Time for a break.

Well this past month was good and not so good.  I found myself very busy at work, and wasn't able to write as many thank you's as I would have liked.  I am determined to send 30 thank you's, but it's going to take a little longer than a month.

I have a lot of people to thank, but feel bad that I won't be able to get to everyone.  I have found it hard sometimes to say thank you.  Crazy right?  I have some friends that I have never really thanked for things they have done for me, but found it hard to express my feelings.  Mostly my guy friends...probably something to do with the "dude-code"...whatever that is.  But this month has been a good reminder that no matter what, people should be praised for the nice things they do.  There were even occasions when the same people let me know the "thank you" came at an opportune time whether it be a busy time in life, or a time they weren't feeling very appreciated.  And that makes it worth it.

Is there someone you know that deserves a thank you?  Probably.  Will you tell them how you feel?  I hope so.

I know I'm going to think about it a lot more, and try to appreciate the relationships I've enjoyed through the years.


As for December, I'm ready for a break.  It's becoming a hassle coming up with something new to do this month.  So I'm taking a break from it all.  No internet, no TV, no facebook, no words with friends on my phone.  I have some reading I want to do, I want to play my mandolin a bit more, I want to write a few more thank you's....and send it the old fashion way (you're welcome USPS).  It's been a great year, now its time to sit back and relax, and not be bothered by all this technology.

I hope you all have a great December.

November already?

Well, another month has passed without a blog.  Last month wasn't too exciting, so I didn't really feel the urge to blog.  Last month we decided to kick start our budgeting.  Nicki and I decided to not use our debit cards for the month and buy everything using cash.  It worked out pretty well, and we stayed within our budget...mostly.  We went a little over bugdet for our anniversary trip to Nashville, but it was well worth it.

It really helped us realize where we are spending our money.  But now that the month is over, I'm looking forward to using my debit card tomorrow when I have to fill up my car at the gas station.

This month is going to be a month of thank you's.  Too cliche?  Who cares.  There are a lot of people I have met that have had some kind of impact on who I am today. I'll get to really think about who I haven't said thank you to enough, or who I've never said thank you to.  I'm sure I wont be able to get around to everyone who should get a thank you, but 30 people in 30 days seems like a good start.

Goodbye Chipotle...for now.

This month Nicki and I have given up going out to eat.  It seems we have been steadily going out to eat more frequently these days, so I think it comes at a good time.  Also, it will be nice to try out some new foods we haven't had before now that we will be cooking every night.

If I get rambunctious, maybe I'll update with some new foods we like.  If you have any suggestions on something good to eat, let me know.

Vegans: not just for the animals

I know, July was a long time ago...but I had a lot of stuff going on, so the blogging had to take a back seat.

Nicki and I decided to go vegan for the month.  I didn't think it would be too difficult, but my wife loves her some cheese.  For the sake of the monthly resolution we decided to be a bit strict, which meant no meat, eggs, dairy, or honey.  For the most part we ate how we normally ate, with a few changes.  We ate our pizza without cheese, which wasn't really any less delicious.  I ate a lot more nuts in July to try to keep up on the protein.  A lot of people I talked to were worried about us getting enough calcium because we weren't eating dairy, but a lot of green leafy foods contain calcium, so we made sure to put Kale in a lot of our meals.  I also like to snack on Kombu (seaweed) which has a lot of minerals and calcium.  

There are a lot of reasons why veganism is a good thing.  For one, its healthy for us.  It has been shown that a vegan diet can reverse artherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), reduce type-2 diabetes, reduce heart disease, lower blood pressure, ad lower cholesterol.  

It also is healthier for the planet.  As I have blogged about before, factory farming is a nasty business.  By decreasing our reliance on meat based foods we can conserve up to 70% of clean water which is used to sustain factory farming techniques.  Much of the amazon rainforest is being cleared annually to support grazing animals.  Also, its estimated that 760 tons of grain (half of the worlds grain supply) is used to feed animals so we can eat them.  Some say that transitioning to a plant based diet would also reduce pollution from untreated animal waste.

The most inconvenient part about this month was being limited on where we could go out to eat.  You would be surprised what foods contain animal products. Most italian dressing uses anchovies in their ingredients, anything with gelatin is animal based...no gummy bears, marshmallows, jello, ect.  Alot of whole wheat bread uses honey as an ingredient.  Needless to say, we had to do a bit of research before going out to eat.  

Chipotle is not only delicious, but vegan friendly.  Qdoba is also vegan friendly, but not as delicious as Chipotle.  Panera is really nice.  They have a book that lists all of their ingredients used in each dish.  The vegan options include black bean soup (the bread bowl is also vegan), the mediterranean veggie sandwich is vegan if you hold the cheese, as is the greek salad without feta.  Most of the breads are vegan at Panera as well, except for the whole wheat (honey).

We went to Red Robin for dinner and our service was by the far the best of the month.  A manager came over to our table and talked through the menu with us, letting us know how things were cooked, and what to avoid.  Red Robin has a pretty good vegan boca burger.  Their buns were vegan, and their french fries are fried seperately from the other meat items on the menu so there isn't any cross animal-age getting into the fries.

We tried out a few meat/ cheese alternatives with mixed reviews.  I had some soy cheese on a pizza which I thought tasted pretty close to real cheese, but it had a harder texture.  Daiya cheese has a nice creamy texture like cheese, but I personally don't like the taste of it.  Nicki lost 9 pounds just by changing her diet, not too shabby without exercising. 

All in all it was a good month.  Towards the end of the month, I had to travel back home which made eating vegan quite hard.  I feel lucky we have a good selection of fruit/vegetables/meat substitutes, but back in my parents small town it was very hard to find the foods we were used to eating.  We managed during the month of July.  After the month was over, I was all about staying vegan.  Unfortunately, I had to stay with my parents for a few weeks in august with my father being ill.  With the lack of variety at the local grocery store, the lack of refrigerator room (due to all 3 of my siblings staying home to take care of dad), and the stress of it all, the vegan lifestyle went to the wayside.

In the last week I had made a point to eat all the foods I missed while being vegan:  Sushi, soft shelled tacos from the Italian Villa (a favorite of my dads), italian chicken casserole, and a LOT of cheese.  Now its all out of my system and as of right now....I'm vegan again.

