Everyday Efficiency (or I Need Help)

One of my favorite mental activities is to think of ways that I can be more efficient in my everyday tasks. I'm not sure if this is normal or not (I'm thinking not...). Regardless, I find great pleasure in finding a new process that shaves a few seconds off of any routine.

For example, my evening bathroom routine consists of seven steps (worst case):

• Remove contacts
• Wash off makeup
• Apply toner
• Apply moisturizer
• Brush teeth
• Floss
• Use mouthwash

I have devised a process that minimizes the time I have to spend on these activities, so I can get to a more enjoyable activity (read in bed!). Here it is:

After washing off makeup, rather than moving on to apply toner, I brush my teeth, floss, and then while I'm swooshing mouthwash around in my mouth for 60 seconds, I apply toner and moisturizer.

I know! Groundbreaking, isn't it? I mean, over the course of my life (assuming I live to 90, which I plan to do) I will save 167 hours by using this process. That is not a trivial amount of time. Everyday efficiency rocks!

This one's for you, Katie. :)

September Donations (and related Books)

I recently read the book "Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money" by Woody Tash. This book is all about investing in sustainable agriculture and food companies as if good and healthy food matters. It's an inspiring and fairly dense book which outlines the principles of the Slow Money Alliance. As soon as I finished reading the book, I signed up to become a member of this organization. It makes so much sense to invest in the earth without which we cannot survive on this planet. It's so sad to read about farmers struggling to get by and the big corporations taking over everything. Irresponsible farming and other malpractices are destroying valuable topsoil that takes hundreds of years to build up. Drastic times call for drastic measures. I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in socially responsible investing.

One of my other favorite books of the year is a book called "The Better World Handbook," which I picked up at the Luther College bookstore. One of the authors, Brett Johnson, is a professor there (along with my dear husband). It is a great tool for coming up with more and more ways to make the world a better place. It is specifically geared toward people like me who work full time and probably don't feel like they have the time to really make a difference. But we do! Every little thing matters. From transportation to eating, there are good choices and not so great choices. The one area that I've been wanting to do more with is "money." We've kind of settled for the default options that come with work and the city in which we live. For various reasons, this is not a great time for us to make a bunch of financial changes, but I wanted to do something! So, this month, I tried microlending for the first time. I went to kiva.org and signed up to lend a certain amount of money to Afi Katako in Togo. She is essentially the village cook and needed a loan of $875 to buy more supplies to meet an increasing demand. She is now fully funded and is on a 17 month repayment plan. What an awesome concept!

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

-Chinese Proverb

Note: Farmer image courtesy of Hans Thoursie at stock.xchng.

Poem on Injustice

Am I So Valuable?

Am I so valuable that I should earn more money each day than many people earn in a year?

Am I so valuable that I should have others do my cooking and cleaning and gardening and childcare?

Am I so valuable that I should have too much to eat while one billion brothers and sisters around the world go hungry every day?

Am I so valuable that I should have a comfortable home while others live in the streets?

Am I so valuable that I should have the right to consume the world's resources to a point of unsustainability?

Am I so valuable that I should have ready access to the doctor of my choice while billions live without affordable health care?

Am I so valuable that I should enjoy a long life while many children do not see their first birthday?

I think not.

-----

I think I am valuable. But I think the single mother who is struggling to raise three children, the teacher working in a rural Afghani school, and the 12-year-old boy who is now head of the household after his parents died from AIDS are just as valuable.

Everybody should be able to eat healthy food, drink clean water, have a cozy place called home, enjoy excellent education, and have access to quality health care.

Anything else should be considered gross injustice.

Injustice is the enemy of peace.

NOTE: Photo by Charlie Balch at stock.xchng.

Cutting Down on Processed Food

For a long time, I have been thinking that cutting down on processed food would probably be a good thing. The more I read about slow food, local food, and fresh food, the less I want to eat food products that have been processed to the point of unrecognition. However, I was finally convinced when a friend informed me the other evening that processed food actually slows down your metabolism. I did not know this!

