Category — recycle

Oy.  Now I have to remember where I left off… sorry I didn’t post this last night, but Eric decided to actually SLEEP at night instead of working all night.  It was kinda nice to have the whole family in bed by 9:30!  Weird, I know, but still kinda nice.

So… back to the Story of Us.

Let’s see, I got you through the engagement, right?  We were engaged in March, and I wanted a December wedding, so we still had another 10 months to go… gives a girl plenty of time to plan the perfect wedding, right?  *wink*  and it was…

Have I mentioned yet that I am an only child?  Yep, no siblings to have to share anything with, no siblings for the parents to have to save wedding cash for.  Bwahahahahaha.  Sorry, that just slipped out.  And the college I went to?  right around $1,000 per semester.  I was going on the cheap for the ‘rents.  I made up for it.

3 bridesmaids, 3 groomsmen, 4 jr. bridesmaids/groomsmen, 2 ushers/candlelighters, 1 flower girl, 1 ring bearer, and most of these were relatives.  Eric’s dad was his best man – so cool, I know!  My Grandpa led us in communion during the ceremony, but declined when I asked him to officiate because he didn’t think he would be able to make it through.  I was the oldest grandbaby, and the first to get married (by quite a few years).  My great-grandma flew out for it too, which TOTALLY ROCKED!

The ceremony was almost totally candlelit – 183 candles when you count the unity candles.  yes, you read that right.  A candle arch, 4 spirals & lots of angled candlabras.  Candles going up the aisle.  We pre-lit them all to help the guys have time to get them all lit during 1 song… and when we blew them all out the smoke set off the smoke alarms and the fire dept. sent out a truck to put out the fire!  We were a wee bit nervous since we had – ahem – re-arranged the pews somewhat.  The fire chief gave us his blessing to “have a wonderful wedding.”  Bless him.  We had a great picture of the entire wedding party in front of the firetruck at dusk… well, everyone but the groom.

He couldn’t be found.

What?!?!?!?!?

Eric has been pulled into the pastor’s office to have a final talk.  Not sure why, but the pastor felt he needed it, I guess.

Just before my Dad walked me down the aisle, he showed me the car he had arranged for us to go to the reception in.  It was a 1920-something Lincoln Limo- gray, and complete with little hanging flower vases in the back.  It was a beautiful car, to say the least.  Forget the limo I had arranged – the wedding party got to go in that one!

My voice teacher sang a song while the bridesmaids entered.  My best friend sang The Lord’s Prayer, the choir 24 member I was in sang “Locus Iste” from the back of the church while we took communion, and I sang “The Twelfth of Never” during our vows… which Eric had NO KNOWLEDGE OF.  That was so totally cool!  I’m still kinda amazed I made it through without tears.  I’ll have to let him fill in his feelings on it some other time, but he looked rather blown away.

To say that the ceremony had a lot of music was a bit of an understatement.  Have I mentioned that I was a voice major in college?  Um, yeah, music is kinda my thing.

Since it was a week before finals, we postponed our honeymoon until Spring Break… we were already planning to go visit his grandparents in WA for Christmas.  We came home on Christmas day… but missed our connecting flight by 2 minutes (we actually watched the plane taxi away) so our first Christmas dinner together was airport Pizza Hut pizza… and it was cold.  It was still fun though, because we were together.  I’d like to add that this was BEFORE the olympics came to Salt Lake, so there wasn’t a whole lot in SLC to eat.  The other choice was burger king.  blech.

The honeymoon was supposed to be a surprise, but round about the end of Jan he slipped and said “you don’t just go walking around the countryside of Jamaica!”  Yep.  The guy can’t keep a secret to save his life.  It was beautiful there though!  And a nice break from the cold winter of Colorado.

We stayed in CO for me to finish my degree, and an extra 6 months to save up money.  Then we moved to Phoenix for Eric to go to grad school.  Phoenix is why I can no longer tolerate hot weather.  I’m sorry, but 115F is NOT cool!  Everyone kept telling us that it was a cool Summer…  It didn’t drop below 95F for 4 months solid – not even at 2 am.  Fortunately I only had to endure it for 16 months. Monsoon season was cool though.  Really… it was.  Temps dropped for a few minutes during the torrential rain each day – I even had hail on my porch in August!  Of course they melted almost on impact, but they made it to the ground!

