The Crafty Os

Michael likes to build furniture. I like to knit and sew. Alex likes to draw. Jackson could care less. 3 out of 4 of us Os are pretty crafty. I knitted these two scarves with yarn I purchased at a yarn boutique in Santa Ana, California.

What did you learn at school today?

Over dinner Tuesday night, I asked Jackson about his day. What did he learn at school? Apparently, kindergarten has quite the curriculum. He learned how to make poot noises by putting his hand under his armpit and pumping his arm up and down at the shoulder. Aye. Alex was thrilled, and could not wait to teach the kids at Kathwood how to make poot noises with their armpits. "Ryan can even do it and make it stink!" Jackson exclaimed. Maybe I should not ask anymore.

Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

Got your attention? Well, this certainly got mine. I just finished reading The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. The book is a journalistic/scientific experiment of what would happen to man-made infrastructures, plastic products, nuclear power plants, nature, and the animal kingdom if humans were suddenly removed from the Earth via aliens, rapture, etc. The book itself was fascinating, but I was a bit disturbed the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. The premise: we have too many active breeders in a world suffering form starvation and war. Their motto: "May we live long and die out." According to VHEM, the human race should cease procreation. A virus that makes all human beings sterile would do nicely. This would end the abortion battle, and children would be so valuable that all orphans would be adopted. Juvenile delinquency would end as soon as this last generation of children grew up. And, as we reach the twilight of our species, there would be enough food and water for everyone. Natural resources would start to replenish themselves, and there would be no need to harvest timber other natural resources because there would be no need for new housing and other buildings. Humans would spend the last days of the species enjoying a clean, rejuvenated planet, and the peace of knowing that at last, the planet is on the path to the Garden of Eden.
Wow. Now that is deep ecology. Personally, I am a bit too selfish for this movement. Any thoughts?

Freaky.

My original flight to Arkansas, which I missed because I was blogging, was diverted for an emergency landing due to mechanical problems. Weird. I was sitting across from that gate and I never heard the boarding calls.

Stupid Blogging.

I missed my flight. My gate changed, and I didn't even hear the announcement. Now I have a 9:35pm flight to Arkansas. I feel like a dumbass.

Earth Kid!

I am so proud of Jackson! When he asked Michael to wipe him yesterday, he requested that his daddy use the cloth toilet wipes! We are making progress! Ok, I do admit that 5 year olds should probably be wiping themselves...

Sadness

Hug your husband today.

Word of the Day: Nihilism

Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy.

School Lunches

Feeding my boys can be a real pain in the ass. They are so picky about flavors, textures, temperature, etc. A usual lunchbox contains a PB& J, chips, fruit snacks, and some kind of fruit. If I send something new and interesting that they don't like, they announce to everybody that "mommy packed me a yucky lunch today"...and I feel like the Crappiest Mom Ever. I ordered this cookbook today. It got great reviews, and the author has her own blog. Maybe I can find something new and interesting that will make me the Coolest Mom Ever.

My men are going cloth!

We are on Day 4 of the cloth toilet paper challenge. It's really no big deal--just a small load of laundry every two days. Although I ordered my wipes, I think I can make some for the boys' bathroom myself out of flannel. I just got 4 coupons from Jo-Ann, so guess who is going fabric shopping this week! I also picked out a really cute wet bag for their bathroom from the good mama. They are so young and green brainwashing should be a snap!
Michael is proving to be a bit of a challenge. I have to hand it to him, he is very understanding and supportive of the green changes to the Owings' household. He just isn't too sure about the cloth toilet paper system in his bathroom. His main concern: he needs tissue to blow his nose every morning. I can fix that! I am going to make him some special cloth tissue just for blowing his nose. It will have its own unique fabric and special wet bag separate from his cloth toilet wipes. I will wash his "kleenex" with my cloth facial squares. My project for the weekend: make my men green!

Vegan Frustration

Boring research today. Needed a sweet treat. Bought Chewy Sweetarts Minis from the machine. Read label. Contains "egg albumen". I don't know what that is, but who knew my Sweetarts have animal products? What a bummer.

Not for the Squeamish!

