earth2karen

Vegetarian License Plates for Virginia up for Pepsi Refresh Grant

2010-05-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

<--- Hey, just a couple of clicks could win this initiative 5k! That would be way cool, so vote early and vote often. And feel free to repost!

The Thrill is Gone

2010-04-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

You don't have to be from the Delta to like this, do you?

Dude. Bummer.

2010-04-19T03:15:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Tammy split. **big sigh** Oh well. I just hope it's for their higher good and that of the kids. I mean, what more can I say? Except... How I wish so much that we could just be more like the straight people and stay together forever... **cough**hack**sputter** If only...

Closer to Genuine

2010-04-11T01:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Nina for posting this: Closer To Fine: Acceptance of Differences How could anyone find fault with these two? I mean, just listen to them:

Checking In

2010-02-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

I just got a great new job, so I apologize for the dead air here, but it's for a good reason!

Also, I deactivated my Facebook account for a couple of reasons, but I'm sure I'll regret that and reopen it soon.

In the meantime...

Here's hoping for a little sunshine! I love the snow, but I'm kinda ready for a sunburn and some iced tea.

Just sayin'.

Cheese Derivatives are Interfering with my Good Intentions...

2010-01-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

And the cows aren't laughing.

No. I'm not schizophrenic.

See... My New Year's resolution was to be more true to myself this year, to be more introspective, more authentic, to take the time to figure out what I really want in my professional life...

And to try to make more of a difference in the world around me in my personal life...

And to simply figure out some way to make all of those things come together in a groovy, zen-type, synchrony which would facilitate my profound and lasting inner peace.

That's all.

Yeah. When I make resolutions I make 'em.

I figure I might as well get to the heart of the matter.

I mean, if I get all zen and authentic and all that then my credit card balances will magically fall away with those extra pounds anyway, right?

Ommm....

All kidding aside, I truly do want to be a better person. I want to think more, read more, study more and take better control of my life, my finances, my health and the impact that I'm having on the planet.

I want to be more accountable to me, to what I believe in.

I want to rekindle a bit of that idealistic teenager who was a poet, and who would've never dreamed of selling out to work for the man. (On my "To Do" list for this year is a protest. I don't know what yet, but I'm protesting something. Dammit.)

I want to cut my mindless TV time. I want to be more physically active. I want to explore some new hobbies that I've been drawn to, but never really taken the time to pursue. So, yeah, I want to get to know me a little better. Maybe that sounds silly, but in this hectic, detached, task-oriented, instant-everything world that we live in, I think it's easy to become somewhat of a drone if you don't make a real effort to keep in touch with yourself and your feelings.

Speaking of Drones, I'm thinking about getting one, but I can't decide between a Drone and an iPhone... or is that a "Droid" and an iPhone? Anyway, it's definitely time for an upgrade. I need a keypad so I can text without...

Huh? What were we talking about?

Oh yeah...

So, in my planned introspective time tonight (Joanne is at work), I am playing Beyonce's "I Am Sasha Fierce" far too loudly and reading "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safron Foer. This is the first of about twenty books on my list of enlightenment-oriented literature (which is part of the whole being-a-better-person-thing).

Foer on Ellen:

It's really a darn good book, but don't read it unless you already are, or r-e-a-l-l-y want to be, a vegetarian... make that vegan. You won't make it out the other side a carnivore... Trust me. At least not without feeling guilty about it.

I'm a vegetarian. I've been one since August, sometimes reluctantly, but always faithfully. So, I wasn't at all concerned about any guilt trip that I might get. I was confident that I was good to go. What I found out was that there are a lot more things to feel guilty about than just eating meat. Boy, was I naive. I won't torture you with the gory details, but suffice to say, supporting big dairy and agribusiness in the USA is no longer something that I am willing to do. Period.

I have sworn off eggs ("Cage free" means nothing, folks. Don't be fooled.) and I'm trying my best to give up milk altogether. Soy in a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks is delish, but watching Silk "milk" curdle in my morning cuppa joe while standing over the sink at 5AM in my desperate, caffeine-deprived haze is a bit different.

It's just not working for me.

I'm struggling here.

And you'd be surprised where dairy can hide.

I went to the cafeteria at work the other day and got a salad and a couple of those little packets of Italian dressing. I was feeling all good about myself and, after thoroughly dousing my lettuce leaves in Italian goodness, I took a quick glance at the list of ingredients on the back of my newly depleted packets. Did you know that Italian dressing (at least the one I picked) contains "cheese derivatives?"

Yep.

Whatever that means.

And don't be thinking "nondairy" creamer is really nondairy, either.

Nope.

