spreading the word about reusable bags

Last night while the DH and I were going through the self-checkout at the grocery store, a cashier came up and started asking me about my reusable grocery bags.  At first I thought her tone was accusatory, but then I realized she was just curious – asking where I got them and how sturdy they were.  I tore off the tag from one – sewn in explicitly for the purpose of tearing it off and giving it to other interested parties.  The tag explains the concept behind using these bags and not plastic or paper.  I’m happy to brag about the bags – I love them! 

happy little kitchen

Well, Monday night’s kitchen adventure didn’t turn out as well as I expected.  We did try the beet greens, sautéed with some bacon-wrapped pork chops.  They were pretty good – it was something new at least.  The beets themselves, though, didn’t quite pan out – there were far fewer beets in the bag that I expected, so I had to choose between the roasted beet salad and the “beetnik” cake.  I chose the cake, and set to work shredding the beets.  Or, at least trying to shred them.  They don’t shred easily. Not in my cheese grater, nor in the food processor.  Ugh.  I got about halfway through them before I had to leave for dance class.  I stuck them in the fridge and when I got back they’d turned from white and red (these were Chioggia beets – the bulls-eye variety) to an icky purple.  Kinda like apples or potatoes turn brown after being in the air too long.  Not appealing.  So I scrapped the beet ideas and started on the sweet potatoes.  This went much better.  I cooked and mashed all of them, then constructed two sweet potato pies to freeze.  One will go to work with me for our holiday potluck, and the other will be baked for Thanksgiving dinner.  This used up about a third of the sweet potato mash, so I stuck the rest in the fridge and last night assembled 6 Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos.  I’m trying one today for lunch.  Mmm…

 

I still have 3 summer squash in the fridge – a zucchini, I think, and a couple of pattypan.  I know we have some feta left, so tonight might be the night for Greek lamb burgers with cucumber sauce and feta-stuffed squash. Then a scary movie and passing out candy to the neighborhood ghouls and goblins…

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Wait...Is that a...???

Yes! That is most certainly a Cadbury Egg! In October??? What's going on? I guess the Cadbury folks came to their senses and decided to market the "world's perfect food" (IMHO) as a Christmas-time treat.


Sure, I know that Cadbury isn't the most ethical of chocolate companies, and these eggs aren't organic or fair-trade, but come on! I could live off of them. My dear, sweet husband picked up two of these little gems for me last night, knowing that I'd had a rough day and needed a little chocolate action. Awwww...nothing soothes the pain like a Cadbury Creme Egg...

sourdough goodness

I had a craving for bread this weekend, so I picked up a loaf of Old Market Sourdough at the local Hyvee store.  I knew this was a local bread company, as we’d seen them at the farmer’s market, but I hadn’t tried it yet.  O. M. G.  It is heaven in a slice of bread.  Seriously, it is the best bread I’ve had in a good long while.  I slathered it with butter, but it didn’t need it.  I ate the whole loaf (20 ounces) in just under 2 days.  I think I shared one slice with ML.  It was hard to spare that much. J 

 

I need to spend part of my evening tonight doing more local-food-related business – mainly cooking up all the veggies I got from the co-op before they go bad!  I have beets and sweet potatoes to focus on, ‘cause I know the squash will hang on a little longer.  I looked up a few appealing recipes this morning.  These are the ones I’m focusing on:

v      Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos – recipe promised that they freeze well.

v      Beetnik Cake – one more attempt to get the folks at work to eat their veggies (covered in cream cheese frosting).

v      Braised Beet Greens and Pork Chops – that’ll be dinner tonight.

v      Sweet Potato Casserole – to be frozen for Thanksgiving dinner.

v      Roasted Beet and Feta Salad – if there are beets leftover, this will make a good lunch this week…

I’ve never had beet greens before, so I’m a little apprehensive about dinner tonight.  But I figure it’s worth a try – I have them, so better this than just tossing them out.  

another sleepy Monday

It’s Monday and I’m exhausted again. These busy weekends are hard on me…but I love them! This particular weekend included two plays, a farm tour, a Halloween party or two, a trail race, and a visit with my dad.

On Friday night, the DH and I met up with ML and our friend Amanda to see the Shelterbelt’s annual ShelterSkelter production. This year, they performed “The Duchess of Malfi.” I can’t say this was my favorite of their SS shows, but it was decent. Very dark and disturbing.

Saturday morning, the DH insisted that we sleep in…yeah, right. I woke up right at 5 a.m. I suffer from that weekend/summer vacation thing that causes you to not be able to sleep in on days you don’t have to work. Hmmm…

ML and I trekked out to the Kvam family farm in West Point, NE for a farm tour. We saw dairy cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, a friendly dog and many cats, watched a vinegar cheese demonstration and took a hay rack ride. I learned about raw milk and how to distract a hen while collecting her eggs. J

Saturday night, the DH and I donned our “White Trash” Halloween costumes and headed downtown for the Haunted Vault party at ML’s building and then on to my friend Maurine’s annual bash. Everyone got a kick out of our getups and we won the costume contest, narrowly defeating a couple of Elf characters. I think the DH’s mullet was the clincher.

