Happy 'Green' Birthday - Green birthday party ideas

It's that time of year again: cake, presents, and goodie-bags...it's Birthday party time! Planning a child's birthday party can be fun and dreadful at the same time. A party is a wonderful way to celebrate the life of your wee little one. However, all the waste that it can create can drive a 'green' parent nuts!

The last party we had for the kids ended in tears (from me, that is). Sure, some of the paper products were recycled in my clearly marked containers.. However most of our reusables ended up in the trash with unwanted cake and dinner tossed in with them. I attempted to dig them out, which was absolutely gross, however I was more frazzled by the thoughtlessness of some of my guests. Hadn't I, ever so nicely, instructed everyone to reuse and recycle properly? And we won't even mention the countless gifts and wrapping and money spent and...well, the list can go on and on.

Okay, so not everyone is 'green' savvy and even the best intentions can end up in a hit-or-miss situation. So what's a green parent to do? I'd like to share with you some, dare I say, fail proof ways to have a green birthday party!

First and foremost, I say make it a combination of a traditional and reinvented green birthday party. You can't expect everyone to jump on board and be amused by your ever-green ways. So let's compromise (or at least that is what it will look like on the surface :))

Invitations: There are tons of cool ways to do invites that will make you smile green. You can simply bi-pass paper all together and use an online invite service or email all of your guests individually. But what about those folks not online. Or worse, those who never read and/or respond to your emails?

Let's look at some paper options. Kids love to be involved in planning and helping out with their parties. So why not collect some paper from around the house and make your own invites out of handmade recycled paper. Paper making is fun and you can really jazz it up and make your invites unique. Another option would be to call everyone and leave a message, maybe telling them to check their email :).

Party Decorations: Streamers and balloons are so old school. Let's think with our green-caps.... For my son's upcoming birthday party, we are going to decorate some old sheets with fabric paints and use them as table cloths and napkins. We can reuse these for all birthday celebrations in the future too. Also, you can cut small streamers from the same fabric and use them as decorations, just simply hang them where they will dance in the breeze. This is a great idea to use in lieu of balloons. They just end up being swallowed by baby turtles. So sad. If you don't have any bed sheets you aren't using, I bet your local fabric store has some festive threads that you can get a yard or two of.


Presents: Oh, the presents. I have to say that this is the part I dread the most. Not only wondering what in the world to buy for someone else's kid and them not liking it, but what will everyone else buy my kids!? Plus, how much stuff do the kids really need? (I know, I'm a buzz kill.)

I don't know about you, but my kids have enough, and there are kids out there that don't. One option would be to host a party where instead of gifts for your kids, guests bring gently used or new toys to donate to a local shelter. Your child can pick which one and then help you make the delivery.

Another idea is to think local and register your child at a local toy store. And I don't mean the big-box corporate toy stores. Ask around, take a drive. We have such a store here and it's filled with special gifts and good quality games and toys you won't find at the big toy store.

You can even ask guests to get your child a book in lieu of a card and write a personal note in the book. What child doesn't love books! Also, you can send your guests home with a book in their goodie-bag. Everyone brings gently used books that they are done with for a new one. Sort of a book-swap party.

Another great idea is to instead ask for 'experience gifts' where someone can get your child a ticket to a show, a pass to a near by aquarium or museum. A camping trip anyone? These experiences will last a lifetime and won't break, make a disaster of the house, are more fun and can involve other members of the family too. Everyone wins :)

My favorite way to deffer gifts is to, instead of gifts, ask guests to bring their kids favorite dish for everyone to share. Not only do you get a great variety of foods, this also cuts down on your own party costs. This brings us to the best part of the party.

The food: Asking guests to bring food is great. If you are going to do it all yourself (for those supermoms and superdads out there) try to have all vegetarian foods so that all table scraps can be readily composted. Visit the farmer's market the week of for some fresh local produce.

If you do have to fire up the grill to satisfy the meat-eaters, buy local. Introduce your guests to some of the unknown local possibilities like local farmers and ranches. Not everyone knows about CSA's and local places where they can get fresh organic veggies and free-range meats.

