Support the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act

Most Americans strongly oppose the use of battery cages, gestation crates and veal crates to cruelly confine animals on factory farms. Unfortunately, your tax dollars are being used to support the use of all three systems. In fact, the federal government spends more than $1 billion a year on animal products for various federal programs like the National School Lunch Program. Currently, there are no federal laws in place regarding the on-farm treatment of animals exploited for these federal food programs, but new legislation introduced this spring aims to change that.

The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act (HR 4733) would prohibit the government from purchasing any animal products from animals raised in veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages – three systems that deny animals on farms enough room to even stand up, turn around or lie down. If passed, this legislation, though modest, would affect the lives of millions of animals, and send a clear message to agribusiness that the U.S. government will no longer turn a blind eye to the inhumane treatment of animals raised for food.

You can help!

Call your federal representative and ask him or her to support HR 4733, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. Let them know that the on-farm treatment of the approximately 10 billion animals raised and slaughtered annually in the U.S. for food production is of paramount importance to you.

Stop the waste!

Anyone who knows me knows that one of things most important to me is reducing waste. One of the areas that I continue to struggle with is food. Now dont get me wrong. I dont throw food away since I have chickens, dogs & a compost bin that would love to have it. BUT it still frustrates me when I spend my hard earned money on food and it doesnt get eaten. Soooo I found this great website called www.supercook.com where you actually plug in the ingredients you have and recipes come up using those ingredients. What a great way to "clean up" the food in your fridge. I love the site and highly recommend you check it out.

Top 10 uses for used coffee grounds

10. Deodorizer. Dry them out on a cookie sheet and then put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer, or rub them on your hands to get rid of food prep smells.

9. Plant food. Plants such as rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreen and camellias that prefer acidic soils will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. Also, grounds can add nutrients to your compost bin.
8. Insect repellant. Sprinkle old grounds around places you don’t want ants, or on the ant piles themselves. The little buggers will move on or stay away. Used grounds are also said to repel snails and slugs.
7. Dye. By steeping grounds in hot water, you can make brown dye for fabric, paper and even Easter eggs.
6. Furniture scratch cover-up. Steep grounds and apply a bit of the liquid to furniture scratches with a Q-tip.
5. Cleaning product. As they’re slightly abrasive, grounds can be used as a scouring agent for greasy and grimy stain-resistant objects.
4. Kitty repellent. To keep kitty from using the garden as her personal powder room, sprinkle grounds mixed with orange peels around your plants.
3. Flea dip. Follow up Fido’s shampoo with a coffee ground rub down, working them down to his skin. Not only are the fleas suppose to vamoose, but puppy’s hair will feel soft too.
2. Dust inhibitor. Before you clean out the fireplace, toss wet coffee grounds over the ashes to keep the ash dust under control.
And, finally, the #1 use for used coffee grounds....drum roll here....
Cellulite reducer. Mix 1/4 cup warm, used coffee grounds and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. While standing over an old towel or newspaper, apply the mixture to your "problem areas". Next, wrap the areas with shrink wrap and leave on for several minutes. Unwind the wrap, brush loose grounds off your skin and then shower with warm water. For best results, it is recommended to repeat this procedure twice a week. A little weird to be sure, but as high priced cellulite creams have coffee in them, it just might work.

There is a new chick in town...

Its that time of year... I have a new baby chick that one of my hens helped hatch. The unfortunate part about when chicks start sitting on eggs is that they stop laying. Fortunately I still have two hens that are laying eggs for me so I am able to get a small supply of eggs still.

I'm proud to share an award the green committee that I am on at work helped achieve....

GREEN IS GOLD IN PALM COAST

Vancouver isn't the only city where gold awards make news. The City of Palm Coast has proudly accepted the prestigious Gold Level Designation for a Green Local Government, received for their extraordinary environmental stewardship throughout all departments and across the community. The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) acknowledged Palm Coast, the Mayor and City Council for not only their internal daily green operations, but also for passing local legislation that offers incentives to the public to protect the environment.

"City Council led by example and adopted the Green Development Incentive Ordinance in November, 2009 to encourage voluntary green building through innovative programs," says Denise Bevan, Senior Environmental Planner for the City of Palm Coast. "The program enhances sustainable practices within the City and recognizes participants with incentive-based initiatives, a Council vision that won points for us with the FGBC."

Additional criteria that helped the City earn the Gold designation include:

* Adopting the Land Development Code that regulates and encourages over fifty low impact development elements across the City of Palm Coast
* Increasing City recycling, with over 60% of residents putting out recyclables by the end of 2009
* Educating the community at the Arbor Day Event, Dynamic Decade Birthday event, Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup and several school field trips and assemblies for community students
* Protecting and promoting natural resources by preserving environmentally sensitive lands and building new trails and bike paths
* Acquiring green staff certifications and national awards
* Promoting water conservation by utilizing reuse water for irrigation and by educating the community in newsletters and on the website
* Continuing green standard operating procedures at all City facilities
* Implementing a battery recycling program for the entire community

Palm Coast is one of nine Florida governments to achieve an FGBC gold status and the only green local government in Northeast Florida. A member from the Florida Green Building Coalition will present the Gold award to Mayor Netts and the City Council at an upcoming Council meeting.

Don't let your coffee grounds go to waste...

Every day across America millions of pots of coffee and tea are brewed, and the millions of pounds of wet grounds, filters and bags thrown in the trash. This is wasteful and foolish.

Coffee by-products can easily be used in the garden.
* Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen.
* Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.
* Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer. Use about a half-pound can of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water; let sit outdoors to achieve ambient temperature.
* Mix into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.
* Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests.
* If you are into vermi-posting, feed a little bit to your worms

It is easy to collect coffee grounds from your office. Just put an empty coffee can next to the coffee maker. Empty once a week or as needed. Once people get wind of what you're doing, don't be surprised if others want the grounds, too! I've been doing this for well over a year now at work. People even started adding banana peels to the can and even apple cores and other food scraps. When I take it home to dump it all into my compost bin, I fill the can with water and then dump it in. This adds some moisture to my compost and helps rinse out the can too. The coffee can stays sealed so you don't smell a thing or see a thing for that matter. I even dump the left over coffee into the can.

My first "meat out"

So this year is the first year of not eating meat for me. I have been staying away from meat for the most part for the last few months. My issue is not necessarily with "eating meat" but actually with the conditions that animals are kept in for the purpose of becoming our dinner. My other issue is with the amount of meat people now eat thanks to what started as the "fast food craze". People dont realize the impact that eating meat at every meal every day, has on the environment, and our bodies. All these food recalls this year should have really clued us in. How does spinach suddenly end up with bacteria on it that is found on fecal matter? If you dont know, watch the movie "Food Inc." It really puts things into perspective. So needless to say, I am happy to report that I have officially survived my first "meat out". The organization(s) that created meatout not only ask that people not eat once a year, but give up meat just one day a week. If everyone did this, the effect would be remarkable! So I challenge you to give up meat, just one day a week. Its amazing how quickly you come with meat alternatives given the opportunity to explore. Happy eating!

Participate in Meatout

What is Meatout?

On (or around) March 20 — the first day of spring — thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries get active to host educational Meatout events. Activities include colorful festivals, lectures, public dinners, feed-ins, cooking demos, food samplings, leafleting, information tables and more.

The occasion is Meatout, the world's largest and oldest annual grassroots diet education campaign. Meatout 2010 is the 25th Anniversary! Every spring, thousands of caring Meatout supporters educate their communities and ask their friends, families, and neighbors to pledge to "kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains."

Eggs anyone?