It contains "milk derivatives." WTF? Since when is a "milk derivative" nondairy? Tell that to the cow. By the way, according to Foer, our cows aren't laughing. No, folks. There are no "Laughing Cows."

Who came up with that, anyway?

Don't get me started.

The further I get into the gray area between vegetarianism and veganism the more I begin to realize is actually involved in all of this. I mean, I have leather coats and shoes, but according to PETA animals aren't mine to "eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any way." I have to say, ethically, I agree with them... and I guess "them" is "me" now. I joined. But I really can't afford to throw out, donate, or recycle all of my leather items. Thank goodness I don't have any fur. I mean, I've always known better than that, but I only recently started thinking about leather items as even being from animals. It just goes to show the psychological disconnect that we are living in with regard to our exploitation.

I want to educate myself, but it's hard sometimes and it can be more than a little depressing. The very depth and breadth of the problem feels overwhelming. Of course, that's no reason not to take it on, not to learn the truth and then live life accordingly. I just can't stick my head in the sand anymore. I can no longer go about my way, like an ignorant drone, popping chicken nuggets in my mouth like it's all good. It just isn't, folks.

It so isn't.

P.S. I know I run the very real risk of offending a lot of people with this post (or, at least, losing some dinner invitations), but it is my blog and if I can't say how I feel here where can I say it?

I wish I was a great artist. I'd sketch an image of me getting stuck in traffic behind a Tyson chicken truck at 2AM on a bridge crossing the James River. It would show the horror on my face as the lights on the bridge illuminated what I'm sure Tyson wanted very much to keep hidden in the dark of night. Despite my repulsion, I could not bring myself to look away from the miserable scene in front of me. You really can't un-see something like that.

Cindy McCain speaking out against Prop 8

2010-01-21T01:17:00.000-08:00

I gotta say this Washington Post article really surprised me.

Backyard Saga: Part Deux

2010-01-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

I guess you guys are right. Blogging isn't just for if you're feeling peppy.

I mean, I guess it's okay to blog through the pain-in-the-ass stuff, too. I keep thinking that if I just wait another couple of days everything that's stressing me will be all settled, but that doesn't really seem to be happening. At that rate, it could be April before I blog again, so I just decided to jump back in and whine.

Yeah, I'm going to whine.

So, run now or grab a block of cheese and read on...

We went to see a lawyer about the nondisclosure of the neighborhood covenants and the drainage issue. He said that either or both could be enough to void the contract on the house, but if we succeeded then we'd have no contract but we'd still owe a mortgage because the agreement that we made with the bank was a whole other contract.

What?

Huh?

Yeah. That's how the real estate lawyer explained it to us. So, the gist of it is - If we succeeded in voiding the contract on the house then we could try to tackle the mortgage issue, but somewhere along the line of battles our luck would probably run out no matter how honest and innocent we are. "Virginia is a 'buyer beware' state," he said.

Good grief.

So, we gave up on that idea all together. We did, however, get a letter of permission from the builder to keep our fence and our trees! And that is very good news. I'm currently looking for a gold frame for that letter. It's going to save us mucho bucks between the cost of the fence, the trees and any legal fees that we would have incurred trying to fight for it... and potentially the cost of having them all removed if we lost. So, we avoided court and Annie and Ernie get to keep their fence! Woo Hoo! That is what matters.

The trees?

Yeah. We are having new trees put in. The whole idea from the beginning was that we'd put up a chain link fence because it would never require any maintenance, but knowing that chain link isn't exactly fancy-schmancy we intended to completely obliterate it by wrapping it inside and out with ornamental trees and shrubs. That was the plan all along.

However, when one of our lovely neighbors saw the fence going up she nearly had a coronary and spent the better part of the last two months trying her best to get us to tear it down... which, in turn, put the whole camouflage/greenification plan on hold. (Who wants to spend thousands of dollars on something that may be getting ripped out the next day?) In the end all that really happened was that she ended up having to look at a bare fence for about two months as a result of her little fit.

Oh sweet irony.

Oh, yeah, and she pretty much ruined our holidays.

Yeah... Pretty much.

Did I already say Good Grief?!

Anyway, for the past couple of days the landscaping guys have been digging holes around the fence to place the trees and shrubs. I think they should have most of them in by the middle of next week. The dirt is harder to dig than they expected and they keep having to go back to the rental place and get bigger and better diggie thingies. They finally settled on something that looks like a cross between a four wheeler and a baby dump truck.

We ordered so many Otto Luken (it's a flowering shrub that will turn into a hedge as it grows) that the nursery ran out and they have to order more. They are coming from Oregon state and won't be in until sometime in March. So, they'll have to come back to finish planting. We are going to have them do something with the front of the house then.

