Frustrated to Fantastic

Frustrated to Fantastic

You ever have one of those days?  The alarm goes off, you hit it....stare at it...and then wish with all your might that you could stay in bed.  Oh, today was that day.  I've been very frustrated lately.  I've had to learn that its ok to be frustrated.  I try my best to be as upbeat, patient, and personable as possible.....but sometimes.....its ok to just be frustrated. 

I'm even frustrated about multiple things....my job leaves much to be desired, and the job market makes it inescapable.  I'm trying...trust me....this town is practically wall papered in my resumes.  (pssst....if you know of anything let me know.)  :)   In addition to that frustration, I've had an ongoing ear infection in my right ear....for as long as I can remember really.  Tubes when I was little etc. etc. etc.  I had surgery to have it fixed three weeks ago...and on Monday of this week...pain...infected again.  DOH!

Today, when that alarm went off and the world started screaming my name to pack lunches, and be awake, and mobile, friendly, and alive....I just wanted to roll over and scream NO!  FIVE MORE MINUTES...or hours..... but alas....I crawled out of bed and I went to work.  I made it through the day, and to my Dr's appointment where I was told the ear still looks good...more an irritation from the procedure than an infection and was sent on my merry way with some new ear drops.  (Finger's crossed)

So how did all this turn out fantastic?  I went to the grocery store.  Those of you who know me will know that I have a sick obsession with food.  I can get my retail therapy buying groceries.  I didn't get much, but I had some fresh ingredients and was starting to feel better, and hopeful for what experiment I'd be making this evening.  I picked up my daughter from school, and we headed home chatting about what we would make for supper.  I said crepes, she said frittata....we decided on empanadas.  I'd never attempted to make an empanada before....but we did it. 

She mixed the dough, I cooked the chicken, veggies, and spices.  She helped me roll the dough out, and cut it.  She carefully spooned the filling onto the dough, and I cringed a little at the scrape of her metal spoon on my skillet.  She even helped fold them and do the fork crinkle on the edges, ever so carefully.  When my husband got home he beat an egg and started doing the egg wash on the ones that were ready to bake.  And there we were, all three of us in my little kitchen making dinner together. 

Frustrated to fantastic.  I started focusing on the positive instead of the negative.  The night ended up being awesome...and the empanadas were pretty fantastic too.  Does my ear still hurt...well..yeah.  My job isn't magically blissful either.  Is it ok to be frustrated sometimes?  Absolutely.  But today, I was able to shake it off and I'm glad I did, because I was able to open my eyes to the things that weren't being frustrating.   Will I pop out of bed with a smile on my face tomorrow.....no promises......

"I wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it, I get up. "

Benjamin Franklin

Green Your Pet!

Photo Courtesy of Bella Photo Works Photography

Green Your Pet

I am an animal lover.  I have a dog and cat at home, and the family just wouldn't be complete without them.  We love our animals, but how can we lessen their impact on the environment?  Here are some easy idea's for helping your furry friend be a bit...greener.  :)

The first thing I have to say is spay or neuter your pet.  Too many animals end up in shelters or euthanized because of lack of homes for them.  On that same note, adopt a pet from a shelter next time you get one....consider it a recycle a pet program.  :)  You'll save a life and gain a loved one all in one gesture!

Poopy Bags -

It's a dirty job but someone has to do it.  You love your dog, you walk him, you play with him....but everyone poops eventually, and what you do with that poopy can make a big difference.  If you live in a townhouse, condo, or apartment and have to pick up every time, I highly suggest the flushable bags.  You pick it up, toss it in the potty, and flush.  No lingering smell, no paper/plastic waste, just down the toilet with the rest of the family's poopy.  The trouble with the flushable bags for walks and what not is that if its humid or rainy, or the poo isn't completely.......solid.....the bag may break down before you get home for the flushing.  For these times I suggest a compostable, or biodegradable bag.  There's plenty out there.  You can even get them at your local pet supply store now. 

