Patience....

Patience is a virtue. I am asking you to please be patient a bit longer. I have a winter break from school coming up, and have vowed to spend some time posting here on this blog of mine.

While you are waiting here is something beautiful to take your mind off of whatever it is that's ailing you.....................

Tom Robbins

Tom Robbins is one of my very favorite authors. (thanks big brother) Here is a passage from Wild Ducks Flying Backwards The Short Writings of Tom Robbins:

***

Rivers are the true highways of life. They transport the ancient tears of disappeared races, they propel the foams that will impregnate the millenium. In flood or in sullen repose, the river's power cannot be overestimated, and only men modernized to the point of moronity will be surprised when rivers eventually take their revenge on those who dam and defile them. River gods, some muddy, others transparent, ride those highways, singing the world's inexhaustible song.

Holy Plastic!

Who says kids these days aren't smart and motivated.

Check out this article I stumbled upon.

16 year old wonder boy

(at least in my eyes)

It seems like such an easy concept

now that someone else has thought it up.

Hopefully this kid continues with such great work.

We are in desperate times, and in need of more innovative young thinkers like him.

Congratulations!

Two birds with one stone

The following is my final writing assignment, besides my final exam, for my current English class. As I was writing it I chuckled to myself as it pertains to the video : The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard that I had been thinking on earlier in the week. I am not sure if I have already endorsed this video in this blog, but even if I did it's worth a second mention. Enjoy the video, criticize the writing, and have a great week.

(sorry about the crazy alignment, I hope it's readable, I copied it from my Word program)

War Zone

We are in a war, and most of us are blissfully unaware of it. Every day we are

bombarded by images, slogans, and propaganda convincing us that we are in a great and

dire need for some product. We are constantly barraged by marketing techniques, so

much so, that we do not even notice it anymore.

My first experience with this battle came when I was eleven years old. My mother

and I went shopping for new bathing suits. I found a bright red one piece with the cursive

curly script of Coca-Cola running all through it. I loved it; it appealed to all of my

senses. My mother, thinking nothing of it, bought it for me. I wore that bathing suit

proudly for about three weeks. Then, one summer day, we were going swimming. We

had to make a stop at my grandparent’s house first. I proudly flounced in, in my red

Coca-Cola bathing suit covered only by a pair of cut-off jean shorts. My grandfather

took one look at me, and then promptly chastised my mother for allowing me to be a free

walking billboard. I barely understood what he was talking about, but I clearly remember

not liking my bathing suit after that.

That scene from my childhood has stuck with me. Every time I make a clothing

purchase, I am extremely conscientious of where and how the logo appears. It seems that

these days you can not get away from this branding of advertisers. They “stamp” us with



their logos, and then we in turn judge, label, and congregate with people according to

these labels. We have yet to realize that the values we share with someone should matter,

not the brands we choose to buy.

Marketers have a moral obligation to stray away from propaganda techniques.

Ann McClintock states in an essay she wrote, that, “Propaganda is not necessarily

concerned with what is true or false, good or bad. Propagandists simply want people to

believe the messages being sent” (270). McClintock goes on to share a study which

found that five hundred advertising claims barrage each of us during an average

day(271). If we have five hundred messages battling our senses everyday there should be

truth in them. Advertisers are subtly lying to us, manipulating our senses for their own

greed; the sad part is we are letting them. In the first paragraph of McClintock’s essay

she speaks of the brainwashing that marketers use to bomb us with images. She also

states that even those of us that know better, that know what is going on, allow these

messages to permeate our subconscious (270). Why would we do this? “They work

because they appeal to our emotions, not to our minds” (275), McClintock explains.

We, adults, should know better. We are educated, informed, and can rationally

make, or not make, our own decisions. However, children do not have all the tools yet to

make their own prudent decisions. Marketers have latched on to a new target group, even

coming up with their own name for these individuals, tweens (Hymowitz 203). Kay

Hymowitz asserts that, these are children between the ages of eight to twelve who are

“leaning more and more toward teen styles, teen attitudes, and, sadly, teen behavior at its



most troubling” (203). Instead of projecting clean, innocent fun at these children,

advertisers are capitalizing on their desire to look and act older. Hymowitz declares,

marketers have found in their research, “that by the time they are twelve, children

describe themselves as flirtatious, sexy, trendy, athletic, and cool. . . scorning any

symbols of their immaturity” (203).

These advertisers have a choice. They can target their ads to these children, and

teach them morals and values accepted by society. Or, they can continue to exploit these

tweens’ confusion of themselves, and drive them to want more of the advertiser’s

products in order to achieve the “cooldom” that the tweens are longing for.

Unfortunately, the marketer’s decision for exploitation harms these children more

than they understand. Hymowitz goes on to explain that younger children are having

more adult problems; one of these is eating disorders. She determined that this stems

from a “pre-mature fashion-consciousness” (205). Their young, confused minds, in order

to fit in and be cool, are harming their bodies to meet the standard for normal the media

and marketers portray. Hymowitz contends that due to parents not being around as much,

and a “sexualized and media-driven marketplace,” parental influence is lessening. This

makes these tweens susceptible and defenseless to peer pressure in order to conform

(206).