I care about how animals are treated, I think a lot of the meat industry is disgusting/political, but the main reason I am choosing to go vegan is the health benefits.  I'm not too distraught over eating honey, or buying things like cameras, cars, clothes that aren't vegan.  But I will think about it more.  I just lost my dad to diabetes and heart disease.  If I care about what I eat now, hopefully my son will have a chance to hang out with me longer than I got to with my dad.

Ode to Orson

I'm way late on this, and don't really want to stay up anymore tonight.  July is dedicated to veganism.  Our awesome friends just had a baby, and Momma Jenna is a vegan.  This month is for you.

New info and annoying stats to come...stay tuned.

Environmental impact of driving

I found this website online and thought I would share.

http://www.bikemetro.com/calculators/environment.asp

I figure that I travel roughly 70 miles per week between work and band practice.  This isn't accounting for any other driving I may do throughout the week.  Here is my environmental impact.

Total Hydrocarbons = 0.432 Lbs Total Carbon Monoxide = 3.222 Lbs Total Carbon Dioxide = 64.12 Lbs Total Nitrous Oxide= 0.214 Lbs Total Gas= 3.3 Gal

And my cost calculation:

Total Cost Per Day = $85.93 Total Cost Per Month = $343.73 Total Cost Per Year = $4124.80

I was actually shocked by this.  At first, I thought it seemed to steep, until I realized they took into account the cost of insurance and maintenance.  I can think of a lot of ways to spend some of that 300 bucks a month.

And my calorie calculation says I'm burning roughly 3136 calories per week.  I have to be burning more because I didn't take into account for any hills, plus there are some days that I run to/from work which is going to burn more calories.   For those of you that don't know, a pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories.  Not too shabby, although I have noticed I am eating more for dinner when I get home from my commute.

You should check out the site.  It's super easy and fast.  It's food for thought.  If you have a bike I highly recommend you give it a try.  I only have one week left, but I'm thinking about continuing biking/running to work a few times a week.

Fact: flat tires suck

In typical Shelton fashion, I decided to make sure I had everything in order for my first day of this month by doing a quick check right before I went to bed...the night before.  Turns out my bike tire was flat.  I had 2 options to ride to work that would pass a gas station.  Unfortunately I picked the one without an air pump.  50-some minutes later I arrived at work...sweaty and tired.  It also didn't help when motorists would yell at me to get my attention "hey!  did you know your tires are flat?!"

Luckily a guy at work had a tire pump, and the return trip only took half the time.

I have been alternating riding my bike and running to/from work.  Twice a week I have to work at two clinics, which means I have a 5 mile ride to the first clinic, then a 7+ mile ride from one clinic to the other during my lunch, followed by just under 5 mile bike home.  The tough part is having to make the lunch hour trip, which really cuts into me having much time to eat.

One of the perks of riding/running is that there is no excuse not to get some exercise (which slightly outweighs the fact my butt may get rubbed raw after another week or two of bike riding).  By the time I get home, the exercising is done and I can relax.  Currently I am not running barefoot on my trips home from work.  For the most part it would be a nice run, but there are spots where I have to cross 4 lanes of traffic and I have noticed spots of glass.  I have no issue running around glass, but not when I have to haul buns to avoid getting hit by a car.  I will man up sooner than later, but I will have to take a slightly longer route.  For now, I'm not trying to add any more miles to my day.

Emission this.

I feel like May was kind of a boring month, I didn't really feel like I had to "try" too hard.  We have been doing a pretty good job at not buying too much unnecessary "stuff" and are both trying to be more conscientious with what, and how, we buy things, so we are already buying as local as we ever have.  The challenge with this past month is that I have only bought 2 items, other than food.  We just got a new cellphone, but my options were limited.  It was either an Iphone or Inspire...both made in Asia.  The other purchase was some soap, made here in the bluegrass.

 I am going to continue the buying local as much as I can this summer, but I feel the need to kick it up a notch.  The first two months were fun, and challenging, and that is what has been lacking the last few months.  April and May haven't really been a struggle.  I don't think they were bad ideas, but I really wasn't forced to think about the big picture and how we live day to day.

I have made a point to make the next couple of months much more challenging.

This month I am ditching my car...mostly.  I am not going to drive my car for any trip less than 15 miles, unless I have to take Rowan somewhere, or any other instance that I have to pick anyone up.  I think this comes at a pretty good time.  Gas prices are ridiculous, the weather is getting nicer, and its time to take this flabby ass up a few inches.  I have a half marathon coming up in August, so this will definitely help with the training.

I will try to keep everyone updated on how things are going.  If anyone has any tips for me, I would appreciate it.  I don't think I have ridden my bike since last year.

Keeping it real (local)

Do you know how many local vendors there are in your town?  Me neither.  This month I intend to find out.  I hear a lot of buzz about buying local, and the importance of buying products from the good ole' USA.  I have to admit, I'm not sold American products are superior to those abroad, but I do realize there are a lot of good reasons to buy local products.  This month I intend on buying completely American made products.  Actually, I want to buy products made here in Lexington, Ky, but realize that may not be completely possible.

For starts, Nicki and I have enrolled in a community supported agriculture (CSA) program.  For those of you not familiar, we have paid a one time fee to a locally run farm outside of town and in return get a weekly box of their produce each week for the next 22 weeks.  Our local grocery coop also has clearly labeled foods/products that are made here in Kentucky, so we should be pretty set in the food department.  

I have some more research ahead of me, but I think this month is going to be another good learning experience.  I hope to blog a little more this month and keep updating our ongoings.

politics of volunteering

Who thought it would be so hard to volunteer?  This month didn't quite go as planned.  I applied to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald house...no reply.  I scoured the University of Kentucky's website for causes to help out with...nothing available at night/weekends.  I sent emails to environmental groups for weekend clean ups and signed up for a local organic farms volunteer list...nada.

I did get to help out at my good friend Lego's camp one weekend.  It was awesome.  It was at a camp with adults and kids with disabilities.  I met a camper who really opened my eyes to the importance of not judging a book by its cover.  There was a man who was in his 50's (he told me his age, but I forgot it...so much for being a good listener).  The first time I saw him he seemed very quiet/shy, but super sweet.  I tried talking to him the first night of camp, but really didn't get much of a response.  No big deal, it's not out of the ordinary for someone at camp to be shy or not communicate much.  I just assumed he might be nonverbal, gave him a wave, and walked away.

