that August, back to school preparation/anxiety.

The thing is, I am not going back to teaching this year, but my body doesn’t seem to have caught on to that yet… This year I am on an adventure, embarking on something completely new and unexpected, but amazingly, brings much peace and contentment when I think about it. This fall, I will be going to seminary outside of Philadelphia, and studying theology and public policy, and working at a center for social action on campus (as part of a scholarship). A few months ago, I wouldn’t have imagined that I would be a seminary student at this point, but it is the fruition of many years of dreaming about it and the constant answer to the question from others: “If you could dream of doing anything besides what you do now, what would it be?” It has always been seminary ever since I have been old enough to seriously consider what I would like to do, and feel passionate about doing.

I feel incredibly blessed that in this time of major transition, back to being a student from being a teacher, I have the strong support of my family, friends, and Ben. They were my biggest encouragers, telling me that this dream could be a reality if I felt like it was the right thing, and helping me to make it happen. There have been so many times when I have been affirmed by their encouragement, and the encouragement and excitement of others around me, at my church, former workplace, and old friends.

So, change is the big word in my life right now. Change of schedule, change in my use of time, change in my direction, and change in our income. Thankfully, although it will not be easy, we are prepared mentally and practically for the changes that going down to one income will bring. I am excited for the change of schedule and time. I love studying, reading, and writing, and I can’t wait to be a student again. It just feels so right. And for the first time in my life, I don’t have a definitive “endpoint” to my direction. I don’t exactly know where all of this will lead, but I’m okay with that (and for a person who loves to have control, that is pretty amazing)!

Peace is a funny thing-it doesn’t always come when everything is perfectly settled, figured out, or logical. It comes more with that feeling that this is right, you are affirmed in the direction you’re headed, and you can be okay with the unknowns. Peace for me, is actually being found in relinquishing some of my control, trying an unknown path, and feeling the excitement of knowing I am following an unexpectedly realized dream.

Before vacation, my dad and I went to the seminary campus to register for classes and meet with an advisor. I will be taking three days of classes a week, and hopefully taking the train only four times a week (and staying over a night to save time) into Philadelphia. I can’t wait for all that this change will bring. Poor Ben, I tell him all the time lately how excited I am for this all to begin (he is great at handling it – he’s my biggest advocate). Along with all the excitement and anticipation, I am experiencing peace, and that is the greatest blessing.