Marketers and advertisers could alleviate these problems with clear cut guidelines

towards advertising to children. The problem with this is there are no clear cut child and

adult worlds anymore. Our children are exposed to everything. I challenge you to watch a




recent, media-hyped, blockbuster movie meant as family entertainment, and not find very

adult hidden references hidden throughout it. Marketers place these barbs in family

movies so parents will want to take their children; so everyone will have a good time.

The problem is the more intuitive children pick up on them. These children, striving to be

more adult-like, then carry these ideas to school and inflict them upon other children.

Now these children who are inflicted upon feel the pressure to grow up and fit in,

completing a very vicious circle.

The real solution to these issues would simply be the truth. If companies would

spend their money on creating a better product they would not need to invest billions of

dollars in the corrupt advertising sect; their product would speak for itself. Instead of

trying to manipulate the general public with their invasive tactics and evasive maneuvers,

try to bombard us with something worth buying. Unfortunately, too many companies feel

that if they create a superior product they would lose money. In fact, what these

companies fail to realize is, in creating something of worth, they would garner a loyal fan

base.

We, adults also, need to create our own solutions. We need to stop allowing

propagandists from taking advantage of our lazy selves. We have to research the claims

brought on by advertisers, and not allow them to make our decisions. “Otherwise, we

have consented to handing over to others our independence of thought and action” (275),

as McClintock so aptly put it. That will be construed as a victory for the other side.



Works Cited

Hymowitz, Kay S. “Tweens: Ten Going on Sixteen.” The Longman Reader 8th ed. Eds.
Judith Nadell, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007: 202-206

McClintock, Ann. “Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising.” The Longman
Reader 8th ed. Eds. Judith Nadell, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007: 270-275

A rant in A minor

"Being green" is more than a fad, more than a philosophy, and more than a way of life. It should be, just the way we are. We as a society have come so far from our origins, we don't even recognize them anymore.

I have to admit up front, I don't know much about Indian tribes, but I find myself, more and more, wanting to know. From what I understand they lived and breathed green. Most tribes waged no wars, unless for defense. They worshipped Mother Nature; they took no more then they needed, and they used every bit of what they took. They gave back to the Earth what they recieved from it, and in this way sustained themselves.

My husband and I were having a chat this morning about our new generation. Our kids believe that money is never scarce, when something breaks you buy a new one, and there is no need to take care of anything, because there is always something newer and shinier around the corner. It's ridiculous. Why are we, as parents, not teaching them to value things. Some of us do, but not nearly enough of us. In this day and age, and what we know about the environment we are destroying, it would seem to reason that we parents would pick up the slack. We would be adamant about setting good examples for our kids. If we teach them to sustain their world, then they won't have to teach their children to sustain it. It will become ingrained, a way of life.

Come on parents, rally together! Teach your kids the value of a dollar, teach them newer is not always better. Show them how to make use of things they would otherwise throw out. RECYCLE! COMPOST! It's not that hard. Use every bit of everything you buy, think about the things you NEED to have. What examples are we setting for our kids? From what I've seen of the majority, not good ones. Prove me wrong.

The sky could be green!

credit: National Geographic

When I think of rooftop gardening I envision an array of colorful containers brimming with plant life, a skyscraper view, and a beautiful sunset. What can I say I'm a sucker for a sunset. The recent May issue of National Geographic changed my vision. There is an interesting article in it that talks about a new way to build. Instead of building these boring structures with flat black top roofs, why not take that space and create an entire environment. They are called living roofs. In Germany, Switzerland, and Austria they have become law on roofs of sustainable pitch. Did you know Chicago's city hall has one, and is currently North America's leading green roof city? They are also developing living walls, what a neat concept. This is revolutional. We can change the way we think and perceive things, it just takes a little imagination. I do believe there is a need for all of these buildings, because of technology, our population is expanding at a rapid pace. BUT, we don't have to live in these concrete jungles anymore. We can take them back and create a little bit of Earth. Why haven't we done this before, and why is this not mandatory here? Here is the start of the article, I urge you to check it out before they move on to other things. It was interesting, and at the very least the photographs were beautiful. Up On The Roof.
I am sold. How about you?

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled programming....

Sorry to anyone who may or may not follow this blog on a regular basis, I have recently started school again. With that said I have been overwhelmed as of late and have not been able to update here properly. I assure you I have some good posts in mind, at least they're good in my mind :) and will try to have something new up this week. Until then enjoy the pictures.

Give mom... clean air?

Mother's Day is quickly approaching, it's May 10th. You could do the traditional and send Mom roses or daisies, but how about something a little more eco-friendly?

The peace lily, or Spathiphyllum, cleans your air, they remove 'environmental contaminants, including benzene, formaldehyde, and other pollutants', says Wikipedia. They are considered useful in combatting indoor air pollution. NASA did a 2 year study and created a list of the top ten plants to acquire.

This beautiful flowering bulb, is an elegant plant to give your mom on any day. They are easy to care for, need water only 1 - 1 1/2 weeks or when the soil becomes dry. They like the shade and make excellent indoor plants. Mine have recently started blooming, so every year your mom can be reminded of how much you love her.

Tell your mom you're thinking about her this Mother's Day in a unique way that will last throughout the year. Not only will you make your mom smile when she sees this gorgeous plant gracing her home, but you will know that you are contributing to a better, healthier lifestyle for her.

