Cooking at home seems to be a dying art. Even ‘foodies’ often have a schedule that is too busy for a meal cooked at home. Parents are leaning more on pre-made, processed food instead of cooking for their families. When I was growing up, we ate together. Even with a single parent, and 3 kids in high school we ate together most nights. I think that had a big impact on my relationship with my family. It was in those times that we talked about life (and laughed until our stomachs hurt). My two sisters and I learned how to sit at a table and have conversations about our lives. We were taught (much to our shegrin at the time) that mealtime is not to be interrupted by the telephone, television or any other activity. It was an activity in and of itself.

Even in my own life, that is not the case anymore. Too often, I grab a meal and eat it on the run. Or Mollie and I will have dinner while watching a movie. It so easily can turn into a regular occurence. Mollie and I do deliberately eat most meals together and I really enjoy that. We have implemented some of the things that Barbara Kingsolver writes about (page 128) in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Her list (with my comments) is below.

• Cooking can be fun – Especially if you make it fun. Cooking can be a chore, but it doesn’t have to be.
• Rely on variations of simple recipes – There are tons of variations of a cooked protein with vegetables. Get a cook book and explore. Mollie and I make our weekly menu on Sunday for the upcoming week. We both grab a cookbook and have to choose something new. It helps keep us out of ruts.
• Save labor intensive (lots of prep) recipes for the weekend – My sister and her husband often use their weekends to prepare lunch foods for the week. They cook up a bunch of roasted veggies, or a soup that they can then use the rest of the week.
• Start a routine – We have a history of making homemade pizza on Fridays. It takes Friday off the dinner menu each week.
• Invite others to join in – For help and also to learn from them – The times that I have learned about cooking is when I have cooked with other people who know a lot more about cooking than I do. Either I was invited to cook with them, or I asked them to cook with me. Either way I always have an open ear to learn some new technique or recipe.
• Cooking at home will be more healthy – You have control over every ingredient that you put in your meal. You also are in control of portion size.
• Significantly cheaper – Once you are set up with basic ingredients in your pantry, home cooking is definitely a money saver. You can have a great (and healthy) meal that feeds a family of four for under $20 (probably under $10). You can’t get that at a restaurant (fast ‘food’ definitely doesn’t count).
• Buy whole foods (produce, meat) – Instead of buying boneless/skinless chicken breasts, buy a whole chicken. With a sharp knife you can turn that whole chicken into 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings, and a carcass that makes a mean chicken stock. To add to the cheaper point, organic free range boneless skinless chicken breast runs about $4.99/lb (at Trader Joes) and a organic free range whole fryer costs about $1.99/lb. So for the price you pay for 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (usually $6-$8) you can get at least one whole chicken. That whole chicken yields at least one (probably two) more meals.
• It builds family relationships – Like I mentioned earlier, families are built around the kitchen table.
• Teaches children manners and life skills – Because of family meals, I learned how to set the table, how to wash dishes, how to cook, how to shop for groceries, how to have a conversation and most of all to be involved with other people around me.

As you know, I went back to school last year to finish up my undergraduate degree. This has been a 6-7 year on again/off again process.  Although this does not hold true for most of my college career, I am pleased to be able to report that this season of my education has been a very positive experience and that, in less than two weeks I will be a college graduate!

In the summer of 2007 Kendall and I took a camping trip to Shi Shi beach just a couple of months before the start of classes. It was then that we talked about how we would integrate school into our lives.  As a married couple we had gone through me being a student before and had quickly come to learn that I did not do a good job setting boundaries.   We wanted it to look different this time. So, in the peace and calm of that camping trip we talked.

That conversation ended up setting the tone for the year. It was not all smooth sailing, but we had set our course and with gentle reminders, the support of loved ones, and the grace of God we were able to, for the most part, stay the course.

At the beginning of this endeavor I feared that, although I desperately wanted and needed these boundaries, freeing myself from my self-imposed pressures would lead to me becoming an average, un-driven human being. What would become of me if I no longer expected perfection? A sloth? A loser? An idiot with a degree?

I am happy to say that none of the above happened. What did happen is that I had the opportunity to put into practice the very things that I been working on internally for years. The result is that the setting of those boundaries and the subsequent work I did to implement and re-implement them, led to me having my most successful experience thus far.

I am having a hard time figuring out how to write what I want to say next without it coming out sounding like college entrance essay.  But this summer, oh this summer.  It was great.  It makes me want to break out into song everytime I think about it: Summer lovin’ had me a bla-ast, summer lovin’ happen so faaast.  Kendall and I spent my last summer quarter of school studying abraod in Prague.  Thanks in large part to the support and campaigning done on our behalf by Kari Tupper, Kendall and I were able to do it together (despite his being a long-time college graduate that would not officially be part of the program). It was an unusual situation and one that had never been braved before, but it was important to us that we have this experience together or not at all.  This was part of the verbal manifesto we created on Shi Shi, that although we were at different points in our lives we wanted to create shared experiences that strengthed our friendship and marriage.  We wanted to be part of each others individual worlds and we wanted to do this in person, not over e-mail, IM, or phone.  The result of the commitment we made to each other was that we got to experience together what has become the highlight of my formal education.

