Updates

Well, life is very busy these days, and my blog has been collecting dust. At this moment I am snuggled up in bed with Thomas at an RV park in Mira Mar (San Diego) California. Here there is cable and internet...more then we have at home, LOL! I think its a bit weird to be on vacation and hook up to all these things...but I wont go there at the moment. Instead I will take advantage and tell you what we have been up to lately.

Let me start with latest development. As part of my thirty year crisis I went to the hair salon for the first time in over two years. I think the universe punished me for my vanity (ha!) and I received the worst hair cut of my life! I went in with hair to the middle of my back and came out with hair shorter then my military husbands! I will say no more on this subject or I might throw up! Pat should have been more agreeable on me getting dreadlocks...

We are snug in our new home. Thomas has a great big tree, that he climbs daily. He is a climber! I cant write about it and do it justice. This is one of those things you have to witness to truly understand.

Our clothes dryer wont work in this house (its electric, the house requires gas) so I have been hang drying EVERYTHING. This is life not a fun experiment that I can deviate from. It was to cool out to get anything dry out side, although that is changing now. So I have been hang drying everything around the house. "If you brush your teeth, move the socks, please!" Turns out dryers are not a necessity.

Life with out cable and internet, is proving to be good and interesting. There were and possibly still are moments of with drawl. For all of us. Pat and I get to use computers at work and school so that helps with the little things. Not enough time to use them for blogging or much else, but we do have a slight access to them.

Pat pulled out Thomas portable DVD player a few nights ago and when I am not around will occasionally (I think twice) lets Thomas watch videos. I am very opposed to this. Even a little tv time makes him act different.

School is turning out to be such a JOY for me! I love what I am learning and where I am going. I just finished my first 6 weeks. I am really excited about the next 6 weeks, as it is all hands on. I am going from three classes to one. The same class for six weeks, which is all cooking all hands on. We each get our own kitchen station and after Chef demonstrates something we go on and do it our selves. I will miss Chef Gilbert from my last six weeks, the most. I was able to make it a couple hours early almost every day and he allowed me to work with him and learn bits and pieces. He has certainly inspired me. I have been reading a book called The Perfectionist. It was written about life from his era and takes place in France (wish is where he is from) so I am becoming oddly consumed with all things French these days. LOL!

Well, my wee little RV shower is calling my name! I am wondering if the hot water will be in fact hot....

American Made products

We have been talking in depth lately on the effects of buying AMERICAN made products. Just getting people to open their eyes to were stuff is made is huge! Seriously, I BEG you to start reading labels. Turning items over and checking to see where they are made before you buy them. PLEASE!!! Almost everything is labeled and once you do this a few times you will become an expert on finding these labels quickly. On shoes, look under the tongue. Shirts, look on the tag, if its not there there is usually a small tag on the inside seam. Check there! Toys are usually stamped on the bottom (printed right into the plastic,) so if you don't have the packaging you can still check. You will soon become outraged at where your "stuff" is coming from. Or RATHER were your hard earned money is going!

You may run into obstacles. But I assure you, you can over come these. Example: (oh, I have many of these!!!) Clothes pins. I went into five different stores and not a single clothes pin was made in the good old USA. I will add I didn't run around wasting gas looking for the clothespins, but when I was in a new store would check on these. So I went home a picked up a copy of last years Lehman's catalog and sure enough...Clothespins made in the USA. Eureka, I found it! The same can be said about dish towels, and shoes. If you don't have a Lehman's catalogue I recommend you get one. What a great store. They list on every item they sell weather it was made in America or if it was imported.

Shoes are tuff, but there are a couple brands you can buy in stores near you if you don't want to get online and order some of the neater, spunkier styles from smaller companies. New Balance sneakers, are generally made and packaged in the US. Sass, is another old school American brand. But http://www.americansworking.com/shoes.html looks like it will be my next shoe company...I like the Keno sandal. There all sorts of options from work boots to sneakers, to sandals and babies- adults. Here is a great website to use when you are in a pinch for an AMERICAN made product... http://www.americansworking.com/index.html

The other day Pat came peaking around the corner with a big smile on his face. He told me he got me a present. Then he pulls this giant box from around the corner. " A new vacuum!" Now I was ecstatic for a split second. You see my poor, pathetic old junky plastic (toy looking) vacuum. Was well beyond its last leg in life. If you need to open a window to clear the smoke and smells from a room during and after its vacuuming session, then in my opinion you are in sad need of a new one! Which was my situation exactly. So here is this box with an image of yet another plastic toy looking vacuum. Most women (and men) would have been elated to see a Dyson, in their home. I mean after all, haven't we all seen the commercials? It is the best vacuum in the universe according to that smart looking man on the boob tube. Sheesh!