Yum.

Just a quick recipe I tried the other day for all of you that I convinced to eat a little less meat. I found it in Ladies Home Journal under their piece The Healthy Cook.

• 6 oz. dried farfalle pasta (or whatever you fancy)


• 1 tbsp. olive oil


• 1 medium onion, chopped


• 1 cup sliced portabella or other fresh mushrooms


• 2 cloves of garlic, minced


• 4 cups of spinach, thinly sliced


• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped


• 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper


• 2 tbsp. shredded parmesean

Cook pasta according to directions, drain. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 2-3 minutes. Stir in spinach, thyme, and pepper. Cook until spinach is slightly wilted, about 1 min. Toss mushroom and spinach mixture with pasta and sprinkle with cheese.

makes 4 servings. 225 calories per serving,5.5 g total fat, 1 g sat fat, 66 mg sodium, 37 g carbs, 2 mg chol, 9 g protein, 3 g fiber.

This dish was so delicous even my pickiest kid (you haven't met picky until you've met this one:) raved about it.

Hope everyone enjoys, and if you like we can share recipes from time to time.

Happy Earth Day- one day after....

but really isn't Earth Day everyday? :)

I spent the day pruning my mulberry tree, isn't the song all around the mulberry bush? I was lucky enough to have this tree planted by the previous owners of my house. I didn't really know what it was until 2 years ago, and we just started eating them last year. This was my very first harvest and I didn't even get all of them, we pretty much just took the ones off the branches that were pruned. I have a ton, so if anyone has some good recipes they want to share let me know. I will be trying them out in my smoothie mix later when the kids get home from school.

Hope everyone had gorgeous weather like we did, and did something fun.

Celebrate!

No matter what the occasion, use one or all of these ideas to make your next function eco-friendly.

• Host the party at your local park, beach, or own backyard. When all your guests arrive have a scavenger hunt, scavenge for trash and recyclables. Hand out prizes for most trash collected and most recyclables collected. You can even hide a few prizes in the area to make it interesting.


• Serve all your goodies with recycling in mind. Compostable plates and cups, bottles and cans, bins labeled and available.


• Like to make party favors? Try a worm composting tower. It was fun to make, and the petunias we planted with ours are vivacious and thriving.

• Cut down on the electricity. Bring along some acoustic guitars, bongos, tambourines, harmonicas, whatever you can scrounge up. Got nerves of steel? Let the kids release their inner rock stars on real instruments.

• While on that scavenger hunt pick some flowers, pretty branches, and leaves. Create one of a kind cards to use later.

• Spread the love. Hand out small packets of sunflower or tomato seeds as party paraphernalia.

Have a great time celebrating life. Creating eco-friendly lifestyle changes help to keep the world healthier and in turn us all healthier, which means more celebrating to come.

Books-check 'em out.

I am a reader by nature. I always have something on hand-- fiction, nonfiction, newspapers, magazines, you name it, I''ll read it.

I started thinking about all the reading I am doing and how it affects the environment. Most of my magazines come from my sister, then promptly get dropped off at one or two of my kids' activities. My books I borrow from the library, and if I buy a book or two, it is almost always used. Yes, I buy the Sunday newspaper, but I love to cut the coupons, do the crosswords, and then we recycle the paper, either in my compost or to wash the windows at the house. So not too much paper 'wasted', but I thought there is always another way.

This leads us to the Kindle- an awesome idea. You can now use this unique little device to access and read all kinds of things, not just books, but newspapers, and even blogs. They have a new version out, the Kindle 2, it is the width of a pencil, has wireless access to download your books, it can read the items to you, comes with a built in dictionary, and has adjustable text sizes. The thing is totally awesome---looking, because to tell you the truth I don't know if I will ever get one. It's not the pricey tag, but the fact that I kind of like the way an old book smells, the way you have to adjust yourself at night when reading a giant book, and quite honestly when I am on the computer too long I get headaches. Is this item for me? I don't know yet, but I definetely haven't written it off.

My friends and I routinely share books between each other, we get to help out the environment, dish about the characters we love, and introduce one another to new genres, some we never would have considered without the recommendation. I like to think of this as my own little private book swapping club. Then I found out they have official book swapping clubs, come on check 'em out.

Paperback Swap, Book Mooch , and Swap Tree are all free to join. The idea works like this, you list books lying around your house that you don't want anymore. When someone requests your book, you ship it to them at your own expense and then you earn a credit. Each credit you earn you may then use to request a book from another member who ships it to you at their expense. Swap tree also lets you swap DVD's, CD's, and video games. Pretty cool.

Whatever you decide, read! It's one of those dying traditions, with television and the internet constantly berating us with noise. Sometimes it's nice to unplug all the electronics, sit outside or light some candles, grab a book or a Kindle, and read a great story. It fosters imagination in us and inspires.

Plant Trees Everybody!

National Arbor Day will soon be here, April 24th. Visit arborday.org to see how you might celebrate, what types of trees to plant, and how to care for them once you do. Arbor Day was established by J. Sterling Morton, National Arbor Day was established on the last Friday of April, in observance of his birthday, although some states observe Arbor Day seperately, to coincide with the best time of year for planting.