Dishes and such: I like to use cloth whenever I can. Why cut down a tree to wipe my hands one time and toss? It's insane. Here you can use your reusable birthday bash table cloths and napkins. The washing machine does all the work. It's no big deal, looks great, and feels great too. You'll save money and the trees :) As for dishes and utensils, if you are partying at home, use your own dishes. There are also some great reusable dish sets out there. If you are out and about at your local park for your birthday bash, there are some great compostable alternatives. Potato forks, corn spoons, PCW paper products. Check online or at your local green grocery store.

Goodie-Bags and Games: Last but not least, the goodie-bags. The little bags you give your guests on the way out the door. Filled with tiny junky plastic toys that are not only a chocking hazard, but are cheap, break, and probably have toxic lead paint! Not to mention the candy. Kids + candy...honestly. But you can't not have them. The kids love to have something to go home with. They're kids ;) So let's think outside the bag, shall we.

Kids love crafts. So why not have them make something that they in turn take home, and in a bag that they decorate themselves! Or, better yet, you and your child can decorate some brown paper bags before the party that you can use. For my son's upcoming party, we are going to make some bags and the kids will use them to bring home their handmade bird feeders. Send the kids off to find pine cones., add peanut butter, sprinkle bird seed, and presto! Other ideas could include: Treasure hunts, have them make tie dye t-shirts, set up a paint-a-picture station, show them how to make homemade play dough.

With a little imagination and ingenuity, the possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy your next birthday party 'green' style. I'm off to get mine underway. Wish me luck!


REPRINT PERMISSION
(this is a reprint from my blog in 2007 as seen at www.livegreensd.com/blog) If you'd like to reprint this blog or any part of it, you must first get my permission. Email me and I'll give it to you! Thanks!)

Food Snobbery on a Budget...

Hi, my name is Lia Mack, and I'm a food snob.

I blame my parents for having us live in Italy for three years while I was growing up. Every Friday morning, the town we lived in held an open air market - mercato - where you could purchase anything and everything fresh.

Fresh fish from the sea, fresh artichokes picked that morning, homemade pastas that took two seconds to cook...and eat ;) Oh, and let's not forget the cheese wagon. Every Wednesday at the same exact time, a man pulling a cart of cheese wheeled down our street singing, "formaggio... mozzarelli... provelone..."Now that's a real cheese wagon :)

So I got mega used to eating whole fresh foods...and fell in LOVE! There is no beating the taste of a ripe red tomato mixed with fresh basil, straight from the garden. I think that's why everything tastes so much better in Italy. Everything is fresh and local. So what if I couldn't drink the water or that the heat and electricity went off daily at 3pm because someone had to go home for siesta. I was in food heaven!!!

And then we moved back to the States - God love America - where there is a grocery store open daily on almost every corner. Only thing, most of the food available here comes in a box. Or a plastic bag. Or worse! And it's not fresh. It's not even local!

Oh, the horror!!!

Well, fast forward to today. I'm married to super conservation man and together we are raising two amazing little greenies. I've been a stay at home mom for six years and have not one thing in my life to complain about. Nothing, that is, except my food budget. It's tight. Living on one income in a very expensive part of the country and being able to buy good whole food that is fresh, organic, and local is difficult to say the least. But it's doable. And for a while there I was doing pretty good.

For the last two years, however, I've been feeling the pinch. Food prices continue to rise, utilities are still going up, and gas is expensive.

Yet, I still want to be able to feed my family well, but wanting to buy and eat only organic, local, fresh foods can be quite costly. I know of one local mom who spent over 17K last year in food alone because they ONLY eat local, organic, fresh meats, cheeses, fruit, vegs, ect.... That's a lot of money.

Of course I could easily manage to buy all sorts of shit food (pardon my language) with my food budget. I could feed my family from the box and dollar menu and have money left over! But I'm a food snob, remember? I cannot eat that stuff. Ingredients I can't pronounce? Food that doesn't even look or taste anything like food? Packaged, frozen, processed, freeze dried disgustingness???

Oh no. Not me, baby. Not after eating REAL food. It's just not possible.

Plus, I don't want my kids eating shit - crap - either. We are what we eat. When we eat crap, we feel like crap and therefore act like crap. And I'm not interested in taking care of kids who act up all the time and get sick all the time because they are being fed crappy food.