Sunday was spend helping with race-day registration at the YMCA Master’s Classic 15k/5k race, and then running the 5k. Since it was a “masters” race and I’m not old yet, I didn’t qualify for any of the prizes… My dad was in town to run the 15k. I should probably amend that statement to say “My insane dad”, since this was his second race of the day and third of the weekend. He’s running 3 races next weekend, too. Just crazy, I tell ya…

ML and I met up again in the evening to see Seascape at the Blue Barn Theatre. This was the better play of the weekend – very entertaining, a story of a couple nearing their twilight years sitting on the beach discussing their life…they are joined by a couple of lizards that have climbed from the sea to see what the world was all about. Weird, but good. J

Not-so-toasty buns

Crunchy Chicken announced her latest challenge last week, the Freeze Yer Buns & Lower the Thermostat challenge.  Instead of a measly one week or one month challenge, this one goes ALL winter!  Nov 1 – Apr 1.  Eek!  That’s a long time…  I signed up, of course, pledging to stay at or below 65 degrees during the day and 58 at night.  Hmmm…maybe I should tell the DH about this…he’s probably not going to like this challenge, as it affects him as much as me.  I’m curious to see what happens to our OPPD bill.  I think we can do it – I just bought some new slippers for padding around the house in, and we have down comforters tucked away in the closet.  We’ll be fine… J  Yes, it’ll be a little chilly, but it is winter, after all – it’s supposed to be cold!  

 

more, more, more

Yes, I am a little bloggin' fiend today, but I skipped the last couple o' days and am now shaking a bit. :) Plus I finally took some pics of my scarf pumpkins and wanted to share. My what? Well, a few days ago, a girl on Wardrobe Refashion shared these little stuffed pumpkins she made from some old shirts and sweater. I thought, hey! I can do that! I took these scarves, purchased years ago at a thrift store...

...and some leftover green velvet, sewed 'em up, and stuffed them with batting from an old comforter the washing machine destroyed, and voila! Pumpkins. Kind of. I've only done these two, 'cause I get easily distracted, but I've still got plenty of fabric and a ton of stuffing, so a few more will appear when I get a spare moment...

I did forget to snap a pic of these awesome army men earrings I bought from the co-op this week. They are so cute! Recycled little green army men toys, made into earrings. Probably not work-appropriate. :) Last night I helped out at the co-op pickup again. Being my second time, I am now a "pro" and got to handle the cash box as well as run orders. I didn't order nearly as much as the first time, but this is a special order period in between the normal monthly orders - I'll buy a lot more in November I'm sure (we're hosting Thanksgiving). I stuck with mainly produce this time - beets, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, mesclan salad mix, and a few summer squash. Ooh, and eggs! I got blue and green Araucana chicken eggs. :)

After the co-op, I met up with ML at an "evils of factory farms" lecture hosted by the Sierra Club and Raven's Haven. A very very informative talk was presented by some very passionate local organic farmers and anti-CAFO activists, and we got to watch this cute little video. I felt a little ill afterwards...I think I am pretty much done with conventially-raised meat, at least at home. We shall see - I didn't do so well with the chocolate...

Carpool, anyone?

Today I registered for an account on Metro Rideshare, a local carpooling program.  So far, there are no matches for me (I feel so rejected!), but hopefully as more people learn about the program, I’ll find some carpool buddies.  While I do worry about the loss of flexibility that comes with driving myself to work, I loath driving every day, so this would be a welcome change from my daily routine.  We shall see…

 

Emo week

It’s been a pretty emotional week in the Diva Soma world.  We have one dear friend in the hospital and another lost a loved one.  These are just two in a series of sad events this year, it seems.  I don’t generally get emotional in front of people, but on my way home last night from a Diva vigil at Gnosis, I nearly broke down.  

This morning wasn’t much better – I was listening to Story Corps on NPR; it was a story about how this couple, now married for 57 years, had met, courted, and married within 3 days and never regretted it.  It moved me enough to call the DH and reminded him that I love him.  Sappy, huh?  We have our share of silly little arguments, but I don’t foresee any regrets in my life concerning my marriage.  

Make sure your loved ones know how much they mean to you!  And if you get a chance, send some good vibes towards the Divas – we need it!

Sauce day

I took a sick day on Wednesday, but I can only sleep for so long...so I headed to the basement to see how my tomatoes were doing. A couple of weeks ago, I picked a few large bowls of green tomatoes from our garden, wrapped the best of them in newspaper and shelved them in the basement to ripen. Wednesday I brought up 6 POUNDS of ripe red tomatoes!

What to do with them? How 'bout tomato sauce? Even better, how about Garlic-Basil Tomato Sauce from my trusty Ball Blue Book? Mmmm... If I'd realized that 6 lbs of 'maters only yields roughly 2 1/2 lbs of sauce, I might not have fired up the canner, but what'd'ya do? Next time I'll freeze the stuff.

I only pulled up about 1/3 of the tomatoes from downstairs, so there is plenty of sauce left to make. Plus on Tuesday, the DH decided he'd had enough of looking at the messy late-fall garden and brought in the rest of the greenies! :) The vines have now been chopped down for the season and winter is on it's way...

My husband's a hippie and doesn't know it

Well, not really.  But he did buy low-flow showerheads for our bathrooms 2 years ago without realizing it.  I noticed today as I rinsed off that our showerhead spits out only 2.5 gallons/minute.   While I realize that there are lower flow heads out there (1 gpm), 2.5 is pretty good compared to the conventional 6 gpm, right?  (Agree with me – you’ll make my day!)  2.5 gpm does meet the definition of “low-flow” so I’m happy. J

 

Now get on with your day, and stop picturing me in the shower.  Pervs!