I know that sugar and fried foods, as well as lack of sleep, slows down your metabolism. But I didn't know about processed foods. It makes sense. Processed foods are much harder to break down, so the body doesn't have a choice but to slow down.

So, here is another beginning... Eventually to eliminate highly processed foods from my diet. I'll start off with simple stuff like granola bars and factory-made cookies and snacks. The harder part will be Bumpers. I'm pretty addicted. It has nine ingredients. Another processed food I cannot live without is soy milk. This will just have to be treated as an exception.

I'm not sure what the definition of "highly processed food" is, so I'll just make up my own.

Another Beginning - Eating Local

There was another beginning that I meant to include in my blog post on September 1. In fact, it was one of the key beginnings that I wanted to highlight, so I feel kind of foolish for forgetting.

Anyway, September 1 marked the beginning of the 2009 Milwaukee Eat Local Challenge. The point of this two-week event is to raise awareness for the beauty of local food. The Braise Culinary School summarizes well the top five reasons for becoming a "locavore:"

• Helps to support family farms
• Retains food dollars in the community
• Exceptional taste
• Unique varieties not found in stores
• Maximum freshness
• Grown locally instead of traveling thousands of miles
• Helps to sustain the environment
• Promotes stewardship of the land
• Nutritious and affordable
• Promotes healthy lifestyles

The good thing about this challenge, is that it is completely up to you how far you want to take it. Perhaps you want to try to eat 100% local (hard!) or maybe eat one local meal per day. My own challenge is pretty loose... Buy mostly local produce (can't live without bananas just yet) and buy local dairy and meat products.

Just now, I had some of the best yogurt I've ever tasted (at least in the US) from Kalona Organics in Iowa (I am in Iowa right now). It's appropriately named "Cultural Revolution." It's the real deal. Sure, I probably had to pay a bit extra for it, but it was so worth it. I can't even eat the "normal" yogurt you find in the grocery store. It's too sweet and slimy.

Once you get used to eating local, you'll wonder why we ever stopped.

Living in a Messed-Up World

As I walked through Terminal C at the Atlanta airport the other evening, I saw something that reminded me (once again) of how messed up our world is. An airport employee was taking all the left-over food from one of those "street corner" food stands and dumping it into large, black trash bags. Salads, sandwiches, fruit cups, and the ubiquitous yogurt and granola parfaits. Perfectly good food being dumped as waste into those thick black bags. To be sent to a dumpster. To be sent to a landfill. To sit there and decompose for years.

How hard, I wondered, would it be for someone to come to the airport each evening and pick up all this food and distribute to the city's homeless? Or at least, compost the leftovers and recycle the containers…?

As I returned, a day later, to the Milwaukee airport, I got on the moving walkway to get to the parking garage where Elmer was waiting (Elmer is my car). This got me started on the messed-up world thoughts again. We have created escalators, elevators, and moving walkways to reduce the amount of energy we have to expend getting around at airports, malls, apartment buildings, and office buildings. And rather than using our own energy (which is free and clean), we use electricity (which is expensive and dirty) to power these "human energy savers." In addition, we spend $147 billion annually on treating obesity-related illnesses, the occurrences of which could be greatly reduced if we just moved more.

At this point, the floodgates of my mind were opened and I knew I had to write a post about this craziness. What follows is additional evidence that we're living in a messed-up world with a final plea help for ideas for how we can affect change. (Also, when I say "we," I really mean "we." This is not criticism, but rather reflection.)

The average American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate. That's a lot of CO2. What happened to eating local? When I was growing up in Sweden (not that long ago!), we ate food that was in season. We enjoyed strawberries in June and apples in September. What we couldn't eat, we froze, pickled, canned, or otherwise stored in the root cellar. I didn't even know that you could buy applesauce in the store until I moved to the US.

We have created cities that are so spread-out that some people can't even get to the grocery store without getting in the car. Let alone work, school, the library, shops, place of worship, friends, and family. So much unnecessary disconnection and pollution.

We work long and hard hours to make lots of money to buy what?

