Week-end Roundup

I'm super sick with a sinus infection and therefore not thinking too clearly, so here's a brief update for the week.

-CSA Week 2: This week we got more asparagus and green onions and salad greens, as well as rosemary and mizuna. Never had mizuna before but I am planning on trying it in a salad.

-Planning a bridal shower for my best friend. Aside from the usual issues with family members sticking their noses where they don't belong, I am learning a lesson in over consumption. Disposable plates, forks, knives, spoons, napkins, latex balloons, wrapping paper, etc. We are getting linens instead of disposable tablecloths and I talked the other bridesmaids into a pitcher of filtered water instead of individual bottles. I also came up with an idea for simple wine charms to put on the plastic champagne glasses so that we only need one for each guest. I bought small wooden discs from the craft score that I drilled a hole into. I then painted it light blue and thread a brown ribbon through the hole and tied it around the stem. I am going to use clear labels to put each attendee's name on it. More work, but oh so classy and light on the excess plastic.

-Odwalla's park visitor program will donate money towards a tree replanting program if you visit their page and click on a participating state. Spread the word! You can click only once, but can tell as many friends as you want!

Books

Here is the list of books I plan to read in the next 2.75 years. I will update it on this site.

New Recipe of the week

Spaghetti with Arugula and Fresh Tomato Sauce
1 lb Spaghetti
2 c Arugula, chopped
6 ea Shallots, chopped or
4 ea Garlic cloves, chopped
2 tb Olive oil
2 c Tomatoes, chopped
Salt
Red pepper flakes or
Cayenne, to taste

Cook the pasta until almost al dente; add the
arugula, cook for a few moments & then drain.
Meanwhile, lightly saute the shallots or garlic in the
olive oil. Add the tomatoes. Cook over high heat
until the sauce thickens, then season with the salt &
hot pepper flakes or cayenne. Toss the pasta & arugula
with the tomato sauce & serve immediately.


I made this for dinner tonight with a few changes. I added scallions instead of shallots and used a new type of whole wheat spaghetti. Not crazy about the spaghetti. I used locally grown tomatoes from Whole Foods. I thought the dish was a little bland but the produce was great. I also made a salad from the lettuce mix we got this morning. I have never had such crisp flavorful greens. In was a small delivery, but oh so yummy.

Side note: I didn't have my tooth pulled this morning, which is why I was able to eat dinner. It's a long story...

Our CSA Week 1

We got our first CSA delivery today. It was a week late because there has been so much rain and very cold nights, but they ever so kindly extended it for one week in November. Excellent. Here's what we got: A bunch of beautiful asparagus, a small bunch of radishes, a bag of salad greens, a bunch of arugula and a bunch of scallions. I woke up this morning to find the box already on our porch. We are splitting it with Joe's parents so it's a pretty small delivery, but it felt great to reach into the box and know that everything in there was grown locally and organically. Unfortunately I am having my wisdom tooth pulled in about a half hour, so I won't get to enjoy any of the produce today or tomorrow, but hopefully by Friday I will be able to eat again. The trick is going to be to find recipes that Joe will eat, because he is very picky about vegetables. If anyone has any recipes or suggestions I'd love to hear them.

101 in 1001

I was blog browsing and I saw a post titled 101 in 1001, followed by a list. Now, I love lists. In fact, making lists is almost a compulsion for me. It calms me. It makes me feel accomplished. So I googled this new concept and this is what I came up with:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Joe and I decided we would come up with 26 goals to accomplish individually and 75 joint goals. Here my list, as well as our joint list. I will update this list as I go and write blog entries about accomplishing our goals.
finished goals look like this
in progress goals look like this

101 in 1001 days (May 17, 2009 to February 12, 2012)

Heather’s Personal

1. Take the GREs and apply to graduate school.
2. Learn to be a better photo subject.
3. Open retirement account at work and contribute the maximum.
4. Update phone book.
5. Get the oil changed on my car every 6k miles.
6. Get DVD player fixed.
7. Keep a plant alive for more than a year.
8. Get in touch with 10 friends that I lost touch with over the years. (0/10)

Heather’s Creative

9. Learn to use iPhoto and organize pictures.
10. Complete one scrapbook every 3 months (0/11).
11. Learn to sew well enough to sew a skirt for myself.
12. Knit a scarf.
13. Start drawing again.