 

Not so bright?

We have most of the rooms in our house converted to compact fluorescent bulbs. Last night the DH informed me that one of the CFLs in our bedroom was flickering and about to burn out. He was happy to tell me about it, because he thinks it's funny to watch me get all riled up about environmental "stuff".

This is my first experience with CFLs, but I’m guessing, like every product you can buy, sometimes there are duds. Especially if you’re like me and bought the cheapest CFLs you could find. So, out of the 24 or so bulbs I’ve purchased to date, one of them didn’t last 6 months. OK, fine. Let’s just write the whole concept of saving energy and saving money off as a big scam – we’ve been had! Whatever, I don’t think so. I think we got one bad bulb – nothing in life is perfect, OK? When they all crap out in under a year, I’ll consider changing my mind, but for now, I think CFLs are a pretty bright idea.

Love Your Body Day

I missed this one – the holiday was technically last Thursday (October 18)– oops!  Nevertheless, it’s always a good day to Love Your Body.  I’m still working on this one myself. 

 

 

Mmmm...chocolate

Because I firmly believe no one should go through life without at least trying my grandmother's chocolate sauce, I'm going to post the recipe. I don't know if this is hers originally, but that's where I got it! Thanks, Grandma!

Chocolate Sauce:
Melt 1/2 cup butter in small saucepan. Add 1 1/2 cups white sugar and 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Blend in 2/3 cups light cream or evaporated milk. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Poor over ice cream or yellow cake. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and eat by the spoonful when the spirit hits you. :) Enjoy!

I got a hankering for this stuff tonight, and we just so happened to have most of the ingredients (I used milk instead of cream) and a box of Birthday Cake-flavored ice cream. That's what I call dinner!

This was definitely a better meal than the others I had this weekend. Friday night at the home and garden show, my salad and banana wore off and I gave in and bought a cheeseburger from the concession stand. Uck. The bun was hard on one side and who knows how long those condiments had been out. (Please don't tell me.) Saturday I indulged in a slice of Valentino's pizza, which was decent, but after the game we ate at Buffalo Wild Wings. I don't even know why I keep trying to find good food there. I should order fries and call it a night - it's pretty hard to screw up potatoes. A chicken wrap, however - that can be screwed up an infinite number of ways! It just wasn't good...

Food aside, the weekend was fun. I already went over Friday night, so we'll skip that. :) Saturday, the DH and I caravaned to Lincoln with his band buddy and girlfriend. The first quarter of the game got our hopes up a little too much, so the loss was just that much more painful. We left mid-fourth-quarter. We did get to see Tom Osbourne, though! I had hoped he'd be in the box behind our seats, 'cause that's where Steve Pederson had sat during the previous games. I bet it was kind of a shock to Larry the Cable Guy (next box over) that someone else was getting all the attention in the North Stadium for a change!

Hard to get a picture of Tom - he kept his back to the crowd:

After a beer with our road-trip pals, we headed back to Omaha to meet up with some neighbors at Scary Acres, a local haunted attraction. We made it through the House on the Hill and the Castle before we went home - the DH had to work early this morning. I didn't have to work, but I did get up early to pick up trash with the Omaha Running Club along the West Papio Trail and take a quick run. The rest of today has been dance practice and starting projects. Starting is the operative word here - I've basically just made a huge mess! All the better to end a pretty good weekend...

Here's some trash I picked up on the trail - an aereson can stuck in some brush:

Beer goggles for the masses

Found these in a Grist email this morning: Real Beer Goggles! via Urban Spectacles .

Other cool stuff sent out by the fine folks at Grist: 

• Kansas denies a permit to build a new coal plant because of concerns over C02 emissions (via Washington Post).  Where were these guys when OPPD got theirs? :P
• Ever heard of "green un-building" (via New York Times)?  It's the deconstruction of structures in environmentally-responsible ways.  If the DH is reading this, we can benefit from this practice - lots of folks donate their deconstructed-but-still-perfectly-good materials to the Habitat for Humanity Restore (there's one in Omaha!).

Thanks, Grist-y folks - you go well with coffee.

New obsession

I’ve discovered the wonderful world that is other people’s orthodontics and orthognathic surgery blogs.   I could read their stories all day.  It’s amazing how into a subject you can get when you are about to go through the experience yourself.

I haven’t told too many people what my plan is.  The DH knows, of course.  I told ML, some folks at work, a friend in the Jr. League.  I haven’t told my mom yet, or my sister that has braces.  I’m sure they’ll notice eventually. J   I’m not staying hush-hush out of embarrassment necessarily; more likely to keep anyone from talking me out of it!  

I feel like I’m reverting to adolescence; 28 going on 13…not only ‘cause of the braces, but also ‘cause my skin is throwing a fit, as well.  Great.  All the fun of my teens with a master’s degree and a mortgage…

Nerd or old lady?

I was flipping through the paper and in the Living Section some lady said the “hot new item” this year at the craft fairs would be “pocket scarves”.  Ooh, I though to my self, what’s a pocket scarf???  A quick Google tells me that it’s a knitted or crocheted scarf wrapped loosely around the neck with pockets at the end to keep your hands warm.  My first reaction?  Cool, I can do that!  Second reaction?  How old am I that I’m excited about crochet patterns???