• Professional-looking clothes required for work.
• A nice car to get to work.
• Lunch out with colleagues.
• A spectacular house to impress said colleagues.
• Expensive vacations to recover from work.
• Dinners out, because we're too busy to cook.
• The latest electronic toys which a year later will find itself in a landfill.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't work, but do we need to work as much and as hard, especially in jobs that are not fulfilling? Is it worth it?

The distribution of wealth and income is getting larger and larger and larger. Woody Tasch asserts that "the top 0.1% of Americans collectively enjoy almost as much income as the bottom 50%...". That's messed up.

The average NFL football player gets $1.4 million per year to chase a ball (and knock opponents to the ground). The average public school teacher gets around $50,000 per year teaching, mentoring, and caring for our children. That's even more messed up.

65% of all grain grown in this country is fed to cows. Cows are not supposed to eat grain. Cows are a huge source of pollution. Yet, we continue to eat beef like everything is OK. While 1 billion people in the world are starving.

We eat "food" that has been processed to the point of unrecognition and contains more ingredients with longer names than players on the Finnish hockey team. And we're OK with paying more for it than we would in its unspoiled and natural form. Because it's convenient.

I could go on, and on, and on, but I won't, because I think you get the point. It's messed up. We need to do something. How does one bring about change at this level? I know it starts at home, but then what?

Is it an unrealistic dream to think that the world could be a better place? (Please say no.) Where everybody has food to eat and a warm place to sleep. Where every child has an equal opportunity to get an excellent education and good nutrition. Where community reigns and loneliness is eliminated. Where we eat when we're hungry and not because we're bored, sad, lonely, or stressed. Where we get to experience nature on a daily basis and breathe clean air.

Is it?

A Day of Beginnings

Today is a day of beginnings...

A pretty obvious one is that it is the beginning of September. This morning, Rebecka kindly reminded me of this fact and pointed to our "Glimpses of Bangladesh" wall calendar (created by my cousin Jacob) which was stuck in August. Later when I got home, I flipped the page to find a semi-toothless older man and the words "Rural life in Bangladesh." I learned that rural life is slow-paced and families are mostly self-reliant. The main things they purchase are kerosene and tools. I need to visit!

Today is also the first day of school in the fine school district of Elmbrook. Rebecka said goodbye to summer with mixed feelings. She definitely enjoyed lazing around and traveling all over the country this past summer, but is also excited about seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and taking some new classes (including Build a Business!). I packed her lunch, complete with a special first-day-of-school Hershey's bar and relished the realization that our routines are back to "normal."

As I took Sophie for a very early (pre 4 AM) walk this morning (she definitely hasn't caught on to the back-to-school routine yet), I had the privilege of breaking open a new roll of poop bags in the apartment complex poop bag station. Even poop bag rolls have beginnings...

I am also starting to read a new book today. I finished "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (awesome read) during lunch. Now it's on to "Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money" by Woody Tasch. I'm pretty excited about this concept. My understanding of the full scope of the book is limited, but I know at least one of the premises is putting money back into farming and the earth. Makes sense. We need food to live. Shouldn't we invest in it?

Finally, I am flying AirTran on purpose for the first time this afternoon. I haven't had great experiences with AirTran to date, but they had the best schedule, were pretty cheap, and now they have WiFi. Although, one of the things I like about flying is being disconnected... So I may not go there. It's just nice to have the option.

Here's to new beginnings!

Saturday Sabbath

I'm a big fan of Sabbath. In fact, I think this is one of God's best ideas ever. It's so essential to take a break and relax from the daily grid.

I also don't think Sabbath has to happen on Sunday. Really, just find a day each week when you take a break from work and enjoy spending time with friends and family (or yourself).

Last week, I had a Saturday Sabbath. I woke up at a hotel room in Chicago with Todd and Rebecka. At 6:40 AM, we took the shuttle over to Midway Airport (love Southwest!) to escort Rebecka to her flight to Orlando and Disney World. Once she was airborne, we took the train up to Loyola University, where we started walking to a restaurant that I had picked out for our brunch. It is a place called Uncommon Ground that has the country's first certified organic rooftop garden. How cool is that? We both decided to go with the granola pancakes and it was a good choice. Those may have been the best pancakes I've ever had (it's a toss-up between these and the sweet potato pancakes at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville).

