Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Yes, it's Me


Howdy! I'm Bri, an ordinary gal that's always dreamed of . . . well, everything actually. I'm one of those restless souls that won't be satisfied till everything is tried at least once. That is the urge that keeps me trying new things and pressing on to accomplish my goals in life. For those reasons, I will always be many things: wife, mom, farmer, writer, traveler, and -- of course -- dreamer.
Nevertheless, there are several constants in my life: my deep life for my husband, Kenny, and daughter, Emma. I've always been crazy about animals . . . which is why we share our home with two dogs, a cat, and two parakeets. I am also very, very passionate about sustainable agriculture and self-sufficiency.

After high school I elected to spend some time "finding myself" so I left my hometown in Ohio and headed west to California. Talk about adventures! During the four years I spendt there I met one of my best friends, traveled a bit, experienced a lot, and fell in love with my soul mate. We've since moved to Illinois, then to Ohio, and now we're trying to figure out where exactly we are going to settle down.

One thing I've learned much about is dreams. So many of us let go when the reality of jobs and bills becomes our mindset, but what if we didn't? What if we not only searched our hearts to find those buried hopes, and then believed that we could fulfill them? What could our lives become? What would be become?

The reason behind this blog is to chase my many and evolving passions and hopefully to encourage you to chase your own. As a public statement and tracker, I'm going to list a few of my dreams here along with updates or changes as they occur.

Farm. Kenny and I have a shared goal of owning and working (no outside jobs -- gasp!) our own sustainable farm. Our vision includes pastured meat and dairy, veggies, fruit, honey . . . basically whatever we need to be "off the grid" and contribute much to our local community.

Travel. Just because I want to farm doesn't mean I want to be a hermit! I love traveling, love how alive and connected it makes me feel. I want to be free to experience other cultures and places, and to give our kids that opportunity too.

Something Meaningful. This dream isn't defined yet because it's still a fuzzy longing deep in my heart. I want to be involved in a project that makes a difference, somehow.

Publish a Book. Been writin' stories since I was a kid. I really just need to make myself finish one. :-/

Promote Sustainable Agriculture. I want to give classes to people from cities about local food and how to produce their own even if they have a tiny space. I also want to start some type of community farm near where we live and . . . well, there's a lot I want to do with this one.

I've spent a lot of time bemoaning the fact that I'm not where I want to be in terms of what I'm doing with my life. Then I woke up: who is?? Not too many people. I decided that I'm going to enjoy the journey and to do the things I'm passionate about now, even if we are living in the city. So for this year my blog will be a lot about how to have a sustainable life on a small yard, farming, natural health "stuff", and whatever else catches my fancy.

As Dale Carnegie said: "People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."

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