I tried again the next morning, but more of the same.  A sweet nod of the head, and a smile, but nothing else.  Luckily one of the other volunteers knew him and informed me that he was deaf, but could communicate through sign language.  I know how to sign a little, and the how to spell, so I started talking with him.  This guy was awesome.  He taught me a lot about sign language, helped me brush up on my skills, and was one of the nicest guys I met at camp.  I'll never forget how patient he was with me.  Anytime I couldn't remember a word, he would teach me.  Anytime I didn't make sense, he would pull out a sticky note pad and we would write notes back and forth.  Besides my buddy Lego, he was my favorite person to hang out with that weekend.

Thinking back, he made me realize how quickly I judge people.  I have spent many hours hanging out with amazing people at camp.  I really feel like I'm ahead of the curve as far as respecting peoples differences and disabilities, but here I was, judging someone on looks and a quiet first encounter.  What I almost missed out on was meeting a really awesome guy who taught me a lot about sign language, and pointed out one of my character flaws.  I'm judgemental as ten dudes, but I'm going to work on it.

All in all things didn't go as planned. The best unplanned part of the month was when Nicki went into labor  a week early.   The fact that we have a healthy baby boy is the best way I can think of ending a rather uneventful month.

I really don't have anything else to say about this month.  So here are some updates on previous and future months.

January
I weighed myself today and topped off at 166.5 pounds.  That's a 20+ pound loss since the beginning of the year.  We are only buying organic food for the home (I should say mostly...I didn't argue when the Mrs. bought food during the pregnancy), but still enjoy the occasional restaurant trip.   It's crazy how my food habits have completely changed.  I now enjoy eating vegetables, I can now eat tomatoes and cucumbers without gagging, and I have fully made the switch from Qdoba to Chipotle.  Not only does Chipotle have a more eco-friendly menu, but I think Qdoba tastes "cheaper".  I didn't think it would happen, but I'm starting to become a food snob. Organic oranges are in a league of their own compared to any other oranges I have eaten. Organic juices are ridiculously good (J.W. Knudsen brand juices rule my face) whereas other store brand juices seem to have a fake artificial taste.  It's hard to explain, but I feel really good after eating a nice organic meal.  On the other hand, if we go out and I eat something highly processed, I feel like shit for a while.

February
We are both using Lush shampoo, conditioner, and a natural soap.  I'm still making my own toothpaste, but have tweaked the recipe...adding hydrogen peroxide really dampens the salty taste, and gives me a more clean mouth feeling.  I have given up on the notion of completely stopping the consumption of plastic, but now I get a guilty feeling if I find myself buying something in plastic, keeping the consumption low.

March
The fruit flies had a baby boom while we were at the hospital, but I am slowly killing those suckers off.
I think we have a full bin of ready to use compost now, and our worms must have gotten the memo about the baby boom also.  We should be up to about 2000 worms now, but I'm too lazy to count.

March was great, April is off to a pretty slow start.

All in all, no waste March was pretty successful.  It was pretty eye opening to discover how much unnecessary packaging is being used.  Nicki and I ended up with just over a half bag of garbage for the month...not exactly my goal, but still much better than before.  I realized how much planning goes into making meals( and found out that no one in town sells tortilla shells without plastic wrapping).

The big change for me is going to come in the way of paper composting.  I know paper can be recycled, but most recycling places claim they will not take paper with any food or waste on it.  I can only assume everything gets lumped together and recycled, and if I put in a dirty napkin it will most likely be recycled, but I'm not 100% sure.  I have been very good about keeping my napkins, receipts, and paper towels from restaurants/work and composting them.  It's almost automatic now, to the occasional eye rolling of my wife.  The way I see it, it takes very little effort to put the paper in my pocket instead of the trash.  I understand that the paper will biodegrade in a landfill, but then what?  It's still taking up space, its still not being reused, and its wasteful.  I feel good knowing that all this paper is being converted into soil that will then be reused and help feed a plant to grow.

We did run into a little issue with the composting this month, however.  Our apt got a bad case of the fruit flies.  The bad:  they are kind of a pain, and used to hang out by the sink.  The good: it has turned into a nightly game of "lets see how many fruit flies I can suck up with the vacuum hose" and they really don't bother anything.  But like I said, they are slowly going away (into the vacuum bag) and I have started to put more paper in the compost to help combat the situation.

Now on to April.  I had a real hard time getting inspired by anything life changing to do this month.  My brother in law suggested volunteering, and I flirted with the idea of going vegan, or giving up dairy and eggs, all I think are great ideas.  As I was looking around for different volunteering ideas I came across a website that suggested varying ways to give back and help those who need it.  I got really excited about doing something nice/helpful for people.  I feel like its already a part of who I am.  It's my job.  After thinking about ways to make a change in myself, I realized that although I help people physically, my job has caused me to make quick assumptions.

Imagine having to listen to peoples pain stories all day long.   Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but people want to tell me EVERYTHING about their pain.  And to be honest, 50% of the information they tell me I pay little attention to.  I have to try to sort out their problem so I am constantly redirecting questions, politely cutting people off, in order to try and figure out their problem.  Unfortunately, I find this type of behavior has started to take hold in my day to day life.  I find myself listening to people tell me stories, and before they finish talking my brain starts making conclusions.  I notice I am agreeing with what someone is saying before I even hear what they have to say...and it annoys me.

This month is more about me.  Not my health, or the environment, but my attention to the things around me.  I want to try to be more aware of the things around me that I can help.  I want to start listening to people more, in hopes of finding out what ways I may be able help them with something.  I want to be more aware of others when I am out in the community.  I want to volunteer and hear peoples stories, I want to help local organizations who share the same ideals I believe in.

My goal for the month is to do "something" for someone everyday, and to volunteer every weekend.  Seems easy.  But I was a bit naive to think I could just turn the corner and be able to do something helpful.  There have been days so far that have been successful, some days not so successful.  I'll keep you posted on what I've been up to this month.

If you live in the lexington area, and have any volunteering ideas, send them my way.

One for me, One for my homies.

This no garbage thing isn't all that hard.  This past week I have been really into coming up with ideas to reduce waste.  I truly think it is possible to live a semi-conventional life style and avoid waste that cannot be composted or recycled.  It's all about convenience.  Look at commercials, for instance, its all about convenience.  Not need, just pure, unadulterated "wants".  Overall, convenience hasn't been getting in the way too much with our day to day life.  If anything, the "inconveniences" of this month are welcomed.   I enjoy doing things differently.