After a leisurely brunch, we took the train even further north to Evanston. This is one of our favorite spots in the Chicago area. It is the home of Northwestern University, including the Kellogg School of Management (I can always dream...). We walked around the campus for a while and then started wandering along the lake shore. We passed through a neat park and continued walking through what must have been one of Evanston's more affluent neighborhoods. The proud old houses are so beautiful and inspiring. Why did we stop building houses like that?

We eventually ended up in downtown Evanston (thanks to Todd - you know me and directions...). It is so nice to see a town with a real downtown. Feels like Sweden. When we started getting hungry, we found the cute little Italian place we went to last time and ordered delicious food off of their ridiculously cheap lunch menu. We sat there for a good while enjoying the atmosphere and the food, of course.

Finally, it was time to go so we could catch the 5:08 PM train back to Milwaukee. Seems like every time we manage to be running late for the train. We were slightly lost (mostly my fault), so I asked some people, who looked like locals, for directions and we arrived at the gate just as the train was boarding. At least we didn't have to wait around in the less-than-attractive Amtrak "lounge."

It was good to be welcomed home by a tail-wagging Bichon and settle in for a calm and quiet evening.

Sabbath at its best.

Biggest Loser Update

So I was doing really good the first week. I got down to 137.6 lbs. Not bad for one week. Then we went to Chicago (see next post), and I had a business trip, and I stopped by Kopp's yesterday because the flavor of the day was Red Raspberry (my favorite). And it's almost the end of summer.

However, it's all good. I'm back on track today. Will probably be until Tuesday when I leave town again. Travel and eating healthy do not go well together. Any suggestions on this?

Biggest Loser - I Continue Alone

This morning, I stepped on the scale and the unforgivable happened... The digital display crept up over 140 lbs. It used to be that my max threshold was 135 lbs. After overindulging during several trips to India followed by two years of intense travel, the threshold increased. Last year, I lost some weight and was feeling great. Now my jeans are tight again and I'm feeling heavy during my runs.

Even during our Biggest Loser contest, I got really close to 135 and then I'm not sure what happened since then. I've been pretty diligent about exercising. I've been eating a very small meal consisting of a sandwich and tea at night. What the...?

Well, I suppose there are a few causes... I've been trying the "Eating for IBS" diet over the past week or so. This is pretty heavy on soluble fiber (think white bread, pasta, rice, etc) and does not restrict sugar at all. My stomach has been better on the inside, but is growing on the outside. Hmmm, interesting dilemma. We have also frequented Kopp's (awesome custard place) a bit more than we should this summer.

So, I am now ready, once and for all, to get back to my old threshold of 135 lbs. My goal is to be below this weight (like 134.9) by the time I run the Race for the Cure on September 27.

Here is the plan:

• I have started using fitday.com again to monitor my calorie intake, at least for a couple of weeks. This is a pretty awesome site and they've added lots of features over the past few years.
• Per fitday.com, I need to reduce my calorie intake by 495 calories per day to meet my goal. What I'll do is increase calories burned by 200 by adding 30 minutes of cardio each day and reduce intake by 300.
• Go cold turkey on sweets (candy, cookies, ice cream, desserts, etc)
• Start drinking tea without honey (if I can stand it)
• Avoid foods with more than 10 grams of sugar per serving
• Drink herbal tea at Caribou/Starbucks rather than sugary drinks
• Eat less at each meal (isn't it sad that so many people around the world are starving and I have to force myself to eat less. There is something really wrong with this picture.)
• Don't eat within two hours of bedtime
• Drink more water in the afternoon (I do pretty well in the morning)

I feel confident that I can do this and keep my stomach happy at the same time. Please hold me accountable. I'll provide a weekly status update on my progress.

Off to ride my bike with my beloved husband...