I am so happy to say that I am getting a basket full of eggs on a regular basis now and I LOVE it! I am able to share with friends and family but most of all I love that I have control over my food. I know what my chickens are eating and how they are being treated (spoiled rotten) and that makes me feel pretty darn good.

A fun post about my new phone

I have been in desperate need of a new phone for some time now but I hate "new" things. So for Christmas my hubby bought me Sprint's new phone called "Reclaim". It is so up my ally. It is made from 80% recyclable materials with 40% of the casing made from corn-based bio-plastic. So far I've had no problems with the phone and I feel great getting something "new" when it is made from 80% recyclable materials.

My Mission

So as I have been spending a lot of time thinking about this lately and trying to "re-ground" myself. I wondered, what exactly is it I am trying to do here. So along came my "mission statement". It really helped me define what it is that is important to me here. In later posts I will talk more about what I am already doing and plan to do to help accomplish each thing on my list. So here it is:

MY MISSION IS TO REDUCE MY WASTE BY RE-USING AND REFURBISHING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND ALSO BY LIMITING MY NEED FOR “THINGS” THAT I WON’T USE OR DON’T REALLY NEED. I ALSO PLAN TO EDUCATE OTHERS ABOUT REDUCING THEIR WASTE AS WELL AS MAKING MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND CHOICES THEMSELVES. I PLAN TO CONTINUE TO EDUCATE MYSELF ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF THE GROWING MEAT INDUSTRY TO BOTH OUR HEALTH AND OUR ENVIRONMENT. I WANT TO REDUCE MY MEAT INTAKE AND WHEN I DO EAT MEAT, EAT MEAT THAT HAS BEEN RAISED IN A HEALTHY WAY THAT IS BOTH BETTER FOR ME AND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. I WANT TO REDUCE MY DEPENDENCY ON CHEMICALS LIKE ONES FOUND IN HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS, FERTILIZERS, PESTICIDES ETC… AND FIND ALTERNATIVES FOR THESE PRODUCTS THAT ARE BOTH EASY TO USE AND AFFORDABLE. MY HOPES FOR THE FUTURE IS TO BE ABLE TO BECOME A FOOD SAFETY ADVOCATE TO HELP CRACK DOWN ON THE FDA AND THEIR LOUSY FOOD “POLICING”. I HOPE TO CONTINUE TO SHARE THIS JOURNEY WITH MY FAMILY, FRIENDS AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT IT SO THANK YOU FOR READING.

green update

Wow - I am really slacking on my posts these days. Life is just so busy. I just got done watching an amazing documentary that my sister bought me for my birthday called "Food INC" which I HIGHLY recommend. It was such an eye opener and really reminded me of a lot of the issues I have with the food industry. As usual it got the wheels turning in my head and I plan to make some big changes in my life.

My husbands parents raise cattle and have offered us a cow to slaughter for some time now and I think we are finally going to take advantage of it. I just have to make some room in my freezer first. Our chickens are doing fantastic and are laying daily giving me about 6 eggs a day. I also have a few roosters which I plan to move to my dinner table soon (or have my hubby do I should say). That one will be a first for me.

I continue to work with our green committee at work to reduce our waste as a City and offer better alternatives to the residents like recycling christmas trees into mulch to be used on city properties for landscaping and proper disposal of batteries, cell phones and other e-waste. My biggest accomplishment has been presenting our City manager as well as our City Council with a proposal (which was approved) that will save the City about $40,000 a year but also save a lot of paper products by eliminating paper delinquent utility notices and replacing them with an automated phone call. I am still working through the testing phase on this but it is going great and I have received a fantastic response so far. This was a very exciting journey for me and I am glad to finally be able to share it with everyone.

I continue to strive for reducing my waste, especially household and I do so by sharing my unwanted items, composting my leftover food scraps and buying only what I need and will use. I continue to reduce my meat intake and hope that others will follow in my footsteps too.

Thanks for reading!

check out my spinach

I just picked a ton of spinach from my organic garden. Spinach has by far been the easiest crop I have ever grown. It does great all year long and is basically maintenance free!

green update...

Life is just a whirlwind of events it seems these days. So here is my update... finally

My summer garden did pretty well but I have to say my fall garden is looking amazing. I have okra by the dozens. Beautiful squash growing as we speak and many other veggies popping their heads up too like collard greens, eggplant, and lots of varieties of squash. I continue to use only chicken poop for fertilizer. I actually take the soiled hay from their chicken coop and use it as mulch between my rows in the garden. So it multi-purpose! Mulch and fertilizer. My cherry tomatoes continue to grow and my spinach has never missed a beat. I think spinach and okra may be the easiest veggies I have ever grown.

I am in the process of becoming a member of a local organic buying club called Flagler Organics. I was a part of a buying club in the past but this one seems to make more sense. You pay a set price for a full share or half share each week which gives you 15-30lbs of fruits & veggies. You dont control what exactly you get but they also provide you with recipes for many of the veggies which helps when you get something you have never prepared before. And of course they buy only organic and mostly local. I love that part.

I continue to help my parents convert to more "green" ways at their restaurants. As of now they save me all their old bread (uneaten) and instead of throwing away their unused dough my dad now bakes it into bread for me. I bring it all over to the pigs. I am still working on a couple of other things I'd like to change over there but it is a slow process... lol. I am trying to convince my parents that sometimes making the right choice actually saves you money too. I'll let you know how that goes.

My most exciting news is that we are working on getting solar panels for our water pump and sewer system. We cant do it until we build our pump house but we have priced it out and it should pay for itself pretty quickly. It will save us electricity on one of our biggest power drainers (besides the a/c) but even better we will have water even when the electricty is out. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for reading!

support your local businesses that support you!

I went to Target the other day and found out that they now give you $ .05 for each reusable bag you use, off your total purchase. Now that may not sound like much but think about it. I average 5-6 bags per shopping trip once a week. Thats $ .30 per week and over a dollar a month. Point being Target has taken notice to something we are doing right. I am proud of them and hope that many other stores follow in their foot steps.

support your local businesses that make "smart

green update...

Well as I sit home nursing my sick husband back to health I thought... good time to post an update. Things are going well. My garden is filled with tomatoes, peppers, spinach and green beans the size of spaghetti. My grandfather gave me the beans that have been in his family for years and he says they are called spaghetti beans.

Our chicken population is now up to 13. No one is laying yet but a few should be very soon (I sure hope). I expanded their area by adding a run which basically enclosed their existing coop. I give them access to the run area when I am outside to supervise. The area I have to be careful with my dogs as they are still very curious about them especially Raven. She torments them so I only let them out in the run area when the dogs are in the house. Cant wait to start getting some eggs. I am sure eventually I will have more eggs than I know what to do with. I got the new chickens from a lady I found on craigslist who could no longer care for them. I got a heck of a deal on them and they are a few different types of chickens so I should get a nice variety of eggs.

Cloth diapers have kind of taken a backseat these days. Chloe started day care a couple of days a week and they will not allow the cloth diapers. I still try to use them when she is home with me on the weekends though. I continue to use the cloth wipes on a regular basis. Those are great and a big cost savings.

As far as everything I just continue to do what I do and that is give new life to old things. I have collected some odds and ends from people at work like broken jewelry and puzzles with missing pieces and have made some earrings and plan to make some Christmas ornaments too. So dont be surprised if you get a handmade ornament this year for Christmas (that looks like a child made it lol).

Thanks for reading.

green update

Ok, ok, I think its about time for a green update. I have lots to report on.