So, having very little wiggle room in the budget, but wanting only the best (what mom doesn't?), I've learned how to get most everything we need (aka: I want) on the budget we have. It's fun being a food snob. You just have to find a way to do it when you don't have endless amounts of the green stuff lying around. Below are some of the things I do to get what I want, thus enabling me to eat really yummy good for me food all the time

I don't do all my shopping in one place.
Some things at my main grocery store are too expensive, yet elsewhere they aren't. Took me a while to scout out all the good deals, but now I know that by going to three separate stores on a rotation, I can come home with a lot more of what I want for less $.

I garden.
I grow tomatoes and herbs and carrots and potatoes and all sorts of yumminess :) By doing so, I control what goes in and on my food. The kids have their own garden plots too, and we spend a good deal of time with our beloved Mother Earth to keep it going. After the cost of seeds, what we reap is free. FREE! Best price ever :)

I go to Farmer's Markets.
And stock up. What I find for good deals, I buy bunches of and freeze what we're not eating that week. Frozen blueberries, frozen green beans, frozen anything. Tastes great when picked and stored at peek season. Nothing better than pulling out veggies in the dead of winter that you bought fresh and know where they came from. Tastes great.

I buy in bulk.
When I can, I save up and buy staples in bulk. Flour, sugar, pasta, rice... This year I'm buying 1/4th of a bison and a neighbor of ours who likes to hunt is getting us a deer. Who knows how long this supply of meat will last, especially since we only eat meat two to three times a week. (Meat is pricey) This, of course, will happen after I find an inexpensive deep freezer on Craigslist (anyone have one they don't want?)

I do without.
Yes, you heard it. We don't buy pop (soda). The kids drink juice once a day and that's it, if that. Instead we drink water, H2O, aqua fresca...you get the picture. Same thing with junk food. Since we don't eat it, we don't buy it, thus we save big bucks. And if it's not on sale and it's not in the budget, oh well. Better luck next time, right?

I stretch it.
I can make five meals out of one chicken. And that doesn't include the amount of chicken stock I make and use from the bones. So I might spend a little more buying an organic chicken - or A LOT more buying an organic local chicken - but I'll make that dollar stretch as much as possible. With a little ingenuity, you can think of ways to make anything stretch more than one meal.

Of course, all of this takes time, energy, and knowledge, something that most of us are hard pressed to find. But it CAN be done if you put in the work. The biggest benefit from all of this? You won't have to compromise. I don't. Just know that there will be times when you can't get the big ticket items, but that's fine. You don't have to have exactly what you want ALL the time, do you? My goal is to have good for us food only, and don't concern myself with specifics.

Everyone can be a food snob on a budget. All you have to do is learn to go with the flow, enjoy what's in season, and make the most of what you've got.

:)

Eco-Friendly Alternatives for Everyday Cleaning...

following list provided today by boat-dweller guest blogger mama Cindy Wallach at TheGreenMamas.com blog ;)

Instead of using... Use these Eco-Friendly Alternatives

• Bleach... Borax
  
  
• Detergent & Soap... Elbow grease
  
  
• Scouring Powders... Baking soda. Or rub area with one-half lemon dipped in borax, then rinse
  
  
• General Cleaner... Baking soda and vinegar. Or lemon juice combined with borax paste
  
  
• Floor Cleaner... One cup vinegar + 2 gallons of water
  
  
• Window Cleaner... One cup vinegar + 1 qt. warm water. Rinse and squeegee
  
  
• Aluminum Cleaner... 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar + 1 qt. of hot water
  
  
• Brass Cleaner... Worcestershire sauce. Or paste made of equal amounts of salt, vinegar, and water
  
  
• Copper Cleaner... Lemon juice and water. Or paste of lemon juice, salt, and flour
  
  
• Chrome Cleaner/Polish... Apple cider vinegar to clean; baby oil to polish
  
  
• Stainless Steel Cleaner... Baking soda or mineral oil for polishing, vinegar to remove spots
  
  
• Fiberglass Stain Remover... Baking soda and salt in a wet paste
  
  
• Mildew Remover... Paste with equal amounts of lemon juice and salt, or white vinegar and salt OR diluted tea tree oil
  
  
• Drain Opener... Dissemble or use plumber’s snake. Or flush with boiling water + one-quarter cup baking soda + one-quarter cup vinegar
  
  
• Wood Polish... Olive or almond oil (interior walls only)
  
  
• Rug/Upholstery Cleaner... Dry corn starch sprinkled on; vacuum
  
  
• After Cleaning Cocktail... One part rum mixed with 2 parts fruit juice. Add ice as needed...
  