Oh, well, however geeky or old-lady-like it is, scarves are the one thing I can crochet with ease at this point, and this sounds like a quick little project suited for my Saturday road trip to the Husker game. J

 

Money is no object

Well, of course that’s not true, but at least it’s no longer the obstacle keeping me from getting my teeth fixed.  The DH found out that his insurance doesn’t cover orthodontics (mine does), but we can use his FSA to pay for the first 6 months of treatment, then use my FSA for the rest (my FSA doesn’t kick until July).  So, now that the money question is answered, I’m just waiting to meet with the surgeon.  Of course, paying for the surgery is an entirely different story!

 

The DH finally got to record last night – he laid down his drum tracks and the bass player did his as well.  Hopefully it turns out as well as they think it will.  I’m really excited to hear some of their music! 

 

Last night I spent my evening sewing, as usual.  I fixed the pinstripe vest that goes with my Belly Dance Business Suit – it gaped in the back.  No more!  I need to come up with a new choreography for the next hafla so I can show it off right.  

I also sewed some prototypes for these reusable shopping bags ML convinced her friend I could make.  We’ll see… J

 

Tonight is another night off, kind of.  No outside obligations, except stopping by the Omaha Marathon Volunteer Appreciation Night gathering after work, and then grocery and Halloween costume shopping with the DH.  I am totally against buying Halloween costumes, but maybe we’ll come up with some decent ideas while looking around.  I’m having “costume block” this week and we’re running out of time.

The rest of the week will be busier, for sure – tomorrow I’m helping demonstrate helmet safety at a Jr. League HIP Kids Family Night, and Friday ML and I are handing out CFLs with the Sierra Club at a home and garden show.  Good times…

 

Kinda Scared

When I was in college, my mom suggested I get braces.  I didn’t.  A couple of years ago, once I was out on my own and had money and insurance and all that good stuff, I looked into.  Eek, it was expensive!  Not only would I require braces, but also surgery to correct my jaw.  I spent the money I had set aside on Lasik instead…  Recently, the subject came back up.  The DH agreed that we could afford the whole procedure if I were something I truly wanted.  

Yesterday I made the call to the orthodontist.  Today I went in for diagnostic imaging.  X-rays, plaster molding, photographs galore, the whole nine yards, the results of which fit in a 8 ½ x 11 inch folder.  Now I need to visit with the maxillofacial surgeon (and figure out the insurance drama) and within 24 months, I’ll have a whole new smile.  I’m excited.  And scared.  Terrified actually.  I’m not a big fan of pain…or giving up foods I love…or not being able to talk well…or just looking weird in general.  And I’m about to sign on the dotted line to PAY for all of these things!  Am I crazy?!?  Probably.  I know it’ll pay off in the end, but the end seems so far away…

Something that is nagging at me, though, is the whole superficial nature of it.  True that my bite is WAY off and I’m starting to have some pain in my jaw, but am I doing this for health reasons or just in the name of vanity?  I recently finished reading Jessica Valenti’s Full Frontal Feminism (I highly recommend it – a must read), and I agree with most of what she says, especially when it comes to looks and the value placed on them for (and by) women.  Men aren’t judged by their looks nearly as much as by their ability, but for women, appearance seems to be held higher than any other factor when determining worth – self-worth especially.  I’ve never felt pretty.  Is this my fault, or have I just been conditioned this way by our silly supermodel-loving culture?  Does fixing my teeth mean I’ve fallen for the whole pretty-girl con hook, line, and sinker?  Does it make me shallow?  Am I less feminist because I want to like my smile?

On the other hand, it’s not like I’m getting breast implants or collagen injections or something.  This is dental work.  It is as much about the health of my teeth as it is about self-esteem.  

Hmmm…I guess I will justify it to myself anyway I have to, because it is something I want to do… 

Crocheting...again

I picked up a copy of Stitch ’N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker at the library and have been attempting to re-teach myself how to crochet. I used to know how…kind of. My mother showed me how to do a single-stitch well enough to make a bunch of big fluffy scarves. (I gave my now-MIL one for the first Christmas the DH and I were together and she still wears it. I’m not sure if she really loves it or is just that polite…) Anyhow, this time it wasn’t going so well. First I tried the big fluffy yarn that I had in my stash, but I couldn’t discern the individual stitches and therefore couldn’t move past the initial chain. Then I bought some thinner yarn, but it was cheap crap that untwisted itself. Still couldn’t get past that damn chain! After witnessing a *little* tantrum this weekend, my visiting mother grabbed the hook and yarn away from me and finished the first row for me. From there I just practiced some stitches until I was comfortable with them – single, half-double, double, triple, etc. It worked! After my folks left, I unraveled the whole thing and tried, tried again until I mastered the chain-first row process. Then I moved on to some patterns. I got tired of unraveling each piece, so I just started chaining off each one when I wanted to move on to a new pattern. Clockwise from top left: a slightly mussed-up fishnet pattern, a mesh pattern, a combo of puffy stitches, a shell pattern, and a V pattern. Once I’ve done a few more, I think I’ll be ready to move on to something I might actually be able to wear… Thanks for your patience, Mom!

Individual Actions - Blog Action Day post

Today is Blog Action Day, and although I hardly consider myself a “real” blogger, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon.  I like to be trendy, you know…  The focus of this year’s BAD is The Environment.  Environmentalism is the latest “trend”, right?  Let’s take advantage of that!  Green looks good on everyone…

According to the BAD organizers, BAD is all about mass participation, but for my part I’d like to focus on individual action.  What can you do, as an individual, as one little person, to save the planet?  Lots!