Cloth diapers:
First off I am proud to say that I am still using my cloth diapers. I think the biggest hurdles with using them is when someone else watches Chloe for me it is difficult to ask them to do something like changing cloth diapers. For me, it has not been hard. It is a passion of mine to reduce my waste. Its hard to ask someone else to do something just because its important to you. BUT I will say that my mother gets the "Best supporting mother" award. She has done a great job with the cloth diapers. We do occasionally use disposables, like when she is going over to my grandparents house and at night but overall she is mostly using cloth diapers. Here is what I have learned.
1. Cloth diapers need to be changed more often since the cloth comes in direct contact with the skin.
2. Poopy diapers are not fun but tolerable if you are well prepared. Have a towel ready to lay under the baby for those thrashing moments when poop gets every where. I was spoiled by my diposable since I would fold it over and let her poopy butt touch the outside of it. Since I will be touching the cloth diaper when I go to drop the poop in the toilet I dont exactly want poop all over it.
3. IMO disposables are easier at night. I bought extra absorbant inserts for the diapers for nighttime but they get very bulky and Chloe was not happy with me when I put them on. So what is 1 disposable diaper a day. Not much in the big scheme of life.
4. Reusable wipes are amazing. I highly recommend you trying these even if you have absolutely no desire to try cloth diapers. Basically all they are is wash cloths. You store them in the same container you would your wipes. (mine are in my wipes warmer) with a little bit of water. I add a small amount of baby wash to the water too. I had gotten some fancy recipe for a wipes wash using lavender and tea tree oil but all in all it got the be a pain mixing it up every time. I find water and baby wash work just fine. Just squeeze them out and use. Its great. I do keep disposables for traveling though.
5. Cloth diapers do tend to give baby the J-Lo look so be prepared for a booty that may not fit in every thing her size.
6 Oh yah, one last thing. sprinkle a little bit of baking soda in the storage container of dirty diapers and do not put the dirty diapers in a sealed container. They need to breathe. I also found that they smell much much less if I do not put them in a laundry bag. I actually just use a trash can and wash it out every time. Strangely enough the smell seemed stronger when I put it in the laundry bag that came with the package I bought.
So bottom line is (no pun intended) I am very happy with the cloth diapers. I dont have leakage problems (during the day) and Chloe seems very comfortable in them. 2 THUMBS UP!!

My Garden:
Its doing great. All organic. I have 27 tomatoe plants (if this surprises you, you dontk now my grandfather), corn, squash, watermelon, honeydew, peppers, carrots, mesclun & green beans. I use only chicken poop (yes I said poop) as fertilizer.

I have some new things going on right now that I am very excited about. One is that I am trying my hand in some jewelry making. Earrings is what I am interested in. Most of you know that I love my funky earrings. Well I plan to make some using all recycled materials. I dont want to divulge too much since this may be a flop. I promise to share pictures (if they are not an embarrasment).

Lastly, I have started making my own dog food. I was watching an episode of my favorite show WASTED on planet green and got the idea. I heard that it was cheaper but also there have been so many recalls on pet foods it puts me in more control of my food. As you all know I rescue dogs (sometimes they rescue me) and my tally is now up to 6 with the recent addition of my dog Roxy. So saving money on dog food was definitely appealing. We calculated that we were spending approximately 125.00 per month on dog food. I estimate that making my own food is going to cost us half of that. I'll know more by the end of the month and I promise to share!

Thanks for reading!!!

cost of painting my living room....

10 hours labor (mine) to paint the living room, hall way & breakfast nook - FREE

Moving furniture and sweeping up the scary stuff living behind the couch - BACKACHE

5 gallons of bear paint from a sealed bucket bought at the Habitat for Humanity Store - $15.00

Feeling great about only spending $15.00 and saving something from a landfill - PRICELESS!

My chickies....

I chuckle when I look at this picture now because these chicks looking nothing like this anymore. They almost 4 months now. I lost my 2 hens a couple of months ago. One to natural causes one to not so natural causes. So now I have my full grown rooster and my two baby chicks that my momma hen hatched. It was pretty amazing. I am sad that I lost my two hens but these three seem to be getting along great. Only problem is, one of the chicks is a boy. I am working on a plan. I am looking for more hens. Basically right now I am feeding three mouths and getting nothing in return. LOL.

first harvest`

Wow have I been slacking on my blog... its because I have been so darned busy. I took this picture probably a month and a half ago. This was the first of my mesclun mix of spinach, arugula and some various lettuces. If you could see it now!! Thank God it survived the heavy rains.

let the challenge begin....

Let me start off by telling you what a fantastic time I had today at the Green Expo in Jacksonville. As many of you may remember when I first started this blog I mentioned my desire to switch to cloth diapers. I have not done so to date because I had yet to meet anyone using them and I had so many questions. Well there was a company there today called Baby Blessing Natural Products (www.babyblessingNP.com) and the young lady there was such a wealth of information. She told me everything I needed to know. Well ladies and gentleman I am so happy to report that later this week (when the shipment comes in) I will be the proud owner of cloth diapers. I ordered a package for a very reasonable price and received 15 cloth diapers, inserts, reusable bag for the diaper champ, reusable wash cloths (to replace the baby wipes), among other things as well. They also gave me free shipping. I went ahead and bought a bathing suit/diaper as well. I should receive everything later this week and cannot wait to tell you about how it goes. Below are a few reasons I have chosen to switch to cloth diapers.

CLOTH DIAPERS ARE MUCH FRIENDLIER TO THE EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Do you have any guess as to how long disposable diapers last in the landfill? Estimates range between 100 and 500 years per diaper, so each diaper you put into the landfill is a diaper that future generations will have to deal with in time. Disposable diapers are the third largest source of waste, behind only paper products and food packaging. That’s amazing, considering disposable diapers are one type of product and there are millions of types of paper and food packages. Besides the waste they produce, also consider that the paper, plastic, and chemicals used in those diapers has to go through the manufacturing process, wasting energy again and again, 18 billion times per year.

CLOTH DIAPERS ARE HEALTHIER FOR YOUR BABY
Besides the obvious health implication of minimizing diaper rash your baby will not be exposed to the chemicals present in disposable diapers when they use cloth. Disposable diapers contain both dioxin, a byproduct of the paper manufacturing process, and sodium polyacrylate, the chemical that turns urine into a jelly-like substance. Dioxins have been linked with cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases. Long-term effects of the exposure of babies’ reproductive organs to these chemicals 24 hours a day for two to three years has not been determined. In addition, cloth diapers are made from breathable materials, permitting air to circulate to the skin while letting out ammonia, the byproduct of urine breakdown.

green update...

Wow! I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted. I have to say life these days is insane. But dont think for a minute I have stopped caring about the environment. Actually I find myself more passionate about it than ever.

I continue to bring leftovers from my parents restaurant to the pigs and now Marina, our cook and my friend is even saving veggie scraps and bread for my chickens. My chickens are doing great. I have a possible 6 baby chicks on the way that if my calculations are correct should start hatching this weekend. This should be interesting. I continue to collect fresh eggs daily from my other hen which is fantastic. With the new additions on the way I plant to close off a "run" for them. I have some left over wood fence panels that I plan to use for this. This will give them some access to the yard at my leisure without me having to worry about the dogs staying in the house.

Speaking of dogs, most of you know that one of my loves is for animals. I have rescued a total of 6 dogs, 5 still living from various situations. Well that total is now 7 (6 living) as we have a new addition to the family. She is a very sweet dog, boxer mix, who was found in very bad shape when we got her. She had mange and was very sick. The wonderful woman who found her took her to the vet and got her on the way to recovery but then brought her to the humane society because she travels for work and could not keep a dog. The humane society called the next day to tell her she would be put down. The woman went back to get her and needless to say she is now mine. I started out as just a foster home for her but Roxy and Chloe are BFF's and I couldnt stand to tear them apart. She is probably the sweetest dog I have ever had. She is very calm and loving. She has finally put some weight on and you'd never know she had mange. It was hard keeping her separate from everyone while she recovered but now you'd think she's been with us forever. We think she is close to a year old. I promise to post pics soon.