Julie & Julia

Todd and I went to see Julie & Julia yesterday afternoon. We were in a sold-out theater with mostly retired folks and a few other "young" people like us. It was a totally inspiring and creative movie with lots of laughs, a few tears, and lots of great food. It reminded me that it is never too late to start the process of changing the world.

I must say, I was relieved that I had cooked salmon, new potatoes, and fresh summer veggies as well as an apple crisp earlier in the day. It made me feel like a respectable cook.

"If a pot is cooking, the friendship will stay warm."

- Arab Proverb

Taking the High Road

Yesterday, the sermon at the church we attended was something like "Taking the High Road." In the sermon, the minister referenced the website www.ehow.com where there is actually an entry for "How to Take the High Road." Check it out: http://www.ehow.com/how_2063030_take-high-road.html

August Giving

I'm sure you've heard the expression:

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”

I am a big fan of this concept. I mean, I appreciate the importance of emergency relief in disaster areas. However, I don't think continuously giving people money/food is good use of time and money. Rather, we should educate and empower people so they can make a living (i.e. make enough money to live on) for the rest of their lives.

One organization that is very good as this is Heifer International. Heifer reaches out to depressed areas of the world and teaches people to farm in a sustainable way. They may give a family a few animals to get started and the know-how to care for the animals and create a business. The best part is that recipients of the animals commit to "passing on the gift" to another family in the community. For example, if there is a new baby goat, this is passed on to the neighbors. This way, it is really a gift that keeps giving.

Heifer has a great gift catalog where you can select to give (among other critters) a cow or a llama or a flock of geese in honor of a loved one. We like to do this around Christmas time and for birthdays. You can also fund a project, which is what we did this month.

It's a really neat organization. Check it out!

Ending Hunger, Caring for the Earth

-Heifer International

July Giving

During Christmas break, I read a most fantastic book called Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is a touching story of a middle-aged mountaineer stumbling into a Pakistani village and thus receiving a calling to make the world a better place. This month, our charitable giving goes to Greg's organization called Central Asia Institute. The organization's mission is "to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan."

July also called for the renewal of our Slow Food membership. It was timely considering our recent viewing of Food Inc. as well as a documentary night at home with Super Size Me. It's a sad state in which we find ourselves. Slow Food is all about enjoying healthy food that is good for the earth as well. It is also about preserving diversity of food and making good food accessible to all. We're looking forward to attending our first Slow Food potluck next weekend!

"He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much."

-Lao-Tzu

Starbucks and Recycling

Last week, I met up with a friend at a Starbucks in Nashville. We had a good time in the warm evening air, catching up and talking about changing the world. We specifically talked about how crummy the recycling opportunities are in Nashville, especially compared to Sweden, where we both grew up. In Sweden, recycling has basically become second nature. This is a combination of education, convenience, and culture. My parents even receive special green bags for compostable waste. (Btw, my spell checker doesn't recognize the word "compostable." That tells you something.) Heck, McDonald's restaurants have recycling stations in Sweden!

When the time came for us to get out of our seats and go our separate ways, we both looked at our empty plastic frappuccino cups and decided that they were very much recyclable. I was pretty sure this Starbucks did not offer recycling, but we decided to go inside and look. Nope. Just a hole for trash. So we decided to ask the barista.

"Where can we recycle these?"

The poor guy looked at his shoes and indicated that they don't offer recycling. He said they did at one point, but customers didn't properly sort their trash, so it didn't work. We gave him a little bit of a hard time and then ended up throwing our cups away. (Yes, I know. I should have taken them with me, but I was in a different city, so I gave in to convenience.)

I was both saddened and excited about this exchange. I was sad about the huge amounts of trash that Starbucks customers generate every day. I was excited to think about the possibilities for positive change. With over 16,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks has a great opportunity to make a huge difference as it relates to contributing to the trash piles.

I was tempted to boycott Starbucks until they start to provide recycling, but I thought I'd do some research first. When I got back home, I went to the Starbucks website and quickly found that they have an entire site dedicated to social responsibility, called Shared Planet. Very cool! I honed in on the "Environmental Stewardship" section. Here are their main bullets on this topic:

• We've always believed in caring for the environment.


