Need Suggestions

I need a really good vegetarian cookbook or website. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Power Grid

We have incorporated destroying our planet into our way of life. We do it in such a way that we don't have to look. Like hamburger on our plate, we give no thought to where it came from.

We all do it. We all get up in the morning, and take for granted the hot water rushing into our homes. We don't think about the chickens, when we cook our eggs in the morning, or the oil or gas or electricity we use to cook them.

Having these things to make our lives easier is not a necessity, but a privilege. We need to learn about them and the effects on the planet. We need to be responsible. With Power Comes Responsibility.

Produce Challenge

So I took a deep breath and registered at the No Impact Site, so that I might take part in one of their week-long experiments, and guess what? I got an out-of-office email from the person responsible, telling me she was on vacation. Hmmm. Oh, well. Maybe something will happen when she comes back?

In the meantime, I'm taking on a produce challenge. To date, I still buy the bulk of my fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. I try to buy organic, but I know I'd be better off supporting the local farmers around here. So...

I'm sure there are Farmer's Markets around here, but I don't know when or where they occur. I am going to look that up. There are a couple of farm stands, but my favorite one is closed until the end of August. (What is up with that?) The other one sells eggs, though. Farm fresh. Cool, huh?

This is going to up our food spending, I know. And I'm going to be frustrated because I will be at the mercy of whatever they happen to have.

Report Card

Someone who has always needed positive feedback, I sometimes wish I could get someone to step into my life and tell me how I'm doing. I crave confirmation that the steps I am taking are actually good ones, that the effort I am making is actually worth it.

Lifestyle changes are always met with skepticism and resistance. First of all, I have to convince myself that talking the step is necessary and possible. "I CAN use recycled toilet paper!" Then I have to muster up the energy to make the change, something that is actually hard to do, especially since the change will probably be uncomfortable and more expensive. All the while, this will be met with resistance from family members, who will complain about the new toilet paper - after all, THEY don't want to change. And other people will make fun and make comments. "Do you think it makes a difference?" "But this other stuff is so much softer!"

And even after I am used to the change, after it has been made and has become part of my new lifestyle, I am acutely aware that it is not The Norm. That most people use other kids of toilet paper. The softer, bleached, worse for the Earth kind. The kind advertised on TV that take up most of the supermarket aisle.

So, am I doing something good, or am I simply making choices that separate me from the rest of society?

It's hard to know. There are so many differing opinions about what is helpful and what is good, particularly when products are taken into account. Do chemicals in soaps matter? Why is all the organic produce wrapped in plastic?

I need a mentor. I need a report card.

Out Of Control

Another Stupid Apology

I have been neglecting this blog AGAIN!

I've spent some time reflecting on why I have trouble posting here on a regular basis. It's not that I don't have time or that I can't be relied on. I have another blog to which I post almost daily, so this really shouldn't be an issue.

The difference is content. Day after day I try to come up with something worthy that I have done, that I have thought up, which I might report to the world. But more often than not, all I can come up with is my sins. I have a mental list of "bad things" that I did - I took a trip in my car that wasn't necessary. I let the shower run to get warm while I flossed my teeth. I used comet in the downstairs toilet, bleach in my wash, and I mowed my lawn - a whopping 4 acres of fast growing grass.

Posting here came to a halt when I went on vacation with my family and ignored all my usual rules. We drove everywhere, I stopped recycling, and I bought and purchased non-organic goods. We ate out a lot.

But I'm going to get back on this horse. I'm picking myself up, brushing off my dusty bottom, and starting again. Even though I want to give up. I'm going to see this thing through. Wish me luck.

Trip To The Beach

Planning on visiting the beach this summer?

You should take a look at this.