As many of you may know I am on the green committee at work. I have been working to help eliminate all styrofoam cups and plastic plates and utensils. I brought in a bunch of old plates and stuff from my parents restaurant. We are also running a dishwasher at work once a day instead of everyone hand washing their own items. Now keep in mind I work at the Utility dept so there are a couple hundred people coming and going so this is no easy job. But I have to say all is going great. I am also helping to turn scrap paper into small scratch pads.

My biggest accomplishment this month is planting my garden. It is about 20 x 20. It cost me nothing. I had the fence left over and actually used up the last of what I had. The top soil came from a great friend of Rob's who owns a landclearing dump and screens the debris that gets dropped off. So far I have planted peppers, mesclun salad mix, carrots, honeydew and I have tomatoes. I still have tons of room but my aching back said I had to stop. I cant wait to see my veggies grow. I am using no chemicals on my garden. I use my chicken poop as fertilizer. As a matter of fact I have started creating my own concoction I like to call "Poop Water". I disolve chicken poop in a gallon of water and have been watering all my plants with it and they LOVE it! Its been great. I will try to post a picture of my garden very soon.

Hope all is well!!

My new years resolution...

So I have been thinking... I want to try and buy nothing new this year. So much goes to waste every year. Think about how many things you have laying around your house that never get used. I have slowly been thinning my "junk" out and donating to the Humane Society Thrift Store (which I shop at weekly!) and at the same time have been picking up things I actually need. So my resolution is this. I want to buy everything used this year. Clothes, toys, furniture etc... The exceptions to this will be food, gifts and home/car repairs. I buy mostly used as it is but I want to really challenge myself. We'll see how it goes. I'll let you know.

In the meantime, the chickens are doing great. They lay about every other day so I am not sure if that is going to be their schedule or if they are still adjusting.

My compost bin is doing great too. I am saving coffee grounds and my banana peels from work and of course putting my chicken poop in there too. Oh yah, and I am so excited, I found a rototiller for $10 on craigs list. It is a 4 hp and is self propelled. I am really getting close to planting this garden!! Thanks for reading.

Composting

I have been planning on building my own compost bin for some time now but with the recent addition of chickens to our "Williams Family Farm" I figured it was time I got off my rearend. I actually found this one at Sam's by accident for just $40.00. It is great. It is made of 100% recycled material, has a locking lid, is very easy to put together and has 2 sliding door panels on the bottom (2 sides). It lets small amounts of rain in and vents. I was able to set it up just outside the coop so when I clean it up that is where it will the chicken droppings will be going. Then eventually it will find its way to my vegetable plants. I am very excited! 2 exciting additions to my "green venture" in 1 weekend... I can barely contain myself. LOL

We've got chickens!!! We picked them up late Saturday. We have 2 hens and a rooster but are getting another hen. We actually had not planned on getting a rooster but this guy would not leave the girls side. Not to mention you all know how much I love roosters so I fell in love with him and couldnt let him go. They are transitioning quite well considering I had 2 eggs already this morning. It was pretty exciting. I heard the rooster crowing this morning while I was getting ready for work so I went outside, 5:30 in the morning in the pitch dark with a flashlight just to check. Did I mention that the coop is on the far side of the property?? LOL it was a great feeling to see my first egg laying there. I have been feeding them tons of scraps. I was bringing the scraps to the pigs before so they were not going to waste but it feels even better to feed them to MY chickens now.

share your leftover paint

How many times have you painted a room in your home and had paint leftover that was destined to sit in your garage for years until one day your husband finally cleans the garage and it ends up in the trash, wasted? My brother painted his living room this past month and had a can left over. I loved the color so he generously passed it along to me. I expected to have to buy a small can if needed but didnt even have to. Not only did I save money by not having to spend it on paint but I saved a can of paint from being destined to a life in a landfill. I also noticed that our local Habitat for Humanity store accepts used paint. So think about it. If you have paint left over maybe a friend can use it. Even if it doesnt do an entire room it may be used for an accent wall. If they really like the color they can always purchase additional cans of the same color. Either way it saves money. 1 can did my entire dining room. I still have a little touch up I need to do but I have a little bit left plus my brother has another half of a can at his house that we can share for touch ups. I am really pleased with how it came out. I still have to finish the trim around the windows and doors but still it will be very little cost now to buy a small can of white paint versus what I would have spent.

DIY Household cleaners

One of the things I have been trying hard to do is to use less chemical based products, especially around the house. I have found some great DIY household cleaner recipes I'd like to share. Let me know what you think.

EIGHT ESSENTIALSThese eight items make up the basic ingredients for nearly every do-it-yourself cleaning recipe.

Baking soda: provides grit for scrubbing and reacts with water, vinegar or lemon by fizzing, which speeds up cleaning times
Borax: disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes; very handy in laundry mixes
Distilled white vinegar: disinfects and breaks up dirt; choose white vinegar over apple cider or red vinegars, as these might stain surfaces
Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfects and bleaches
Lemons: cut grease; bottled lemon juice also works well, although you might need to use bit more to get the same results
Olive oil: picks up dirt and polishes wood; cheaper grades work well
Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap: non-petroleum all-purpose cleaners
Washing soda: stain remover, general cleaner, helps unblock pipes; should be handled with gloves due to its caustic nature. Washing soda is usually found in the laundry aisle of grocery and drug stores.
Don't forget to pick up an empty spray bottle at the hardware store, and keep those old rags and used toothbrushes for wiping up and scrubbing.

WHOLE HOUSE
All-Purpose Cleaner
1/2 cup borax1 gallon hot water
Mix in pail (or use smaller amounts in a spray bottle: 1/8 cup borax to 1 quart of hot water) dissolving the borax completely; wipe clean with rag.

Floors

Wood
1/4 cup white vinegar1 gallon warm water

Linoleum
1 cup white vinegar2 gallons warm water
Mix in mop bucket, rinse afterwards.

Furniture Polish
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
Mix and apply with a clean rag to dust and polish. Reduce the olive oil if wood looks too oily.

Metal Polish
Copper and Brass
2 Tbsps salt
White vinegar
Add vinegar to salt until you've created a paste. Adding flour will reduce abrasiveness. Apply with a rag and rub clean.

Stainless Steel
Baking soda
White vinegar
Apply baking soda with a damp cloth, using the vinegar to eliminate spots.

BATHROOM

Toilet Bowl
Baking soda
White vinegar
To clean and deodorize, sprinkle toilet bowl with baking soda, add white vinegar and scrub with a toilet brush.

Tub and Tile
1/2 lemon
Borax
Dip the face of the lemon half in borax to create a hand-held scrubber for dirty areas. Rinse and dry the surface afterwards.

KITCHEN

Countertops
Marble: Mix one Tbsp castile soap with a quart of warm water, rinse well, then dry with a warm cloth.
Other surfaces: half a lemon and dip the face in baking soda to scrub off residues. Follow up by spraying with glass cleaner mix (below).

Drains
1 cup baking soda
1 cup vinegar
Add baking soda and vinegar to a pot of boiled water and pour down the drain, then flush with tap water. For more stubborn clogs, use a "snake" plumbing tool to manually remove blockage, or try suction removal with a plunger. To prevent clogs, install inexpensive mesh screen, available at home improvement and hardware stores.