I'm having a good time coming up with new ways to live life with less waste, and I have come across a lot of good/practical ideas.  The last few nights for dinner we made everything from scratch.  Sunday night was pizza night.  I made a pretty killer whole wheat pizza crust (if I do say so myself), with homemade pizza sauce from fresh tomatoes, topped with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and other spices.  No canned food needed, and not very hard to make.  I really liked it, but I think Nicki would have liked it better with cheese. I'm toying with the idea of giving up dairy, but that discussion is for another day.

Tonight we made the rustic pasta we love so much from the Kind Life book.  I made homemade whole wheat pasta, and it turned out much better than I had expected.  I think next time I will cut the pasta to be a bit thinner and not as wide, but the taste was really good.  Last week I dabbled with dried beans to a mixed review.  I tried to make black bean burgers, but apparently I didn't soften the beans enough before mashing them up.  They really didn't form very good patties, but with a few tweaks, made for an excellent base for some black bean fajitas.  We also made our own chickpea spread with avocado, lemon, and other spices that made a really good sandwich...until the next day.  The leftovers really didn't keep much flavor, more of a green chickpea sandwich.

The only thing that we are getting from the grocery store that is adding trash is Nicki's clementines.  There are no brand of clementines that we have found that come without packaging, so we are opting for the brand that comes in a wooden box with a plastic mesh top.  We are going to reuse the wooden boxes in the baby room, but I haven't thought of any idea to reuse the plastic mesh top. (any ideas are appreciated)

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but Nicki is hooked on a neighborhood frozen yogurt place.  The bowls they use are recyclable and now I'm very good at remembering to pass on the plastic spoon before they put it in the yogurt.  I actually had a nice conversation with the lady who owns the store about bringing our own bowls that we can wash at home.  Not only did she like the idea, but she may start selling mugs that people can reuse when they come into the store.

Next on the agenda before the month closes is to make our own laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, and snicker bar for the one with the cravings.  We have discussed the possibility of making chapstick, but after some research, I think I will actually make more waste making our own chapstick than just buying a natural brand in a tin.  I'm up for other suggestions, please leave a comment and give me some ideas on homemade "stuff" that can be eaten, worn, or used around the house.

Now...for the homies.  I have been really appreciative of friends/family who have given me great ideas on how to make the transition to a more conscious way of living.  I have enjoyed reading others blogs, not only for the good information, but to realize that there are a lot of people out there who want to change things for the better, in their own unique ways, on both large and small scales.  I wanted to share a couple of other websites I think you should check out.

My friend *Kelli (* I may or may not be using his/her real name) has a friend in Chicago.  I don't know him, but I know the type Kelli hangs out with, and you should support his company.  He has a company called Ethically Engineered Vegan.  You can find vegan friendly bathroom supplies like shampoo, soap, moisturizers, lip balm, ect.  Stop by and peruse, buy something, or at least pass it on to someone you think may be interested.

Check it out here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ethicallyengineered#

Kelli also has a few things you should check out.  One of her projects is the Urban Folk Circuit.  For those of you in the chicago area, you should really check this out.  I stole this from their website to give you an idea of what its about.

"The Urban Folk Circuit is a simple practice:: we bring an old-fashioned awareness to a hip, urban market. We exist to support local livelihoods and reconnect mindful buyers to modern handmakers.

The Urban Folk Circuit, a craft-market series, was initiated in the summer of 2010 by two Chicago women,  veterans of the independent craft community, as a means to promote fellow, local artisans and neighborhood establishments in a way that is sustainable and beneficial to both."

Check it out here:  http://www.urbanfolkcircuit.com.

She also has an online store where you can buy her upcycled bags/totes, quilts, journals, and other cool and interesting items.  I would highly recommend her website, it's really well done, easy to navigate, and cool to look through

Check it out here: http://greeniebeanrecycle.com

Finally, my good friend Evan has this wife.  She is pretty much awesome.  I can't do any justice to what she is going to accomplish, so I will copy and paste an email I got from Evan about her organization "Allowance for Good".

As some of you know, my wonderful wife, Elizabeth, began work on starting a non-profit organization after completing her Master’s in International Education from Stanford University last summer.  After careful thought and planning, Allowance for Good (“AfG”) was born.  AfG provides funds to schools and communities in emerging markets to better improve the lives of students.  More impressively, these funds will come from teenagers!  Through a web-based giving platform, teenagers in the U.S. will be able to pledge funds from their own allowance and job earnings to help students in other countries get the education they deserve.  While AfG has come a long way since its inception, its goal of educating and engaging the next generation of philanthropists to improve education internationally is a lofty one.  This is where you come into the picture.  Below are several ways you can help Allowance for Good find success:

1.       Visit www.allowanceforgood.org and learn more about AfG.

2.       Sign up for the organization’s newsletter by clicking here.

3.       If you have teenagers in your family, encourage them to learn more about becoming a global philanthropist by clicking here.

4.       Spread the word – pass this message along to your family and friends.

5.       Consider donating by clicking here.  It’s easy, painless, and gifts are tax deductible (AfG is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) organization).

Junk Mail Killah

Almost 2 weeks in, and we have done pretty well with avoiding garbage.  There are less than 10 items in the garbage can, and we had to go out and buy a new "recycling only" garbage can.  Composting is pretty easy and we started our second bin earlier this week.   I have been trying to be more aware of how much waste I consume outside of the house.  I have been saving all my tea bags (and want to start saving the coffee grounds) from work.  When we go out to eat, we start by choosing places that don't use a lot of plastic or other waste, although last night we went out to eat with some friends and the restaurant served their food on styrofoam plates and only had plastic forks.

But we have been good otherwise, bringing home our napkins from lunch to be composted, not putting lids on cups, not using straws, and bringing home other leftover food that can be composted.  Some of our waste is unavoidable, like packaging for baby furniture.  But we have been reusing some of the packaging plastic bags and such.  We composted some of the cardboard and recycled the rest of what we could.

Nicki and I have been talking about ways to have less waste around the house, and I think junk mail is really wasteful.  I found a website that you can go to and fill out some info, including address and name.  It also asks for your SSN but it is not required you fill it in.  Once you sign up for the website you can manage everything from credit card offers, to catalogs, magazines, and all other junk mail.  It's pretty easy to do and it takes less than 5 minutes.