  :)

Keep America Beaufiful! There's Still Time...

Have you looked outside lately? Take a walk around the block with your kids. Hike through the woods. Or just look at your own yard after a windy day. It's a mess!

Plastic bags, ignored roadside newspapers, candy wrappers, water bottles and more. All just lying around cluttering up the landscape. On a recent hike my kids and I actually found a ceiling fan in the woods...A ceiling fan!?!?

It is a sad absolute that when I take my children outside, they will see more trash laying around than other children playing and wildlife put together. Just as with violence on TV, the more they see it, the more immune they become to litter being a part of their world. If we don't do something about it, together as a family and a community, litter will become a permanent part of our great outdoors.

One way for communities to get together to tackle the problem is underway right now! Keep America Beautiful™, the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization, is hosting The Great American Cleanup™ in communities, both nationally and internationally. "The Great American Cleanup™, [is] the nation's largest community improvement program, [which] takes place annually from March 1 through May 31, involving an estimated 2.8 million volunteers and attendees…The hardworking volunteers donated more than 7.7 million hours in 2007 to clean, beautify and improve more than 17,000 communities during more than 30,000 events in all 50 states and beyond. Activities included beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.

"Keep America Beautiful™ believes that each of us holds an obligation
to preserve and protect our environment.
Through our everyday choices and actions,
we collectively have a huge impact on our world."

Get Local & Get Involved!
"There are more than 565 certified community affiliates of Keep America Beautiful™ doing good works." Click here to find a group near you.

Can't find an affiliate in your area?
Start one of your own. "Organize a clean-up committee by seeking out a few people who share your passion for the cause. Set a meeting date and let the ideas flow. Decide which project everyone wants to tackle." Click here to learn how you can Organize your own Great American Cleanup™

Here are just some ideas of how you and your kids can get involved in Keep America Beautiful™:

• Host a tree planting party
  
• Put a new coat of paint on a graffiti-marked wall
  
• Adopt a road with your friends and plant flowers
  
• Sponsor a litter collection contest
  
• Clean up a river or field that has become an illegal dump site
• Collect recyclable and reusable items on your block and deliver to a recycling center
  

Together we can make a difference. The possibilities are endless!

:)

Green is as Green Does... A New Blog is Born! :)

I'd love to introduce you to a new blog, The Green Mamas, authored by both my beautiful sister-in-law and I. The blog is all about our adventures at being green in everything we do, every way we can ;)

So, please feel free to come on by, kick off your shoes and stay awhile...this is going to be fun!

:)

The Easy Green To Do List... Making Every Day Earth Day

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

I hope that you have a chance to get out and do something for people and planet today in a very green way ;)

And as much as I love a whole day devoted to celebrating and taking care of our beloved Mother Earth, I think it much more meaningful to make EVERYDAY Earth Day. And why not?!

So...To make everyday Earth Day, I am posting this easy green to do list I received from a wonderfully eco-conscience friend of mine. Do your part today and every day...enjoy!

The Easy GREEN To Do List

In the kitchen...

• Set the refrigerator temperature between 38 F and 42 F.
• Set the freezer temperature between O F and 5 F.

In the dining room...

• Use napkin rings and cloth napkins.
• Use washable plates, cups and silverware.
• Recycle containers by serving condiments in them.

In the laundry...

• Wash and dry only full loads.
• Wash with warm water instead of hot.
• Rinse with cold water instead of warm.
• Hang wash out to dry.

In the bathroom...

• Shut off the sink while brushing your teeth.
• Shut off the shower while soaping or scrubbing.
• Install a low-flow shower head.
• Reduce the volume of water in your toilet tank.

In the living room...

• Switch off unnecessary lights.
• Dress cool: don't turn on the air conditioner.
• Raise shades on winter days; lower them in summer.
• Install ceiling fans to use for summer & winter.

In the yard...

• Compost leaves and grass clippings.
• Avoid pesticides, use nontoxic alternatives.
• Water the grass early in the morning.
• Plant a tree.

Make Everyday Earth Day & Enjoy Mother Earth today :)

Paint it Green! :)

Back in 2005 I started a venture: beGreenDesigns, a custom painting business...