Glass
1/4 cup vinegar or 1 Tbsp lemon juice
2+ cups water
Fill a clean spray bottle with water and either white vinegar or lemon juice; wipe with a rag or old newspaper.

Oven
Baking soda
Water
Sprinkle baking soda on surfaces, spray water, then let soak several hours or overnight. Rinse with water.

Stovetop and Oven Grease Remover
1/2 tsp washing soda
1/4 tsp liquid soap
2 cups hot water
Add washing soda and soap to hot water in spray bottle. Since washing soda is caustic, wear gloves.

LAUNDRY ROOM
Bleach alternative
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

How much trash do you produce?

Do YOU generate 21 bags of trash a month?The average American does - and one study found that a staggering 75% of things in landfills could have been recycled. All that garbage produces toxic emissions and worsens pollution. One of the things I do to reduce my trash is I buy in bulk and package using reusable containers. For example I bring my own lunch to work every day. I shop at Sam's and buy large containers of grapes, cherry tomatoes and snap peas. I use snack sized zip lock bags and split up my fruit and veggies so that I can just grab and go in the morning. I also reuse the zip lock bags. I wash them out and hang them to dry over my sink. They dont get very dirty. I also reused a plastic container that my salad mix comes in and put the bags inside so that they stay organized in my fridge. It works out great.

I read an article one time about how much "convenience" costs us. For instance buying bagged spinach versus fresh spinach. The results were amazing. The next time I went to the grocery store I took the time to price things out and I saw with my very own eyes how much money I was wasting. Besides wasting money its amazing how much fresher things are when they are not prepackaged. Sam's has amazingly fresh fruits and veggies so it makes it easy to buy in bulk there.

Check out my window trim... all from a job site left over

For those of you who dont know, my grandfather was green when green wasnt even cool. Of course he is green for different reasons than me. He is green for the green in his pockets! LOL. Now dont get me wrong. I love saving money but I also love saving waste. You have probably read in many of my blogs about things that my grandfather has given me or found. Well years ago he found tons of left over trim. Truthfully I cant remember where it came from but my husband tells me got it from a dumpster at a job site. This would not surprise me. Needless to say after years of me complaining about how ugly our window trim is (joys of a mobile home) I dug through my closet where the trim was being stored and paired up all the "like" pieces. Come to find out that I actually had quite a bit. It isnt all identical so I have to make sure I use the same ones within the same room so they dont look "ghetto or redneck" depending on where your from! LOL. Tonight Rob and I started the project and replaced the window trim in our dining room. I am so excited about the results. Now keep in mind that I will be painting it obviously but the picture gives you a rough idea. For those of you who are not home improvement savy the white blotches are liquid nail/silicone to fill in gaps. Let me know what you think. We actually had just 1 tiny piece of this trim left over when all was said and done. We almost thought we were going to run out but we stretched it. Thanks for reading!

Mission Accomplished. We have a chicken coop!

Woo hoo. I am so proud of myself for getting this done this weekend. But most of all I am proud of the fact that we reused material to build it. All in all we only spent $30. This included about 25.00 for 2 sheets of plywood (one for the roof and the other for the back hatch) and hinges and a latch. Thats it. Everything else was reused from leftovers (other projects) or things we have picked up or accumulated over the years. I even already had the hay from our halloween party. Now all we need are the hens. I visited Lory (Pig Tales) this past week and she is in need of an electric fence to keep the wild pigs out to avoid more babies this year. Well I just happen to have one that we no longer need so I plan to trade her for some hens. So all in all this turned out to be a great project. I cant wait to get my chickens and start collecting eggs. Checkout my pictures!

Let me know what you think.

P.s. no making fun of my boots.

I challenge you... stop using those paper towels

Ok, I'll admit it. I used to be a paper towel addict. There I admitted it. I challenge you to face it too. Are you one? A lot of my reasoning behind it is that I was once at someone's house, who did not like to use paper towels, only hand towels, and it stunk. The towel I mean. I mean it was gross. So me being me, I was grossed out and became the paper towel addict that I once was. Suddenly one day I realized it. What was I thinking? Now I am in recovery and can honestly say I go through only about a roll a month. I do still keep them around because I do believe for sanitary reasons they are sometimes necessary. So here is what I do. I keep 3 towels handy at the sink. One for washing for dishes (get rid of those sponges. They are germ factories.), one for wiping down counter tops & the table with and last I have one strictly for drying my hands. Every day or two I toss these towels in with my others to be washed. This keeps them fresh (and non-stinky) but keeps paper towels from going to waste. Not only am I saving trees and preventing waste but hello I am saving money. Lets face it I am washing towels anyway so what is a couple more towels each load going to to do? As for the sponge thing this is pretty new to me although Rob said he always grew up this way. Sponges are dirty little demons and wasteful. With a cloth (small cloth, larger ones get clumsy) you get the same effect but can wash the towel regularly instead of throwing away the sponge. I do still keep a sponge handy because sometimes I need the extra scrubbing power but I find if I at least rinse off the food right away I dont need to scrub so much. I do not use my dish washer because my well water is pretty rough and I found myself re-washing dishes all the time (wasteful!). So here it is. I challenge you to replace your regular usage of paper towels with that of a hand towel. Remember to keep the hand towel somewhere it will be specifically designated as the "hand towel" Only clean hands should be touching it. I hung a small rack above my sink for mine. It works out great. Let me know how you do!

exciting update about Pig Tales Sanctuary!!

Abrupt twist in the tale: Woman gets her pigs back

By KENYA WOODARD Staff Writer

BUNNELL -- The battle between the Flagler Humane Society and Lory Yazurlo over a herd of swine has ended.

The estimated 450 pigs that live at Pig Tales Sanctuary are now back in Yazurlo's custody after more than a month under the care of the humane society.

But the sanctuary founded by Yazurlo in 1995 will no longer operate as it once did, and Yazurlo still faces charges related to the seizure of her animals.

In a phone interview Monday, Flagler Humane Society director Donna Howard said she decided to return the pigs to Yazurlo after it became clear that the only way to remove the pigs from the sanctuary would be to euthanize them.

Howard said she couldn't let that happen.

So the two sides have agreed to "a happy medium," Howard said.

To keep the pigs, Yazurlo must abide by a list of rules that include refraining from taking in any more pigs or adopting them out, neutering all males and tagging the herd, Howard said.

In turn, the humane society will continue to pay for feed one day a week until March and inspect the 20-acre sanctuary on a weekly basis.

Then, the inspection will take place monthly and later be reduced to twice a year, Howard said.

Howard admitted she has reservations about giving up the pigs to Yazurlo. But the plan, coupled with assurances by Yazurlo's attorney that Yazurlo is capable of caring for the animals, has smoothed over those concerns, Howard said.

But if the deal doesn't work out, the humane society will step in and again take control of the pigs, Howard said.

In the meantime, Howard said she and her staff will "play big brother."

"We're going to keep an eye on them," she said. "Hopefully, this will turn out to be a good thing for the pigs."

Reached by phone Monday, Yazurlo said she's satisfied with the arrangement, including the no-pigs-in-or-out rule.

"Pretty much nothing has come or gone in five years," she said.

The inspections are no bother either, she said.

"I've always let them on my property," she said. "I had no problem with them."

The humane society took control of Pig Tales in November after officials discovered many of the pigs were "emaciated and malnourished" and suffering from illnesses, according to reports filed with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

Nine pigs were killed with single gunshots to the head during that visit after a veterinarian recommended it because of "their extreme suffering," the reports state.

Another pig in a deteriorated state was euthanized -- not shot -- by the vet the week after the initial visit.