Heather’s Health and Fitness

14. Fit into my skinny jeans again.
15. Learn to bake bread and make homemade soy yogurt from scratch. (0/2)
16. Learn how to freeze and can extra vegetables from CSA.
17. Eliminate soda from diet.
18. Keep a food log.
19. Practice roller derby 6 hours a week.
20. Learn to snowboard.
21. Take an exotic dance class (video or in person).

Heather’s Lifestyle and Recreation

22. Organize a monthly poker game. (0/33)

Heather’s Entertainment

23. Compile a list of books to read and read one book a week (or at least 250 pages). (0/143)
24. Get a library card.
25. Go to a movie alone.
26. Learn to play the guitar.


Personal

1. Learn a new language.
2. Perform 100 random acts of kindness. (0/100)
3. Begin to combine our possessions and reduce, reuse, recycle, freecycle, sell duplicates and things we don’t use.
4. Plug all electronics into surge protectors that can be turned off when not in use.
5. Stop taking plastic bags from stores.
6. Purchase cotton bags to use for bulk purchases.
7. Organize filing system.
8. Save enough in a high interest savings account to cover three months expenses.
9. Get new life insurance policies and name each other as beneficiaries.
10. Eliminate toxic debt using the snowball method.
11. Roll over old retirement accounts with new financial advisor.
12. Find and eliminate our “latte factor” and put the savings in an account for vacations and other fun things.
13. Save enough for down payment on a house.
14. Develop a budget that is feasible and stick to it.
15. Put $10 for each goal completed into high-yield savings and $20 for each uncompleted goal at the end of the 1001 days.
16. Enter electronics and other valuables into iOwn.
17. Continue with Hendrix’s training until we are confident letting him off leash.
18. Bathe Hendrix every other week. (0/72)
19. Arrange play dates for Hendrix every three weeks.
20. Start a curse jar and contribute a quarter for every swear, to be used for vacations.
21. Sit down and come up with a 10-year plan for us.
22. Start planning birthday and Christmas gifts for family and friends early, including a budget, so that we can give as many local bought and handmade gifts as possible.
23. Send thank you cards for all gifts received.
24. Get a tattoo.
25. Do an evacuation drill.
26. Make sure we have outfits to wear to a wedding, a funeral, a christening, and a job interview, make sure everything fits, is in good condition and is complete (i.e. shoes, accessories, etc.).
Creative
27. Buy and learn to use a digital SLR camera.
28. Take more pictures of friends and family.
29. Fill all empty frames with pictures of our little family.
30. Research our heritages and compile a family tree, to be framed.
31. Write a short book on our respective genealogies.


Health and Fitness

32. Learn to cook tofu well.
33. Eliminate high-fructose corn syrup completely from diet.
34. Try one new recipe a week using vegetables from CSA delivery. (0/52)
35. Stop eating takeout.
36. Eat as much organic food as is financially and realistically possible.
37. Use meal plans to buy in bulk as much as possible.
38. Eliminate sugar from our diet.
39. Grow a container herb garden.
40. Make weekly meal plans to save money, reduce waste and eat better. (0/143)
41. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day. (0/1001)
42. Find a vitamin regime that works and stick to it. (0/1001)
43. Train for and participate in a triathlon.
44. Train for and run in a 5k.
45. Take a belay class.
46. Get bikes fixed.
47. Exercise at least three and half-hours a week. (0/143)
48. Hike part of the Appalachian Trail.
49. Visit one new place in NJ a month. (0/33)

Lifestyle and Recreation

50. Eat vegan for one week. (0/7)
51. Live plastic free (no new plastic) for one week. (0/7)
52. Go one week without spending unnecessarily (necessary=gas, groceries, bills). (0/7)
53. Eat local for one week. (0/7)
54. Eliminate plastic beverage bottles from our life.
55. Volunteer 5 hours a month (first aid doesn’t count). (0/33)
56. Have date night once a week, with no blackberries or iphones for two hours. (0/143)
57. Kiss in the rain.
58. Watch the sun rise over the ocean.
59. Watch the moon rise over the ocean.
60. Sleep under the stars with each other.
61. Make plans for two weekends away. (0/2)
62. Have a picnic in Central Park.
63. Plan to attend a cultural event monthly.
64. Plan a special day/weekend every month to travel somewhere in the Northeast and see one of the 1001 places to see before you die. (0/33)
65. Participate in an A-Z travel challenge, in which the letters can stand for any destination: town, building, body of water, park, etc. (0/26)
66. See a double feature at the drive-in movie theater after eating at the drive-in restaurant.
67. Learn how to dance well.
68. Ride Vespas.
69. Go to Sonic and order cheese fries and cherry limeade.