Planting trees is an especially important habit, soil erosion is one of the things damaging our lands and contributing to environmental problems. When soil erodes, the top layer of the soil is destroyed, either by washing away entirely or through tillage. The top layer of soil is termed "the cream of the soil" which carries the best nutrients. When the soil is tilled for farming it thins down the nutrients of this top layer, resulting in an impoverished soil and crops. Always rotate your crops to keep the soil from becoming exhausted of its nutrients. Also when the soil is washed away by water it carries with it agricultural pollutants, creates "sedimentation in watercourses and dams, disruption of the ecosystems of lakes, and contamination of drinking water." Trees and plant life naturally keep soil from eroding, the soil stays entangled in the roots.

So this Arbor Day gather your friends, family, and neighbors and host a small party of your own. Plant trees in your backyard, teach the kids about the important role nature plays in our lives, and have fun doing it. Encourage your community leaders to strive for the prestigous award the Arbor Day foundation gives, Tree City USA . Not only can you enjoy a healthier life because of trees and plants, but it become a more beautiful one too.

The beautiful crepe myrtle trees I received the first year I became a member of the Arbor Day Foundation. Yes, by becoming a member they reward you with 10 free trees, or you can choose to donate the trees to a National Forest in need. It's a win-win situation, sign up now.

A day late and a dollar short...

Yesterday I was supposed to write my update on bad habits, but as always with me, I procrastinated. Which leads me to... bad habits, I am a procrastinator. I have company coming to visit this week, which means I have a lot of stuff to do. So what did I do all of last week? Nothing. Yesterday, I worked outside in my yard all day, today and tomorrow I will frantically be cleaning my house. Which is why I am a day late, leading me back to ... bad habits.
I am a bad 'greenie', I forgot all about Earth Hour last weekend. It was 9:36 pm my time when I realized that we had missed it. As I looked around the house at all the lights that were on and t.v.'s blaring video games at me, I realized it doesn't take everyone turning everything off all at once, to make a difference. It takes everyone thinking twice about their impact everyday, that makes a difference. So, I made up for it, on Sunday I used as little energy as possible all day. My bad habit change for the environment was incidentally, unplugging my appliances, ironic for forgetting Earth Hour, I know. I have accomplished this task, mostly, I just need to buy a few power strips. My new bad habit change is to stop wasting paper towels, and I am well on my way. How has everyone else been doing? Anyone tackle something that they've been vowing to change? I'd love to hear about it. Don't stop though, with one bad habit down, try to erase another one. Just 21 days to stop a bad habit. Although, I am a glass half full kind of gal, so let's look on the bright side, 21 days to start a good habit. What can we accomplish in the next 21 days? Maybe I'll work on my procrastinating, or maybe I'll try that one some other time.

Naturally Fun!

Woo Hoo! Spring has arrived in my little neck of the woods and all I want to do is be outside. I thought I would share some fun things to do with the little ones, while enjoying the beautiful weather.

Now I really like the NWF (National Wildlife Federation), they have a great website. They will certify your yard as a wildlife habitat with a few simple steps. If you don't want to get official, there are a lot of small things you can do to brighten up your favorite little person's day.

• Spread some bird seed around. Can you figure out each birds' unique tune?
• Stack twigs, leaves, and branches into a small pile and see who comes to visit.
• I have found that when I water my plants with the sprinkler, the dragonflies and birds flock to it.
• Grab a magnifying glass, how many insects can you find in a small patch of grass?
  
• Take a walk. Is there a nature preserve near you? How many animals can you find? Just taking a walk around my neighborhood, we can see rabbits, snakes, hawks, and even an alligator or two if I go down by the canal.

Now I know that this isn't exactly a 'green' post, but I truly feel that we need to get our kids interested in environmental issues. One of the ways to do this is to foster a love of the outdoors. Most kids like animals naturally, so when you help them to see them in their native habitats then they will strive hard to keep them there in the future.

Another thing we enjoy is camping, my daughter absolutely loves it, she has her own tent. Many weekend nights you can see the tent up in my backyard as she lays under the stars with our cat and a good book.

If you don't have a backyard, or it's still freezing in your neck of the woods then make your own camping spot. Throw a sheet up in the living room and place blankets, books, kids, and pets in a pile. (hint: if you use a small fan under the sheet, it will keep your tent nicely erected.)

Take them with you to the store and let them pick out seeds and plants to create their own gardening bed. They will love to watch the plants grow under their loving care. If you help them to plant a vegetable garden, you may be surprised at what types of veggies they may consume in the future.

my nephew Jack, being curious.

Kids are naturally curious, let's get them curious about our environment and we will create little foot soldiers on our quest to tread a little lighter.

Plastics!

There are many arguments out there about why plastic is bad. While researching I came across some propaganda from the plastics company stating that if you considered the life of plastic it was actually a more environmentally responsible product. As if.

What I really found in my research was that plastic IS bad for you, imagine that. The best plastic is no plastic, but then we come back to the argument of convenience vs. green. How many of us can really avoid plastics all together? It seems nearly impossible, everything has plastic in it, on it, around it....

