I got a good chuckle out of this article. It brought back memories of eating home-canned fruits and vegetables, checking the jars for mold first, catching the pigs/rabbits/chickens when they escaped, joking with each other over breakfast sausage "Which pig do you this is we're eating? The delicious one." We composted, spread manure, weeded, hunted, shot firecrackers at coyotes, picked vegetables and berries, and burned wood when the power went out. Our water came from a well, so it tasted extremely chalky. There were calcium deposits all over the showers and sinks. And it was quiet. Stone cold quiet. Strange times, though good for the most part.
This is going to make me sound rich, but the first time I had bread with sugar butter was a few years back. I paid 35 cents for a piece, at a Mexican bakery. It's called mantequilla, and is one of the popular sweet breads (pan dulce). Delicious!
Living in Arizona, things are dry! So why dry EVERYTHING in a clothes dryer? I do thick towels, knit tops, sweaters and especially jeans on the drying rack. Add an oscillating fan and clothes dry in no time... got to save on the high electric bill in the scorching summer.
I also like a real feather duster, have had mine since I read Speed Cleaning by Jeff Campbell a few years ago. I also use a mop with pads that attach with velcro... two pads clean my kitchen and bathrooms and then get tossed in the wash with the RAGS.
@helade: I do like the idea of washable felt squares for the swiffer. Thanks!
I never use toxic air fresheners, ew. I must get a carpet sweeper! Great post!
I don't have any new years resolutions. I actually don't believe in them. I haven't found the new year all that motivating by itself. I mean, it's just a calendar date. Why should it matter?
Great list! Bartering can save you alot of money. I've had great success with http://www.swaptreasures.com where you can trade just about anything and it's freee.
I still save real bacon grease in the freezer. I use it for flavor in dishes-in little bits. Delicious! We eat real bacon so rarely we love to have the flavor in foods. turkey bacon just doesn't cut it for flavor!
My husband's family grew up during the Depression and those habits got ingrained into him. He and now my 23 & 27 year old sons have a habit I just shudder at- when dinner is done and there is extra gravy, they put a slice of bread on the plate and cover it with gravy. They call it either 'quick stuffing' or 'bread gravy'. Bleah. I make delicious gravy (and stuffing, for that matter) but I am not a bread eater.
My family when I was growing up grew every vegetable known to man in our little back yard. I didn't know that salad wasn't a dessert until I got a job in a restaurant when I was 18 and 'salad' was always the first course:) In my house salad was the reward for eating everything on your plate. We ate a lot of pasta primavera (spaghetti with whatever vegetable was in season in the garden and olive oil). Since we lived in Southern California, it was served several times a week year round. We also ate a lot of baked potatoes stuffed with vegetables and topped with homemade cheese sauce. You don't need a lot of cheese,and more flour and oil stretches the roux :) We ate meat when it was inexpensive- like giant pack of chicken legs.
I should add that we ate a lot of "clean out the fridge or freezer" meals. I still eat a lot of "throw everything in" salads and stir fried vegetables :)
Reading your article definitely made me think about some things. Frankly, I would love to see healthcare reform in this country, just not the way the president is proposing. Right now, there are senators writing amendments to the bill that would allow abortions to be paid for under healthcare. Already, we have tax dollars going to fund abortions in D.C. As a member of the Susan B. Anthony List I cannot go with anything that pays to end a life. And there are other issues that are big deals that don't translate into what most people think about when the subject of healthcare comes up.
And ok, I've never been to Britain, so I don't know what it's like there, but I have been to Mexico where they have a public option and private healthcare. I know that America is very different from Mexico and so it might not be as extreme as it is there, but having personally experienced Mexican healthcare, I feel I need to make the point. When four other Americans and I got sick, two of us went to a private hospital and the two others were treated by a personal doctor of the family we were staying with. When we were just starting to feel sick, we asked the Mexicans around us what their healthcare was like. All of them said the private healthcare system was much better, and they would have to wait for hours if they went to the public system, and only recieve secondary service. And ok, this might not be all of Mexico, but their responses stuck out in my mind.