Phoenix does have some good qualities though.  The skies are gorgeous, they have lots of good food – especially the non-chain Mexican dives and the Japanese fast food chain whose name escapes me at the moment.  Oh, and the French bistro on Scottsdale Blvd.  Yep.  Lots of good food.  You can sit outside to eat almost year-round too, which is a nice bonus.  It’s also where we bought the VW.  Oh, and our oldest was conceived there.  That earns it a special place in my heart.

But, it was not to last (thankfully!).  He graduated and we fled from hell, I mean Phoenix, as fast as we could.  Poor guy was loading up a truck in 103F heat and his grandma wouldn’t let me pick up so much as a PILLOW because I was pregnant.  Seriously.  She got on me for picking up 1 pillow from our couch.  uff-dah woman!

And that brings us (quickly, I assure you) to mmoving to Washington.

And another post will share that…

*grin*

We are going to hit on a topic that is near to my heart today… waste.

The average school child who brings their lunch to school generates 67 pounds of lunch related trash each school year. That is PER CHILD. The average American school generates more than 18,000 pounds of waste each year. 18,000 pounds!!! And that is just one school.

Wow. That’s pretty impressive, right? It’s downright scary!

So, what can we, as parents, do to help cut down on the amoung of waste generated by our kids? Well, we can start by packing a lunch for our kids – that’s the healthy part – but make sure that we pack it into a container that will not generate waste!

I know, you walk through the grocery store and you see all of those easy, single-serve packages of stuff that your kids beg to have in their lunch, and it’s tempting! Believe me, I know the temptation! But I have found that with the right lunchbox system, I can make sure that my girls are getting a healthy, balanced lunch and cutting down on the waste!

What’s the secret?

First, I made sure that they have lunchboxes that either have compartments for everything, or that they are able to hold the containers I can re-use.

Our favorite lunchbox is the Laptop Lunchbox. I like them so much that I got one for my hubby too. They come with 2 large and 2 small containers, a mini container with a lid and a fork and spoon. One of the large containers has a sealing lid, so you can send “wet” things in there – applesauce, yogurt, etc.

laptop lunchbox

Yes, they are plastic, but they are tested to make sure that it is food safe. Laptop Lunches was started by 2 moms who wanted to cut down on waste and find a better alternative.

One thing that I love about them is that I feel this sense of obligation to put something healthy into each container. This helps me make sure that I get a good, balanced, healthy meal each day to send with them.

We picked up a couple of fabric bags that they carry them in each day, and we toss in a cloth napkin and a milk or their Sigg water bottles for a beverage.

Happy Balloon Bento Box

The other lunchboxes that we use come to us from Asia. I found some adorable bento boxes at Daiso for a few dollars each and the girls love to use them. The ones we use most are 2 levels with a lid for each. I put the sandwich in on e level, and put the rest of the goodies in the other. Ours have a strap that keeps them closed, but there are many styles that are self-locking. A fun thing about these in particular, is that they have a space set aside for the matching chopsticks to just fit inside the lid. My daughter loves anything Chinese (well, Asian, actually!) so this just made her day.

If you look online or have an Asian market nearby, there is a plethora of fun little things that you can use in a bento box – the Japanese use them daily, and they get quite creative with some of their lunches. As you can see above, these small boxes can hold quite a bit of food.

Now that we have the container squared away, what do we put inside? Think bulk. Think homemade. I buy a large jar of applesauce (or make it) and put it into smaller containers to send to school. I buy a large container of plain or vanilla yogurt and add some fruit to it in a smaller container to take to school. I buy lunchmeat and portion it out for the week – then freeze the rest for another week. I bake bread once a week, and occasionall bake muffins or cookies. I make granola. I slice up farm fresh veggies.

Each day they get a sandwich, some veggie sticks and dip, a treat – cookie, yogurt, applesauce, poki stick, etc – and either milk (that doesn’t have to be refrigerated) or water in their Sigg’s. I will usually toss in some fresh fruit too. All of this goes into their lunchbox, the box goes into the bag with a napkin and drink, and they are good to go! The only thing that goes into the trash is their milk carton.

On the rare occasions that I use a “traditional” lunchbox, I have some small Tupperware containers that everything goes into. Snack cups and sandwich keepers work great, and I have yet to have either of the girls forget to bring something home. They remember to put everything back into the bag, and their school has a big bin outside each classroom for lunchboxes to go into.