Well, actually, it wasn't all that green to begin with. I - nor did the majority of the us - know all the harmful effects that VOC's (volatile organic compounds) did to us or the environment (they cause your indoor air quality to be worse than the most polluted outdoor air!) However, while painting two years later - and unknowingly pregnant - I started to feel their effects and thought to ask my brother if there were any harmful effects of being in close contact with all these chemicals.

Ah, yeah! Duh!...

Not only were they carcinogenic and I was in close contact with these chemicals for hours on end day after day, I was also putting my clients in danger of breathing in these harmful fumes for years! (the darker the pigment, the longer the off-gassing...)

He thankfully pointed me in a greener direction, showing me the multitude of green paints and supplies that were out in eco-land. I was already an eco-woman at heart. I just didn't know - or think about - the harmful effects of something deemed benign - household paint!

Thus I created beGreendesigns - eco-friendly, non-toxic custom painting by yours truly :)

So... (here comes the shameless self-promoting plug) if you're in the neighborhood of needing some custom painting, give me a ring! I always handout free estimates...and I'll toss in a discount to all my blog readers as well...why not ;)

Be Green & Save Green: LiveGreen's Spring Savings :)

50% at LiveGreen?!?! That's like free music to my frugal ears... ;)

The Multipurpose Bag
My most favorite eco-friendly shopping bags are on sale - I'm stocking up, and why not? Everyone deserves a good supply of durable reusable bags. And, since these bags have a wonderful green message on the front, I enjoy using them multipurposely: as a diaper bag, an overnight bag for the kids going to Grandma's, the all useful library bag, perfect for the Farmer's Market...and of course for food shopping too. And whenever I go to the big box stores, it's so much easier and continent for me to use a slew of these bags to transfer goods home rather in the myriad of cardboard boxes they provide.

Doubles As Gift Wrap
LiveGreen also carries an eco-friendly wine tote. It's so much nicer to use this when leaving the wine store than carrying home that paper wino-bag. Also, what I love to do with these bags is to use it as gift wrapping. Housewarmings, holiday parties. I purchase some good ol'local organic wine and put them in a wine tote that the host can keep and use!

Perfect Companion
LiveGreen's reusable produce bags are essential for going to the Farmer's Market and the grocery store. I don't have to bring home wonder fruit and veggies wrapped in plastic bags that'll clog up my fridge, recycle bin, or (dread) the landfill. These bags have endless uses, are reusable, and your food finds won't suffocate and go bad quickly. What's more, you're fridge, if you decide to leave your food in the bags, won't be filled with plastic wrap. These bags come in yellow and orange - I love festive colors ;)

I Love My SKOYs!
And last, but not least, is the Skoy - the eco-friendly cloth. My family uses the heck out of these invinsable cloths and they just keep on...working! Made from biodegradable material, this 7"x8" cloth will biodegrade in 5 weeks under composting conditions and is washer/dryer safe. We put ours in the washing machine AND the dishwasher whenever they need to be cleaned and none of them have started to breakdown in the year that we've had them.

Ok, going to go fold laundry now...had to pass on the sale info...happy spring savings! :)

Breastmilk is GREEN milk!

"Breastmilk is one of the few foodstuffs produced and delivered to the consumer without any pollution, unnecessary packaging or waste, whereas the production, shipping, and preparation of formula and bottles requires large amounts of water, fuel, glass, plastic and rubber -- and produces significant amounts of garbage." - www.breastfeeding.com

Breastfeed! Best for Baby, Mom, & Mother Earh!

The Joy of Coming Out of the Closet...

Back when I was in the closet, secretly writing behind closed doors, I would never dare let anyone in on my daydreams. I thought you couldn't call yourself a real writer without having had published something in print so that people could purchase it at Borders or on Amazon.com.

However, and thankfully so, it is not true. Like a good writer buddy of mine has penned, "A writer does not suddenly become a writer the day his book is published. That happens the first time pen is put to paper and something is created on the page."

Yet, the moment you revile yourself to the world as a writer, standing tall, standing proud, you almost instantly are bombarded with others who thought just as you did. Don't let this cause you to slink back in your hole. You're out now! You're free! And you're freaking out!!!

You need back up.
Someone who thinks like you and works like you and is on the verge of going back into their own closet.

You need a writer buddy.
Or many writer buddies! Not only is there stregnth in numbers, there is a lot to learn from each other. I found many of my writer buddies online at Motheringdotcomune's Mothers Writer Group. There we share what we've written, help critique eachother's work, give a little push here, a hug there, and just share in the joy in writing...or the craziness that comes from it!

