Not (Just) a Couple of Hippies

Just so that you don't think we're nothing but Buddhist hippies in this household (oh, we're so much more -- and there's not an ounce of patchouli in the place), I thought I'd let you know what else I'm about. Come along. (BTW, no offense is meant by "Buddhist hippies." I love both groups of people!...hmm, if I generalize toward the positive, is it still bad generalizing?)

My last post let you know about Dave's blog, which is about finding his Buddhist "side", as it were. I'm super excited that he's working to implement what he's been learning into his -- and, in a way, OUR -- everyday life. It helps him deal with his high-stress job and appreciate life more, which definitely spills into my life. While we were both raised Catholic (and are getting married in the Catholic church), we are pretty non-religious. So, it's not as if we're converting to Buddhism. One great post that he made concerned the fact that Buddhism is actually a way of living that can coincide with (and should work quite well with) other religions -- and even work in the lives of the non-religious! When I mention Buddhism, it often elicits a raised eyebrow, but we're very much ourselves and are quite a down-to-earth (I hope!) and "normal" couple. To look at us, we're not hippies.

While I've had hippie tendencies throughout my life (I love the Beatles and many of the hippie ideals), it doesn't define Dave or myself. We have many varying interests. For example, we met at our local community theater, became friends, and the rest is history (in short). Hence, the name of the blog! Currently, he's the president and I'm the secretary of the theater, so it's a pretty important part of our lives. Oh, and when we have time, we like to make stops at antique shops. I think that, in a way, this goes hand-in-hand with our timelessness. We're a pretty classic couple, so when we choose lifestyle paths, it's based on our true feelings and connections, not fads ('cuz that would get even more expensive!). I'm lucky that Dave has been not only supportive but just as enthusiastic about our eating and other lifestyle changes as I have. Little did we know that with a couple of minor choices we first bought our house a year ago, we were already on our way to a greener lifestyle. Dave was all about energy efficiency (more for cost than Earth-saving reasons) and bought nothing but energy-efficient light bulbs. Also, it being our first house, we needed a lawnmower -- so I bought him an update of the old school push mower (pay no attention to the reviews; we give it 4/5 stars). He can mow as early as he wants on weekends without waking a single neighbor, and the "whirring" noise is lovely to listen to. It's also a great workout, and he really enjoys using it.

So, that's a little bit about us. We're a pretty passionate, low-key couple. To learn more about how our wedding plans are going, check out our wedding blog.

First Meatless Monday

Yesterday, I received a cheerful, super-excited email from Dave with a link to a CNN article about meatless Mondays. While this concept is nothing new -- especially both growing up Catholic (which made Fridays the meatless days rather than Mondays) -- and Paul McCartney, among others, have been doing it for awhile -- it's new to us. Or, at least, a new idea to try. So, we made a couple of large salads and ate plenty of pasta with veggie-laden tomato sauce. Oh, all while watching the 3rd installment of our Netflixed Ken Burns' "Jazz". Fun night!

So, after one day of it, what do I think? So far, it didn't feel like anything different. I think that if we went vegetarian for a few days a week, it'd be much more noticeable. But, we were still excited to be making an effort and, in a way, feel like we're part of a bigger "movement" -- although we're not ones to be categorized (especially politically, and particularly since Dave takes his news job very seriously) or do things because a group is doing them. :-)

Last Sunday, we did some shopping at Hannaford to start our process, from buying their bulk corn meal and raw sugar to picking up some great fruits and veggies. It's hitting the pocketbook pretty hard, but it's not getting us down. Oh, I even got some organic shampoo and soap, which Dave loooooves the smell of -- I'm getting used to it. ;-)

I'm now off to research soap-making. I find myself getting distracted by about a million different things to research, from safe cosmetics to Earth-friendly cleaning products, when I'm suddenly hit with "get simple about it -- look up historic ways of doing this" to stay true to my historical interests and to avoid overdoing things. Thanks for checking in! Things are definitely going very well and even bringing Dave and I closer and closer together.

By the way, check out Dave's blog, Dave's Path to Enlightenment, where you can follow his thoughts while reading and learning more about the how to incorporate Buddhist concepts into his everyday life.

Earth Day -- in our own way

My fiance, Dave, and I stumbled upon "Food, Inc." on PBS last night and were equally touched and horrified by what we saw. I gotta tell ya, well-produced documentaries sure are the way to get tears and fears out of me, but I suppose that's what they're meant to do. I hate to fall into the trap, but I agree with and accept the information they provide -- in general.

While watching it, my mind started hopping from thought to thought. Why are we so dependent on big business? Has it been given too much of an opportunity to grow, thus take over our lives? Are Americans (well, many humans, not just us) so ignorant that they follow the leader so eagerly (and lazily)? I don't want to sound overly hippie, but this all turned my stomach...well, it could've been all the slaughter scenes, but anyhoo....

One reason that Dave and I get along so well is that we seem to transcend time. No, we're not Dr. Who or Marty McFly. We're just very connected to past time periods. I'm not sure about him, but I've always wished that I could live in a different time, from the Colonial period to 19th century to the 1940s to the 1960s...hard to live in the now, but we are where we are. I know the grass isn't always greener, but when it comes to eating, I wonder if we'd be a lot better off living a century ago. So, my first extreme idea was to buy a farm, quit our jobs and start a whole new lifestyle.