Chemicals used to formulate plastic migrate. Migration, when used in regards to plastics, is the movement of free toxins from plastics into the substance they contain. Let's say you make a healthy organic salad and place it in a plastic container, now all the free toxins are corrupting your no-longer organic veggies. The plastic industry, as well as the government agencies that supposedly regulate it, say that the amount of toxins released from the plastic chemicals is such a small dose that they are safe. The problem with this, is that the size of the dose is irrelevant because some of them are more toxic in smaller doses. At what age and stage of life you are in when exposed is also important, pre-pubescent children, embryos, ovums, and sperm are all affected at low doses. They cause endocrine disruptors. Then you take into account synergy. Synergy

occurs between the chemicals and now you have a volatile, toxic super chemical whose effects are rarely monitored.

What to do, what to do? We just figure out what chemicals are in which plastic, and how they interact with each other, and avoid the bad ones, easy. Wrong. The chemicals in each plastic are considered trademarks of the companies that produce them, therefore do not have to be divulged.

So like I said, all plastic is bad.

If you choose to use plastic and most of us will have to, try to avoid #3. That's the one they call, PVC or polyvinyl chloride. It's like the king of the bad plastics, also try to avoid #'s 6 and 7. The 'safer' option, at least for foods are #'s 1,2,4, and 5. The truly safe option is to only use glass containers. And remember no matter how many dirty dishes you have piled in the sink, make one more. NEVER heat up your food in a plastic container, always grab a plate to reheat.

***For more information check out these sites***

Slideshow of plastics and their numbers, for a visual realization of what plastic is where.

This brochure describes in detail information on all the numbers.

Then check out this no-plastic fanatic, for some great ideas on how to get plastic out of your life.

I have to say after exploring information for this post, I have found myself checking all plastics, and even trying to avoid them in favor of glass and metals. Let me know how you got rid of plastic in your life, I'd love to utilize the tips.

Bad Habits

Doors signify a change, new beginnings.

I'm not exactly Miss Green Queen, and I don't mean to come off like I am. I understand I can be a bit preachy, but really I'm just preaching to myself. Reminding myself to tread a little lighter, and change some old habits. We all have our bad habits, my number one is procrastination. I also bite my nails, never eat breakfast, and don't brush my teeth enough. All of these habits are easily changed, yet I continue on. I have heard that it takes 21 days to break a habit, 3 weeks.
I also have bad 'green' habits. I use paper towels often, I never unplug my appliances, I haven't switched every light bulb to a CFL. Same thing, they're easily changed. It got me thinking, what bad habit was I going to change this first 3 weeks? What can I do differently? I could choose to sit here, lament and make excuses, or I could stop talking/writing and do something.

Let's check back in 3 weeks, tell me, what did you change?

Being Veg in a Non-Veg House

It has been said one of the most effective ways to fight global warming is to go vegetarian.* Here are some quick facts* on animal agriculture:

• Eating 1 lb. of meat emits the same amount of greenhouse gases as driving an SUV 40 miles.


• If every American skipped 1 meal with chicken and had a vegetarian substitute instead it would equal carbon dioxide savings the same as taking more than a half million cars off the road.


• An area the size of 7 football fields is destroyed in the rainforest every minute to make room for grazing cattle, but each vegetarian saves 1 acre of trees a year


• It takes 5,000 gallons of water and 16 lbs. of grain to produce 1 lb. of meat. Farmed fish are fed 5 lbs. of wild-caught fish to produce 1lb. of meat for us to consume. You would save more water not eating meat than you would by not showering for an entire year.


• 20% of the world's population could be fed with the grain and soybeans used to feed the United States cattle alone.


• Of all the raw materials and fossil fuels currently used in the U.S. more than 1/3 goes to raising animals for food.

In 2006 the United Nations put out a report titled Livestock's Long Shadow, informing of the environmental consequences of eating meat. They stated that the meat industry produces almost 40% more greenhouse gases than all SUV's, cars, trucks, planes, and ships combined. Animal agriculture is the leading source of methane and nitrous emissions, while also contributing to land degredation, climate change, air and water pollution, water shortage, and loss of biodiversity.*

You might think that being a vegetarian in a carnivorous household might be hard, actually it just took a few minor adjustments. We've always cooked a traditional dinner, you know-- meat, starch, vegetable. I just had to make sure I had an extra something for my protein-- beans, avocado, or you could try a meat substitute, there are a ton of varieties out there. We made roast chicken, garlic rice, black beans and asparagus for dinner the other night, I had everything but the chicken.
We also had a yummy make-your-own-salad bar. Whatever your tastes are I'm sure you could pledge to be veg at least one day a week. Here at my house we are going to strive for one completely meat free meal (at least) a week. It's good for your health and the environment, why not give it a shot?

all * info comes through peta.org and GoVeg.com

Organic

If you don't want to try your hand at gardening, and still want healthy organic produce on your plate, but can't quite afford to buy organic all the time, well this is the list for you.

The top 12 fruits and veggies you should buy organic:

(list found on gourmetfood.com)

****************************************************************************

Nectarines

Celery
Pears
Peaches
Apples
Cherries
Strawberries
Imported Grapes
Spinach
Potatoes
Bell Peppers
Red Raspberries

Those foods that you just can't afford to buy organically: always wash. A simple mixture of 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar will do an even better job than a regular produce scrubbing brush. One more tip that I found helpful: wash all produce even items like melons, and oranges. If you cut into these the bacteria and pesticides will transfer onto the knife, and then transfer onto the flesh of the fruit, that you will be ingesting.