Look at individuals such as Colin Beaven (aka No Impact Man) – living a year in what many people would consider poverty-stricken conditions to reduce his impact to the environment.  He is just one person.  Why does this one person’s lifestyle change make a difference, you may ask?  Not because he is necessarily reversing global warming though actions such as shunning cars and elevators or washing his clothes in the bathtub.  No, while these acts are impressive, he is doing something much more critical – he is serving as an example.

Almost every action you take can be observed by those around you, whether it is something as simple as tossing your pop can in the recycling bin instead of the garbage can (or on the ground!), or leading a protest against the use of Styrofoam in your school cafeteria (uh, yeah I did that once…), other people see you and remember what you do.  Later, when these same people have a can of soda, they will hopefully think back to your action and choose to recycle rather than dispose.

I was reminded of my early “activist” days this weekend.  My mother, who still teaches at my former elementary/high school (yes, our town was that small), told me that people are still talking about the day I led a raid on the trash cans in the lunch room to “rescue” all the Styrofoam from the garbage.  I was 11 at the time – how are people still discussing this incident?  No matter – the important thing is that I made an impression on someone!

You can too – through small everyday actions, like bringing your own reusable bag, taking advantage of the recycling programs offered at your work or school, bringing your own reusable water bottle (or just asking for tap water), buying local food, riding your bike more (and driving less), etc.  All these things are easy enough for one person to do, but highly visible and therefore influential on those around you.

So think of the example you are setting – for your friends, your significant other, your children, your coworkers, your neighbors, etc.  Seeing you take actions that are positive for our planet reminds them that they should do the same.  Everyone likes to be trendy – let’s make Green the new black…

 

Being thankful for the bad times...

Yes, I'm blogging on a Saturday night. Sad, I know. :) I am actually getting ready to go out; the DH and I are heading to ML's Omaha Roller Girl bout in a few minutes...but it was such a rough day, I thought I'd relieve myself, bloggily speaking.
The plan today was to drive to Lincoln with ML for the Nebraska-Oklahoma State game, while the DH spent the afternoon recording some tracks with his band. What I actually ended up doing was spending the morning and early afternoon in the ER while the DH's blood sugar returned to a normal state. I'm not complaining - I'm perfectly happy to be with him anytime, anywhere, in sickness and in health - that's what marriage is, right? It was just so frustrating and heartbreaking to have to call paramedics - being helpless while your loved one is in pain is the most horrible feeling ever. Thankfully, everything is fine. As much as I hate days like this, it reminds me how fragile we are in the grand scheme of things, and how grateful I am that I have someone I love so much - who would do the same for me if things were reversed. Sometimes we need these reminders to make us appreciate the good days all that much more...
We had a relatively pleasant rest of the day - ate some lunch, bought some new running shoes, took a nap...then got up to make an awesome dinner of mostly organic spaghetti squash (I added non-organic pesto) and all organic mozzarella and tomato salad...mmm...

Looking forward to being not-too-excited tomorrow. It's Super Diva Sunday, and the DH has band practice, and hopefully all goes according to plan this time...

Cake with raisins...Etc.

On the garden front, I'm feeling Crunchy Chicken's tomato pain. With my overabundance of green tomatoes, I decided to experiment a little. I found a yummy-looking recipe for green tomato cake and tried it out last night. Today I'm feeding it to my co-workers...but after the cantaloupe-bread incident (in which no one wanted to eat it 'cause it sounded "weird"), I decided not to tell anyone what it was. I just announced that there was cake with "cinnamon, raisins, walnuts, etc" in our office - come and get it! So far, no complaints - everyone loves it. :) Deceitful? Yes. Effective? Definitely! I better have some before it's all gone.

Puffy the Pirate - Arrrrgghhh!

I made my nephew Preston his first Halloween costume last night – he’s going to be “Puffy the Pirate”. (My sister calls him “Puffy Pants”). I think it turn out really cute! Black velvet pants, an eye patch, and a red vest with skull-and-crossbones embroidery. I just hope it fits…

Local winos

The DH often calls me a “Wine Snob”.  I consider this a compliment.  There is nothing like a good vino buzz!  Most folks done think of Nebraska as wine country, but there are actually a lot of local vineyards.  The DH and I even got married at one last summer, Soaring Wings in Springfield, NE.  The Omaha World Herald today printed a list of local wineries.  Here are just a few – these are ones I’ve visited or at least had their wine:

v      Soaring Wings Vineyard, Springfield, NE

v      James Arthur Vineyards, Raymond, NE

v      Cedar Hills Vineyards and Gardens, Ravenna, NE

v      Mac’s Creek Vineyards and Winery, Lexington NE

v      Superior Estates Winery, Superior, NE

v      Whiskey Run Creek Vineyard and Winery, Brownville, NE

ML and I volunteered to help with the final grape harvest of the season at Soaring Wings.  The experience comes with lunch and a free bottle of vino.  I’m just hoping the first frost doesn’t fall on a football Saturday!