• Toward 100% reusable or recyclable cups.


• Toward 100% recycling in our stores.


• Taking on climate change.


• It takes all of us. (i.e. bring your own cup)

I read on and discovered that Starbucks has the following goal:

"100% of our cups will be reusable or recyclable. We will significantly reduce our environmental footprint through energy and water conservation, recycling and green construction. Starbucks ability to recycle varies based on the level of commercial and residential recycling services offered in our store communities. We are committed to making 100% of our cups reusable or recyclable by 2015. In the meantime, there are two ways you can help to reduce the environmental impact of our cups: ask for your beverage in ceramic 'for here' or use a commuter mug 'to go.'"

This is pretty exciting. The only sad part here is that even if Starbucks wants to recycle everywhere, the communities in which they exist may not offer the available services. This is where local politics become important.

So, I won't boycott Starbucks. However, I will continue to ask about recycling and I will get better about taking recyclable cups back home where I can recycle them in the basement.

"You and Starbucks. It's bigger than coffee."

Slow Down and Pay Attention!

With the longer and warmer days of summer, I have been doing more walking and running outside in our neighborhood. On fine weather days, Todd and I like to end our day with a brisk walk and a reluctant Sophie (our Bichon Frise) in tow. She likes to stop and investigate EVERYTHING, especially fire hydrants and flowerbeds.

Indeed, we have something to learn from Sophie. In our fast-paced life, we allow the world to fly by and don't really even notice what is going on. Think about it... When you're in an airplane, you pretty much don't see anything that is happening in the world. You're traveling at jet speed (literally) and clouds often obscure your vision. If you slow down to a car ride, you see more things, but everything is buzzing by so quickly, that you can barely register them. How often has your child (or somebody else in the car) exclaimed: "Look, a deer!" and by the time you get around to looking, you're down the road and the deer is out of sight.

When I started biking to work, my appreciation for the route changed drastically. I could smell the trees and the flowers. I saw bunnies hopping across the bike lane. I noticed houses I have never noticed before. It was exhilarating! I also felt my muscles working hard to get up the hills and sweat forming on my forehead as I reached the top. The whole experience created a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction which is not possible with a car ride.

I am able to take in even more of the world when I am running or walking outside. The other day, I was joined by a deer on my morning run. I saw her out of the corner of my eye as she pulled up next to me and then veered off to nibble on a neighbor's landscaping efforts. How magnificent! When I walk, I notice trash on the ground that I sometimes pick up to throw away. I see people that I pass and have a chance to offer them a smile. Perhaps I am able to brighten somebody's day. That is my hope.

The point of this illustration (or is it an allegory?) is to show that the more we slow down, the more we will be able to see the world more clearly and joyfully. This is important for a lot of reasons:

• You'll know what's going on with the people around you and be able to act accordingly. "Did you have a tough day at school today, honey?"


• You'll know what's going on in your community and find ways to get involved. I've found an organization called Urban Ecology Center that helps restore and maintain neglected parks in underserved areas of Milwaukee. I've signed up for Park Ranger duty (i.e. picking up trash).


• You'll know what's going on in the world and may be compelled to help. Have you noticed how many people in the world are starving? Over 1 billion... That's 1/6 of the population.


• You'll be a healthier person. "Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness." (Richard Carlson)


• You'll enjoy life more!

We live in a beautiful world. Yes, it's a little messed up, but it is beautiful. Slow down and enjoy the small pieces of beauty that are all around you: A child dancing to the music, a blooming tree, fresh strawberries, a flowing river, a warm smile, a cup of Chai tea, a good book. The list goes on.

Slow down and make the world a better place!

NOTE: Photo by Bev Lloyd-Roberts at stock.xchng.

Food, Inc.

Last fall, I read a powerful and personally influential book on food called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. In this book, I learned about eating local food, the disturbing facts surrounding the food industry in our country, and how to get turkeys to mate.

As a result, I purchased a "happy" turkey (heirloom variety) from Whole Foods for Thanksgiving and on Jan 1, 2009 took the final step in my protest by giving up meat for a year. So far so good. However, I still have improvements to make. I occasionally purchase "regular" roast beef for Rebecka's lunches and we definitely don't discriminate when we go out to eat.

