The Modern Hippy

I started blogging in July for personal reasons. Mainly I felt that my brain never shut off. After I started, I felt a lot better. I do enjoy talking with people but sometimes it just is not convenient. In addition, I have a little trouble trying to express myself verbally. So was born “The Modern Hippy”. I started out on blogger and had several different blogs. I discovered that I did not have the customizations options I wanted so moved everything here.

This blog is about many things, though it has a common undercurrent – eco-friendly ideas. Around the time I started this blog I became more interested in living green. I guess it was a “growing up” thing. Rick and I had been talking for a few months about how we felt it is everyone responsibility to keep our world from turning into a huge garbage dump or killing wild life because of pollutants. I set out to change our cleaning products, did research and made changes as things emptied.
All summer I had noticed that my skin was changing. It was reacting differently and I did not like it. I had the skin of a teenager again, riddled with zits. Then the eczema I had as a child on my hands came back on my right hand. I made changes at work. I have had to change the way I look at beauty products and massage products.

We started to eat healthier earlier this year trying to help Rick with his health problems. Rick has ulcerative colitis. It is categorized as an irritable bowel disease. It’s cause is unknown. In fact, not a lot is known about it as is the case with many autoimmune diseases. He was diagnosed almost four years ago, but had it for several months before he was able to see a doctor. Everything he eats effects the way he feels. We changed everything. We now eat only natural foods, nothing processed or preserved with unnatural. Almost no sugar. We use honey instead. Lots of basic food items, meat proteins, vegetables and fruits.
I used to hate cooking. I still do not like it some days. But I have discovered that it takes imagination. I’m an artist at heart and have lived most of my life in my imagination with some real life thrown in some days. I love taking pictures so I photograph our food if it is pretty. I write recipes and give ideas because I know it’s hard to eat healthy. We should all stick together and require better safer food for us all.

There are many pictures in this blog. As I said, I am an artist, raised around artists and love beauty in any form. I am not at all accomplished now. I’m just a lover of art and try with my little point-and-shoot camera to get pretty pictures for myself and others to enjoy. I love nature. I grew up in Skagit Valley, in the country and used to hike a lot and garden. We now live in the city, in Bothell, WA. I am tired of it. Instead of being completely depressed about being so far away from what I love and want, I look for the beauty here. I also love crocheting and drawing and reading, though now I do more blogging and photography.

We are also pet parents. We have no two legged children but have two four legged babies. Of course, we want the best for them. One little dog, a Chinese Crested Powder Puff named Xiann and a brown tabby named Milo. They are both two years old and so much fun. Xiann has sensitive skin. Milo loves to eat dog food and I’m not sure why. We adopted Milo from a rescue on Whidbey Island from WAIF in September 2006. We found Xiann on Seattle Craig’s List January 2007. They are awesome. I love animals. We love the companionship. They are so spoiled and our lives revolve around them. It’s great.

I am also a small business owner. I am a massage therapist. I’ve work for myself since graduating and have been entirely self employed since April of 2008. My hands and arms are my job. I worry about the economy. I never know when it will slow down enough for me to go job searching again, but I realize that it could happen. I love it. Massage is brilliant. Working for myself is awesome. It is liberating and frightening. If you think you may want to work for yourself but don’t believe it’s possible. It is. Just do it. Plan but don’t over think it and do it. It is one of the best things I have ever done.

This is the Modern Hippy because I am that. I love the earth and want nothing more than to take care of her. We all live here. We should enjoy what is here but also take care of her. Always question, always look for an alternative. It might take a while but you can find it. Rules are made to be stretched, changed or broken. One of my favorite quotes comes from Empire Records: “Damn the man. Save the Empire!” That says it all. We should get away from huge enterprises and support the little men and women. I take it seriously. I am the little woman making a living as a massage therapist. I am also a patchouli loving, granola eating, Northwesterner to the core, hippy. Hippy with a “y” because it is how it should be spelled.