At 21, I'm at an age where I've started to figure out what my values are, and am trying very hard to live by them (idealistically and almost certainly naively, but that comes with the territory). It means that sometimes I find myself making choices that might seem sort of extreme, which is completely normal.

A decade from not I'll probably find myself with a more "mainstream" lifestyle (or the mainstream will change), giggling about the person I used to be. I'm fine with that, it's as it should be. But I'm not going to let it ruin the fun of this phase.

Right now I'm reading about handling money, because I realized that I know nothing about it (other than the very general "don't blow it all on candy and pretty toys," and "pay your bills on time").

The book, Your Money or Your Life defines money as "life energy" (which sounds cheesy, but really it's just trying to make you think about the time and energy they spend at work), and asks the reader to really think about what they value. What material objects are really worth the time and energy that goes into earning the money to buy them. The book also encourages the reader to take some time to write out a list of the things they value, so that spending habits can be better examined. This fueled a little writing session for me, as I thought about what I really want in my life.

I'm not comfortable sharing what I wrote, but here are the highlights:

• Creativity is important to me. I'm happiest when I'm making things, so I want to spend as much time as I can making stuff. I don't care if it's a story, a drawing, a knit something, or just a decent loaf of bread. I want to share what I make with others, as gifts or whatever. And I don't care about the number of people I share with.
• Being trustworthy/responsible. I want the people I care about to feel like they can count on me.
• Being useful and active. Having a wide skill-set and working to the best of my ability. I like feeling capable.
• Living up to my own values, even if it's difficult.

Everything else sort of falls under those 4 categories. As long as I'm living up to that, I'll be happy with my life. Everything else is just gravy :)

What I'm reading: Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Right now a couple of my friends and I are reading Terry Pratchett's Christmas-themed book, Hogfather. When Christmas rolls around, we're going to discuss it.
I have to say, I'm a big Prachett fan. He's one of my favorite authors. His satirical fantasy novels are the perfect blend of humor, drama, and intelligent observation. I've read this particular book before, but it's been a few years. It's nice to be able to go through it again and relive my favorite parts.

Handmade Holiday 2011

A couple of years ago I decided that once I had my own place and my own life, I wanted my holidays to be as simple as possible. I still feel that way. I want home to be a cozy place filled with things that I've created with my own hands, and the smell of food that I've cooked. I want the holidays to be about enjoying good food and good company, and maybe an exchange of small thoughtful gifts.

I've never been into the noise and stress of conventional holiday preparations. I hope I won't get caught up in all that as I get older. Simple, low-key holidays seem to be where it's at.

As a part of this commitment to simplify my holidays, I've decided to make all of my Christmas gifts this year (I can knit and cook). It's a lot of work, I'm about halfway through my knitting projects and the holiday is less than a month away, but I'm having fun with it. I love being able to design and customize every single gift, making it special for the people on the receiving end.