What stands out to me in all of this is the immeasurable value of the times Kendall and I have taken the opportunity to step out of the chaos.  When without distraction we inevitably end up having conversations in which we evaluate our own lives, as well as, our life together.  As a result we end up reorienting our lives according to what we value and arrive at conclusions that bring us immense freedom from the previously unexamined expectations of life.

There was so much that I learned during this trip that I look forward to sharing with you all here.  In addition, I have had the benefit of taking a few environmental science courses and hope to share with you some of the knowledge I gained through that participation.

It’s also allowed us time to slow down, and read for pleasure. I’m reading through Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” which a great read so far. Super informative and had me thinking of a bunch of posts. So keep your eyes peeled for those.

I hope everyone is having a great summer.

Working on my Undergrad degree has been a broken trail for me as I have steadily committed to give it a place of importance, but never wanted it to be The Most Important piece in my very full life. There are other things that I have come before and will always come before my formal education. That being said, it has over the years remained important to me to graduate with a Bachelors degree and because of this I made a return to school last September. I am now attending University of Washington and it has been a very positive experience and I am very much enjoying this part of my life. There are some changes to my schooling habits that I have made upon my return that I would like to share with you.
In the spirit of ecological responsibility at universities around the world, I now present you with NOTES on Environmental Changes for Students (or anyone really):

1. Travel Mug filled with: fair trade, organic tea; fair trade, organic, decaf coffee; or fair trade organic hot chocolate. So, good. Drinking a warm beverage is lovely on these cold, wet Seattle days.
   • Produces less waste than disposable cups
   • On campus they have a Tully’s that only uses fully compostable cups. However, unless you actually put these cups (like any compostable products) in your compost they are not compostable.
   • It provides a lovely treat while sitting in class or studying.
2. Bring a refillable water bottle
3. Take public transportation (or of course walk, bike, or carpool)
4. Rebinders
5. Recycled notebook paper
6. Take notes on my computer through WordPress (how to below):
   • Install a webserver on your laptop. It’s easier than you think. There are packages that make it easy to install and setup (MAMP for a Mac and WAMP for a PC).
   • Create a database using the tools installed with either MAMP or WAMP.
   • Install WordPress. There will be some manual text editing you need to do for setup, but it’s minimal.
   • Create categories for each of your classes.
   • Start a new post for each class session.

   When you use this method of taking notes, you can easily look back at past class periods by date, and also there is a search function installed by default. If you run into trouble, my husband has offered assistance to those who need some direction. You can get in touch with him over at his company web site Vigilanteweb.

7. Print only when a Professor requires a hard copy of an assignment and print on both the front and back of each paper.
   To print on the front and back from my computer I:
   1. Press Print
   2. Within the Print Detail page select Paper Handling
   3. Select “Print Odd Numbered Pages”
   4. Print
   5. Place either the single sheet or stack of printed pages face down in the paper tray with the bottom of the page closest to me in.
   6. Repeat steps 1 and 2
   7. Select “Print: Even Numbered Pages” and “Page Order: Reverse”
8. Buy used Text Books. There are plenty out there already and they are usually cheaper. You can also check text books out of the library instead of buying it. A final suggestion is to book share. If you have a reliable classmate it may work out for you to share a text book and split the cost. Everyone has their own study habits and you know what works best for you.

If anyone else has tips feel free to share them through comments!

The New Year is something to be celebrated. It gives us the opportunity to look at where we have come and then to where we want to go. Sometimes this comes in the midst of years of sadness and struggle and other times it arrives amongst much joy. Whatever it is for you, the New Year symbolizes the hope of more time for all of us.

For those who are working towards being molded and refined, I want to take a moment to acknowledge your bravery and encourage you in your walk.

Happy New Year to all of you! May Peace, Joy, and Love accompany you on all of your different journeys.

We have been doing a sibling/spouse Secret Santa gift exchange on my side of the family for a couple of years. It has worked really well and has provided the opportunity within my fairly large family to focus on one person. This year we have decided to make another change in our gift giving.

Every year my parents are left buying gifts for all 8 of us plus each other. Even though they do a great job of being thoughtful in their gift giving, in our very consumer driven culture this gets really really expensive. So, this year we are doing an experiment. My parents are making each of us a present and can spend no more than $10/person on supplies. In return each of us will make our parents a present and can spend no more on $10/person.

There are so many reasons why I am excited about this. I love that it simplifies our gifts. I love that it takes away a bit of the consumer oriented aspect of these holidays. However, most of what I love about it is that we will get to know each other better. We will be giving to our parents and receiving gifts from them that in some way represent our skills and a part of our lives that we want to share.

As we near Christmas I hope that you are all able to remain rooted in the midst of much unnecessary chaos.

This past July Kendall and I got rid of our car. We had been thinking about doing it for about a year. It began around the time we decided to move to Seattle. One of the many reasons this move has been so good for us is because it has given us the opportunity to start from scratch in so many ways. We are getting to decide what we want our life to look like and make decisions based on that.

