Keeping life pretty clean, pretty green, and just plain pretty

There have been a lot changes in my life this past year. Some fairly minor, some more dramatic. Some changes haven't been so great, but I would say that the majority of the changes I've made have been an effort towards making life more positive - for myself and others around me. 

Along with maintaining a 4.0 GPA in my 2nd year of college, I've been getting more involved with the community - on campus and off. I'm a member of the French Club (as an English/Communications major, taking a foreign language is a requirement toward my degree, so I chose French), and I'm also a senior research assistant to a professor working on his doctorate. (We're studying the impact that successful entertainment franchises have on shaping the ideologies in our culture.) I've also volunteered several times recently with local theatre groups and was a team leader for a huge hunger drive a couple of months ago. We packaged thousands of meals to ship off for communities and families in need. 

Below are a few of the other changes I've made towards a healthier, cleaner, and prettier lifestyle:

SLEEP & SCHEDULE:

Being a full-time college student and balancing it with a part-time research assistant job, pursuing an acting and entertainment career, and attempting to finish up the final stretch of my aviation training in the next few months, I've had to make a real effort to prioritize my time and stay focused. I've made a gradual change in my sleep and schedule habits. Instead of the late-night hours I used to keep because of bartending, I now typically am in bed by 10 p.m. or earlier and generally am up by 5 a.m. nearly every morning of the week. I drink a full bottle of water, take a shower (been taking more cold ones lately), do my morning stretches, and start my cleaning, which brings me to...

CLEANLINESS:

I vacuum 1-2 x's per week, dust bi-weekly, put aside recyclable items daily, and do laundry several times a week. I usually try to get the majority of whatever cleaning tasks I've assigned for myself done for the day before I even make my coffee, so that I can sit down and relax with it as my reward for staying focused on first things first. I generally do a thorough kitchen and bathroom cleaning about once per week. As far as recycling goes, I keep a separate bag and receptacle reserved just for recycling. There's always room for improvement, but I'm continuing to get better about having environmental awareness.

WELLNESS, HEALTH & BEAUTY:

Aside from cleanliness and recycling being a regular habit for me, I've also made wellness and simple beauty routines a regular regimen! I'm too frugal for big extravagances, but I do like quality, so I usually start my day with a cup of French-pressed coffee, a piece of dark chocolate and at the end of the day, I like a glass of red wine (usually a Cabernet.) I don't bother with buying bottles as much anymore, because I don't always finish them, so it gets wasteful. Nowadays, I get the little 500 ml boxes that contain 3-5 servings and cost around $5-7. As much as I like to try different varietals and vintners from various regions, at the end of the day, wine is wine, and I mainly drink it for the relaxation and health benefits. 

I don't exercise quite as much as I feel I should, but I bike ride somewhat regularly for long durations (around 20 miles or more at a time), and I'm fairly active in general, so hopefully that counts. I don't withhold anything from myself as far as diet, but I don't overeat either. I get massages about every other week to help keep my back from going out, and I try to stretch several times per day. Also, I paid $30 towards a yoga center, which I will hopefully start attending regularly one day. Baby steps, baby steps.

I get bi-weekly manicures/pedicures, too! Every other month or so, I get my hair trimmed and maybe colored. I kind of like to have a different hair color for every season. (Right now, it's a dark honey blonde. Next month it might be a warmer spicier hue, like cinnamon.)

As far as beauty in the household (other than Melody being in it), I try to buy fresh flowers every 7-10 days to keep in a vase at the center of the kitchen! I'm a big believer in keeping some sort of live plant in the household. They give a sense of vibrancy, color, and warmth to it (along with a couple of kitties, of course!) :)