I also have a few family writer buddies who were instrumental in pulling me out of my writer's closet. And thankfully so. I couldn't imagine what I'd be doing with all my pent up creative juices if I wasn't working on my novel or blogging... Trying my hand at music theater again? I've always dreamed of dancing on Broadway... And I do love to paint, however with the economy the way it is, most people are trying to make ends meet rather than paying for creative touches to their homes.

With two little ones in tow, writing seems to be a much easier dream to realize. And it's such a joy to have the company of other moms trying to accomplish the same task: write...oh, and keep sane, cook dinner, clean the house, shuttle kids to and from places, keep sane, write, keep hubby happy, stay sane, clean house, write, clean the bathroom floor for the 3rd time this week, do laundry, stay sane...write...

Good Lovin'...Part 1: What is that doing here?!

I'm starting a mini-series of sorts about how to have better sex because, quite frankly, it's good for your health, good for the planet, and good for your relationships (yes, if you have better sex, toxic people won't piss you off as much anymore, if at all). You'll just imagine them NOT having sex and relish in the fact that you are having passionate blissful sex all the time...you'll be able to just smile ;)

So, how to have better sex...

Part 1...

There are quite a few things that you can do to spice things up in the romance department, however, I'm going for the throat on this one. And I'm not going to sugar coat it either. I'm just going to come right out and ask:

Do you have a TV, computer, work papers, exercise equipment in the bedroom?

If the answer is no...great! You get to pass go and collect your $200 (not from me, of course, but you get the picture.)

However...

If your answer is yes - you do have a TV or other distractions in the bedroom - let me ask you another question:

Do you want to have sex?

Because if your answer is YES, then what the hell are you doing watching TV all night when you should be rolling around under the sheets with your hottie? Don't you have a living room with a couch where you can watch TV? I mean, come on people...where are your priorities?!?!

The bedroom is for two things, and both start with the letter S...any ideas?

1. Sleep
2. Sex

And not particularly in that order either. Distractions in the bedroom keep us from not only blissful sleep, but blissful sex. If you want to have better sex, you need to get rid of the distractions in the bedroom.

And TV is the biggest distraction of them all.

"I made the error two years ago when I moved into my house to put a television in the bedroom," says Laura, 36, a marketing executive in Atlanta. "I'd never had a television in the bedroom before, and once you have it, it's hard to get rid of it."

Other distractions in the bedroom... 

"You should also get rid of computers, paperwork, exercise equipment—anything that might remind you of other things you could or should be doing after you've gone to bed," says Heath Magazine Online.

So, get to it. You have your assignment. If you want to have better sex, remove the major distractions from your bedroom and, with all the extra time on your hands, enjoy!

However, after you have spent an adequate amount of time enjoying each other properly, you are free to consume as much boob-tube as you like.

But beware:

The more sex you have, the better it gets, and the more you're going to want to have it!

So...get busy tonight! ;)


oh, and stay tuned for Good Lovin'...Part 2: Open Your Mouth!

Whole Roasted Chicken

First of all, you need to find a cage-free, free-range, antibiotic-free, good wholesome chicken, preferably from a local farmer. Go to your local farmer's market and, if there isn't already a vendor there that sells whole chickens, ask around. Chances are most everyone there, vendors and shoppers alike, know of a good local source. If you're lucky, you'll find a local organic farmer who raises their own chickens!

Roasting a whole chicken is by far the simplest way to get a good - no, great - meal with very little effort. Plus, a whole chicken can be spread out to cover more than just one meal. I've made a whole chicken stretch to 5 meals, plus chicken stock! Now, that's using your food money wisely!

What You'll Need

• meat thermometer
• big bowl
• roasting pan

Ingredients

• whole chicken
• olive oil
• honey
• 1/2 onion
• 3-5 cloves garlic
• 3 carrots
• 3 stalks celery
• 3 potatoes
  
• Rosemary
• Thyme
  
• good salt
• pepper
• red pepper flakes (remember, heat = health!)