So right now, I don't feel like the government taking over health care is the best for America. Actually, I would love to see the churches in America stepping up and actually doing their jobs to help fill the need in this field. Many hospitals and schools around the world only came about because of the Christians who did what they could to help the poor, and personally I think it's time they step up again to do the same thing.
Oh please, some of the earlier comments have annoyed me. What's considered junk food, or how can it be judged that something like cigarettes or fast food is bad for you? If you smoke or eat the fast food regularly and your health starts to suck, that's your hint, it's not doing you good. Taxing would generate much needed money and deter people from using what's bad for them. If the government was pulling this out of their rears I wouldn't be for it, but there's PLENTY to support that fast food is bad for you.
Also, the government is here to help keep people in line. Anarchy doesn't work, people being free is fine. But sometimes people really DON'T make the best decisions, whether they're in the whole government box or not. People say, hey, it's the person's loss. Let them make that decision without piling on more consequences. Well, it hurts the whole community, and country, when it's on such a wide scale as this.
Also, why on Earth should we cut ANYTHING to make corn syrup and other such things more cheap? Watch Food Inc, why don't you. That will open your eyes. I'm against making it more cheap for corporations to exploit us all.
If health care were provided free and the government just raised taxes, I'd be for the health care reform bill. There is no doubt that we need health care reform. The cost is ridiculous. I am self employed and pay $628/mo. for two adults and 1 child. Believe that I want reform. However, I do not hear any part of the hcr bill say that there will be free health care. What I hear them say, what I've read, says there will be higher taxes along with premiums. As an employer, I'm scared. How can I pay for my employee's coverage when I can barely pay for my own? Where are you hearing that this bill is proposing free health care (higher taxes, but free out of pocket?)
The safety review test from Bureau Veritas not only had no complaints about safety, it also does NOT say anything about there being 2ppm of antimony.
It says the white fur has found to have 2ppm lead (normal clean soil has 14 to 40 ppm). It also measured between 2ppm and 9ppm of barium (15 to 3500ppm is normal for soil). All the other heavy metals were listed as LESS THAN 2ppm- meaning all this incredibly sensitive equipment couldn't pick up enough of a trace to get a decent reading.
One might have to muddle through some unfamiliar terminology, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to actually read a scientific report before citing it as a source.
Did anyone else eat peanut butter, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwiches? My dad would also make some sort of casserole out of whatever that week's leftovers had been...and it wasn't always things that should have gone together! My
I eat way too much of it and diabetes is a problem in my family. I'm not going to substitute with fake sugars or substitutes-- I'm going to actually let it all go, and work on finding real foods to fill the space of those empty calories.
We're moving closer to a traditional foods diet, which takes a ton of little steps. We've made a lot of strides this year, but have much farther to go this coming year.
I already exercise at moderate-intense levels 5-6 days/week. I also eat right, because if not, why bother exercising? I think they go hand in hand. I *could* very well cut out my planned unhealthful eating, but I like to eat and want to have something not nutritious every once in a while. I think I may cut down on alcohol from once or twice a month to zero or once a month, only because sometimes it doesn't agree with my stomach.
Here's to a happy and healthy 2010!
My healthy habit is to get more sleep and to sleep earlier. That will help me to get up early, be more productive, give me time to exercise and start the day not in the frenzy. Which will be one more push to growing in patience with my family. Oh and it'll curb my late night snacking which happens when you're up for another 5 hours after dinner, and consequently help me keep some weight off. Who knew so many things could be affected by a late bedtime and loss of sleep.
We bought a house this year, and I'm looking forward to starting a garden as soon as the weather permits. It will make it more appetizing and convenient to eat more veggies - definitely a health plus - and it will save me money over grocery store prices!
I got a good chuckle out of this article. It brought back memories of eating home-canned fruits and vegetables, checking the jars for mold first, catching the pigs/rabbits/chickens when they escaped, joking with each other over breakfast sausage "Which pig do you this is we're eating? The delicious one." We composted, spread manure, weeded, hunted, shot firecrackers at coyotes, picked vegetables and berries, and burned wood when the power went out. Our water came from a well, so it tasted extremely chalky. There were calcium deposits all over the showers and sinks. And it was quiet. Stone cold quiet. Strange times, though good for the most part.