Last night, Todd and I went to see the much anticipated (at least in slow food circles) movie, Food, Inc. This excellent documentary takes the audience behind the covers of the machine that is the US food industry. As they say in the film, the creators "lift the veil" to uncover the dark and dirty secrets that allow us to buy "cheap" food. It is disturbing, moving, but also provides some hope that things can change for the better. One important take-away for me is that the basic economics 101 principle of supply and demand applies to organic and locally grown food as well. If consumers demand organic food, the mega-retailers will supply it.

Inspired by the film, I returned home and wrote an email to the White House encouraging President Obama to see Food Inc. As I was perusing the White House website, I stumbled across a month-old blog post about the White House garden harvest. I listened to the First Lady's speech and it was encouraging. She obviously gets it.

Here are some other things that you (and I) can do to "vote" with our grocery money and encourage sustainably grown/raised food:

• Shop at the local Farmer's Market. Don't hesitate to ask the vendors if the food is organic.


• Buy organic, when available. Unfortunately, this is generally more "expensive" than conventional food, but when you think about the gains (health, energy, sustainability), it pretty much makes it all worth it.


• Buy local food whenever possible. This includes tuning in to what is currently in season. For example, tomatoes are in season July - early October and apples are in season August - October. If you're hardcore, dry/can/freeze produce to eat during the winter months.


• Ask your grocery store to carry more organic/local food. I sent an email to my grocery store this morning letting them know that I appreciate the amount of organic food they already have and encouraging them to carry more local and organic produce.


• When the cashier asks "Did you find everything you were looking for?" politely tell them you didn't find locally-grown organic produce (or whatever you are looking for) and that you will have to buy that elsewhere.


• Find out where your restaurant food came from. Reward restaurants who use mostly organic/local/in-season food for their menu.

I encourage all of you to see Food, Inc. and tell your friends, family, and coworkers about it. This type of awareness is needed in order to affect change. As the Slow Food USA organization states in their vision: "Food is a common language and a universal right." All people have the right to healthy food which is raised humanely and with the planet's best interest in mind.

Imagine the possibilities!

June Giving (or Better Late Than Never)

OK, so I know it's already past the middle of July, but I just realized I never blogged about our June donations. I don't like to leave things unfinished, so here we go...

June was kind of a hodgepodge of donations to several cool organizations:

• Conservation International: This environment-focused organization does lots of great things to protect forests and other threatened habitats as well as endangered species.
• Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC): I learned about this organization from a lady at the "gym." This is a great activist organization that keeps members abreast of environmental problems (such as wolves and polar bears disappearing) and encourages political action.
• VHI Save the Music: I cannot imagine what my life would be like without music education. When schools start cutting music, art, and physical education you know it's time to move (or do something about it!).
• Zen Habits: Zen Habits got me going in the right direction related to simple living and simple productivity. I owe Leo a lot and want to help support his writing.
• Just Hope International: This Nashville-based organization helps end the cycle of poverty by providing basic needs and helping people build micro-businesses so they can take care of themselves. My dear friend Melissa travels to distant lands to do photography and videography. You can see some of her work here.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." [Acts 20:35]

My Weekend and Related Thoughts

I spent this 4th of July weekend alone with lots of time for introspection, retrospection, and future-spection. Todd and Rebecka left for Washington D.C. early on Saturday morning and I returned to a quiet apartment (aside from an occasion outburst from Sophie when another dog passed by in the hallway).

One of my goals for the weekend was to bake some bread. Good, Swedish bread. I have tried it a couple of times since we moved here and it's never worked out quite right. This time I decided to read the instructions on the yeast packet carefully and follow the directions. Things were going pretty well until I tried to turn on my fancy, red Kitchen Aid mixer. It wouldn't turn on. I tried a different plug. I tried detaching and re-attaching the bowl. I tried detaching and re-attaching the dough hook. No luck. Well, I thought, people have been making bread for thousands of years without Kitchen Aid mixers (red or otherwise), so I'll just do it by hand. It was hard work, but the awesome thing is that the bread turned out just right! We think we're so dependent on our electronic gadgets that do everything from giving us driving directions to letting us know if our guitars are properly tuned. It was a great Saturday morning reminder.