Happy Healthy Eating Everybody!

Gardening

spinach ---- rows of yummy goodness---- mystery squash

container gardening at it's best-- calendula (marigolds-help keep pests away from my...) tomato

One of the easiest things you can do for the environment, and your health I might add, is garden. Just think of all the yummy fresh organic produce growing in your backyard, rooftop, windowsill. It doesn't matter where you live you can garden. Take it from me a self proclaimed reformed black thumb, otherwise known as a killer to all things living and green. The thing I finally realized is all you really have to do is make sure your plants are watered and in the right place. I have a small area in my backyard that I grow vegetables in. I also have some hanging boxes on my fence with herbs. You can garden on any spot of earth around, you can also garden in containers, which if you're new at it, I suggest. Gardening in containers gives you the ease of moving them if you are not happy with their growth, sunlight, the amount of pests, etc. You can also use just about anything for a container, as well. I have a friend whose entire back patio is filled with vegetables, in containers. She was also telling me about a thing called the Earth Box. This is so cool, you basically make your own little patch of Earth in a box (hence the title:) AND you only have to water it a few times a season as the box has it's own little water reserve in it. Pretty neat. A garden is not only good for the environment and your health, it's good for the soul. It takes a few minutes out of your day and puts you back in touch with nature. A little reminder that all we have we can create on our own, with a little thought and imagination.

Laundry Soap

To follow in the foosteps of the last post, I decided to show everyone how to make their own laundry soap, nice of me I know. Like I said it's about convenience right, and making your own laundry soap is giving up your time to make the world a better place. The thing is it probably takes me less time and energy to make my own laundry soap than if I had to run out to the store and buy some. So I am creating a less harmful product to the environment and using less natural resources to do it.

Here is the recipe:

see how easy it is, it fits on the lid of the bucket that I keep the soap in. Okay I'll type it out:

• boil 4 cups of water


• grate a bar of soap (I use my cheese grater, it's just soap. I also use Ivory bar soap because my son and I have sensitive skin, basically whatever soap you use that's how your laundry will smell.)


• when the water boils mix in the grated soap until dissolved.


• take your bucket and pour in: 3 gallons of warm tap water (48 cups)


• 1 cup washing soda


• 1 cup Borax (both found at my local grocery store)


• and the dissolved soap mixture, stir well let set for 24 hours and your done.

this picture is right after I made a batch, it still needs to set. You see those little lumps perfectly fine, the finished product looks much like this just a little firmer. I use a 5 gallon bucket to store my soap, and a paint stirrer, my sister uses an old laundry detergent bottle and just shakes it up.

I do about 3 loads of laundry every single day. When I bought laundry soap it cost me anywhere from $9-$13 a week. I use my own soap and it lasts me between 2-3 weeks (1-2 cups of soap per load), it cost me for my initial investment:

(estimate)

1. 1 box of Borax -$4
2. 1 bag of washing soda- $3
3. 6 bars of Ivory- $6
4. 5 gallon bucket with lid- $4

grand total: $17, that's at least 6 batches of soap. Trust me it's worth a try, my family hasn't even noticed a difference. And like I said my son and I have sensitive skin, and we don't have any problems with it.

Living green vs. convenience

We are asked all the time 'how do you, a five person family with teenagers, live on one modest income?' Well... um, frugally, duh. I keep a strict budget and we follow it. For the most part, you have to give up, what some might call, luxuries. We were amazed at how rich we felt, having more free time. That was, with 3 teenagers, the thing we wanted the most. Time goes by fast, we wanted to enjoy as much as possible.

Well, how do you live green on one budget? I have been thinking about this question alot and the answer is really very simple. It's like going back in time. I remember when I was young we always hung our clothes out to dry, now it's a rarity and is considered 'being green'. We have been very fortunate and prosperous in the past years and virtually everyone has a dryer nowadays. So being green is really a question of how convenient do I want my life to be? Living on one income, I have a lot of time on my hands and a strict budget. This allows me to hang my laundry to dry, to garden, and bike to the farmer's market. All green things to do, but if you think about it ,that's the way life was way back when. A simple way of life is sometimes a green way of life as well. Being green is about responsibility, how will we leave this Earth for the next generation? Will we continue to ravage it until all of our natural resources are gone? Or is it time to give up some of our conveniences to try and save a little bit for our children and theirs?

I challenge you to try and give up just one convenience, and see how easy it is.

Recycle, stop using paper towels and buy some cloth napkins, can you ride your bike to work, the store? Borrow books from the library instead of buying them, stop junk mail from coming to your house, and if some sneaks in turn it over and use the back for your grocery lists. There are a million and one things you could do right now. What will you choose?

p.s. if you want a "convenient" way of getting rid of that junk mail you can pay greendimes to do it for you, $20 a year and they even plant some trees when you sign up.

A mouthful

This is an old post from a personal blog of mine, it was one of the posts that I have done over the years that made me think I should create a new blog on living green. Hope you like it.