I don't think Pat got it, when he saw my eye brows curl in and my expression turned to a look of annoyance. But really, did he just not get it? Did he just not get me? How much preaching must one do, God bless his pretty little soul (LOL.)After a long conversation he finally stared getting it, and me! So we marched back to the store and returned it and got me my BELOVED Oreck. It looks like a vacuum my grandma would have owned. For crying out loud it looks like a VACUUM not a toy (I am breathing in a sigh of relief and great pleasure.) Pat is more proud now of that vacuum then I think even I am (if that is possible!)

One last note we spent a nice afternoon walking around the out-let mall the other day. This was really a day of learning for my sweetie. I am not sure which rock he has been living under but apparently he was under the illusion that clothes and shoes were still being made in AMERICA. Well they are, but not in the way he imagined. Store after store he would poke his head in and flip over the tags on shirts, pants, belts, and shoes only to see that NONE of these clothes were made here. But rather Taiwan, China, India, Malaysia, Bangladesh and so on and so on. It was slowly starting to register with him. Just because the stores name is as AMERICAN as apple pie, like Timberland or Nike does NOT mean it was made here.

We finished our little adventure by stopping into a shop called AMERICAN Apparel http://www.americanapparel.net/ were we purchased (out of necessity-not want)one pant, one shirt, several socks, and a pair of undies all made in down town LA just for Thomas. There are no obnoxious characters or designs on these clothes. Just simply made by a company who verifies that their workers are tax paying citizens... in AMERICA! Thomas is so proud of his AMERICAN made clothes, and let me tell you how cute he looks!

If we all make a small change in the way we shop we CAN make a BIG difference! I will start posting my favorite AMERICAN made items on here.

Really Really Free Market

I am really really thrilled to tell you about the really really free market(from here on I will simply call it RRFM!) RRFM started out of San Fransisco. Now they are popping up in cities all over the world. RRFM's are exactly what the name says: free markets. Groups of people gather together and set up these markets. Sometimes they are in parks, sometimes they are in parking lots and I even know of one city that holds theirs under a high way over pass. People put out what ever they want to give away and other people come and take it. No money, no bartering, no trading...just FREE! At some markets people come and entertain with free music, sometimes people come and donate their services (any one want a free massage?)No matter what it is all free with no strings attached.

This is such a great way to help curb consumerism. Keeping perfectly good items out of land fills and passing on used items for free rather then at a price. A lot of people donate their old things to thrift stores. But then people have to go out and pay to have even this un wanted stuff. I personally don't have a problem with these organizations. Although I have heard people voice their disstane for some of these organizations based on where and how the money from these donations are spent and who it benefits or lack there of. I just think coming together for the common good and not having to have a penny in your pocket is the most beautiful thing!

I live in a city of over two million people and was pretty bummed to find out there isn't a RRFM already happening here. Since I love a challenge I have started setting the stage for Las Vegas' first RRFM. I have already found many others who are eager to jump in and get their hands dirty in making this happen. RRFM's are created by groups and not individuals so I am so happy to have a team to work with. I will post some links below. My mom is going to start one in her town. She is in her sixties and lives in a town with only 18,000 people. So no matter how big or small your city is and no matter what your age or background is you can start a RRFM in your town. So why not start a RRFM in your town? Whats stopping you, come on and lets spread the love together...the FREE love!

http://www.reallyreallyfree.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YP5lQoO6U8 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Las-Vegas-NV/Really-Really-Free-Market-Las-Vegas/278619351484?v=app_2373072738&ref=ts#/pages/Las-Vegas-NV/Really-Really-Free-Market-Las-Vegas/278619351484?v=wall&ref=ts

Downshifting Life

Where do I begin???? Well life is certainly a journey and thankfully so! Going from the standard conventional American to a sort of Nouveau Bohemian has been a long slow process. What I thought was healthy, right and environmentally sound six years ago compared to two years ago compared to today are all entirely different. Which automatically leads me to wonder how I will feel and think three years from now, and even twenty years from now.