After a delicious lunch consisting of fresh bread with sliced hard boiled eggs and dill, I decided to head over to a nearby mall (more specifically to Barnes & Noble). Since the morning, I had experienced a really strong desire to read the Bible (it had been a while...). I searched around for one at the apartment, but all I could find was an old KJV and the old Swedish version. I wasn't about to suffer through that... It was a nice day, so I decided to bike the three miles to the bookstore. People looked at me kind of funny as I biked through the mall parking lot. Not a common sight, I suppose. I didn't really care. I found the Bible shelf and couldn't find what I was looking for. I was tempted by "The Green Bible," but thought it was a bit expensive. Instead, I started browsing the "Inspirational" section. I wasn't hopeful that I would find anything worth reading, but as I was glancing through the rows of "devotionals," I spotted a book that stood out among the glossy, colorful majority. The front looked like it was make of cardboard. "Promising," I thought as I reached for it. The title said "The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical" by Shane Claiborne. That name rung a bell in my brain. I was associating the name with my brother, David. As I read the back cover, it clicked. This is the founder of an intentional community in Philadelphia called The Simple Way. Bingo! This was just what I needed. I bought a Chai Latte (soy milk, no water) and poured over the book for about 30 minutes. It drew me in like a magnet.

I had to interrupt my reading and ride home to get ready for an outing with a friend. We were bound for downtown Milwaukee for dinner and later a concert with The Fray at Summerfest. It was a good time, but when I got home (way past my bedtime) I couldn't help myself but to continue reading my new book. The intentional community concept is extremely intriguing to me. Sharing common spaces and possessions just makes sense. Why does everybody need their own lawnmower, car, washing machine, etc, etc? The answer is, we don't. The thought about belonging to a community like this where love of God and neighbor is the central "mission statement" is even more intriguing.

I woke up early with the chirping birds. It was another beautiful day, so I decided to forgo the treadmill and go for a walk around the neighborhood instead. As I walked past the big houses with their tennis courts and swimming pools, all I could see were prisons and barbed wire. I couldn't shake this vision. I started thinking about that image. We have created these neighborhoods with the over-sized houses and yards and they are really two-way prisons. They do not let people in (or at least not the people from the "bad part of town") and they imprison the people who live there. With a huge mortgage and maintenance costs, these families have to continue to work long hours at jobs they may or may not enjoy to keep up the lifestyle. We are prisoners in our grand homes.

It was a sobering thought. I thought about how many families could fit in each of those houses. Families who could share meals and enjoy that type of community. Sharing responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking, and washing the dishes. Raising each others kids. I've heard it takes a village.

Later on, I packed a lunch and biked over to the park we went to last Sunday. I found a quiet spot on the lake and enjoyed my simple meal and continued to read my book. It was pretty serene until a pesky mosquito (or two) bit me on both my feet. Ouch! However, it didn't deter me from staying a bit longer. Once a bee started buzzing around my head, I decided it was time to go.

I spent the afternoon playing guitar, reading, napping, playing the piano, taking Sophie for a nice, long walk (hopefully she'll sleep well tonight). Once I'm done with this post, I'll continue reading about The Simple Way. I'll leave you with a section from the book that ties in quite well with my morning vision:

"One of the things I think Jesus is doing is setting us free from the heavy yoke of an oppressive way of life. I know plenty of people, both rich and poor, who are suffocating from the weight of the American dream, who find themselves heavily burdened by the lifeless toil and consumption we put upon ourselves."

Note: Image by Miguel Saavedra at stock.xchng

Biggest Loser Winner: Todd

I can't believe it's already over! Todd is the man. He lost 11 lbs. in a month. I lost two... Todd gets a new outfit and a romantic dinner at the restaurant of his choice. Ready when you are!

Congrats babe!