Check out the website.

dmachoice.org

I looked up some reviews on the company.  They are not supported by the BBB, but it seems that the USPS is affiliated with the service.

Wether you hate junk mail because it is a nuisance or just wanting to help the environment, you should consider signing up.  I've read that 1 million trees are cut down a year to supply the amount of junk mail you receive each year. (one site stated it was 2.6 million)  Junk mail also accounts for 1 billion pounds of landfill waste in the US.  Thats assuming 50% of junk mail is recycled each year, which the all knowing wikipedia says is at 45%.

For more information about the statistics about junk mail check out the website below.  It not only has statistics, but refers to the article or study where the information came from.

http://www.donotmail.org

Month 3

2 for 1 special tonight, so I don't feel so bad about being blog lazy.

This month is a continuation of last month.  A little penitence for not doing as well last month.  I want to take the no wasting thing a bit further.  Each month Nicki and I go through around 4 bags of garbage a month.  We are already doing a lot of recycling, but we still throw away a lot of garbage, mostly food.  My goal for this month is to throw away as little as possible, and have a half a can of garbage or less at the end of the month.

Our first step was to start our compost bin.  I had asked for worms this past christmas, but must not have been a good boy last year.  Apparently I'm a better husband, because I got some for Valentines day, along with an indoor composting kit from my lovely wife.  (also the DVD of the Phish show I was at this summer at Alpine Valley...pretty killer)  At this point we have pretty much filled up that first bin, I will update some pictures as we keep building it up.  The worms are pretty active now and we can see them squirming around.  I did some reading and found that our worms should double in population in three months, pretty crazy.  The worms came in a bag of 1000...that's 3000 worms, 1 baby, and 1 dog by June.

I'm not too sure how its going to go over with the Mrs. but I would like to try to cook everything with homemade ingredients.  It will help to cut down on the amount of stuff we have to throw away.  We are still good buying things in glass or paper because they can be recycled.  There is a lot at the grocery store we can buy in bulk like rice, beans, pasta, nuts, certain types of sugar, other food mixes...all in all a pretty good selection of food.  We can also refill our bottled cooking liquids like shoyu, olive oil, honey, tamari, and peanut butter.  Now it is just a matter of remembering to bring all the empty bottles.  

I'm still going to buy things that come in boxes.  I'm going to try to buy only items packaged in post-consumer materials, or at the least something we can recycle or compost.  If we can get really motivated, I'd like to try to make things out of any trash that we happen to accumulated to reuse...but I'm generally great at being lazy, so I doubt that will actually happen.

I'm going to go empty the garbage right now, and then start keeping track for the rest of the month.  Wish us luck. 

February low down

There is a lot of plastic in the world.  As the past month closed out, I got much better at getting rid of using plastic.  I had my occasional slip ups, but more times than not, I couldn't do much about it.  There were still instances when I would ask for water without a straw and the waitress would bring me a straw.  I guess I could have brought in my own water, but I didn't go hardcore about bringing my own drinks...maybe I should have.

One time, at the airport, I tried to do some homework and scout out places I could eat and not have to use plastic.  I found a mexican place that I could get with a paper boat to put my food in.  I asked the cashier to wrap my burrito in aluminum only without the plastic wrap.  I got my drink without a plastic lid or straw.  I was feeling pretty good about myself until i realized the only utensils they had were plastic.  After eating my burrito, I decided I would try to make my own spoon.  It actually worked out pretty well.

I was able to get rid of some more everyday plastic around the house.  I made my own toothpaste, so we don't have to buy the plastic tubes.  I haven't found any toothpaste in a metal tube.  I have a lot of friends suggesting Tom's of Maine and others, but I can't seem to find any toothpaste not in a plastic tube.  Even the aluminum tubes are lined with plastic on the inside with a plastic cap.

The toothpaste I made isn't fantastic by any means.  My wife noticed a peppermint smell the first time I brushed my teeth, but not since.  She says it doesn't smell bad, just not minty fresh.  My mouth feels clean afterwards, but it has a salty taste while I'm brushing.   The first time I brushed I was really surprised how salty it was, but when I rinsed my mouth I could really only taste peppermint.  The peppermint taste has gotten less and less since though.

The ingredients are:

1/4 cup baking powder
2 TBSP sea salt
2 TBSP peppermint extract

I think after this runs out I am going to give it another go, but I found a recipe with different extracts that also has a bit of hydrogen peroxide.

We also found All Natural Waxed Paper brand sandwich bags that are replacing our use of plastic ziploc bags.  We have also been using our glass jars to keep some of our pasta, trailmix, and nuts.  Now we don't have to buy these things in a plastic wrapped containers or bags.

This month I have also occasionally gone without anything to drink at a restaurant because I forgot to bring my own container and they only had plastic cups.  I had perused some stores for a no plastic water bottle, but outside buying a flask, I was again unable to find a non plastic alternative.  Every metal bottle I found had a plastic top.  I may still get one in the future, but I want to look around a little more to find one without plastic.

This month was definitely eye opening.  Its crazy how much plastic is wasted.  I think plastic definitely has its place.  Medical supplies and car parts are pretty crucial, but food gets a bit unnecessary.  This is another thing we are going to pay attention to, I hope I can get better and better with.

You win some, you lose some

It's everywhere.  New Orleans was a great time, but I still was bombarded with plastic.  Most of my problems are coming when I go out to eat.  I have been pretty good about asking for a drink with no straw, but there were times that the waitress still gave me a straw.  Some bars only sell drinks from plastic cups, which I didn't realize until she handed me my beer.  Needless to say, plastic is still kicking my butt.

I did find a sweet little store called lush.  Basically it is a little boutique with a ton of girl beauty products with a little wall for guy stuff.  I found some soap cut from a big brick, a deodorant bar made of all natural ingredients for smell and baking soda, even a shampoo bar that comes in a metal tin.

                                                            Shampoo

                                                          Soap

                                                                   Deodorant

Nicki and I have changed some habits with grocery shopping.  We bought some cinch up produce bags so we can buy our vegetables, beans, ect. in bulk and not have to worry about having it wrapped in a plastic container.  Now we just need to remember to bring it to the store each time, so we can buy everything we need at the store.  We are buying all of our juice in glass containers, and we don't use plastic bags for anything.   We have our own bags that we take to the store, and if we forget, we just carry it out in hand.