The scene at Pig Tales prompted humane society officials to file complaints of animal cruelty and unlawful confinement of animals against Lory Yazurlo. Those complaints have been referred to the State Attorney's Office. No additional pigs have been killed.

About five pigs recently tested positive for pseudorabies, a contagious viral disease that causes a high mortality rate among infant pigs.

The sanctuary remains under a state-imposed quarantine order after some of the pigs tested positive for the disease in 2003. The state's refusal to lift the quarantine order made removing the pigs from the sanctuary impossible, Howard said.

"Once they told us the pigs couldn't leave the property, there wasn't much we could do," she said.

And the $3,000 weekly bill for the pigs' feed has become a financial burden the humane society could no longer support, she said.

The decision to work with Yazurlo is what's best for the pigs, Howard said.

Yazurlo, however, still faces charges. An arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 6, State Attorney's Office spokeswoman Linda Pruitt said.

Howard said the charges were filed to allow the Humane Society of the United States to offer monetary support to the Flagler organization.

But the HSUS is no longer in the picture and the charges aren't necessary, she said.

"She didn't intend to starve the animals," Howard said. "We're going to work with the courts and tell the judge 'listen, this is where we're at . . .' "

Yazurlo said she's not worried about the case.

"I think I'll be fine," she said.

kenya.woodard@news-jrnl.com

Here's How to Help

If you would like to help, contact:

· Bunnell Feed & Supply, 386-437-2032

· Curley's Place, 386-586-1180

· Charlene Yazurlo, 439-4583 or e-mail at jyazurlo@cfl.rr.com

check out the beginnings of my chicken coop

I was going to wait to upload a picture but I couldnt stand it anymore. Yesterday Rob and I finally found some time to start on my chicken coop. I hope to have chickens by the end of January. I am so proud to say that everything so far has been re-used. We have not spent a dime. The fence posts were left over from 5 years ago when we moved here and fenced in our backyard. I was using them as landscape timbers in the meantime. Suprisingly they were still in perfect condition. The wood for the supports was left overs from a job sight that Rob's brother gave us. The fence (it is not on yet) that we are going to us is also left over from 5 years ago. We are going to have to buy 1 sheet of plywood for the roof but it doesnt look like we will have to buy anything else. All in all it looks like it will only cost us about $10.00. I am going to build the gate myself with 2x4 and fencing. We already have hinges from a couple of rotten gates my grandfather gave me years ago and for the back hatch of the coop (So I can collect eggs without going inside) we are going to make using left over board on board fence panels my grandfather gave us years ago. An old neighbor was getting rid of them and he paid $20.00 for 8 panels. We used 3 of them already when we built our dog house. I am so excited. We hope to work on it some more this weekend. It will be a few months before we have eggs but it will be nice to have our own supply. I will post more pictures soon once we do more work.

find a new use for that shredded paper

If your like me you shred every bill or piece of mail that comes in with your personal info on it. Be sure and separate anything that does not have your info on it (insert, envelope etc...) and put that stuff in your recycle bin. Once your shredder fills up the shredded paper is a great alternative for bedding for rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils & mice. I had a guinea pig and a rabbit and did this all the time. You'll want to make sure you avoid shredding credit cards or CD's or at least pull them out. If you dont have a small pet ask around your neighborhood or childs classroom. You'd be surprised at how thankful the parent will be to be able to save money on the bedding. The paper, once wet, tends to clump together which actually makes it easier to clean the tray out. Also those toilet paper tubes are great for gerbils and other small rodents. They love to chew on them.

avoid wasting paper... use E-vites instead

This is something I have done for years. Go to www.evite.com for electronic invitations. It works great. Guests can rsvp online and it even sends a reminder out 2 days before your party. You can include directions and even a food list if you are asking your guests to bring a dish. Best of all it is free. I love doing this. Of course if you have a few people who do not use e-mail you will need to send paper invitations but still think of all the paper you have saved!

be creative with your Christmas gifts...

I have to share this. My wonderful secret santa (thanks Michelle) at work, wrapped my Christmas gifts to cleverly for me. First off my bag was a reusable grocery bag. Then inside each of my gifts, instead of tissue paper, were wrapped with beautiful Rooster kitchen hand towels. I loved it. She also shared with me that most of the little gifts she left on my desk these past weeks leading up to the big exchange today, were purchased at area thrift stores. Now if you know me, you know how much I love buying used versus new. I have to say Michelle knows me pretty well. Just thought I would share this unique idea with you all.

Try a natural alternative for a cold

Many people know about echinicea but did you know that ginger is also great for reducing cold symptoms? Boil some freshly grated ginger in water and drink 3-4 times a day. This will help with cough and headache and I have even been told it even increases libido.

Vitamin C is also a great alternative to allergy medicine. Vitamin C acts as a natural antihistamine. If you suffer from seasonal allergies try drinking a glass of OJ a day. See what it does for you. Another good addition is a spoon full of honey. This helps with coughs especially those caused by post nasal drip. Be sure and buy local honey though made from honey bees in your area.

Sending your holiday greetings electronically this year

A few years ago I started an annual holiday newsletter. What started out as an attempt to give friends and family an update on what my then newly-wed husband and I were up to has now turned into something I love to do every year. 3 years later I not only realize how much I enjoy writing (and think that our friends and family enjoy reading) the newsletter but I also realize what an environmentally conscience choice I made. I try to make it very personal and include pictures from trips and events through out the year. I do print a few copies for close family (like grandparents and parents) and a few copies for the few non computer savy people in my life, bust mostly our holiday greetings are now sent electronically. Newsletters are easy to do. Go online and search for Microsoft word newsletter templates. You can make all kinds of changes but at least it gives you a starting point.

Think about how many Christmas cards you have accumulated (or thrown away) over the years. I for one love receiving the cards with pictures and notes inside. But many cards just have a name signed to them. An alternative to just tossing these away each year is to keep them and cut out cute pictures on the fronts. These pictures can be used next year to make handmade cards or gift tags. You can do this with birthday cards too. Its a lot of fun and of course it keeps them out of the trash.

I'd love to hear any other ideas anyone has.

improvise...

Why not use the Sunday Comics to wrap your Christmas gifts this year? I put an employee classified on our city employee website and asked that people send me their comics from the Sunday paper. They have started rolling in and I have started wrapping my gifts with them. It feels so nostalgic. I love it. Best of all it is saving me money. I am going to attempt to post a picture with this post. Wish me luck!

dont forget the forgettables....

I have to say that when I first started becoming more environmentally conscious I had no idea what road it would lead me down. I realize now that my biggest concerns are with waste. I hate seeing things go to a landfill when they can be reused or recycled. When it comes to recycling there are a lot of things that people forget can be recycled. Cereal boxes are a great example. They are cardboard. Remember to remove the plastic bag from inside first, then break the box down and put it in your recycle bin. Oh yah and dont forget to look for those Box Tops points too. Cut them out and give them to someone for their school. Each one is worth .10. The plastic bags that bread comes in is another example of a forgettable. Look at the bag and you should see the infamous triangle. There will be a number inside the triangle and as long as your recycling company accepts that # the bag can be recycled. If your not sure what your company accepts give them a call and they should be able to give you a list. If your company can recycle styrofoam (ours does) a lot of the containers that meat comes in are recyclable too. Another example is your mail. If you pay online and dont use the envelopes that come with your bill, those as well as the inserts can be recycled. This goes for the magazines, catalogs and various other junk mail you get. Dont forget to shred anything with personal information on it. I keep a bin under my desk and when it fills up I pull out the paper and put it in my recycle bin. Be sure and wedge it between something so that if it is a windy day you are not picking it up later from the neighbors yard. The cardboard rolls from toilet paper are recyclable too. Keep a bag in the bathroom for them to make it easier to separate from the rest of your trash. Also check with your local schools to see if they would be interested in them for various projects with the kids. Especially around Christmas time. They work great for reindeer ornaments. I have a few courtesy of my nephews.