I have recently begun buying the new earth-friendly cleaners you see hawked everywhere. I was surprised at how well some of them worked, and in the fact that they smell better than the older versions. I realized that I didn't know exactly which chemicals you should seek to avoid, so why was I buying these cleaners, hype? Anyways, I decided to go and find out exactly what I was avoiding and what nasty things would happen to me if I didn't. Avoid it that is.
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(Most of my information comes from a site called organicconsumers.com)

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You should avoid cleaners with ammonia, chlorine, and petroleum-based chemicals. All have been shown to contribute to respiratory irritation and headaches. They should not be used by people with asthma, lung, or heart problems.
Fragrances, one third of the substances used in the industry are toxic. Fragrances in our cleaners, on our bodies, keeping us healthy, clean, and smelling good. How ironic. In the fragrance industry chemical makeup is considered a trade secret and companies are not required to list their ingredients, they simply put fragrance. One third - toxic, poisonous is a synonym.
Diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA) are sudsing agents found in detergents. These chemicals react with nitrites to form nitrosamines- carcinogen that readily penetrates the skin. They have low acute toxicity, but contribute to long term health effects like cancer and hormone disruption. That sounds like fun.
Another suspected carcinogen comes from ethoxylated alcohols also used in detergents. It has been known to show damage to the brain and nervous system.
For a really great detailed list use this link, kidsorganics.com
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Not only is it dangerous for our health but we our once again polluting our earth, from which we gather all sustenance. We are increasing air pollution, including indoor air pollution. We contaminate rivers, lakes, stream, and oceans. Destroying the delicate balance of the ecosystems. Some people want to say this is evolution, and quite frankly I agree we are evolving. But how do you want to evolve?
After they disappear down our drains most ingredients break down into harmless substances during treatment or soon after, sounds encouraging, right? However some do not. For instance alkyphenol ethoxylates (APE), which are key ingredients in detergent's effectiveness have been shown to mimic the estrogen hormone. Not only are they making the fish act weird, like male salmon producing female egg-yolk proteins, but they have serious side effects for us humans. They are one of those hormone disruptors, which have shown decreased sperm count and male birth defects, but let's not forget us women, they have been shown to make estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells multiply in test tube studies. Back to the delicate balance of the ecosystem, phosphates, used in dish detergents, enter the waterways and act as a fertilizer. Which promotes the overgrowth of algae, which in turn depletes the oxygen supply, which tends to kill off fish and other organisms throwing off the natural balance of things. Which directly relates to us humans.
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I know, I know those environmentally friendly cleaners cost a fortune. You could get away with buying some of them, like me, but not all of them just too damn expensive. Well here are some options, try to find something nontoxic enough to warrant not having the following labels. Is that a double negative?

Danger/Poison- typically most hazardous
Warning- moderately hazardous
Caution- slightly toxic

Also keep in mind that all of this organic, environmentally friendly gibberish is a fairly new market and such claims are not always rigorously monitored. Such as a claim of non-toxic, this has no official definition. Organic in chemistry refers to chemicals that are carbon-based including some volatile organic compounds (VOC) that release harmful fumes and may cause brain damage or cancer. Bio-degradable is almost meaningless as most substances will eventually bio-degrade, try for something with a time limit like bio-degradable in 3-5 days. And there are vague terms like natural or eco-friendly, make them back it up with specific claims such as no phosphates, no solvents or plant-based. Then there is the good old-fashioned suggestion, make your own cleaners. I will admit that I have not tried this, but came across two sites that gave some good info, they are care2 and eartheasy . I can't wait to try them out.


*** authors update*** I have tried making some of the cleaners and found that they work almost as well as regular cleaners, but my whole house smelled like vinegar all the time, so next time I will invest in some of the oils to make the house smell a little nicer. ***

Here is a little homage to my grandma, whom I miss very much. When we were younger my grandmother used to dry out her plastic ziploc bags and we would always tease her about this. Saying, just throw them away and use a new one. She would always smile this secretive little smile and go about what she was doing. She grew up through the great depression. She remembered very vividly what it was like to not have enough, and was very frugal with things. What I am learning is that soon we will also have to live without some of our creature comforts, how long can we as a society continue to justify our habits? We can continue this way until we have depleted everything, or we can all pitch in a little now and try to conserve something. It may seem like you can never do enough to make a change, but what if everyone did a little, wouldn't that equal a lot?
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To my grandma- I've got a plastic bag drying on my counter, I love you.

Reuse

Reuse, to me, means simply to recycle. I can almost guarantee that you follow this practice. Everyone has something they have taken and reused. Don't believe me, think on plastic bags, are they in your bathroom garbage can, holding your library books, given to a friend with an item you had for her? To reuse something is a cinch, you just use it again. You can also repurpose something, take it from its old life and turn it into something new. Aahh, a little more complicated. To repurpose something takes a tiny bit of imagination, and a small amount of creativity. I have a hard time throwing anything away, ask my minimalist husband. I always think "but maybe I could use that one day...."







a.) a bowling bag that I use for a carry all b.) soda pop bottles that make a nice array of vases c.) a belt from a pair of my daughter's pants, cut in two, to hold some curtains back.