Luckily for us, our grocery coop has a lot of eco-friendly options, but there are a lot of things in the store that has been wrapped with plastic.  Some glass bottles have a plastic safety wrap over the cap.  Cookies, pasta, some rice, premixed ingredients...almost all come in a paper box, but inside its still wrapped with plastic.

All in all we have realized there is a big learning curve this month.  Each time we go somewhere and are surprised with plastic we try to remember to be more specific the next time.  I hope at the end of this week I can say we did better than last week.

Major Fails...plural.

I started this week out with a tasty treat at chipotle.  I was super pumped to start this months resolution and had reminded myself to not use any plastic before I ordered.  I told the cashier I would like a basket without any paper/plastic sheet on top.  Instead of grabbing me a regular basket, she grabs the paper off the top of a pre-made basket, crumples it up, and throws it into the garbage before putting my burrito on it.  What a great start to the month.

Thursday we went out to catch a show in town.  Nicki couldn't get her drinks in anything but plastic.  The bartender wouldn't let her carry around a can or glass mug.  So unfortunately, this week has started out pretty poorly.  I told Nicki that night I was going to have to be more proactive this month.  It was easier with the food, because I just had to worry about myself.  This month it seems everyone I have encountered makes it really hard for me not to use plastic.

Today I was sure I could make it work.  This morning Nicki roped me into getting up before 9 and going to a babystore.  We picked Wobert up some cloth diapers so we can show our family what kind we want, but some of them were individually wrapped in plastic bags.  I'm pretty sure the Mrs. didn't want to hear me tell her we couldn't buy them because they were wrapped in plastic, so I didn't say anything.

Tonight we went to the grocery store and had to pick up some scallops.  Last week when I bought seafood they put it in a paper and wrapped.  I thought it was safe to assume the same would happen tonight.  The meat man put my scallops in the paper wrapping and then proceeded to dump them into a large plastic bag.

Plastic 4 : Ryan 0

This week I am going to be in New Orleans, so it's going to be tougher not to use plastic. My goal is to go the whole trip without wasting any plastic. Now I just got to quit being lazy and go out and buy a metal water bottle.

Hello February, goodbye plastic

One month down, eleven to go.

I have long heard of the horrors of plastic bottles in the ocean, how BPA causes numerous health issues, and how bad bottling water is for the environment.  This month I plan on taking a bit deeper look into how bad plastic really is.

Along the way I have decided to not buy anything that contains plastic.  Goodbye plastic wrapped food, electronics, bottled juices, and plastic bags.  We have tried for a long time to really not use much plastic for shopping bags, but looking around the apartment, we haven't done much to limit the amount of plastic we buy.

This month I am going to really try to not buy anything plastic.  There is a lot of unnecessary waste going on in the world and plastics is a big problem.  At first I thought this would be nearly impossible, but there are a lot of people out there doing really well.  I know its going to be a challenge, but I like those.  I also like doing things a bit more different, so it will be fun along the way.

There will be some exceptions, for now anyway.  We have a lot of plastic containers that I plan on using to take my lunch to work.  We also have a full bottle of shampoo and conditioner that I fully plan on using, and doubt I will use up before the month is over.  It will be interesting when the toothpaste runs out though, as well as my deodorant.

This month I plan to do a better job at blogging more about the harmful effects of plastics on the body, environment, and the wallet.  If any of you have any other information regarding products that don't use plastic, or is an alternative to products that require plastic, I would love to hear about it.

I hope this month goes as well as the last.

The cost of eating healthier

Spring cleaning comes early in the Shelton home this year.  After everything Nicki and I have learned over the past month, we have cleaned out the fridge and the cupboards.  No more food with high fructose corn syrup, preservatives (mostly, I'll get to that in a bit), pastas and flour that aren't whole wheat, all things with aspartame.  We did leave behind our canned fruits and vegetables that didn't have anything but salt/water.  They aren't organic, but once we use them up we will continue to buy all organic when we can.

I know some of you are probably asking if it was worth it.  Undoubtedly, yes.

I started the month weighing in at a slightly sexy 187.5 lbs. and now I'm a slightly sexier 172 lbs.  

Last May we spent 208 dollars on groceries and 552 dollars eating out at restaurants.

This month we spent 599 dollars on food and 101 dollars eating out at restaurants.

I know it seems like a lot of money on groceries, but for us it was cheaper.  We spent $760 on food in may, and $700 on food this past month.  A lot of that money was spent the first week buying the necessary ingredients to cook out meals.  We had to restock olive/canola oils, new pasta, and new canned veggie/fruits.  During one week we spent less than 100 bucks on food. 

I may keep track next month on how much we spend on food and restaurants to have more of a realistic tally of a typical month.

A lot of people ask me if I feel any better.  Truthfully, no.  I never really felt bad though.  Maybe if I had some chronic issue, or got sick more often, it would be a different story.

I also get asked if I got any cravings.  Kind of, but not really.  I really wanted pickles the first week, but I got over that.  I used to leave work and smell the sweet sweet smells of Mi Mexico, but I don't really notice it now.  Before this month I couldn't make myself to not eat out for lunch, now I don't really think about it at all.  After the first 2 weeks I found some apple, pomegranate, and mango juices at the local grocery store, that helped a ton.

All in all, I don't plan to change too much in the upcoming months.  I will slack a bit here and there with the more strict rules like only eating sea salt and not going out to eat, but plan on continuing to have one week where I only eat organic just to make sure I keep on the healthy eating path.  

I probably wont quit blogging about new food information I find, or other recipes, but I will focus more on next months resolution.  Occasionally I will update new recipes that we find delicious. 

So you have seen what can happen when you change the way you eat.  Why not try it for a week and see how you do?

just over a week to go.

This month has gone pretty fast.  I'm still learning quite a bit about food...good and bad.  I'm realizing people really don't know much about food.  Not just people like me, but people that should know a lot about food...like dietitians and nurses.  I have realized that people do really care about what they eat, but just don't really think about thinking about food.

Looking back I was that guy.  I wanted to eat healthy but really didn't know how.  It'a really hard to know what's good for you.  Labels saying "all natural" typically have preservatives.  "Natural flavorings" may mean some chemical compound tastes like chicken.  And stores sell "healthy fruit juice" for toddlers that really contain no real juice.  It's crazy what companies can get away with to trick consumers.