When I figure that our school lunch program increased the cost to $2.75 per student, per day this year, I figure that I am saving a few dollars, and my kids aren’t eating chicken nuggets and pizza every day. Fortunately, the split is about 50/50 between kids that bring lunch and kids that are “hot lunch” so they don’t feel weird about being the only ones eating a cold lunch.

Is this what we really want them to eat?

So, skip the individual sized packages and send reusable containers with your kids to hold their lunch. Get creative with it! You may just surprise yourself with what you find to use! Just don’t fall into the ziploc bag rut now that you have cut out wasteful packaging… that would be a bit redundant, no?

I recently discovered a site that allows you to opt out of all of those catalogs that seem to dreed in your mailbox. It’s called Catalog Choice, and it’s so easy to do!

You just sign up with your email and physical address, and go through their list of catalogs & decline the ones you don’t want to receive any longer.

Not only does it help the environment, but it cuts down on the garbage in your mailbox – which translates to clutter in your house!

Go check it out!
https://www.catalogchoice.org/

I recently came across a video that everyone in this country (and other industrialized countries) needs to watch!  Here is a teaser… [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz3tPxUFGbY&rel=1 <http://www.youtube.com/v/dz3tPxUFGbY&rel=1> ]It’s certainly an eye opener about WHY everything breaks so quickly… but that is in the full video.  It only takes around 20 minutes, so head over and take a look! 

If you have read the about me page, you have been warned.  If not, consider yourself warned (go and read to see why)

I recently read a post over at the Natural Family Living Blog  that got me to thinking…I consider myself to be a republican… after all, I believe in God – that Jesus was born to a virgin girl and died to take away every sin that was ever committed – provided that the sinner accepts Him as their Savior. I also do not believe in big government handouts – I think that the welfare system is a huge joke.  Just because someone has a different color of skin than the “majority” is no reason for them to get free money.  However, I am also an environmentalist.

I believe that our society (and that of other “developed” countries) is destroying our earth.

I believe that humanity was given stewardship of this planet – the authority to oversee everything in the absence of the owner (that would be God, in case you are wondering) and the responsibility for what happens while under our control.

People, we are failing miserably.

We are spewing out noxious gasses at every turn.We are filling our bodies with garbage (gee, I wonder why we are ALWAYS SICK!!!)

We are filling our oceans with plastics that will NEVER go away

Our government is more concerned with the almighty dollar than with the people it is supposed to protect.  If this was not true, then we would not have frankenfoods being hidden in the ingredients lists of 95% of the products available at your local grocery store.  If this was not true, then we would have alternative fuels available to power cars – bio-fuels, electricity, etc. The USA has become a giant test lab.  

Imagine with me for a momnet…”Let’s see, if we change the bioligical make up of corn to make it resistant to bugs, we can sell more & make more money!” “But do we know yet what effects that will have on the people that are eating it?”  ”Who cares? What they don’t know won’t hurt them!  Besides, we will make 3 times the money!” “But what if they find out?”  ”No one listens to those environmental freaks anyway – we’ll just spread an ad campaign that everything is OK.”

Did this conversation ever actually occur?  No, but it does help to point out what is certainly LOOKS like from the consumer’s prospective.

Why does our government throw money at genetically modified foods and ignore the small farms that are trying to grow a healthy, natural, poison free, BETTER alternative?  

Actually, our gov’t takes it a step further… they are trying to keep the small organic farmers OUT of the market.  They are trying to turn them into the large industrial farms that are KILLING US & OUR CHILDREN.

The farm bill was up for a vote again this year.  Did you know?  Do you care?  Guess what… corn got more money thrown at it, organic farmers got ignored.  Why do big farmers in Iowa get to have $250,000 per ear paychecks for growing crap while small family-run farms are being run out of business?
There is a new movie out called “King Corn” It’s about 2 east coast guys who decided to see what it would be like to grow corn… and it was life-changing for them.  They got some GM corn seed and an acre of prime Iowa land… and them followed their corn through the production line to see where it goes.  Our diet truly consists of corn, corn & more corn.  Find out where it is showing & go see it!

While I am on a rant, what about Maryland trying to force us to vaccinate our kids?  Do you really think it is good for an infant to have metal injected into their blood stream?  Poisonous metals?  Guess what is in vaccines… and flu shots.  The government should not have the right to tell me that I have to fill my kids full of garbage just because it keeps the hospitals open and fills the pockets of big pharmaceutical companies.