This is going to make me sound rich, but the first time I had bread with sugar butter was a few years back. I paid 35 cents for a piece, at a Mexican bakery. It's called mantequilla, and is one of the popular sweet breads (pan dulce). Delicious!
Living in Arizona, things are dry! So why dry EVERYTHING in a clothes dryer? I do thick towels, knit tops, sweaters and especially jeans on the drying rack. Add an oscillating fan and clothes dry in no time... got to save on the high electric bill in the scorching summer.
I also like a real feather duster, have had mine since I read Speed Cleaning by Jeff Campbell a few years ago. I also use a mop with pads that attach with velcro... two pads clean my kitchen and bathrooms and then get tossed in the wash with the RAGS.
@helade: I do like the idea of washable felt squares for the swiffer. Thanks!
I never use toxic air fresheners, ew. I must get a carpet sweeper! Great post!
I don't have any new years resolutions. I actually don't believe in them. I haven't found the new year all that motivating by itself. I mean, it's just a calendar date. Why should it matter?
Great list! Bartering can save you alot of money. I've had great success with http://www.swaptreasures.com where you can trade just about anything and it's freee.
I still save real bacon grease in the freezer. I use it for flavor in dishes-in little bits. Delicious! We eat real bacon so rarely we love to have the flavor in foods. turkey bacon just doesn't cut it for flavor!
My husband's family grew up during the Depression and those habits got ingrained into him. He and now my 23 & 27 year old sons have a habit I just shudder at- when dinner is done and there is extra gravy, they put a slice of bread on the plate and cover it with gravy. They call it either 'quick stuffing' or 'bread gravy'. Bleah. I make delicious gravy (and stuffing, for that matter) but I am not a bread eater.
My family when I was growing up grew every vegetable known to man in our little back yard. I didn't know that salad wasn't a dessert until I got a job in a restaurant when I was 18 and 'salad' was always the first course:) In my house salad was the reward for eating everything on your plate. We ate a lot of pasta primavera (spaghetti with whatever vegetable was in season in the garden and olive oil). Since we lived in Southern California, it was served several times a week year round. We also ate a lot of baked potatoes stuffed with vegetables and topped with homemade cheese sauce. You don't need a lot of cheese,and more flour and oil stretches the roux :) We ate meat when it was inexpensive- like giant pack of chicken legs.
Floss every day and max out my Roth IRA contributions.
Wash my fruits and vegetables
No, not as a sandwich. It's what we put on pancakes because we couldn't afford syrup!
I'm enjoying a lot of these comments :)
I should add that we ate a lot of "clean out the fridge or freezer" meals. I still eat a lot of "throw everything in" salads and stir fried vegetables :)
Finish reading the Bible and try to model my life, finances and relationships more closely to it's teachings.
Get more active in standing up for what I believe in politically.
Thanks for including my tips in the roundup - and don't wait for Jan. 1 to stop drinking soda! :)
Reading your article definitely made me think about some things. Frankly, I would love to see healthcare reform in this country, just not the way the president is proposing. Right now, there are senators writing amendments to the bill that would allow abortions to be paid for under healthcare. Already, we have tax dollars going to fund abortions in D.C. As a member of the Susan B. Anthony List I cannot go with anything that pays to end a life. And there are other issues that are big deals that don't translate into what most people think about when the subject of healthcare comes up.
And ok, I've never been to Britain, so I don't know what it's like there, but I have been to Mexico where they have a public option and private healthcare. I know that America is very different from Mexico and so it might not be as extreme as it is there, but having personally experienced Mexican healthcare, I feel I need to make the point. When four other Americans and I got sick, two of us went to a private hospital and the two others were treated by a personal doctor of the family we were staying with. When we were just starting to feel sick, we asked the Mexicans around us what their healthcare was like. All of them said the private healthcare system was much better, and they would have to wait for hours if they went to the public system, and only recieve secondary service. And ok, this might not be all of Mexico, but their responses stuck out in my mind.