How To

1. Preheat oven to 375*F
   
2. In a big bowl, soak your chicken in a warm water bath with a good pinch of salt - let sit for 30 minutes
3. drain and place chicken in a roasting pan
4. chop onions, garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes and place around chicken in roasting pan
5. drizzle olive oil over chicken and veggies
6. sprinkle salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes over everything (toss the veggies to coat)
7. drizzle honey over chicken
8. sprinkle herbs over everything
9. add about a cup of water into the bottom of the pan
   
10. Pop into oven, bottom shelf, until Meat Thermometer reads 180*F. Usually about 1 - 1.5 hours.
    
11. Take out of oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

Serving & Saving
For dinner that night, serve the legs, wings, thighs. Save the breasts for two separate meals (1/2 for chicken pot pie, 1/2 for something else like chicken quesadillas or a topping to pizza). Or just dig in and then save what's leftover for chicken stock and chicken soup.

Bones
I save all the bones in a zip-lock bag in the freezer labeled "BONES". When I have a full bag, I will use those bones, along with some veggie scraps, to make chicken stock (aka: consomme). This is so much better tasting and better FOR you than what you get at the store. Plus, it's basically free since you have everything. Just boil for a couple hours in water, cool, strain, and store. Keeps in the freezer for months, in the fridge for a week.

Enjoy!

"THE END": How completing the 1st draft is only the beginning...

I never knew when I'd type the words "THE END" when I set out to write my first novel. However, late in the afternoon on the last day of my self-made timeline, my self-proposed time when I wanted to be done with at least the 1st draft, it happened. And, oddly enough, it was pretty anti-climatic for me. Not exactly the reaction I had envisioned. And definitely not like when I hit the climax of the story.

I am happy, though. Don't get me wrong. I am elated that I actually finished something I had set out to do back in May of 2008: write a novel by the end of the year (ok, so I was a month late, but honestly. December? Noveling in December? I don't count December, or November for that matter, as part of the time where I can accomplish anything due to chaotic holiday fun...)

So...long story made short: I did it.

Partly.

Finishing - typing THE END - to the first draft of a novel equates with only the beginning of the very long and arduous task of editing, editing some more, sending it out critique groups, re-editing, writing a query letter, writing a synopsis, sending said query letter and synopsis out ot agents, getting rejected, editing said letter and synopsis, re-sending it out, getting more rejections, re-editing the entire novel to make it more to the liking of the agents/publishers/editors, re-sending out query letters...do you see where I'm going with this?

A first draft is only the very, very beginning of a very, very long and painful process. That's why out of the 100,000 would be writers out there that set out on this journey never get to the finishing line of having a novel published. Most die off during this stage in the process. But for those who don't, there is bounty to be had - you just have to have the drive, the passion, and the courage (aka: thick skin) to survive the constant beating of not only the novel you poured yourself into, but also every inch of your being.

But don't dismay. According to professional writers: you are not a Pro-writer until you get your first rejection. Isn't that great! And for the insurmountable rejections that you do get, you wont' get the one - the one that counts - until you've been rejected time and time again, forcing you to perfect what you already thought was perfect.

I mean, after all, it's your baby. What could be wrong with it, right?

Although I'm eager to become a 'pro' writer, I think I'll edit my baby at least 20 times. Yes, you read that right. Twenty times. Why? Because, quite frankly, it's crap right now. Although I want to get that first rejection - and the subsequent acceptance - I don't want there to be such a trail of laughter, name calling, and finger pointing following said rejection letter that I virtually give up from the embarrassment. No way! I want to at least give it my very best shot. That's why I'm going to edit it until I can't possibly see any need for change then send it off to be slaughtered. I want to give my baby the very best chance of not dying it's first journey out into the unknown.

What I am excited about, though, is printing out the bad-boy...I can't wait to feel the weight of what I've done in the palm of my hands. Seeing it on the computer screen, seeing how many bites of memory it saves as, who many pages it says it is, how many words - this doesn't mean a damn thing to me. I want to feel my baby in my hands so I can truly see, feel, what I've accomplished. I think that's the point in this journey when it'll feel real. Just like when I felt my little son, skin to skin, in my arms after he was born. Right now, it's too arbitrary, too abstract. I have a good imagination, but I just can't fathom it - or maybe I don't want to - until I see it and feel it with my own two hands. My life poured out into pages. My baby.

Then I'll start chopping away!

So, as the saying goes...endless editing...here I come!