From what I have learned, I fully plan on keeping up with my eating ways...mostly.  It's really not that hard to buy organic, or eat locally, or not eat processed foods.  I'm still up in the air about meat.  My buddy just sent me a link (http://www.nonviolenceunited.org/veganvideo.html) and it makes complete sense to me.  It basically points out that being vegan is very beneficial to the planet, and the people.  I am definitely going to stay mostly vegetarian, but I don't see myself fully giving up meat completely.

From a basic health standpoint I think "vegetarian" options for food can be bad for you also.  Most meat substitutes have some nasty stuff in them.  Boca burgers, imitation meat, ect can be packed with preservatives and a lot of sodium.  I think the general public sees a vegetarian diet as being very healthy.  I definitely think it can be, but it also has some very unhealthy options.

I will avoid factory farmed animals, but I think I'm ok with sustainable grass fed animals. I will mostly just eat fish (sushi is too damned good) but if I ever come across some organic farm with some fantastic meal that has some kind of animal meat in it, I'll give it a go.  I will also eat out every once in a while...its a nice treat (I do miss trying out new restaurants with my wife), but really hard to follow a strict eating diet when you eat out.

I guess it boils down to the more you know, the better decisions you can make.  The hard thing is if you really care about what your eating, you have to do the work.  Each company has a marketing team to make things seem more healthy than they really are.  There is also a lot of great information out there on how to eat healthy that you wont find if you don't look.  I have not once seen anything on cable tv about how to eat healthy, other than when trying to sell a product, or making vague statements like "eat more fruit and vegetables".

So far eating healthy this month has been pretty good to me.  I'm still too lazy to work out, but now have lost 12 pounds in three weeks.  Unfortunately my bald spot isn't filling in, so I guess changing your diet does have some limitations.

Recipes

I thought I would share a couple of our favorite recipes of the past two weeks.  My favorite thus far is definitely the rustic pasta.  I think I could eat this nightly.  Anyway, I hope some of you try it.  If you do, leave a comment let me know what you think.

If any of you have any other good recipes, leave a comment and share.

Rustic Pasta

Serves 4 to 6

-1/4 pound pasta (Nicki and I used whole wheat fettucini)
-2 tbps olive oil
-2 large onions thinly sliced
-2 garlic cloves finely chopped
-2 celery stalks diced
-1/4 cup shoyu (type of soy sauce)
-1/2 tsp fine sea salt
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1 head of cabbage thinly sliced
(we used half of a cabbage because I don't like cabbage...turns out cabbage is really good with this recipe.  If you don't like cabbage, I'd still say you should try it and use a half a head of cabbage)
-5-6 tbps marinara sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt the water and add the pasta; cook just until al dente. Drain the pasta
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions and cook for 7 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and saute for 3 minutes longer, until the onions are transparent and turning golden.
Add the celery to the skillet and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the shoyu, salt, and garlic powder, then add the cabbage; saute for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes longer.
Add the pasta to the skillet with the marinara sauce and toss together. Cook over medium-high heat for a minute or two and serve.


Pecan Crusted Seitan


Note:  I wasn't sure if Seitan would fit into my diet, so we used 2 mahi mahi filets instead. It was fantastic.  Maybe the best fish we've ever made.  I have never had seitan, so I can't really comment on how it tastes.

Marinade3/4 c. tomato paste
1/4 c. umeboshi vinegar (we used ume plum vinegar since we couldn't find the original)
1/4 c. dry red wine (we left this out because we had no organic wine)
1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 c. shoyu
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. minced fresh tarragon or 1 tbsp. dried tarragon
2 tbsps. minced fresh rosemary (we had no rosemary so substituted oregano)

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade into a blender and blend until smooth.  Transfer the marinade to a shallow dish and add 8-10 pieces of seitan.  Turn to coat on all sides.  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight or at least 3 hours.

When finished marinating, mix together 2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 cup ground pecans (I ground mind in a mortor and pestle.  A food processor would probably work well too.), and 2 tbsps. finely chopped rosemary in a shallow bowl.  Dredge the seitan in this mixture.

Heat 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil in a pan,  and add the seitan to the pan.  Saute until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. 



Another note: I royal suck and breading food and making it stay on.  Anyone have any good ideas.  most of the breading came off the fish when I flipped it.  After I cooked it, I just put it on top of the fish...still really good.




Happy eating kids.

Shocker: Big corporations really just want to make money.

I really don't know where to start.  I have been doing a ton of "research" through the internet and other documentaries.  We even took a eating healthy class at the local co-op, which wasn't very helpful by the way.  The more I read, the more I realize I have been putting a lot of junk in my body.

The more I learn, the more irritated I get at commercials/marketing.  I saw a commercial a while ago with a small happy/healthy family that basically said that new research has shown that real sugar is no different than high fructose corn syrup.  What the hell?  From what I have looked up it has no real nutritional qualities. It's basically a drug.  Your body uses the refined sugar super fast, giving the body a nice little high, then crashes and causes you to want more.  The more you eat of it, the more you want of it, and it actually makes you feel like you need to eat more of it to feel full.

I'm also starting to get really annoyed with the fine line between big corporations and government.  One documentary I was watching talked about how the huge Monsanto corporation (who pretty much owns patents on most genetically modified corn/grains) are making corn seeds that have terminator genes.  So if you are a farmer and plant this particular seed, once the corn is harvested you can't use any remaining seeds for future crops.  Pretty much making a damn monopoly.  Thats all fine and dandy if the big farming companies can afford it, but lets assume this seed gets sold to smaller/third world countries.  These people rely on being able to save their seeds in order to plant future crops.  They can't afford to buy new seeds each year.  If just one seed gets into their land and crosses with the existing crops, that gene could eventually cause those farmers to lose future crops.  Some may say bullshit, but its already happening.  Monsanto has sued many small farmers whose crops had cross pollinated with neighboring crops.  These farmers didn't even want (or plant) monsanto's seeds, but because nature did its thing, these farmers were sued for patent infringement.

It would make sense to the commoner that these small farmers would have a pretty good case.  Turns out the big wigs of Monsanto continually have their big wigs elected to positions at the FDA, Dept. of Agriculture, and top white house aide positions.  It just doesn't seem right.  It's amazing to think about all the technology and money pumped into the food industry.  All this technology is allowing greater crop yields, at the price of costly fertilizers and less nutritious foods.  And to top it off, (I would assume not all) farmers don't make enough money to cover all costs without government subsidies.  So the government is spending billions of dollars to help keep this unsustainable cycle going.  From 1995-2009 the government has spent $246.7 billion in subsidies to farmers.  But I'm sure the big corporations have nothing to do with this.