I cannot wait for this all to be over with!

TTFN

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T23:07:00.000-08:00

To be perfectly honest, the stress hasn't really let up here with all of that stuff that I mentioned.

And truly, in all of my memory, I cannot recall a year when it felt less like Christmas to me.

But, we decided to go to church tonight for the Christmas Eve services and that was a really good thing. There's nothing like remembering the real reason for the season, singing hymns and listening to a message of peace and hope to get yourself re-centered. It helped me to realize a lot of things... not the least of which is that I miss church... or spiritual services - or fellowship of some sort - that is love, hope, and peace centered. With Joanne and I both working weekends we don't get the opportunity to attend any such gathering too often... Anyway, there is more than that, but I don't feel much like posting about it... maybe later... I think it's time for some big changes. I guess the New Year is coming up just in time.

I know that there are some things I can control and some things I can't, but how I react to it all is always within my control. That part I can work on...

Oh, we did go to Vegas last week (a trip I purchased for Joanne's b-day back in August) and we saw Cher at Caesar's Palace. That was really cool. Maybe I'll post some pics later :o)

Anyway, I hope everyone has a very happy and peaceful holiday wherever you are and however you celebrate!

Bah Humbug!

2009-12-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Okay.

First there was the move.

And, yes, it was a good thing.

We were very excited to move into our lovely new home.

But, you know, moving is moving. We still had to pack everything we owned into boxes, transport it across town, unpack it, and reorganize... all the while working full time.

Then, as we settled into our lovely new home, we started to notice that there were places around the house that stayed wet, even after days and weeks of no rain. We notified the builder and then we proceeded to go back and forth trying in a desperate, aggravating, and decidedly unsuccessful attempt to get him to investigate and resolve the issue.

Our frustration continued to build.

Winter came nearer and nearer and we feared that freezing temperatures might damage our foundation as it lay standing in water (not to mention our fear of developing mold). So, we broke down and hired a fellow ourselves to place a system of French drains around the house. This cost a ton of money that we would much rather have spent on landscaping and decorating. (We are going to try to recoup it by making a claim on our warranty but I don't know how that will work...)

Then...

Well, we have wanted to give Annie, our ten year old Boxer, a fenced back yard for years, but it just has never been feasible. Our old home was on a big slope and was quite woodsy.

Here we have a level stretch of back yard that we have been dreaming of fencing since this past summer when this house was only a place to drive by and dream about.

The back yard is a reality for us now and - although it isn't the most expensive or aesthetically appealing option - we decided to go with a chain link fence. Our idea was based on the fact that it requires no maintenance and that if we placed a fortress of Cypress trees around it no one would actually be able to see it anyway.

We'd place Cypress all around and then under the trees we'd put some roses, maybe a few azaleas. It would be lovely.

And, as I said before, NO maintenance.

Clearly, it was the perfect choice.

Or so we thought.

As the workers were finishing the installation yesterday some frantic neighbor from down the street came knocking at our door and proceeded to tell me that we could not place the fence due to covenants. I kindly informed her that we were not part of the home owners' association, that it did not extend to section 3 of the subdivision, that this very fact was the whole reason that we chose to purchase our new home. We did not want to be restricted by an HOA.

This was when she proceeded to tell me that just because we weren't part of the HOA didn't mean that we didn't have covenants.

What?

If there are covenants that we are bound to they were NEVER disclosed to us before or during closing.

Wasn't that kind of a BIG oversight on somebody's part?

Now it seems we will be facing a battle to keep our fence.

One of the workers told us that an individual was driving by and that they stopped, got out of their vehicle, and took pictures.

Good grief!

I'm sure there was an emergency meeting at somebody's house last night.

The local HOA hotline must have been burning up.

I guess we are officially the riff raff that moved into the new house next door.

Nice.

Maybe we should find a beater car and put it up on blocks in the front yard to see just how upset we can get them.

As much as I love our new home at this point I honestly wish that I had never even seen the darn thing.

Really.

Truly.

To top it all off, just after the neighbor left (while speed-dialing the builder to tattle about our breaking some covenant that we never knew existed and which I still don't believe even applies to us), Joanne was taking the dogs out and they spazzed over something and pulled her down the front steps.

We thought she broke her wrist, so we spent two hours in the ER only to find out that it was just a nasty, painful bruise.

What else could possibly happen?

Maybe I shouldn't ask.

At least school is over until January for both of us.

I know that a lot of people are going through a lot worse and we should just try to find things to be thankful for, but I'm not feeling it.

Bah Humbug!

I guess I just haven't been blogging because I don't have anything nice to say!