 

Film Streams - Take 5

I saw my fifth movie at Film Streams last night with ML, Two Days in Paris.  Since I’d seen the preview 4 times already, I was pretty sure I’d like it, and I did. J  The movie was about Jack and Marion, one American and the other French, who live in New York but had traveled to Venice for a vacation.  They stop in Paris to visit Marion’s family and this two-day visit is the backdrop of the movie.  While plenty of mishaps take place, they only serve to highlight the real theme of the movie – how well you know your lover (or how well you can ever know someone, really).  I loved this movie – the way the couple interacted reminded me so much of the DH and me…which may be unfortunate since the couple was arguing quite a bit of the time…  It was funny and heartbreaking at the same time – the way love should be, I suppose.  I give it 4 stars. J

Two films coming up that I can’t wait to see:  The Great World of Sound, and About a Son – based on interviews with Kurt Cobain.  Pass the popcorn, please…

The D-est DH ever

I call my husband the DH, or Dear Husband, because it’s just plain easier than typing out his name, or saying “my husband”, as much as I talk about him, but also because it’s so true!  When we first met, I wasn’t crazy about him, to be honest.  Years later, when we finally started dating, I was pleasantly shocked to find out that he’s a real sweetheart and will do just about anything for people that he loves.  (Now, I shouldn’t have been too surprised – once in college, he bought a girlfriend her own star for Christmas.  I thought that was a pretty creative gift, as well as being quite a statement about how he felt about her.  At the time, though, the fact that I still thought he was kind of a jerk outweighed any other feelings, so this particular memory didn’t resurface when he asked me out.)

After dating for two years and being married for one, you’d think I’d not longer be surprised when he does really wonderful things, right?  Nope!  And therefore I was completely taken aback last night when he suggested the sweetest, most unselfish thing I’ve ever heard.  You see, my brother is running in the New York City marathon next month and invited me and my sister to go along.  We’ve had our plane tickets for months now.  However, last night my sister called in near tears – she couldn’t justify the expense of the trip and felt guilty going when she has a baby at home…  When I told the DH about this, he immediately offered to give her money from his own pocket to pay for her trip.  He volunteered to work an overtime shift to pay for it.  So not only is he giving up his own money, but also his own time – for an SIL he doesn’t always get along with.  I couldn’t believe it…and now looking back, I can’t believe that I was so surprised, because this is such a typical DH act.  If he believes in the cause, he’ll support whole-heartedly, even if that cause is just making me happy.

Wild and crazy weekend...as usual

One thing I love about my job (one of the few things) is that we get most government holidays off from work… Yesterday was one such holiday, so it was a lovely three day weekend for me. Did I relax? Never!

Quick weekend recap: Friday night was spent at Espana with the DH and some Divas, where we ate tapas, watched our friend La Tamara the Flamenco Dancer, and got ripped off royally by our waiter. (I’m still a bit bitter about this episode, can you tell?) Saturday was all about preparing for Yallahween. I met up with ML to hit the Farmer’s Market (the last for me for this year – it ends next weekend and I’ll be out of town). I bought a few too many squash, trying to stock up; I really felt those gourds the next day in my shoulders! Nothing like a ½ mile trek carrying bags and bags of heavy veggies…but I digress.

We spend some time perfecting our duet, and then went our separate ways to work on our solos…

Yallahween was a smashing success, if I do say so – our duet went over pretty well, although I don’t think everyone got the whole Westside Story thing we were doing. The first show had a smaller crowd, but it made for a nice dress rehearsal and warm-up for the much larger evening show. I was much happier with my solo the second time through, and the Angeli Tennebrarum and Salome group dances got lots of applause as well… It was great to see everyone’s creativity shining during this show – there were witches and ghosts and Valley Girls…oh, my!

I was up bright and early on Sunday to volunteer at the Race for the Cure downtown. I’ve never been to this event before, and had no idea how huge it was! Over 14,000 people walked, jogged, or ran in the 1 mile and 5k courses. My job was to remove the cloth straps that held the chip timers from the ankles of the extremely sweaty 5k runners. So gross! There were only about 500 people with chips, but still…that’s 500 sweaty ankles… Ew, ew, ew. Afterwards, I walked immediately to ML’s to use the sink and a large quantity of her soap.

The fabric store was having a massive sale on patterns, so ML and I met there and bough 11 patterns between the two of us, as well as some great fabric to play with. I talked my way into a better price on a bunch of crushed panne velour – such pretty colors! I helped ML with some pants and a skirt she was working on, and then started in on a skirt from Sew What! Skirts with some vintage corduroy, and began cutting out a pattern for a silky button-down shirt from one of the new patterns. I finished both these projects yesterday on my holiday day off and am wearing them to work today. J

The DH and I spend some time with his family Sunday evening, celebrating his brother’s birthday. I enjoy my in-laws, but our time together always seems to be about quality over quantity – they all eat and talk very fast and I feel like we’re leaving as soon as we arrive.

In between sewing time yesterday, the DH and I took our dog to the very-muddy dog park, played tennis, gave the dog a bath, and went to our separate meetings/classes/practices. I had both dance class and a Jr. League meeting last night – I was late for both of course… It sucks that they are on the same night and I’m realizing that I cannot do both and need to choose. Since dance class is every Monday, and JLO only once a month, I think I’m going to start skipping dance on that night so I can make it to the meeting on time… Sigh…it sucks to realize that you can’t do everything, but there is usually a fair compromise if you’re willing to look for it.