Printing it out in eco-friendly fashion, as I am a true Eco-Warrior, I think I might test out an eco-printing service, or get a ream of 100% recycled paper, fresh and new, to print out my 698 pages (yes, I know, I know, it's too long...that's why I can't wait to start editing!! :)





I think I might look into eco-printing service Bacchuspress

Go Trash Free!

I have a very hard time tossing anything, since it's final destination is a landfill that in turn will inevitably pollute my water, air, and land. I breath the air. I drink the water. I grow food in the land. Why on Earth would I want to pollute it?!??! So I've done something about it, or at least have been moving in that direction. I'm going trash free. Yep, that's right! Totally and utterly trash free.

What does that mean, you say? Well, that means you leave nothing out for the trash man on Monday or any other day. You compost everything you can, reuse, recycle, or just don't buy it (reduce consumption). It's pretty simple on the surface. However, when you take on the challenge, it gets a bit more complicated.

You see, we've been born and raised in this not so Earth-friendly environment. You go out to eat. You take home your food - in Styrofoam. You are religious with the 3 R's in your kitchen, but you forgot about the waste basket in the bathrooms, laundry room, garage. You have guests over and they don't take heed to your cute little signs above your recycle and trash containers and toss out everything. Ok, so you see where I'm going with this. If you want to take on this challenge, it's a full-time commitment. You can't just use the "I'll do it next time" routine. You have to commit mind, body, pocket book, and spirit to the cause.

So, are you ready! Are you stoked! Here are some ways to help you stay on your game. And remember, no trash means nothing to the landfill. You can recycle till your heart turns, well, green. But no trash. No toss. No more ;)

1) Vow to never use Styrofoam again.
Whether you are buying meat at the store, taking leftovers home from the restaurant, or picking out a nice pair of new pumps, remember: Styrofoam cannot be recycled. If you can't recycle it, can't reuse it, reduce it. Just don't use it. Instead, bring your own containers for food leftovers. You'll be out to eat with other greenies, so you won't have to worry about looking like the crunchy hippie you are...you'll fit right in ;)

2) Compost everything!
I have a nifty-difty little sign above my, now empty, garbage can in my kitchen. It reads "No veggie scraps. No egg shells. No fruit peels. These go in the compost bin! Thanks, Management :)" Don't toss out that soon-to-be black gold for your garden. Make sure everyone in your home is on board with this one. And if that means being a compost police for a while 'till they get the hang of it, so be it. Why would you want to put that in a plastic bag to stink up the house anyway? Get a kitchen counter top compost bin, fill it up with all your kitchen scraps (minus the meat, bones, and milk products) and toss it on your compost heap every few days.

3) Remember the 3 R's.
When you are out shopping, before adding something to your cart, ask yourself, "Can this be recycled? Can it be reused? Do I have something already like it?" The bottom line for all purchases should be that if it doesn't fit in the 3 R's, you really need to rethink the item. Chances are, yes, with a little ingenuity and creativity you can find another way to satisfy your need...or want...craving...just gatta have it!!! Yes, we were born into this compulsive consumpting society, but if you are going to be trash free, you have to "be the change you wish to see in the world". Go Gandhi!

Now, having said all this, there are some things that I have yet to figure out how to fit into the 3 R's, compost, and not buy. I eat meat, so there are the bones from food that can't go in the compost and can't be fed to the dogs (mine are rather small dogs). So what about those? There are a few items that people will struggle with finding alternative ways, so let's open up a forum to find some solutions. What about Styrofoam?!??! What do we do with this stuff? How can we reuse it? What if it was bought with meat from the grocery store? Oops. What then? Can you really reuse it?

Here is the question to ask yourself, if you want to enter this challenge...Are there really certain things that just HAVE to be tossed? I think we can find alternatives to all of these items that we've been sold on having to toss out. That's where the NO TRASH challenge comes into play.

So, let's jump in and start the challenge!!

Start with a week. One week. Go trash free. Then add another week. Once you get the hang of it, be daring. Go for a whole month. Let me know how long you can make it and what made you break. What are some of the great alternatives you have come up with? Did you find the secret? Can you share it with the rest of us?!

I think this is a great thing for us to do. Why do we need to add to the landfill. Our ancestors (yep, I'm pulling out the oldies) made it just fine without trashing our Mother Earth. Now we're destroying it for our children and our children's children.

Make the commitment. Test yourself. See how far YOU can make it. Be green! Be trash free :)