Entertainment

70. Download and listen to 1001 albums I must hear before I die. (0/1001)
71. Organize and backup the music on our iTunes (i.e. delete duplicates and converge libraries)
72. Join Netflix and watch one movie a week (starting with AFI’s 100 best American movies). (0/100)
73. Compile a list of TV series to watch and download and watch one a month. (0/33)
74. Limit TV to an hour a day.
75. Learn how to play chess well

The Green Initiative

The company I work at is instituting a green initiative, in which we are trying to think of ways we can become more environmentally friendly. I have to tell you that the amount of plastic we go through in a day is appalling, enough to make Fake Plastic Fish faint, but there is nothing we can really do about it. In biology most of the consumable inventory is composed of plastic. I go through 10 to 15 boxes of tips in a day, and that's just me, there are about 15 more people doing work similar to mine. But this is something we can't help. We recycle what we can, like the wafers they are racked in and the containers they come in and reuse other parts, like the box they are stored in.
In addition to our efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle tips, we are trying to come up with other ideas to "green" our company. There is the obvious actions, like purchasing real flatware and mugs to use instead of plastic utensils and Styrofoam mugs, instituting a recycling program, reducing the amount of paper we use, and switching to green non-toxic cleaners. Some of these ideas have already been put in place, while others are being researched. Has anyone else had an initiative like this at work? What ideas worked and didn't work for you? I'd appreciate any suggestions you can pass along. And I will continue to update on the progress of our Green Initiative.

No 'poo part II

After practice tonight I had planned on washing with conditioner again and seeing how it worked on the sweaty mess that was my hair, because I thought if it looked dirty tomorrow I could just take a shower before work. However, once I got in the shower and let the hot water hit me so did the fatigue that comes after sprinting 80 laps. I realized that I was not going to want to shower again tomorrow morning so I shampooed with actual shampoo. I think I'm going to try that on the weekend when taking a second shower doesn't seem so exhausting. Tomorrow though, no practice, so back to conditioning shampoos.

No 'poo

It was about a year ago when I first started reading green blogs that I heard about the no 'poo movement. I was skeptical to say the least. Up until about two and a half years ago, I was obsessed with getting my hair squeaky clean. Two washes every time. And I used the worst shampoo, whatever was cheapest and probably most loaded with icky chemicals. Then I realized that squeaky clean hair didn't look any different than one-wash-hair and that in fact my hair looked better and less processed. That was the beginning of a metamorphosis, from everyday shampooing with Pantene or Herbal Essence to every other day shampooing with Giovanni Organic Shampoo and Conditioner. I feel like I've come full circle. Since I have found that alternative shampoo methods work for me, I figured I would give no 'poo a try. The premise is that there are enough surfactants in the conditioner to cleanse hair sufficiently. About 5 months ago I tried using my Giovanni Smooth As Silk Conditioner. The results were not ideal. My hair looked greasier than when I started and I ended up washing it again that night. I asked Allie's Answers about it and she thought the conditioner was too heavy for no 'poo. I was so turned off by the results that I forgot about it, but it was always in the back of my head. Today I tried it again with Avalon Organics Nourishing Lavender Conditioner. I'm not entirely thrilled with the results, but much happier than last time. First of all, while I was in the shower, it felt cleaner on my hair. I massaged it into my scalp and then rinsed it out, then got out and towel dried my hair. Normally I let it air dry, but today I decided to blow dry it. My bangs look a little off, like I put too much wax on them, but I think that should be solved with a little powder. The bottom looks better than it ever does when I wash it normally, soft and shiny and fluffy, thought that could have more to do with the fact that I blow-dried it instead of letting it air dry. I am definitely going to continue trying it. From what I understand it can take your hair a little while to adjust to no 'poo. The real test will be after practice tomorrow. Everyone always advises to only wash your hair once or twice a week, but I'm here to tell you that is not practical when you have practice 3 times a week. But the amount of time that was saved in the shower and water I saved, in addition to saving money and plastic on shampoo made it so worth it. Plus, since I dye my hair red, less chemical stress on my hair will make the color last longer. Any advice anyone might have is appreciated.