Lovin' the Co-op

As ML mentioned, we got our first order from the Nebraska Food Cooperative last night.  Having never participated in this type of organization before, I was a little apprehensive as I approved Jane’s Health Market to start my volunteer shift.  My fear was unfounded – it was great!  As the volunteer coordinator, Libby, showed me the ropes, I felt right at home amongst the coolers and order forms.  Demonstrating the process of gathering a customer’s order for pick-up, Libby just happened to choose the order form of another Diva to use as an example!  It turns out that Susie (aka Kaivalya), our fearless yoga guru, is on the Co-op Board and was involved with getting the Co-op started!  She stopped in later to pick-up her order.  It’s so cool when your little worlds collide like that.  

Seeing familiar faces at the Co-op was great; even more so was seeing new ones.  This girl Libby was fascinating – she’s one of the founders of the Co-op, plus she’s been heavily involved with the sustainable agriculture movement both in Nebraska and in other parts of the country.  She told me she has worked on family farms in Vermont (I think) and Washington state, and has traveled to Oklahoma and elsewhere to study other cooperatives in action.  

Observing the other folks at the Co-op made it very clear to me that I am indeed only “3/8s Hippy”, as I often tell the DH.  But I loved it and can see myself getting very involved in this effort.  And it’s all thanks to ML for the awesome b-day gift! ;)

Happy Meat and Twelve Dollar Apples

Today I pick up our first order from the Nebraska Food Co-op.  I can’t wait!  Steaks, ground beef, a whole chicken, a big tub of Quark (awesome cheese spread), mozzarella, bratwurst, breakfast sausage, etc.  Plus I put down a reservation for a heirloom turkey for Thanksgiving! J  I think my family was a little nervous about that – none of us has ever seen a bird that didn’t come in a Butterball wrapper…

To take full advantage of my birthday gift, I also signed up to volunteer with the co-op customer pick-up this afternoon.  I’m pretty excited about the volunteering part; not so much about trying to park in Benson in the afternoon…

So, on the not-so-local food front, the DH asked for “permission” to buy some apples at HyVee yesterday (not that he has to ask, but he knows how into the local-food thing I am).  He had sampled what he thought to be the “best apples EVER”.  Craving apples myself, I consented and arrived home to find a $12 bag of apples!  Holy crap!  That’s a lot for a little bag of apples, don’t you think?  Especially non-organic…  However, I have to agree that they are the best apples I’ve had in a long while…  And a welcome addition to my diet this fall.  ML and I were hoping to drive down to the Kimmel Orchard in Nebraska City for you-pick-‘em apples, but the effects of this year’s late spring freeze are still being felt into the apple season.  Almost all local fruit was affected.  I haven’t tried any of the local apples to be quite honest – ML bought some at one of the nearby farms, but I’m still working my way through my last farmer’s market haul, so I haven’t found the occasion to stop there yet…

Why do I STILL bother?

Awhile back I posted about why I “bother” being environmentally conscious.  It’s not because “everyone is doing it”, because it’s pretty obvious to me that everyone isn’t.  The DH and I got into yet another discussion (ie argument) this morning about why I insist that the plastic containers and tin cans going into the recycling bin need to be rinsed out first.  And since I know he might actually read this now (hi honey!), I will refer you and him back to Alina’s post on recycling and the importance of not recycling dirty materials.  She points out the contamination and smell factors as well as I ever could.

I guess what really bugs me is that I have to explain my actions.  Shouldn’t people that insist on being wasteful and don’t bother to care about the health and future of our planet be the ones that owe the explanation?  I’m not being selfish by insisting that the plastic tub the sour cream came in (that my salary helped pay for) gets rinsed out and recycled.  How is directing my actions to benefit other people and the world at large being selfish?  Insisting on taking the convenient route – the all-disposable, single-use route – that’s being self-centered if you ask me.

Look, the point of being green is not because it’s trendy, it’s not because everyone else is doing it.  We do plenty of other things that the rest of our peers are not doing – I don’t know anyone as gung-ho about retirement savings as we are, at least not in our circle of friends.  The point is that if you do want everyone else to do something, you have to do it yourself first.  You have to be the change that you want to see in the world, to quote my favorite bumper sticker.  If only one other person starts considering their choices because I keep talking about it, that’s good enough for me.  

The good news is that being green IS becoming popular.  I hope it is not a passing fad, because it is crucial for the health and well-being of all of us, that we see the error of our wasteful consumer culture and change.  

Stepping down from my sustainable soapbox, I am happy to report that the canned food outing last night was successful.  I helped my friend unload $200 of canned fruits, veggies, sauce, and pasta into the break room of our corporate building.  It’s amazing how much food that actually was, but that kind of money goes a LONG way when you hit the 4/$1 and 3/$1 sales!  I wasn’t able to shell out the same amount as my friend, but I did throw in some cans from our home pantry, as well as some boxes dried pasta, rice, and mac ‘n cheese.  All these items are going to the Bellevue Food Pantry this Friday.

 

The cupboards are bare...