If you are interested in the crazy shenanigans of big corporations and manipulating the public, check out "Food Matters".  It makes spending the extra few bucks on organic food a little more tolerable.

Another side note: the federal gov't has taken over the process of being certified organic.  They have made it much more expensive and now some smaller local farmers can't afford the certification, yet they do everything necessary to actually grow their produce organically.  I'm sure this isn't a coincidence either.

Sorry for the soap box.  I'm really starting to care about the way things operate now, and my hope is that some of you think twice the next time you reach for a box of food at the grocery store.  Is it really healthy?  Is it really promoting sustainable farming?  Or is this box just some big marketing scheme to trick you into buying something thats harming you/your childs body, putting your local farmers out of business, or destroying farm land?

1 week and 8 pounds later...

I know you have seen/heard it.  There are hundreds of ads and commercials that state you can lose up to 10 pounds in a week, or month.  They really used to irritate me.  Mostly because it seemed that the rest of the medical community says losing 2 pounds a week is the "healthy" way to lose weight.  Although, I don't disagree that super fast weight loss may not be healthy, its probably not a good way to sustain a healthy weight.  

And then I lost 8 pounds this week.  I weighed in last sunday at 187.5 pounds, and now I'm sitting at 179.5.  If it was anyone else, I would probably call their bluff.  Last month I started doing P90X with a buddy from work.  I tried to eat better, mostly trying not to eat out as much and cut back on soda.  I had already gone mostly vegetarian since last Feburary, but I was eating tofurkey and other meat substitutes daily.  I did lose a bit of weight, maybe 4-5 pounds in that month.

Just to make things easier I'll give you a list of the things I did eat.

Any fruit or vegetable at the store that was organic

Whole wheat bread 

Whole wheat pasta

Whole wheat pizza crust

Ezekiel "tortilla" Shells

Raw milk cheese

Other organic canned sauce, beans, and veggies

Sea salt (table salt is refined and really bad for you)

Organic Beer (Bison IPA is really good)

Carrot juice, black tea, and water

Take a look kids.  Think about what you ate last week.  I pretty much ate the same dinners ( 2 nights of pizza, pasta, couscous with vegetables, burritos, and salads with roasted potato/veggies) that we normally do.  All we did was swap out ingredients.  I fully don't expect to lose 8 pounds a week, I really think this week was more of a detox than anything.  

And I don't want this month to be about losing weight either.  I never really felt like I was starving (sometimes at work I wanted a snack, but didn't have anything I could eat), I pretty much ate until I was full, and I didn't skip any meals.  I actually starting eating more for breakfast and snacked in between meals with chia seeds or fruit.  Some of the dinners (especially the couscous) made me feel full after less than a bowl full.  The "experts" would say I felt full because the foods we were eating held much more nutrients...I'd have to agree.

This week has me excited for next week.  I don't really have to be hungry, I can eat pretty much the same meals I ate before, I can wear shirts that were too tight to wear before (super pumped to be wearing my Ray LaMontagne shirt again).  My wife hasn't started to jump my bones daily, but maybe after next week things will change.

Are any of you reading this doing a healthy resolution?  If so, give this a try for a week.  I really think it will work for you.  It takes slightly longer to get through the grocery store, but I think it's worth it in the end.  If you try it (and I hope you do), let me know how I works out for you.

January

It all started with the documentary "No impact man".  Did you know you can live for a full year with nearly no impact on the environment?  I didn't either.  I fully expected this guy to have to give up and wuss out.  Not only did this guy give up electricity (he figured out solar eventually), but he was able to do it with his wife and 2 year old daughter.  After watching his documentary I kind of felt like a shmuck for talking a big game without really doing anything about it.

This lead to an interest in other documentaries which lead me to another..."the beautiful truth".  Pretty much delved into the idea that food can help cure/prevent disease.  Pretty interesting stuff, but pretty extreme.  Regardless of the right vs. wrong, it really got me thinking about what we eat. 

I decided I wanted to see what it would be like if I ate the way people ate hundreds of years ago...no preservatives, no herbicides/pesticides, grown organically in a way to help sustain future crops.  So thats the deal for this month.   I'm not eating anything processed or non organic.  I'm finding out this isn't so black and white.  Pretty much if any foods have ingredients I can't pronounce, or wouldn't be considered food by our great great grandparents...I'm not eating it.  Goodbye Nerds (thanks for the 100 mini boxes you gave me mom, now I get to stare at them and remember how delicious they are), Goodbye Chipotle (although on a scale of not so good for you...you're not doing too bad), Goodbye foods pumped with unnecessary hormones and fertilizers (if you have to wear biohazard clothing to spray the crops we eat, why would/should we eat it?).

I'm looking forward to this month.  It's going to be tough.  I'm excited to see what good will come out of it.

And it starts...a couple of days ago

This past year has been a fun ride with moving, meeting new people, and learning how to be a bit more green.  My wife and I (mostly my wife) have learned new and interesting ways to live, clean, and eat without such a major impact on the environment.  This year I thought I would try to be a bit more extreme in speeding up my learning curve.

After watching a few documentaries about lessening our impact on the world and the crazy shit big corporations do to save a buck, make millions, and stick it to the lesser informed population, I felt it was time to do my small little part to get back to the way things used to be...just to see if it is the way things still could be.

For the last...well every new years resolution has pretty much been a major fail.  My resolution this year is to push myself do the things that I feel are the right things to do, the things that I used to think were too hard to do, or the ones I was just too lazy to try.  I want learn as much as I can about being as healthy as possible, I want to become a more informed consumer (I stole that from my friend Meghann), and I want to see how it impacts our family both financially and physically.  While I'm at it, I thought maybe blogging about it would get some new information out to other people, so that you can make a more informed decision about how you want to live your life.

Each month I am going to try to drastically change my behaviors and be very strict for a full month.  I figure if I do something new each month, I can learn more throughout a year, and I have less chance of giving up on another new years resolution.

I'm not sure how this whole blogging thing is going to go, I don't plan on this whole thing becoming very popular.  I hope to update my on-goings, try to inform others on new information I find through readings/documentaries, and maybe even help other people change their behaviors.  I'm sure I will keep up with some things for the long haul, and slack off on the others, but over all I think I will be a healthier and happier Shelton after this year is over.