Go ahead, take the time you need to finish laughing. I can wait. :-)

Not even sure Dave understood what I meant when I tearfully explained that. But, I never expected it to become a reality. The second idea was less extreme...but still extreme: moving away to an area that has more resources for healthy living. Of course, this would mean leaving family, friends and jobs. Not something that we're currently ready to do.

So, the compromise that Dave came up with after sleeping on it a bit was to take our first steps to get healthier -- and we don't mean in order to lose weight, but to retrain our bodies not to depend on the salt, sugar and fat that they have thus far grown to crave. Mmm. Sugar. *shakes head* That's gonna be a tough one.

In our area of the country, we've gotta drive about half an hour to a modestly-sized city (where Dave works) or an hour to the east or west for a larger option. We're between suburban and rural; we're relatively close to farms but they still seem foreign. Many of my students live on farms, and a lot of the kids I went to school with back in the day (a town over from where we currently live) also lived on farms. Oh, and suffice it to say, Dave's from the above city and my parents both grew up on farms (Mom eventually dated a dairy farmer, so I spent lots of time on it during that time -- being a youngster on a farm has its merits), so farms are a little less foreign to me since I've vast experience scraping cow pies into gutters. Yessiree.

While you'd think that a quasi-rural area like this would allow us tons of great organic produce, it isn't necessarily the case. We still rely on Walmart, Aldi (man, why can't they have more organics?!) and Hannaford for groceries; the harsh winters take up most of the year, so farmers markets get set up for the summer -- making it rough the rest of the year. Also, much of the "goods" the local farmers create are for a larger market, so they're feeding (literally) right into the big business hype. *sigh* Sometimes we think that if we lived closer to a city, we'd have an easier time living differently. Strange how that works.

But, there's some good news (albeit not cost-effective), and it's what Dave's great idea is. We found a local buying club called The Foodshed Buying Club on Facebook which, depending on the time of year and availability, offers eggs, meat, produce, etc from local farmers. You can order by Sunday night and pick up your goods that Friday or Sunday. There's an annual $15 fee for their services (can't blame 'em, and that's not too bad, is it?), you get organic, hormone-free foods, AND support local farmers who, in turn, support our cause -- buying locally.

So, here's our first step -- talking. Ohhhh, it sounds so simple, but rather than jumping in and spending a fortune (which we don't have) on everything the Foodshed has to offer, we're going to discuss our priorities and what we can't already buy at a sufficiently healthy level in a "normal" environment. So far, my priorities are as follows:

• MEAT!!! Ew. What are they FEEDING us?! We were raised as the traditional, all-American omnivores (with a big accent on the meat and potatoes...or heavy pasta), which there's nothing wrong with. Well. There sort of is. We're flabbier than we probably could/should be, and that probably has something to do with it. Regardless, once I've used up all the bulk goodies in the freezer, I'm buying no more meat from the grocery stores (unless specifically labeled as grass-fed...which is rare around here). This is one area that we will pay a pretty penny, and rightfully so.

• Dairy - All the corn-fed (corn sounds healthy...it's not...and it ain't natural) cattle are producing hormone-infested milk and cheese products. Now, we're not big milk-drinkers (didn't we drink it, like, constantly as kids?) but I'd like to get into the habit of not grabbing whatever plastic container is cheapest, especially since we'd like to have a brood of our own one day. Instead, here's one place that we're a little luckier. Hannaford has organic milks as well as some locally-produced no-hormone brands which aren't uber pricey -- so, shall we say score?! Yes. They and the Foodshed also have great cheeses and yogurts which, although slightly expensive, aren't enjoyed that much in the McCoy-Dellecese household, so will be a nice splurge here and there.
  
  
• Produce - Here's where I'll have to do some experimenting. I'm not completely ignorant; I know that just because it's a fruit or veggie, it's not necessarily "good for" us. But, this is also the area that I think leaves us the most wiggle room. It's still way healthier than hormone-laden meats and poultry, so, for now, we'll work on getting fruits and veggies that help us stay within our budget.
  
  
• Grains - Since I don't bake as much as I should (why can't I be Donna Reed?), I figure I can splurge on the whole wheat and organic flours from Foodshed. The harder thing is figuring out what to feed my guy -- brown rice is always a go-to, but pretty boring, and anything with a strange-sounding name is a no-no. He's a little like a child with some foods; I guess we all are in our own ways (I hate hate HATE raw tomatoes). Here's where I'll need to do some research. ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME! :-D
  

We've already gotten well underway with our beverage consumption (except for that moo juice!), drinking mostly seltzer or flavored waters with zero additives, juice, plain water, etc. The occasional soda (ginger ale) gets tossed in when we're feeling naughty. Oh, okay, and beer or wine, but those are social or mental health beverages (rough day at work much?), and consumed rarely.

So, that's a start, I think. We'll update when things get further underway. I know there's a lot more in our area that's still untapped. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to take a new stance on our own impact? Well, at least I'm not crying over meat anymore.