I read the Omaha World Herald a lot, if you couldn’t tell. It’s one of two local news sites I visit throughout the day, for both news items and entertainment ideas. Today there was an article about the Omaha Food Bank and its empty shelves. The food bank supplies 87 food pantries in the area, and this past month those pantries have received reduced portions of canned goods. This makes me sad; there is no reason someone in this country should go hungry – we have so much food! Last night I searched my own cupboards and shelves for extra cans to donate, and after work tonight a co-worker and I are headed to the grocery store. This individual is incredibly generous – last year he spend $200 on socks, under-garments, personal hygiene items, and books and games for the Youth Emergency Services collection drive I was helping with for the Jr. League. I know that tonight he’ll probably buy a cartload of groceries for our company’s food drive, and I will feel a tad guilty that I am not able to spend as much as he is. But I’ll buy some cans, and I’ll chip in by helping him make the most of his dollars at the grocery store – you do what you can…

If you’re in the Omaha area and want to help feed those that can’t afford the food they need, why not bring a few boxed or canned food items to the food bank? Or, you can Dine Out Against Hunger next Tuesday night, October 9^th.

Rubbish!

The Omaha World Herald ran an interview today with the CEO of Firstar Fiber, a local Omaha recycling company.  It’s exciting to hear about all the possibilities they see for recycling in Omaha, from the OWH itself trying to increase it’s already 65-75% recycling rate, to the cellulose insulation company in Norfolk that uses recycles newspapers in its production process.  One of the points that caught my attention was the mention of why the company was happy when the City of Omaha stopped collection of glass in its recycling program – it was a major hazard to Firstar’s employees, who were constantly exposed to shards of broken glass.  
The company still collects glass, but gets it from drop-off locations, who sort the glass before it’s delivered to Firstar, thus protecting the employees from having to physically handle it.  I’m just happy that there is somewhere that still takes glass, and I was especially thrilled to read about the increased demand for recycled plastic – plastic isn’t going away on a large scale, so best to reuse what we already have than to produce new…

 

 

Regression: a weekend of just too much food

I set myself up with a pretty regular workout routine the last couple of years, and was done to a decent weight for quite a while.  However, I noticed that despite my healthier local eating this summer, I was still adding a little too much junk to my diet, and perhaps being a little lax with the workouts.  I blame the heat – I’m not a summer runner.  So I hopped on the scale this morning…and it’s gone up 5 lbs!  This is not good.  A 1-2 lb fluctuation I could brush off as typically daily water intake, but 5 is a big number – too big to chalk up to excess H20.  Sigh…I’ve gotten lazy.  More so with the diet that the exercise, which is actually worse for me – I used to be able to eat whatever I want and just work it off, but alas my metabolism must have disappeared with my rapidly-fleeting youth!

So I am sitting here on this beautiful fall morning, vowing to start monitoring my food intake a little more closely – I will stop and think before I eat that ice cream sundae! 

Ice cream was only one of many things I indulged in during this fun-and-food-filled weekend…  On Friday, I skipped a few hours of work to help at the River City Roundup’s “Rough ‘N Ready Challenge”, a rodeo event for handicapped children.  It was an awesome event; a special rodeo just for these kids that normally wouldn’t get to participate in something so elaborate.  They could ride horses, pet goats, rope “steer”, ride the “bucking bronco”, get their faces painted and their pictures taken, all in the company of real cowboys.  There was even a gun duel performance to entertain us while we waited for lunch. (Major food event #1:  BBQ pork and cornbread). 

Friday night was the Junior League’s Toast to Omaha event, an annual fundraiser.  This year it benefitted the Ronald McDonald mobile dental service that brings dentists to kids at lower-income schools.  I got to wear my new dress and chow on hor d’uerves. (Major food event #2). 

My family was in town for the weekend; we all walked or ran in Saturday morning’s Cathedral Cup Run at the St. Cecilia Church.  OMG!  I had been warned about the “Mount St. Davenport”  (a large LONG hill) but I had no idea how bad it was…but my feet sure do now…  I’m due for a new pair of running shoes…actually far overdue, and it’s starting to show.  The past week, my right hip and knee have been completely out-of-whack, and now my feet are aching too. 

After the race, we headed to the Radial Café for breakfast (Major food event #3: Apricot-stuffed French toast and bacon).  Stuffed and exhausted, we headed to Lincoln to watch the Husker-Iowa State game.  It is much more pleasant to watch football when your team wins!   (Major food event #4: Pop, Runza, ice cream sundae).  My dad likes to find new restaurants to try by reading the reviews in the paper; after the game, we met up with my folks at the Europe Café, or as the free pen the owner gave us proclaimed, the “Aurope Coffee”.  The owners were a lovely European couple, but they had recently immigrated and weren’t quite caught up on the language yet.  Regardless, the food was great, as was the service, so I might convince the DH to go back there another time… (Major food event #5: Mediteranean burger and fries).

We took it easy Saturday night – after getting up at 5, running a hilly roadrace, and then sitting in the sun all day, we were both exhausted!  We watched a movie and I worked on my latest belly dance costume.  Sunday morning, the sweet DH made me breakfast (Major food event #6: fried eggs and dill rye toast).  We went our separate Sunday ways (me sewing, him watching football); after a rather lame belly dance rehearsal, I indulge in Major food event #7 (more ice cream) and then #8 after my second and third rehearsals of the day (leftover pizza).  Ugh, so much food!  No wonder my butt looks like a bag full of Jello!

So, another busy weekend (what else is new, huh?).  This week is full already too – belly dance class tonight, two rehearsals on Wednesday, helping at the food co-op on Thursday (plus picking up my first order!) followed by the first official JLO Leadership Academy meeting.  On Friday the DH and I will meet up with some of my friends at Espana in Benson to watch La Tamara, a flamenco dancer from whom I’ve taken a workshop.  Then Saturday is finally Yallahween!