OJ

Yesterday, my husband kindly offered to pick me up mid-commute.  He was a few minutes away so I sat on concrete wall with a few others who were waiting for a bus.  The area (the Roosevelt Red/Orange/Green line stop, Chicagoans) is a relatively popular El/Bus transfer stop and is teaming with people during rush hour.  While I was sitting, a young woman came and sat next to me.  Truthfully, her demeanor didn’t scream warmth and, I’m terribly embarrassed to admit it, but I assumed her to be a bit stuck up (judging by her attire and other boring details there’s no need to write here).   As we sat, a gentleman shuffled in our direction asking each individual on the wall, “Are you blessed enough today to buy me an orange juice?”  Person after person shook their head or ignored him completely.  I prepared to spout my usual “Sorry, Sir, not today.”  But...I didn’t have to say a word.  Because that young woman pulled out her wallet and said, “I don’t have cash, but would you like to walk to Starbucks to get an orange juice?”  Needless to say, the gentleman was a bit shocked.  He asked, “Do you feel like walking?”  “Sure,” she replied, “It’ right over there.”  And off they went, she slowing her pace so he could keep up. 

Wow.  What a kind thing to do.  She’s a world saver.  Oh, and today's lesson --> I really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Rah-rah-rah!

I’ve never been a cheerleader in the traditional sense.  Honestly, I find the uniforms quite intimidating. The closest I’ve come was being the mascot (a female bulldog…no joke) during college—I wore a cheerleading uniform over my fur and carried a large dog bone.  But, anyway, the point is, although I’ve never been a cheerleader in any official sense, I joined really rocking cheerleading squad in January. 

Whose our team?  Why, it’s ourselves, “ourselves” being a diverse team of folks living around the world with a passion for running.  Or at least a passion for being healthy.  We are cheering each other on via www.dailymile.com, a Facebook of sorts for those who enjoy running, swimming, biking, walking, etc. 

And, I have it say….it is FAN-tastic!  I’ve never run so consistently in my adult life than I have in the past 6 months and I promise that’s a direct consequence of dailymile.com and my cheer squad.  And you know what the best part is?  We provide each other with 100% POSITIVE feedback.  Our abilities range--some can run faster, some can run further, some with baby buggies, some with dogs—but, we recognize that the most important thing is that we are getting out there and doing SOMETHING.  Even if it’s just one mile—right, Ladies?  It truly energizes me.  I can only hope I am doing the same for them. 

In case it isn’t obvious, I have to conclude with….just how are we saving the world?  Well, we are pushing each other to make staying healthy a priority.  To do more and do better.  To recognize that we each have something to be proud of.  This is getting pretty sappy and I think you get the point…I’m cutting myself off….

PS.  Feel free to join me on http://www.dailymile.com/

The Digital Disaster

Technology is EVERYWHERE.  I am all for the majority of technology.  And I might be addicted to certain technology.   But, seriously, there’s been an explosion of technology over the course of my life time, some of which is saving the world (hello, hybrid cars) some not so much (xbox = couch potato).  Much of the up and coming technology is digital—cellphones, computers, e-books, as well as numerous other methods of “connecting” and connecting quickly. 

Now, I love my laptop as much as the next blogger.  But, boy, it is NOT saving the world.  Or, rather, some of the ways I use it, are not saving the world.  I’m cringing as I admit this to the world, but here goes…I leave my laptop plugged in.  All the time.  It’s terrible, I know.  It’s simply a convenience thing.  I almost always use it in the same spot and the plug is hard to reach.  So…I just leave it plugged in.  Even if I take my laptop elsewhere (e.g., the other end of the couch), I just leave the plug in the outlet, which according to my dad, means it still using some energy.  Ouch.

So, it’s gotta change.  There’s no reason for it not to change except laziness.   And I am not lazy. 

Unplugging…right…..NOW. 

Don't Doubt Me, People!

I’m not a slacker.  I know I haven’t been posting twice a week, but I promise my blog posts will average at least twice a week over the year.  I’ve just have a rough couple of weeks (lame excuse, I know) so it didn’t happen.  I’m not going to beat myself up over it so you should beat me up over it either.  But, seriously, I’m sorry.  I know you are so incredibly disappointed when you don’t get your twice weekly dose of me (that was dripping with sarcasm, FYI). 

PS.  My blogger-monitors (I like to make up words and catch phrases) did not yell at me.  What kind of management system is this?!?!?! 

Break Out the Overalls!

I’m a farmer.  Ok, not really.  But I AM supporting a farm.  This year my husband and I purchased a “share” in a farm through a program called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).   This means we paid a chunk of money to a farm during the planting season and in return we get a chunk of the harvest throughout the summer.  A more formal definition…

"Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a socioeconomic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs can often consist of a system of weekly/monthly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit in a vegetable box or basket, sometimes including dairy products and meat. The term CSA is mostly used in the USA, but a variety of similar production and economic sub-systems are in use worldwide.”

Each farm runs their CSA a bit different---I researched about 15 CSA’s in our area prior to choosing ours, Big Head Farm.

Big Head Farm, located in South Haven Michigan, is owned by a young, fun couple.  Ok, so I don’t know them personally, but they are world savers so they must be fun.  Anyway, their farm is relatively new (2009, I believe)—they used to live in Chicago but uncovered a knack for farming on a small plot of land and then ran with it.   For our share, my husband and I will get a ½ bushel of vegetables and herbs delivered to our home once a week for 22 weeks.   Seriously  cool, right?  We’ll get naturally grown, freshly picked, in season veggies delivered to our door.  Karen (head farmer!) even sends a newsletter with tips on how to store the veggies and recipes to try.  We also purchased a ½ share of eggs and will get a dozen fresh eggs every other week. 

This week was our FIRST delivery.  I was so excited, I could hardly sleep.  We got a ton of lettuce (perfect, because we literally make salads 6 days a week), a pile of radishes (most of which Mile has already eaten), and lemon balm. 

The CSA is definitely a step towards saving the world and helps my husband and I maintain a healthy diet.  We are purchasing locally grown food (our veggies don’t travel halfway around the world using loads of energy to get to us) and food that is grown in an environmentally conscious manner (au natural).  Also, it’s helping my husband and I dig out of a vegetables rut—we buy a ton of vegetables, but mostly the same vegetables so this will help us try new veggies and new recipes (hello, lemon balm?!?! radish soup?!?!).   

If you are interested in joining a CSA, start your search early.  I do believe there are some large farms that allow you to join at any time, but most that I found in Chicago, have a limited number of shares and fill up in early Spring (we purchase our share in late February—I think they were sold out by the end of March).  Fellow Chicagoans, Karen Warner at Big Head has been awesome, very responsive and friendly, so definitely put Big Head on your list of places to check out. 

I’ll be sharing more pictures over the coming weeks of our bounty and details on how the CSA impacts our lunches and dinner.  Until then, farm on, friends, farm on!