I decided to accept this challenge. Many of my friends already know that I have been using homemade mama pads for about a year. I recenty ordered a set of lunapads because I like the idea of being able to change the top layer of my pads. Very granola, and many people have been very open about telling me these are gross. I disagree, and this is my green decision about my personal care. The number of tampons and pads are in our landfills is staggering, and I don't even want to talk about all of the icky things that are in tampons!
Anyway, I digress. I have been reading a lot about eliminating paper products from our home. We do not use paper towels or napkins, and the next step for me is to try cloth toilet paper. If some of my friends were grossed out by the mama pads, they may refuse to come to my house now. Never fear, there will be a roll of regular TP for squeamish guests. AND--the cloth TP bag will be removed to satisfy my housesitting friend Renee.
While cloth TP can easily be made by sewing two pieces of flannel together, I ordered some pretty wipes from here and here. I have dry wipes and wet wipes. The wet wipes are soaked in a solution of water, baby soap, tea tree essential oil and lavender oil. Used wipes go in the wet bag hanging in front of the toilet and are washed every other day. I also put several drops of tea tree essential oil in the bag as a natural antiseptic. Michael is a little squeamish about this, but his bathroom is stocked with regular, environmentally unfriendly TP, and he does not have to use my potty if he does not want to. The boys don't seem to care, so I will start their cruncy granola brainwashing at an early age!

Purging Yard Sale

Hooray for yard sales. I did not take any pics, but we had a yard full of stuff, and after we subtracted the cost of our ad and permit, we made $190! The cash is nice, but I am just so happy to have all that stuff out of my house. We have about 5 bins out of 15 left, and a bag of kids shoes for Gwen. All the furniture is gone! We still have a television, but I think we are going to list that on Craig's List. The purging will continue--I still need to purge the kitchen. I also want to replace some storage-less furniture that wastes space. I guess I'll just have to plan on another yard sale after Gwen and I take a pilgrimage to IKEA.

The O-Team

I play fantasy football with Michael and his buds. I have been playing for about 3 years now, and it is much fun. I recommend it to all women who love professional football and want to bond with their significant others. Last night, I kicked major butt. Colts v. Saints. I got lots of flack from my competition for picking Peyton Manning in the first round of our draft. I got even more flack for drafting Jospeh Addai as a RB. I get the last laugh! Last night my guys Peyton, Joseph and Dallas scored me 63.42 points. My super lame opponent, Janitor Luncheaters, scored a pitiful 15.08. Of course, we have all day Sunday and Monday night to go, but my quarterback scored me 38.52, while his sad little Drew Brees managed a pathetic 15.08!

Not so vegan today...

I ate chicken today. Bummer. There was no place to eat in Johnson City except fast food restaurants, so I ate a grilled chicken sandwich and apple slices. So, my vegan streak is wrecked--but I did not have any dairy.

When I went veggie last year, I went cold turkey (or maybe cold tofu would be a more appropriate expression). That was really hard. My main goal right now is to go dairy-free, not necessarily vegan or vegetarian. My goal for this lifestyle change is to feel better. I have had two stomach viruses and a really bad cold in the past month. My immune system is shot, and I am taking a natural approach to fixing my body. Sensitivity to dairy can cause a lot of health problems, and after all, cow's milk is actually produced for calves. I still prefer a cruelty-free lifestyle, and my ultimate goal is to eliminate all animal products/animal-tested products from my diet, wardrobe, and cosmetics. My problem, as my friend Meg pointed out to me today, is that I have difficult time getting enough protein when I am on my veggie kick. Another problem is the large number of leather shoes in my closet...

Vegan Day No. 2

Still vegan.

Breakfast: Kashi waffles w/ peanut butter and watermelon.

Lunch: Moe's Personal Trainer. All veggies, no cheese or sour cream.

Dinner: Vegan potato-corn chowder and hummus w/ celery and pita bread.

Why I am the Greatest Wife Ever.

I agreed to purchase this monstrosity. I don't even know how big the screen is, but I think it would make a nice dining room table if you turned it on its back.

Greatest Invention Ever!

Behold the doggy door! Forget the telephone, the world wide web, electricity, indoor plumbing...the doggy door is the greatest invention ever. For the past year my bassett hound has been waking us up at least twice during the night to go outside. I have not slept through the night in months. Zeus is not a puppy, but he is not an old geezer dog yet either. He can't hold it all night, but he has another reason for going outside at night. Squirrels are his #1 enemy, and he cannot allow them to become complancent and peaceful at night. They must fear him 24 hours a day. Although I respect his need to dominate his enemy, I need to sleep. Two weeks ago we purchased this extra-large doggy door. It's large enough to accomodate our lab and any average size criminal. Zeus and Athena can go in and out all night, and I can sleep. Greatest invention ever!

