Be a Kid!

One of my favorite things to do as a child was play in the woods.  I've never been on an official hiking trip (other than hashing on trails) but I went for the first time this weekend.  And it was awesome!  We didn't do anything fancy.  Just a 1-mile trail at Ruffner Mountain with some awesome friends/parents and their kids.  You really forget how amazing God's creation is until you get outside.  Plus, in a generation that has pretty much become "stand off'ish", you forget what it is really like to have relationships with people.  And hiking lets you form those relationships.  Nothing is cooler than coming up with crazy stories and songs while hiking.  I really thought that with age your imagination disappears until i was out in the woods walking along with the crew this Saturday.

So get outside!  Enjoy the earth.  And enjoy others company.  It's a good cure for the blues and makes for some good stories.

Going Organic, well...partially.

Another goal for this past year was to start eating organic.  I've been an avid fan of the show Jon & Kate Plus 8.  Once the sextuplets came along Jon & Kate decided that they wanted to feed their children the healthiest foods.  So they switched to an organic diet.  Now, going all organic is a pricey bill to pay these days.  So I decided that I would purchase 40% organic each time I go grocery shopping.  At first I was scared that all of my grocery money would be gone as soon as I got paid.  Then I'd be left starving or eating junk until the next pay day.  But after my first two trips of really looking at what organic items are out there and becoming familiar with things, it became quite easy.

If you are interested in going organic but are overwhelmed with the prospect just do a little at a time.  Replace one everyday item with it's organic version.  Most of the 40% organic I buy are the staples such as milk, eggs, cereal, canned veggies, meat, bread, cookies, crackers, granola bars, canned soup, etc.  And just because you eat organic doesn't mean you have to be a food snob.  I still eat regular ole food, eat out at restaurants, and enjoy fast food.  But I can tell a difference in my health since going semi-organic.  Plus, I feel like I am helping the earth and the farmers that are really getting in there and trying to get things back to the basics.  And Eden-like mentality, I guess.

Here are just a few things you might find in my kitchen:

Kashi Cereal-Cinnamon Harvest and Island Vanilla shredded wheat

Cascadian Farms cereal, granola bars, frozen fruits/veggies.

Horizon or Organic Valley milk

Horizon or Stonyfield yogurt

Greenwise Publix brand Maple Brown Sugar instant oatmeal, canned veggies

Wolfgang Puck canned soups

Kraft mac-n-cheese (yep, they make organic)

Paul Newman salad dressing, cookies (Ginger O's!!!)

Amy's frozen meals

Buy Me That Useless Piece of Plastic!

After stowing away tons of plastic shopping bags after grocery store visits only to lug them back to the store's recycling bin, I realized that I didn't need them.  Sure you can use a plastic bag to line your bathroom trash bin.  But other than that, what is the use?  (Well, other than holding your flour as you lay a hash trail.)  So I decided to purchase canvas bags.  You can fit as many groceries in one canvas bag as you would in 3-4 plastic bags.  Plus, if you are like me and live on a third floor apartment it is so much easier to lug everything upstairs in sturdy canvas bags.

I also realized how many plastic sandwich bags I use (since I bring my lunch to work 80% of the time).  Where do those little baggies go?  And how long does it take for them to break down in a landfill? So I decided to go out and purchase some gladware plastic containers to use instead! Thanks to the many shapes and sizes that they come in these reusable containers can hold your afternoon snack, sandwich, cereal, etc.

And to explain the title of this blog.  This is from one of my favorite stand-up comic shows.