Part of the reason we wanted to live a car-free life (besides the obvious environmental reasons) is because we are in the process of creating a life that reflects our values and part of that means that our regular life is not one that we dread coming home to after a vacation. We want to have a life that we don’t constantly feel the need to have a break from. Giving away our car is part of our commitment to slow down and to live a sustainable life. That means living within our means–financially, environmentally, and overall within the energy that we have instead of daily moving deeper into debt. It’s too hard to live under increasing debt of any kind and to us it is just not worth it.

So, when the lease on our car was up we turned in the key and walked home. Now we walk, bus, and occasionally use a flexcar. We live within our community. We run less errands. Consume less. Spend more time outside. Decide if something we want is worth the energy output to get it. Most of the time we end up making do with what we have and are really glad we did so.

The air is cool. The leaves are beginning to transform from the greens of summer to the earthy, bright colors of fire.

Sky is swallowed by gray and the days of rain guide me into a slow and deep rhythm. When the sun appears and reminds me that it is not far away, I run outside to catch its warm and joyful gift.

Increasingly swift,

The temperature rests low and we cozy in under a pile of blankets.

My attention turns to things of comfort. Mugs of thick hot chocolate. Yarn. Fabric. Creativity. Books. Sleep.

This season brings to me an unexpected challenge,

a struggle to care about the consequences of my actions.

Convenience and warmth sit so easily next to my water soaked, clean clothes. I want to put my clothes in the dryer.

I don’t care.

I sigh.

No matter how much I want to I just can’t shake that I do care. I will hang my clothes to dry. The fan that allows me to borrow its gentle breeze for these cold and wet months treads much lighter than the dryer for which I yearn.

Autumn moves about with a gentleness. I will try to do the same.

I feel like I am working to make changes to my life and that I am very conscious of living a life that reflects my values. Taking tests like these ones though can sometimes make me feel like I am failing at doing that.

Then I remember that I am a work in progress.

These tests are good to take because they give me a reality check. I am still using more resources than one person should use. Hence, the 2.6 planets. However, it is important to remember that they don’t look at the details of the whole picture. They aren’t meant to. They are meant to be short and easy (so people will actually be willing to take them) and to give you a general idea of the impact you are making. I think that they are good for serving this purpose. I do have a ways to go, but I have also come very far. When I first took one of those tests a couple of years ago I was at around 7 planets. So, when I remember that, I realize how far I have come. There are still many changes I can and need to make. And…there are also a lot that I have already made while walking this path that have indeed made a big difference.

I will continue to use these tests to mark my progress, point me in the right direction, AND I will remember that they don’t tell the whole story.

Off to continue my journey.

At the beginning of this year we both started making one change a month toward improving how we live. Some family changes we’ve made: If it’s yellow, let it mellow, consistent recycling, and shopping locally. I, Izzie, usually ere on the extreme side of things, going full speed with an idea and sooner or later crashing because I’ve taken on too much. My husband takes things a little slower. For example, Aaron’s one/change for February: Use less paper; March: Shower less; April: Take smaller bites. I laughed at first until he actually accomplished his goals: using less water (and therefore less energy due to decreased hygiene and therefore decreased, well, you know), and eating at a slower pace; which helped him realize he was full sooner and also to slow down and enjoy the meal. My changes so far have included taking the train or walking to most of my activities, cloth bags for shopping, and turning the water off when I’m washing my face (the last one inspired by my husband.). I, however, end up numerous places with too many bags and a long walk home, no umbrella and a long wait for the train in the rain, or standing in the grocery store having heart palpitations because I’ve again forgotten my cloth bags and am picturing thousands of plastic sacks floating down rivers. What we’re learning is to take things one-step at a time, plan well, and enjoy the accomplishment of each change.

The hardest part about going green, other than simple selfishness, has been doing it with a child. Ironically, having a child is also one of my main motivations for living better. One change we have made is to make all our own baby food using fresh, local ingredients as much as we can. This involves an incredible amount of careful planning. The veggies and fruit must be bought, steamed, and blended before consumed. These steps seem simple until you have a loud hungry baby with only cold, hard sweet potatoes to offer. Those delightful little pre-made cartons of pureed guava and pears become very appealing.  But the fun trip to the farmer’s market, tasting the food before you buy it, talking to the people who grew it, makes you feel one step closer to home. Our sweet 9-month old has become a stroller baby, riding around town as we walk to the grocery store, library, post office, you name it she’s been there. She has a string of admirers that know her, and it has opened up many conversations with strangers. Somehow going green has made me feel more connected to people, to our neighborhood.

Changes we hope to make in the future include cloth diapers (ick), no car (in Dallas??), home-made bread, and possibly those worms under the sink. I can only imagine what it would look like if Ilon got into those.

I am excited to start these changes now. I want us to get in the habit of constantly looking at our life to see what is good and what needs to change. I want Ilon to see this and be a part of it. The cool thing is that there is always another change you can make. Life doesn’t stay the same, and neither do we!