I’m not saying that we all have to go live in a cave & walk everywhere & live on nuts that we can grow.   What I AM saying is that we need to take a look at our own families and see if there is anything that we can do to be a better steward of what has been entrusted to us.Here are some ideas: My daughters school recycles plastic bags.  If there isn’t a school near you, I’d be glad to take in your clean, used plastic bags and get them recycled into other products rather than see them fly around in the air & end up inside the belly of a sea turtle. I personally use a fabric bag when I go to the grocery store.  It is re-usable, and if it gets dirty, I can just toss it into the washing machine and it’s as good as new.  Another benefit to bring your own bag – if I know that I only have 1 or 2 bags with me, I don’t buy as much at the store because I have a pretty good idea how much will fit into my bags & I don’t want to use plastic.  And my grocer gives a 5 cent credit for each non-plastic bag used.  And if you buy your bag through Mimsi Bags, you will be helping to support a Work At Home Mom who is trying to be at home with her kids.

Does your power company offer wind power?  Can you purchase carbon credits?  These are small ways that your family can help offset the fuel used to power your home.

Do you carpool to work?  Can you?  I understand that this in not an option for many – we can’t.  My husband works far enough from our home that he has to drive, and his hours are odd enough that no one wants to wait around for him.  But if you can, you should.  Many large corporations offer free vanpools for their employees, and others offer free or reduced cost bus passes.

Letting your kids ride the school bus is another way to cut down on the amount of driving that you do.  If you have to drive your kids to school & pick them up, keep in mind that 10 seconds of letting your car idle takes more gas than turning it off & re-starting it when you are ready to move.

If you are in the market for a new car, look into cars that are more environmentally friendly.  Most diesel engines can be converted to run on vegetable oil, which you can get used from many restaurants & filter.  Yes, this is a larger investment up front, but it’s cheaper than paying $3.50 per gallon!

If you are close enough, walk or ride a bike.  It not only helps the earth, but it will get your body in better shape too!

Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup & hydrogenated oils like the plague – they really are! And you will be surprised what they show up in…

Turn off the lights when you aren’t in the room, unplug your cell phone charger when you aren’t using it, and the TV for that matter.

Pack a lunch for your kids – the Laptop Lunchbox is a great tool for that!  We have 2, and the girls LOVE them.  AND, I know that they are getting a healthy lunch instead of the microwaved crap that the school dishes up. Pack a lunch for you too… you will save money and eat better food than McD’s offers.  gag.

Join a CSA farm – Comunity Supported Agriculture.  I’m currently looking for a new one, so when I find a nationwide directory, I will post a link! 

These are just a couple of ideas.  I’m sure if you stop a moment and think about it, you will come up with MANY more ways!  

When you combine the cost of school hot lunches with the sheer lack of nutrition parents are looking for a better way to feed their children. Enter the lunchbox! When you pack a healthy, nutritious lunch for your kids, you know that they are getting the good stuff that they need – and you can save some money! For our 2 girls it would cost $100 per month to pay for the school-provided lunch of pizza, hot dogs or chicken nuggets. Why pay for junk food when you can send them to school with something healthy for less?

To this end I have been looking for a good lunchbox that would cut down on the about of waste that a typical cold lunch can create – ziploc baggies to keep everything seperate, aluminum foil, wax paper or plastic wrappers for the foods inside, etc. Did you know that it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year? That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school!

In my searching for a solution I recently discovered a new kind of lunchbox for my girls – one that cuts down on the amount of waste each day.

They are called the Laptop Lunchbox, and they are available online, or in many health food & eco-concious stores around the country.

What is a laptop lunchbox you ask? A very nice way to pack a lunch for your child – or your self!

Each laptop lunchbox comes with 5 containers inside – 2 with lids. They all fit together perfectly into the case, and they make you think about the lunch that you are preparing for your kids.

There are 2 large containers – one with a lid. They fit a sandwich cut in half very nicely, and I usually put some applesauce & granola in the one with a lid. There are also 2 smaller containers that are perfect for trail mix, carrot sticks, mandarine orange wedges, etc, and a mini container with a lid that is perfect for your child’s favorite dip. And they come with a fork & spoon.

All of the pieces go into the dishwasher – yay! – and clean up very easily.

My girls use these every day – I just wash out the containers in the sink & dry them to be ready to use the next day.