Kitty Litter-The most popular type of cat litter is clay.  It is mined, shipped to a factory, ground into pellets, powder or flakes and then packed to be used as kitty litter; either clumping or standard.  I want to go back to that last sentence.  It is mined....strip mined to be exact.  It's not a byproduct of something else, they strip mine the clay specifically for kitty litter.  In fact, the US Geological Society estimates that about 85 percent of the nearly 2.6 million tons of clay used in the US per year is used for absorption of pet waste.  This is something I didn't learn until just now.  The waste must be scooped into baggies of some sort, and disposed of.  The litter is not flushable, and once dumped ends up sitting in a landfill for eternity.  If that wasn't enough, your typical clay cat litter also contains silicon particles, known to cause cancer in humans, so when you dump your kitty litter or scoop and your gagging on all that dust....there might be something even nastier getting into your system.  

OK....I'm done putting down the clay cat litter...lets look at alternatives.

 - You've got your Silica cat litter.  This one isn't clumping, but is very absorbent.  You scoop the poo, but only change the litter once a month or so depending on the number of cats in the house.

 - Plant based litters are probably your most sustainable.  World's best cat litter is made from corn.  Swheat is made from wheat, and Feline Pine is made from...well...pine.

 - Recycled material kitty litters are typically made from recycled paper or newspaper pressed into pellets such as Yesterday's News.

My pets:  Ozzy (the cat) and Jax (the dog)

Now we all know kitty is finicky, so choose a litter that your kitty will actually use.  In addition, the silica, corn, and wheat litters are flushable, although there is some concern over toxoplasma being flushed with it.  The plant based and newspaper litters claim to be biodegradable, but this is of course only if you plan to compost them yourself.  They, unlike the clay litters, will eventually break down in a landfill.   

Food -

The most important thing I can say about pet food is to try to get a high quality food made in America.  The next step after that, if your pocket book can handle it, is to find organic foods, or try the raw diets if you want.  Buying a food made in America makes a huge impact, and is safer for your pet. (remember the pet food recall a few years back of several foods made in China?)  You're food will be fresher, and won't have to be shipped as far.  Check out Canidae, Evo, Wellness, and Orijen.  A lot of people also like to feed their animals canned food.  Keep in mind these cans, or plastic containers take a lot of energy to produce, are probably leaking BPA or other harmful chemicals into the food, and are probably not necessary for the health of your pet.  They're actually bad for dental health.  If your animal has a medical condition that requires wet food, check the container for recyclability. 

Toys -

The first rule here for me is reduce, reduce, reduce.  I can't tell you how many times I walk into someones house and see cat or dog toys all over, and I mean really, how often do they play with all those toys!?  My dog has one ball.  That's it.  One.  (He's a seek and destroy dog....nothing stuffed stands a chance, and his 80lb chompers can rip apart almost anything)  My point here is, get a good quality toy that will last a long time.  Our ball is 2 years old.  There are lots of options out there now for toys made from recycled, and/or natural materials too.  Hemp cat toys, the orbee dog toys, and simply fido organic toys are all great options.  You can even grow your own catnip (doesn't get much greener than that) and stuff it in the toe of some old pantyhose for hours of kitty fun. 

Out pets make our houses into homes.  They just need a little help lessening their carbon "paw"print along the way.   

 "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
~ Anatole France 

Jax and his best friend (my daughter)

Its The Simple Things

Why do people try to make everything bigger, better, and more complicated than needed?  Can we not appreciate the little things in life anymore; the simple, perfect, wonderful things?  It seems like everyone wants everything faster and grander than necessary.  I'm guilty of this too...I suppose it is the mentality of Americans, or maybe people in general.  We want bigger houses, faster shinier cars, bigger better everything.  But why?  When we're children we know how to find happiness in a bubble, running through a field, a boquet of weeds, and jumping on the bed.  When does that change? 

Today was perfect.  My kind of perfect.  What did I do today that was so super fantastic you may ask?  Well, we celebrated mother's day.  I slept in a little, I cleaned the kitchen, and did a couple loads of laundry, then my husband and daughter went to run errands, and I took a nap on the couch.  (that in and of itself is super-fantastic)  I woke up when they returned, but since I could hear giggles and whispering I kept my eyes closed, and snoozed.  When they woke me I found my laptop with a happy mother's day note written in the paint program, a new cookbook (The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook), and a card my daughter drew for me.  My husband had made me various coupons for dinner out, a trip to the beach, a trip to whole foods (SCORE), and foot and back massages.  I asked my daughter what she drew in the picture (she's 4) and she said that was her, and a giant mommy worm.  Well...it's original...and I LOVE IT! 