So where does that leave me? Well we gave up our cell phones a while back, and haven't regretted it for a second. We stopped letting Thomas watch TV, and that has been great. But we are still distracted by it. And cant you tell how distracted I am by the Internet? I am and so is Pat! We would rather surf the Internet or watch TV then engage in one another. If one of us is playing with Thomas the other is devising a way to sneak off and grab a few moments online.

Television and Internet are our two biggest distractions from life. But there are others as well. Or even just every day tasks that could unite us but don't because "we" have created ways to quicken and ultimately remove ourselves from the actual task. Just like food, but I shouldn't even get started on that topic! You know the whole idea about how far removed we are from our food sources and how eating chicken is just like eating air for the simple fact that we give no thought to where it came from, how it lived and was treated and so on and so on... But this isn't so much about that topic so I will stop now. For your sake (your welcome, lol.)

We will be moving into our new house in the next week. With this move comes a great opportunity to try and implement some more new ways of life. I just think the move will help make this all happen a lot smoother, especially for our little guy. So here is what downshifting life is going to be looking like for us. This list includes some things we already do but need to do better, and of course brand new things as well (in no particular order.)Also the list puts me between a rock and a hard place in some instances because while I would love to live with zero consumption (aside from food) some of the items require- consumption! I am sure I can find ways to work this. And part of it is not to drive myself or my family crazy in the process but just start doing more, simply because that is the stage we are at! Tell me what you think... (Oh and if your wondering how we will communicate with out the Internet, I have a plan for that as well. Pat and I each get a day once a week or when ever we feel like a break and can go ALONE to the library and steal some Internet time.)

Onto the list, and (x) means we do it but can do more. (?) means I wonder if we can do it! And well you get the point- now onto the show! Enjoy...

No cable
No Internet
No cell phones (x)
No blow dryers (x)
No dishwasher (?)
Hang dry clothes (?)
No alarm clocks (x)
No video games (x)
One car (?)
No processed foods (?)
Composting (x) (with worms!)
Recycling (x)
Reading books (To Thomas yes, me some and Pat none)
Eat Local (some-hardly enough though)
Grind own flour
Make bread weekly
Make sour dough starter and stick with it
Edible gardening (ugg, try as I might nothing ever seems to grow or work out)
Sew
USA made only (x) (but we need to be firm this year)
Donate, donate, donate (x)
Organic clothing
Organic wool mattresses (but how can I do this if we aren't suppose to consume?)
Meditate
Make a quilt
Write more
House plants to remove toxins
Make yogurt
Less junk mail
Find alternatives to prepackaged items
Homemade shampoo (x) (need something better then the baking soda method)
Homemade laundry soap (x) (did this and need to get back into it)
Veggie bags (instead of plastic) (X) (I only have two)
Reusable grocery bags (x)
Kerosene lamps (we go without lights during the day, could we at night?)
Buy second hand items (x)
Sugar (I am always looking for alternatives but: is it really possible...is it even right!?!)

I have been formulating my lists and ideas about this for quit some time. Yesterday I saw this DVD for sale called No Impact Man. I went home a rented it from Blockbuster. Its a documentary about a man and his family who go a year trying to make no impact on the earth. While not making an impact wasn't my initial reason for doing this it certainly plays its part, and ultimately comes together in the big circle of things. Here is a link to his blog http: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/ You will find his book and DVD information there as well all other new No Impact Man thoughts, tips and ideas.

Some of this came to me from the ideals of the Slow Food Movement. Which is basically the idea that we need to slow down and create meals from scratch with love and integrity for our families and our communities. Then it dawned on me why should this idea only be about food. Why not be the basis of how our families are ran and our lives our lived-all encompassing!

Here is one more link, this time to a short video (20 Min's.) Its called The Story Of Stuff: http://www.storyofstuff.com/ If you ever scratch your head and wonder why we are such a buy, buy, buy society and wonder all the where, when, why and hows about the stuff we buy this is a great video to watch.

I never want to come across judgemental-as I certainly have no reason to be. So I figure we all need to just DO what we can and be satisfied, happy and always in a constant move forward, to be better, to be at the next stage... Whats the next stage for you?

Where am I...

In case any one is reading this I wanted to let you know that I have not abandoned this blog, but have been putting my food writing skills to the test lately with my old blog. Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. Looks like I might be headed off to culinary school early Feb. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Now go check out my other blog... http://scritchityscratch.blogspot.com/

I don't have any photo editing software, So I found some for free online. I played with it on a couple pictures. The top pictures are the originals and the second ones have been touched up. Not huge differences but it was fun to play around with them.........................................................