Things I love about the Laptop Lunchbox:
- multiple containers make me think about how to fill them with healthy food
- a dip container that holds just enough, but not too much
- a specific place for everything
- fun color combinations
- the recipe/lunch ideas book that comes with it

Things I think can be improved:
- I wish one of the small containers had a lid – they are the perfect size for yogurt or applesauce
- it took the girls a bit to figure out how to open them, but once they figured out “their way” it hasn’t been a problem
- if the cutlery section was a tiny bit bigger you could fit a cloth napkin in too

I have gotten each of the girls a small tote bag that their laptop lunchbox fits down inside – along with their water bottle or juice and an ice pack to keep the contents cold. They slip these into their backpacks and they have an easy way to carry their lunch over to the lunchroom.

Because everything has a specific place inside, it is obvious if something is missing. They have been using their lunchboxes for almost a month now, and we haven’t lost a single piece – pretty good for a kindergardener and a first grader!

If you are looking for a lunch time solution, I urge you to take a look at the Laptop Lunchbox. They have 4 different color combinations to appeal to a variety of tastes, and your kids will have fun putting their lunchbox puzzle back together after they have eaten a healthy, nutirtious lunch!

To order your sets, please visit LaptopLunches.com

I recently came across a site with a great idea…

Break the Bottled Water Habit, Win a Prize and Cut Your Carbon

When you want pure, healthy drinking water, you should reach for bottled water, right? Surprisingly, on neither a personal nor a global level are you making a healthy choice.

For each gallon of water bottled, two gallons are wasted; producing the plastic wastes the energy equivalent of a quarter-bottle’s worth of oil. And what’s in the bottle could just be tap water.

This October we’re asking you to think about where the water in that bottle came from, and where the plastic is going…take the Carbon Conscious Consumer pledge and drink to a healthy ecosystem.

Each month from July to December, Carbon Conscious Consumer (c3.newdream.org) will highlight a new, simple way each individual can make an impact, plus show the difference each person makes both individually and along with the people they’ve influenced; prizes go to participants who influence the most new pledges.

During October, make a conscious choice to slake your thirst without drying up our planet’s resources. In addition to benefiting the environment, participants will have a chance to win a free condo for a week at a ski resort in Idaho. Visit the website now to get started.

We have recently done this in our home – I picked up a “Laptop Lunchbox” for each of the girls and A has a Kleen Kantene that she takes to school each day with her water in it. I switched to a SIGG water bottle that I get compliments on almost daily. M & E each carry a Nalgene bottle with them everywhere… we refill them numerous times each day, and we aren’t adding to the plastic waste from water bottles OR ziplock baggies in their lunch boxes!

What will you do to help clean up the enviromnent?

I recently commented on a post over at activist mommy, and realized that the comment was a pretty good post on its own, so I thought I’d share.

Here are some of my tips on living a “greener life”

Green tips…

bring your own bag when you go shopping! A good one will carry more than the icky plastic bags and you are helping our everyone.

If you must get plastic bags, be sure to recycle them. My kids school is doing a plastic bag recycling fundraiser through Wal-mart – they raised almost $5,000 for the school last year from kids bringing in plastic bags. Not too shabby.

Join a CSA farm. The produce is picked within the past 36 hours, it tastes great, they farm sustainably, and the prices beat out the grocer & the farmer’s market. And you help the local farmers make a living.

I used to sell Tupperware, and I got into the habit of taking a small container with me when we go out to eat to bring home leftovers. Do I get odd looks, sometimes, but I’m not using more styrophom.

However, we ony eat out once or twice a month – cook at home! You’ll save money, feed your family better food, and you might be healthier.

Grow your own food -whenever possible. You would be amazed what you can grow in a container on the back porch. I had a great container garden when we lived in Phoenix – peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beans… where there’s a will, there’s a way.

I recently joined paperbackswap.com to get rid of some of the books overflowing from our library shelves, and to save money on getting the books that we want to read next. I had been donating them to the library, but they don’t always take in books (I guess they ran out of room too).

I have our milk delivered. With 2 kids that are growing like crazy, we go through a gallon every 2 days – or less. Now the milk is delivered and I don’t have to run to the store every other day. They also bring eggs, butter, ice cream…

Tell others, tell others, tell others! When others see you doing something to help the environment, they can be curious. Talk to them about why you are doing it, and you might be suprised at the changes you can help bring about!

These are the tips that I have off the top of my head! I hope they help someone…