We went to a cute pizza place (courtesy of my dinner out coupon) and made a trip to Whole Foods (coupon again) so I could get some ingredients to make something out of my new cookbook.  It was the perfect night.  When we got home we watched a movie, and had popcorn on the couch.  We all four (dog included) hung out and ate popcorn and spent time together.  It was an amazing day.  I appreciated every moment of it, that's when it hit me.  How often do we just sit back and appreciate what we have; without the more, more, better, bigger thoughts?  Think about it....Think about what you have.  Does your mind automatically go to getting something new? 

Was it an expensive day? Not particularly.  Did I get that worm composter I've really been wanting?  Nope.  Was it a whine free day?  (of course not...did I mention she's four?)  But I got everything I truly wanted and needed; a day with my family, time with my little girl, cuddles on the couch, and a warm heart full of gratitude.  Sometimes, we just need to learn to be content.  Life has a funny way of showing us that happiness is found in the simple things.

"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be;for I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions,and not upon our circumstances"~Martha Washington

I think I'll start a blog....

I've never blogged before, so, bear with me as I learn the ropes. I had several conversations with friends and family today that ended with the phrase “you should blog about it”. I thought to myself, who cares? Who will read it? Well….maybe no one. I guess we will see.

I suppose I’ll write a little about everything; Recipes, thoughts, pets, kids, husbands, houses, cars, and life in general. But today, I’m going to start with food.

How awesome is food! I love food! I love to eat it, cook it, learn about it, read about it…and apparently, blog about it. I’ve recently made a huge change in my family’s diet. We went….dun dun dun….organic.

There were several reasons for this. One was that I had to write a paper for my environmental science class, and I chose to write it on the food industry. There is stuff going on from factory to plate that would make your toes curl, but I’ll ease you into that. Another reason was the more I got into cooking and putting food together myself, the less I understood all those giant scientific terms on the side of the boxes of prepackaged food at the market.

The changes came slowly. First, we gave up trans-fat. Easy enough, no partially hydrogenated anything. Then, high-fructose corn syrup went bye-bye. (Do you know how many things have high-fructose corn syrup?) We threw milk with hormones out the window. We gave up fast food. Then, we saw Fast Food Nation, and Food, Inc. I read The Righteous Porkchop, and lots of interesting (and disgusting) journal articles on the food industry.

Sometimes I feel like I’m in a science fiction movie and the whole world has microchips in their brains so they don’t notice how bad it really is, and then my microchip broke. I’ve discovered there are whole groups of people out there now with broken microchips. I also know a lot of people that choose not to know. “Ignorance is Bliss” I suppose. Once my eyes were opened to it, I couldn’t go back. I won’t eat meat that isn’t grass fed, and antibiotic and hormone free. (Which, for the record makes it very difficult to eat anywhere but at home) My eggs are free range, and vegetarian. Now they shouldn’t have to label the eggs as being from vegetarian chickens right? Aren’t chickens vegetarians? Well…..they should be…unfortunately, a lot of times they aren’t…and that’s a whole new realm of gross.

I feel better knowing when I pack my daughters lunch, and make dinner, that I am giving her the best start and highest quality food I can. Will she go through life never eating a Dorito….certainly not. She’ll go to birthday parties, and snatch one from a kid at school. But what I can do is help her make the best decisions she can at home, and keep her informed. Plus, the food decisions we make, lessen our impact on the environment as a whole….SCORE. Two for one!


I will tell you, that after having gone natural/organic I feel better. I’m less lethargic. The 2 o’clock slump is not a regular visitor, I sleep better, and my skin is better. We’ve changed more than food now; we opt for natural cleaners, store bought and home-made. We try to get more products made in America. All of our body products are natural.

I’m sure I’ll slip some icky fact filled blogs in occasionally, but for now I’ll just keep blogging along. Maybe someday someone will read it. For now, I will just write about what interests me most. Food, family and environment, which amazingly all go hand in hand, and as the wonderful Julia Child said. “Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” And so I shall.