Sixteenth Step

Step 16 was going to a farm to pick up milk and eggs for several families in my area. I go once a month, and then drop off the goods to a central house where people pick them up. The animals are taken care of really well, and it is REALLY good milk and eggs. When I first cooked the eggs, I was like, "These are so GOLDEN YELLOW. Unreal!" And the milk is beyond whole milk, because I am not ashamed to say we just shake the cream into it. We trust the farm so much that I feel comfortable with using the milk (and even the eggs) raw, which means it still has the enzymes needed to digest it. Another plus is that the jars and egg containers are reused each week. Next week a different family will go pick up, and so on. It is fun for the kids to see some cows and horses too, and see where at least some of their food comes from. Howdy doody!

Seventh Step

I am fighting the guilt...the past couple of days have been so basic I know. But I have had waterbottles sitting on my counter for a couple of weeks waiting to be refilled, and I rush through and maybe fill one and tear through it so fast in my pregnant dehydrated state, and never have the patience to fill them all, and don't want to open any new ones because I have these to refill (Note on refilling: filling with filtered water is usually done from my fridge because it has the smallest "stream" and is already cold, but it takes a lot of leaning over staring at the crumbs on the carpet and waiting waiting waiting). I know #1 plastic is not to be used over and over ideally, but as long as I watch them not being in a hot car or going in the dishwasher, I think it's okay until one gets a significant dent that keeps it from standing up. Then I recycle it. I don't have a regular "water bottle habit" where I pop open a new one each day or week; they are usually acquired in random ways, slowly over time. But as fascinating as this topic is, I find it necessary to expound even more. I grow attached to certain ones, and finding the dented one that is causing them all to fall over like bowling pins can sometimes be sad. "Oh, the Dasani one. That has a good top, not so thin that you can barely screw it back on again" (I know, they're conserving plastic at least). Well, it had a good life. But here's my big step for the day: For our trip to Chicago, I filled the graveyard of empty ones ALL up to the brim. Nice cold, abundant, refreshing water--luxurious and plentiful. We drank them ALL dry in the van. But I am parched. Going to get some now.

First Step

Okay, it's way late, so I'll be quick. Yesterday I took a small step. After forgetting for months and just being lucky to get both kids and my coupons inside the grocery store, I finally BROUGHT IN the reusable bags with me. And remembered to ask the clerk (guiltily) if she could use them, along with reusing some plastic bags I had. It's kind of a pain for them! Instead of using those handy rotating plastic bag things, they have to dump everything into a huge bag on top of the "bagging island," or uncrinkle and open the old plastic bags, many of which were from a competing store. But by having my big reusable ones, I liked not having to lift so many dinky plastic bags, and knowing they weren't going to break and tear like our plastic friends. I even remembered to bring into the store and recycle an old bag of plastic bags that had been in my van for a few months waiting to be remembered along with my reusable bags. My pregnant brain must have taken a field day, because I also got the recycling into and out of the van in one day (I'm not counting that as my step though, since I have done that each week for the past 4 weeks--before that, mounds of recycling would pile up in my garage until I found out my husband was about to lose his sanity over it). So woo hoo for one small step into making natural living a reality!