Saturday, July 26, 2008
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Why does "Natalie Portman vegan shoes" sound like a more appealing purchase than a "pvc handbag"?
NEW LIFESTYLE
A few weeks ago on her blog my sister, Catherine asked what everyone was doing to save money with the high gas prices. There were lots of good ideas and as I thought about it from a $ saving standpoint I realized that these changes also provided a means to change my life so that I could start living it instead of just maintaining it. So I wanted to share what I have been doing.
I have always been interested in healthy eating and lately I have become more and more concerned about chemicals and additives in food. So we are now reaping the harvest from our garden. We are eating lots of squash and peppers and our first tomatoes will be ready this week. I made pesto today from my very own basil. And we made a couple of trips to the farmer's market this week for corn and peaches which I put in the freezer. I can't speek for Jim but I only ate out once this week.
I also made a huge sacrifice yesterday in name of conservation. Jim and I went to town together --in the same car to run errands. This meant that I spent the afternoon listening to his commentary on everything from high gas prices, traffic in Springfield, crazy drivers, why the city doesn't do something about ..various topics and the legalities of cameras at traffic lights. There may also have been some important remarks about the Cardinals but by this point I was pretty much tuned out.
Two of our errands also promoted my other goals. I took my espresso machine and my Rowenta iron to a small appliance repair shop instead of trashing them and getting new. Interestingly, there is only one shop in town that does repair. We are definitely a disposable society. ( I also checked prices on a new espresso machine --about $600.00 so I saved!) My new life requires a new thought process too so when I got home last night after buying new red wine glasses I decided to take them back. My current wine glasses can be used for red or white so why do I need more? I answered that question differently at the Coach store. It is not like my friends are going to refuse a nice merlot just because of the glass!
However, I do refuse to share bath water as a means of conservation. We can both pee in the new water saving toilet before flushing but that is as far as I am willing to go.
I have always been interested in healthy eating and lately I have become more and more concerned about chemicals and additives in food. So we are now reaping the harvest from our garden. We are eating lots of squash and peppers and our first tomatoes will be ready this week. I made pesto today from my very own basil. And we made a couple of trips to the farmer's market this week for corn and peaches which I put in the freezer. I can't speek for Jim but I only ate out once this week.
I also made a huge sacrifice yesterday in name of conservation. Jim and I went to town together --in the same car to run errands. This meant that I spent the afternoon listening to his commentary on everything from high gas prices, traffic in Springfield, crazy drivers, why the city doesn't do something about ..various topics and the legalities of cameras at traffic lights. There may also have been some important remarks about the Cardinals but by this point I was pretty much tuned out.
Two of our errands also promoted my other goals. I took my espresso machine and my Rowenta iron to a small appliance repair shop instead of trashing them and getting new. Interestingly, there is only one shop in town that does repair. We are definitely a disposable society. ( I also checked prices on a new espresso machine --about $600.00 so I saved!) My new life requires a new thought process too so when I got home last night after buying new red wine glasses I decided to take them back. My current wine glasses can be used for red or white so why do I need more? I answered that question differently at the Coach store. It is not like my friends are going to refuse a nice merlot just because of the glass!
However, I do refuse to share bath water as a means of conservation. We can both pee in the new water saving toilet before flushing but that is as far as I am willing to go.
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