All Hail the Zeuser! This is the Man. This neutered wonder runs our house. For some strange reason, we let him.

This is my baby, Athena. Her yucky red frisbee is never far from her sight. When Zeus is feeling particulary mean, he steals her frisbee. He is the dominant dog, and although she could kick his butt, she is afraid of him.

Zeus rules. That's why he is stretched out on Athena's large puppy bed, and she is curled up on his little bed. I wish she would kick his butt and live up to her name, Athena--Goddess of War.

And the purging continues...

I love this girl. I love her blog and her thoughts on downsizing, consumerism, and her recent post on Stuff inspired me to purge our home of STUFF we don't need. I had no idea we had so much STUFF! I have been a tornado of activity this Labor Day Weekend, and at last count I have 14 crammed tubs under the carport, 1 tub in the house, 3 full laundry baskets, a box of pull-ups, set of luggage, lots of bags, 2 dressers, 1 chest of drawers, breakfast table and 2 chairs, desk, big screen TV and wooden TV stand, 3 plate racks, 2 curtain poles, a mirror, an extra Halloween pumpkin, and a vintage rose-carved chair.


Our exercise room is full of STUFF!

I painted these two dressers for the boys when they were babies. We did not have to buy any furniture when we had our kids. I got Jackson's dresser from my Aunt Cookie. I painted it red, with yellow and green drawers. His nursery was blue. A primary colors room! Alex's dresser came from my mom. I painted it a weird shade of red. I pained a leopard print on the top, and zebra stripes on the drawers. I hope these will go for a nice price at our yard sale!

I got this old chest at a yard sale. Unfortunately, I never did anything with it. Waste of space! The box beside it is full of old blankets and comforters that we don't need.

14 bins crammed with linens, toys, clothes, shoes, knick knacks, etc.

I am so excited about this lightening of our load. I can't explain how liberating it feels to get rid of so much STUFF. We have so much closet space!

I love my house. We live in a strange old house in Forest Acres. 2000 square feet, 2 bedrooms, with an odd room in the middle that could be a windowless bedroom, but we use it for an exercise room. As homes in our neighborhood are selling for tens of thousands of dollars more than we paid for ours, Michael has had the itch to sell and move. Yes, we could probably make money, but we certainly don't need more space. It is amazing how much space we have in our 2000 square feet without all the STUFF! Our house is funky, cool, and unique. Our first house was a traditional, cookie-cutter house in Irmo. Now I live in a home that is different, weird, and all mine. AND...quickly becoming devoid of STUFF!

How am I going to keep the STUFF from coming back? Everything in my house now has a place. If I don't have a place for something, I am not going to buy it. I am going to avoid the source of all STUFF--Target. I am going to think before I buy, and I am going to reward my children with something besides more STUFF.

Vegan Day

I am a ex-vegetarian. I went veggie about 2 years ago, and maintained the lifestyle for 9 months. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian, which means I ate eggs and dairy. I went veggie for a number of reasons, but ethics guided my dedication for those 9 months. I have always felt guilty when I ate an animal product, wore leather, visited a zoo, etc. Those 9 months were certainly guilt-free, but eventually the stress of life eroded my ethics. I did not eat a balanced vegetarian diet and I gained lots of weight on unhealthy carbs. My hubby was thrilled when I abandoned my ethical lifestyle, mainly because he is quite the meat-and-potatoes man. He claimed he felt guilty when we went out and I ordered steamed veggies or a boring salad. It is very hard to be a vegetarian in South Carolina!

I haven't felt well for the past few months, and I am sick of being sick. I decided to go dairy-free, and today I vowed to eat vegan for the day. I felt great! For breakfast I enjoyed a bowl of oatmeal. I had apple slices and peanut butter for lunch. I made my own vegan hummus with pita chips for an afternoon snack. Finally, I made vegan potato and corn chowder for dinner. I used almond milk instead of cow's milk. It's not hard if you take it one day at a time.