So right now, I don't feel like the government taking over health care is the best for America. Actually, I would love to see the churches in America stepping up and actually doing their jobs to help fill the need in this field. Many hospitals and schools around the world only came about because of the Christians who did what they could to help the poor, and personally I think it's time they step up again to do the same thing.
I'm going to go back to cooking ahead for the week so I can avoid fast food or expensive food decisions just because I'm hungry.
I'm also going to start a regular walking schedule-which includes a 20 min. walk during lunch every day.
To take it easy on myself as I finish up my dissertation; and to remember that taking breaks can be just as important as writing pages.
Oh please, some of the earlier comments have annoyed me. What's considered junk food, or how can it be judged that something like cigarettes or fast food is bad for you? If you smoke or eat the fast food regularly and your health starts to suck, that's your hint, it's not doing you good. Taxing would generate much needed money and deter people from using what's bad for them. If the government was pulling this out of their rears I wouldn't be for it, but there's PLENTY to support that fast food is bad for you.
Also, the government is here to help keep people in line. Anarchy doesn't work, people being free is fine. But sometimes people really DON'T make the best decisions, whether they're in the whole government box or not. People say, hey, it's the person's loss. Let them make that decision without piling on more consequences. Well, it hurts the whole community, and country, when it's on such a wide scale as this.
Also, why on Earth should we cut ANYTHING to make corn syrup and other such things more cheap? Watch Food Inc, why don't you. That will open your eyes. I'm against making it more cheap for corporations to exploit us all.
If health care were provided free and the government just raised taxes, I'd be for the health care reform bill. There is no doubt that we need health care reform. The cost is ridiculous. I am self employed and pay $628/mo. for two adults and 1 child. Believe that I want reform. However, I do not hear any part of the hcr bill say that there will be free health care. What I hear them say, what I've read, says there will be higher taxes along with premiums. As an employer, I'm scared. How can I pay for my employee's coverage when I can barely pay for my own? Where are you hearing that this bill is proposing free health care (higher taxes, but free out of pocket?)
The safety review test from Bureau Veritas not only had no complaints about safety, it also does NOT say anything about there being 2ppm of antimony.
It says the white fur has found to have 2ppm lead (normal clean soil has 14 to 40 ppm). It also measured between 2ppm and 9ppm of barium (15 to 3500ppm is normal for soil). All the other heavy metals were listed as LESS THAN 2ppm- meaning all this incredibly sensitive equipment couldn't pick up enough of a trace to get a decent reading.
One might have to muddle through some unfamiliar terminology, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to actually read a scientific report before citing it as a source.
Did anyone else eat peanut butter, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwiches? My dad would also make some sort of casserole out of whatever that week's leftovers had been...and it wasn't always things that should have gone together! My
I'm giving up sugar-- completely!
I eat way too much of it and diabetes is a problem in my family. I'm not going to substitute with fake sugars or substitutes-- I'm going to actually let it all go, and work on finding real foods to fill the space of those empty calories.
We're moving closer to a traditional foods diet, which takes a ton of little steps. We've made a lot of strides this year, but have much farther to go this coming year.
We are are going to do the Biggest Loser DVD's and get fit and fabulous!
I already exercise at moderate-intense levels 5-6 days/week. I also eat right, because if not, why bother exercising? I think they go hand in hand. I *could* very well cut out my planned unhealthful eating, but I like to eat and want to have something not nutritious every once in a while. I think I may cut down on alcohol from once or twice a month to zero or once a month, only because sometimes it doesn't agree with my stomach.
Here's to a happy and healthy 2010!
My healthy habit is to get more sleep and to sleep earlier. That will help me to get up early, be more productive, give me time to exercise and start the day not in the frenzy. Which will be one more push to growing in patience with my family. Oh and it'll curb my late night snacking which happens when you're up for another 5 hours after dinner, and consequently help me keep some weight off. Who knew so many things could be affected by a late bedtime and loss of sleep.
We bought a house this year, and I'm looking forward to starting a garden as soon as the weather permits. It will make it more appetizing and convenient to eat more veggies - definitely a health plus - and it will save me money over grocery store prices!