Some more project ideas we have created here at my house using repurposing:

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I had an old pillowcase from my grandmother, it had such a funky print. I have sewn and sewn this thing, finally I had to admit it's life as a pillowcase just had to be over. Inspiration struck, I needed to recover some old stools, the pillowcase print happened to match the walls. Voila, now it lives on as fashionable stool covers.
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I once had an entire pocket rip off the side of some cargo pants. I took the pocket and hung it on a corkboard, we kept pens in it. You could put love notes, paper clips, or keys in it.
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Here's an easy one. Spaghetti sauce jars. They are big wide-mouthed jars with dependable lids. You can use these for all sorts of things. They can hold money, nails, tacks, any kind of odds and ends. We use them as drinking glasses (I have kids, I gave up the idea of having beautiful sets of matched dishware long, long ago.), vases, containers for leftovers. The only limit for an item like this is your imagination.
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Repurposing and reusing items does not have to mean that they will look like garbage. You can slap some paint on an old table and you have a new one. You can dress up your spaghetti jars with a glue gun, cardstock paper, and a sharpie. Reuse ribbons and wrapping paper. Magazine ads have wonderful pictures. (I make a calendar for my honey every year out of ads I collage together.) Imagination is the key and even if you feel that you have little or no imagination, the internet is the most useful resource we have nowadays, use it. You can find a "recipe" for any craft project you want.

There are lots of things out there that you can take and make into something useful and needed. List some items for me, and I will try my best to help you figure out a way to reuse them.

Composting

From dictionary.com  
compost–noun
1.a mixture of various decaying organic substances, as dead leaves or manure, used for fertilizing soil.

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Composting seems like a dirty subject to tackle so quickly. My personal feelings are recycling and composting are some of the easiest things we can all do to help our planet. I am really into gardening, so I looked into composting for this reason, a cheap alternative to purchasing compost. I also homeschool my son and we have created a small compost system for a science project, so that he would understand what we were doing with the big garbage can in our backyard. You can compost at virtually any size and for whatever reason you choose.

Here is what we did:

I had an old garbage can that I placed in the farthest corner of our back yard. My kids are huge ice cream eaters, I buy them the giant 1 gallon buckets with a lid and a handle. When they finish the ice cream I clean them out and let them dry, then I leave them in a convenient place in the kitchen. We use these small bins whenever we make a salad, eggs, empty the coffemaker, etc. Then empty them into the large bin out back at a later time. Now I know what you are thinking --"Geez, with all that garbage how do you stand the smell?" Actually, as long as the lid is on tight on the bins in our home there really is no smell. There are plenty of products that you can purchase to offset the smell if you feel the need to, but honestly we don't have a problem with it.

It really is that simple, but there are a few things you should remember:

• Composting is best comprised of 1/3 green materials, 2/3 brown materials.
• Brown materials can be anything from newspapers to yard waste. Newspapers work best if torn into strips and you can't use the glossy pages. Even things like the cardboard paper tubes in paper towel rolls, and paper towels themselves can be considered brown materials. Don't use weeds or plants that you don't want in your yard next year. Also watch out for anything chemically treated, you don't want those chemicals in your natural compost.
• Green materials are basically food scraps. Use just about anything, except dairy, meat, and bones.
• Don't ever put pet feces in with your compost.

The way that I compost is the 'lazy' way. I just dump all my materials on top and let nature do its trick, but it takes a long time. (When I am ready to use my compost I must retrieve it from the bottom of the pile. I have plans to cut a small door into the bottom of my can so that I don't have to dump the whole thing over every time I want compost.) Now you can follow in my shoes, or use these proactive ways to get that compost going.

• Buy some red wriggler worms. They will eat all the materials and create good dirt for you.
• Turn your compost, I do this every once in a while, with a shovel. You can also buy bins, or make bins with turning devices in the midst of them.
• Chop your materials up, use a lawnmower without the bagging device, or buy a special lawnmower that does this for you.
• Don't use a bin at all, if you have a large enough area you can just wall off a spot of land and throw all your materials there. Turning is much easier without the confines of a bin.

There are tons of products and information out there. Here are a few links to get you started:

• http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/composting/
• http://www.howtocompost.org/
• http://www.composters.com/

Happy Composting!

Recycling seems pretty straight forward, but can be, if you want it to be, a tiny bit complicated. Right?

Here are just the basics.


Recycling is really easy to start. Call your local waste management company and request some bins, they should either deliver them to you or you can pick them up. While you're at it, do your neighbors need bins? Try ordering for them, you might be surprised that some companies will let you do this.




We started recycling years ago, and at first there was a whole lot of garbage picking. After a while though it seems everyone's gotten the hang of it, even most of our familiar houseguests. After you receive your bins, designate a spot near your garbage to place all recycling. We chose a counter over our can. To make it easy to sort, we taped color-coded paper that coordinated with each colored bin onto the counter, and place the items there. Then as recyclables accumulate we place them in the larger bins out in our garage. Easy as cheese.
Some other ideas would be to place hooks with color coded bags, get some small colored bins, or recycle: grab some old shoe boxes, paint, and voila-- mini recycling bins to be emptied at a later time.



Just remember a few key things:

1. Contact your county and find out what is and isn't recyclable.
2. Empty and rinse out all containers.
3. Remove and discard all caps and straws.
4. Try and flatten any boxes.
5. Junk mail, lightbulbs, broken dishes, and plastic bags are usually not allowed.
6. Check your grocery store most of them have a place you can recycle plastic bags.
7. Don't forget that reusing is the best form of recycling.

Have fun, and you wil be amazed at how much there is to recycle, you just might have to request some more bins.