As I mentioned earlier, I realize now how passionate I am about reducing waste. Seriously think about what you are putting in your trash and alternative solutions for disposing of them that way. I continue to reduce my waste. I put out 2-3 recycle bins a week while only having 1 bag of trash every 1-2 weeks. It makes me feeling pretty good to know that there is something I can do to help ensure a "trash-free" future my daughter and her cousins. Not to mention that when things are recycled it reduces the need for non-renewable resources to be used to make more of those items.

Thanks for reading.

what to buy organic when you cant afford to buy it all

One of my biggest hurdles is that I cant always afford to buy organic. I dont buy organic just to protect the earth I do it mostly because I do not want to subject my family to pesticides and preservatives. Here is some information about the dirty dozen from Sara Snow. If you cant afford to buy all your produce organic at least try to buy these:

There have been a couple of studies done on fruits and vegetables to determine which are the cleanest (without pesticide and chemical residues) and which fall the other way. The Environmental Working Group did one such study and it resulted in a list they call the Dirty Dozen. It makes sense to buy organic for the items that fall into their dirty category; and that you might be able to save some money by sticking with conventional varieties of their cleanest twelve. According to the EWG list the following fruits and vegetables are the dirtiest twelve: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes. On the other hand, onions, avocado, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mango, asparagus, frozen sweet peas, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli and papaya are the cleanest.

green update

Well besides my efforts with the pig sanctuary I have been busy around the yard. I have peppers and cherry tomatoes growing wonderfully and organically. I continue to reduce my waste and am proud to say that I fill up about 3 recycle bins a week.

My most exciting news to share is that we are getting chickens. Rob grew up with them and its something I have wanted to do for a long time. With all of the scary stuff going on in this world I want more and more to be able to have more control over the food I eat. We plan to keep them for eggs but eventually for meat as well. I plan to feed them organically and give them my food scraps too. Eventually I plan to sell their eggs too and already have a few interested buyers! Right now we are working on the coop and once it is complete then we will get our chickens. Rob's mom and dad have a few so we may get some babies from them and raise them from chicks or we may rescue some full growns from the sanctuary. We'll see what happens.

I have set my rain barrell up and I tell you it quit raining as soon as I did. I have not officially gotten to use it yet but either way I am still excited about it.

I have also been working with our P.R. person at work and we are now including a green tip in our utility bill newsletter.

Hope all is well!

Pigs!!!!

Ok, so everyone knows that I am an animal lover. That is no secret. I have often been asked if I am such an animal lover why arent I a vegetarian. Well the answer is that I believe in the circle of life. I am against abuse and any form of cruelty to animals. I dont have a problem with eating meat or animals being hunted for food. Yesterday I had the most amazing day. I volunteered for Make a Difference Day at Pig Tales pig sanctuary not far from my house.

This is a sanctuary that started years ago by a paralyzed woman with a heart of gold. She IS a vegetarian and had gotten a couple of pigs as pets many years ago. Before you knew it people were asking her to take their pet pigs that they could no longer care for, for one reason or another. She vowed to protect these animals from the slaughterhouse and many years later, from her wheel chair, she runs Pig Tales. She has pot bellied pigs among many others including offspring of wild pigs that ventured over to her sanctuary. Because the first pigs were brought to her as pets she will not slaughter or give these pigs away to be slaughtered. She is a vegetarian and does not believe in killing animals even for food. She will however give them to you as pets.

I was told that she was going through some financial hardship since she spends her whole disability check on these pigs and the 20 acre sanctuary. There are hundreds of pigs there from 3 weeks old and up. I have to admit when I got there yesterday, me as well as the others who were there with me, were very overwhelmed by what we saw. By the end of the day I could not wait to go back. We walked through the sanctuary with what seemed like over 400 pigs. They were all friendly and some, like WILD HOG who was dropped off by a man who had found him as a baby on a job site, raised him but could no longer care for him, were just absolute sweeties.

I have actually been thinking about getting a pig myself to feed my scraps to. I hate waste and have been researching caring for a pig and the amount of food that they would eat. Rob seems ok with it but I promised not to make any rash decisions.

Since visiting on Saturday I have so many ideas running through my head. Lory's goal is to clean up the sanctuary entrance so that she can eventually reach out to the public and allow schools and other groups to visit. Me and some people from work are planning to go back out in a couple of weeks and do a cleanup for them. We are going to be discarding misc trash that they have accumulated from people thinking they could sell things for cash. I have also been in touch with a friend who scraps. I am hoping he will come out and pick up some of the larger items. I am also working on getting a deal on a dumpster and possibly some concrete wash for their drive way.

My next thought is to try to start up a "SCRAP DAY" where once a week (Sat. mornings maybe) the public is invited to come by with their collected scraps for the week and feed the pigs. This would be a huge help to Lory to off set the cost of some of the feed she is buying but would also encourage people to look for other options rather than discarding their food scraps. I have also thought about helping them build some type of collection containers where donations could be dropped off at their front gate. Maybe one for dry items like bags of feed, wood etc.. and another like a 55 gallon drum where people could deposit their scraps and it could be emptied daily and fed to the pigs.

It is easy to walk in to the sanctuary and think... I have to do something... I have to save these pigs. But unfortunatly in life we cant save every one or every thing. Because of this I know when I look at these animals and at Lory, I have think reasonably and decide what I can truly do to help her. The truth is we cant save all those pigs. Some will die from old age, sickness or survival of the fittest. This is the cycle of life. But the problem is as long as they continue to reproduce she will never be able to care for those pigs properly. With that being said my last idea (so far) is to sponsor some type of fundraiser to go towards the cost of spaying the females. I am sure a reduced price could be arranged with a vet and we could continue to work towards spaying more and more to eventually reduce the number of new additions to her herd. I say spay the females only because it makes the most sense financially to fix one sex or the other only. My suggestion is the females because the wild pigs have been known to join the herds on their own by breaking into the fence so spaying the females would prevent them from reproducing regardless.

I plan to continue volunteering my time to Lory and her amazing Pig Sanctuary. I met her mom and sister and some of her friends this weekend and they are amazing people too. They care for Lory and it shows. I hope eventually we can help Lory fix up her house too. Because she spends her disability check on the pigs and the sanctuary there is not much left for her.

I am also looking into composting pig manure. I have read that it is great for potato crops and lord knows we have a lot of those out here. Many of the area farms bring her their left overs to feed to the pigs. She may be able to give back to them and test out her knew pig manure compost to see if it will be beneficial to other farmers as well.

If you are interested in donating items for the sanctuary please let me know. They are in need of items to build shelters mostly. Wood, fence panels or wire fencing, nails, blankets, car toppers, kennels, and things of that sort. They are also greatly in need of feed. A large bag of feed can be purchased around $8-10. She uses 24 bags of feed per day. That is why my main focus is on reducing the # of pigs and helping her find other means of food for the pigs. She also needs hay. Lastly, but not least, she needs help. If you are ever interested in volunteering your time please let me know. She needs help building shelters and right now for trash clean up. Eventually we would like to put up a sign for her so if you have any artistic talents please let me know. Also if you have ideas... I am all ears.

