It's a new day, a new year!

Resolutions?
I have stopped making New Year's Resolutions a long time ago. I know it seems like a good idea, but I think it sets you up for failure. Instead I make a decision every morning to put my best foot forward, be mindful, and do everything in kind for myself and others. It's not easy because there are those days when the girls fight, and I just want to put them both in their room and be done with it. It's hard not to react in anger sometimes...that's where being mindful comes in handy. I can take a deep breath, and speak words that will be helpful.... not to just rant whatever comes to mind in the midst of my anger. Besides I will forever resolve to lose weight, and be healthy.... and a lifestyle change is a process not something that is going magically give me motivation, will power, or resolve simply because it is now a new calendar year. There is no time, but the present. Live in this moment. :)

Greener Goals and General Goals

Things that I hope to accomplish in the near future-

To Be Greener, I hope to:

• Collect rain water to reuse in the garden


• Expand the garden


• Use renewable energy, either through solar, geothermal units, or simply changing my electric company to one that uses renewable sources. You can choose!


• Use biodiesel in my car (it's a VW Golf TDI, but I really want a VW Passat Wagon TDI).


• Drive less, and don't be too afraid to put my girls on a bus for school. That's hard. :(


• Eat totally organic


• Raise our own hens for eggs, manure, and goats because they are so cute.


• Plant more trees.... and flowers.

In general, I hope to:

• Certify as a childbirth educator, and teach classes regularly


• Lose weight, and be healthy


• Have downstairs a completed Family Room...wait that should be my husband's goal!


• Build a solid stonewall in our backyard


• Learn how to knit, and sew (Home Ec didn't cut it)


• Have no debt (this goal should really be first).


• Be granted land for an animal sanctuary


• Follow my dreams

It's all easy enough...

Blessed Lammas

It is a Lammas, the traditional first harvest and a New Moon in Leo. Let's not forget the total solar eclipse. A perfect day to pick that big zucchini in my garden! I think I'll shread it and put it in my meatless balls for dinner tonight. My garden is doing pretty good. We have gotten cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers. The corn, eggplants, and squash are growing. My little pumpkin patch is not little anymore. They weren't kidding when they said pumpkins take up a lot of real estate! The vines are on my deck, under my deck, and in the pathway (where the dogs trample them). Live and learn right? Next year I'll plant them on the hill, so the vines can come down, I think that would look so cool. My girls love seeing things grow, it would be neat if we could pick a pumpkin from the backyard, then carve it.

My latest hobby.... making chocolate!

So my cousin Alison started making chocolate awhile back, and using the proceeds for Relay for Life. Well this year I starting helping her, and now I'm hooked! She sells the stuff at work, and I can't believe how much money we made already! It is messy, time consuming, but very fun and amazingly I don't even want to eat it. Thankfully, I'm not making potato chips though LOL!
She is starting to get special orders, and now I'm thinking business opportunity. I made a basket for a drawing held at the Relay this year, and many people bought tickets, and the winners were ecstatic to win it. We have received many compliments too. I feel so creative :)
It is so simple too, well unless we get intricate, which we sometimes do, and we end up with aching backs. I started a website, and I'll make little business cards. www.freewebs.com/aliandstacie

Hemp can save the world!

I just have to write about hemp. I won't get into how absurd it is that it is illegal, giving all the benefits that this world could reap from it. I wonder how many people know, or understand the history of hemp, cannabis sativa, in this country? Hemp, not to be confused with  marijuana. It's past has been virtually forgotten. It was once the foundation of our civilization's economy, only to be outlawed in the 20th century. To quote some great presidents:

"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country."- Thomas Jeffereson

"Make the most you can of the hemp seed, and sow it everywhere."- George Washington

Some fun facts about hemp, taken from The Great Book of Hemp, by Rowan Robinson-

* Columbus's discovery of th New World was powered by hemp sails and rigging.

* The original drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written on hemp paper.

* Hemp was used for money in the Americas until the early 1800's.

* Hemp fiber was discovered in tombs dating from 8000 B.C.E.

* The United States government encouraged farmers to grow hemp to help win WWII.

* Hemp seed is nature's perfect food, packed with protein and essentail fatty acids.

* Over 100 medicines are made with hemp.

* Henry Ford built and powered a car with hemp.

Besides the nutritional benefits of this plant, contemporary studies have shown it has potential to solve environmental problems like soil erosion, soil contamination, and deforestation.
I may be optimistic, but with our current environmental crisis I feel that it will once again become the source of enlightenment, and sustainer of human life. Everything happens for a reason, and I notice how being green is becoming mainstream (companies want to cash in no doubt). With new technology it is now possible to make anything from hemp that we now make from petroleum- including plastics, paint, and biomass energy. And isn't that exactly what we need right now? It is almost cool now to be environmentally conscious, and this is a good thing! There are some great people fighting to make it legal, Jack Herer being one of them, check his site out- http://www.jackherer.com/

I am so thankful that I can at least buy shelled hemp seeds to eat, even if they have to come from Canada. Being a vegetarian it is very important to have a source of protein, and the hemp seed is the most complete source of protein, or amino acids from a plant. More than milk, meat or eggs! It also contains several times more omega 3 essential fat than any fish. It is more digestible than soy, and contains about 47% oil, 86% of which is omega 3, 6 and 9.

So how do I eat shelled hemp seeds?
I eat them mostly for breakfast, when I really need energy. I put in on my english muffin over butter or cream cheese, or on my bagel, in my cereal, or in my yogurt. I also use them in my grilled cheese & tomato, in soup, in mashed potatoes, on top of salads, or just by the spoonful. They are small, and have a nutty flavor, sort of like a sunflower seed. I cannot rave enough about these little seeds! I was ordering Hemp Hearts (brand name), but I found another company where I can buy in bulk called Manitoba Harvest http://www.manitobaharvest.com/ They seem like a great company. I ordered 25 lbs of hemp seeds, and I also ordered some hemp flour which I haven't used before, and some hemp milk which I love.

Stacie