Hope all is well! Thanks for reading.

rain barrell

I am so excited that I finally got my rain barrell. It is a 55 gallon drum but has a rain basket up top that will keep debris from getting inside and has an overflow as well as a spicket. I cant wait to start using it! I have directions on how to build one if anyone is interested. As soon as I figure out how... I will put some pics up of it.

join a food co-op

If your like me you like to buy organic but find it gets expensive. I buy organic not only for the way it benefits the environment but mostly for the benefit to my body. I dont want to expose myself to preservatives and chemicals if I can help it. By joining a food co-op you can buy organic produce at much more affordable prices. I joined one. If you live in Flagler county check out www.naturesclub.com. If you need help or more info let me know. Every other week you have the oppurtunity to place your "partial orders" for produce that you would be willing to purchase. If there is enough interest in the particaular item(s) then the case is ordered and you are able to purchase it at the reduced rate. The downfall is you dont always receive everything you'd like if there is not enough people willing to purchase some as well. I picked up my first order today and bought the freshest strawberries I have ever gotten. The woman, Natalia who runs the co-op inspects the food and also will reject it if it is not a good quality so you dont have to worry about getting stuck with bad produce. Everything I got looked great and I am very pleased. The prices who just pennies over the store cost for non-organic produce. You definitely need to know your prices before ordering to prevent yourself from buying something you could get cheaper at the store. If you have any questions let me know. She also sells (and stocks some) teas, juices and other products. Check out the website when you get a chance.

my green update

Since starting this blog I am happy to report that I have reduced my household trash to less than 1 - 13 gallon trash bag per week. This does not include diapers which we have about 1 small bag every couple of weeks (remember that my parents watch her during the day). I really have to thank my husband for all his help and taking my desires to live "greener" so serious. With his help we have managed to really step up our recycling efforts but most of all we have decreased our waste. We were big time food wasters. I dont even know why. Left overs would sit in the fridge and I would buy things and never end up cooking or eating them. I have actually cut back the amount I am spending on groceries big time. I buy about 90% fresh food too so I am pretty proud of us for cutting back our waste. I hope to lower the amount of trash even more once I get my worm composter up and going. Its amazing when you stop and think about what your putting in your trash. The kitchen trash maybe not so much but think about your bathroom and office. Think about the cardboard toilet paper rolls, the junk mail and magazines you receive. Once you are more aware its amazing how you find yourself looking at the bottom of every package for that universal recycling symbol.

www.terracycle.net

A few years ago I found this company called terracycle that reused soda bottles (both large and small) to package their fertilizers (worm poop). Now you all know how excited I get about worm poop so imagine how excited I was to find this company. Well I have bought their products (since I have not yet built my worm composter) and it worked great and of course is all natural. So yesterday I was at Home Depot and guess what? They sell their product! In recycled bottles and all!!!! They were on a shelf right at the checkout counter. I was so excited I decided to check out their website and I was shocked to see how many more things they are collecting and recycling now from juice pouches to yogurt containers. Please check out their website!

Biodegradable Peatpots

So I was shopping at Home Depot for some vegetable plants and saw that they are now using Bonnie Biodegradable Peatpots. I have read about these before but was not sure how readily available they were going to be and I am thrilled to see that Home Depot is selling their products with them. These pots are biodegradable and can be put right into the ground when you are planting your plant (sounds funny). No more unnecessary garbage and most importantly no more unnecessary resources being wasted to make that plastic pot. Be sure and look for them the next time you are shopping for something for your garden. You can also visit www.bonnieplants. com to learn more about them.

recycling electronics

In 2005, used or unwanted electronics amounted to approximately 1.9 to 2.2 million tons. Of that, a whopping 1.5 to 1.9 million tons were chucked into landfills, meaning that only 345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But it doesn't have to be that way.

Opportunities and resources for electronics recycling are often closer than you think. Most big box stores, for example, where many of us get our electronics in the first place, have some recycling initiatives, and several are even quite extensive. Here's the scoop on five of the biggest.

Your cellphones can be donated at most City facilities including City Hall, Utility and the Community Center.

Apple

Apple's iPod recycling program offers free recycling of any iPod or cell phone. After filling out an online form, you'll get a prepaid mailing label to attach to your package, or you can request a free mailer. For U.S. customers, Apple also offers free recycling of old computers, displays, and peripheralscables, mice, keyboards, speakers, printers, scanners, hard drives, etc.when you purchase a new Mac or monitor. Whether you buy a computer or monitor online or at an Apple store, the company will send you an e-mail with a shipping code. Pack up your old gear and drop it off at any FedEx location and a-recycling it goes.


Best Buy

Best Buy has a pretty comprehensive recycling program that covers everything from TVs to refrigerators. You can drop off old cellphones, rechargeable batteries, and printer cartridges at no cost at the handy kiosks inside all of its U.S. stores. When you buy a cellphone at Best Buy, the company gives you a free, postage-paid envelope to mail old phones to ReCellular, their partner for reuse and/or recycling. If your electronics still have some good use left in them, you can trade 'em in and get some money back; just go to the online trade-in estimator, fill out the details and condition of your device, and it'll give you an instant quote; about a week after your gadget arrives at the trade-in center, you'll get a Best Buy gift card for your trade. And, if you buy a large appliance or TV, Best Buy will deliver it and haul away your existing unit, then evaluate it (and its parts) for recycling or reuse. The company also offers grants to help increase the recycling opportunities available in communities across the country. Ranging from $500 to $1,500 per event, the grants depend on the size of and scope of the program, which can be hosted by nonprofit organizations, cities, counties, or public-private partnerships.


Circuit City

Circuit City also uses a trade-in program as an incentive to recycle your aging (but still functioning) tech devices. The company uses EZtradein.com as a hub for this service, taking all kinds of home and portable electronics in exchange for a Circuit City gift card (when your electronics are still worth something); it's similar to the process at Best Buy, where you give the details to their trade-in calculator, it gives you a quote and then a gift card when your gadget arrives at their trade-in facility. Circuit City is also a partner in the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation's (RBRC's) Call2Recycle program, which recycles rechargeable batteries and old cell phones; Circuit City also offer collection bags for their online customers to make it easier to recycle the phone when you're done with it. One caveat: if you still have a boxy CRT computer monitor, Circuit City won't take them because of their weight.


Office Depot

Office Depot's recycling program is perhaps the simplest and easiest of all the big boxes. The company offers boxes of three different sizes that you can load up with a variety of tech gadgets and drop off at any Office Depot store; the small, medium and large boxes go for $5, $10 and $15, respectively. The devices are then sent off to a recycling plant, where they are separated, sorted and recycled. Office Depot also provides free in-store recycling for cell phones, rechargeable batteries and ink & toner cartridges. And, as a nice bonus, Office Depot will open its first green store in Austin, Texas this summer, featuring energy-efficient lighting and water fixtures, and recycled and other green building materials.


Staples

No matter the brand or where the equipment was purchased, Staples' recycling program covers everything from desktops, laptops and printers to peripherals like keyboards, mice and speakers; each piece of large equipment (e.g. computer, monitor, printer) will cost you $10. You can take equipment to a Staples customer-service desk, and the company sends it to a recycler that disassembles the equipment into its component parts. For personal electronics such as cellphones, PDAs, pagers, digital cameras, chargers, and batteries, Staples has recycling partners, including RBRC's Call2Recycle. The company will also give you prepaid shipping materials to send in old printer cartridges. And, in the do-gooding category, Staples is also a member of the EPA's WasteWise program, which helps companies implement solid and industrial waste reduction measures.

None of these are perfect solutions, of course, and e-waste and electronics recycling itself is often dangerous for those who physically take the electronics apart, and potentially very dangerous to the planet. Still, between them, these programs offer the opportunity to insure that just about all of your old electronics don't end up in the landfill where they don't belong.