Coming Out of Hiding...

She's ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Muaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!

Where have I been? 2 teenagers with Bipolar Disorder...need I say more?

So what pray tell could bring me out hiding? Well, while our new president has been sworn into office (a history making event indeed), and the economic stimulus package is being hotly debated...Minnesota's senatorial election isn't over yet. Did you know that? While every other states' senators are deciding what to do to help our country Minnesota has no such representation in Washington D.C. yet. This annoys me...

For those who don't know--it is down to the incumbent Norm Coleman (who unmistakably looks like Mr. Ed and has a disturbing Boston accent) and Al Franken...no you aren't seeing things...I said Al Franken as in Stuart Smalley/Saturday Night Live. Now please don't misunderstand me, I harbor no ill will towards the people of Boston or their accents. I just find it hard to overcome a midwestern state having a senator with a very thick Boston accent. And while numerous crass remarks have been made about having someone from SNL become our state senator--may I remind folks that our state voted Jesse "The Body" Ventura--a professional friggin' wrestler--in as governor a few years back... One could reasonably argue that the cold has frozen our brain cells! :)

Because I don't expect you all to have been following Minnesota politics--allow me to give you a quick run down of this particular senatorial race...On election night after many (not all but many) of the votes were counted, Norm Coleman had the audacity to declare himself the winner. Now mind you--Al Franken had NOT conceded defeat. Norm just decided "What the hell, I won!" The race was so close by the end of the night/next morning (within a few hundred votes) that a mandatory recount took place--by state law. Many thought Coleman was ahead at that time. Franken maintained that he would abide by whatever the recount came up with. Coleman swore he'd fight until the bitter end--going to court if necessary. After the recount was all said and done, it turned out that Al Franken won by 225 votes. Think about that--225 votes.

In other words (and to emphasize the gravity of the situation) all the eligible voters in a 6 block radius around my house (including myself) made the difference between winning and losing a major election...225 votes. We aren't talking about a school board member or a small town mayor (not that those people aren't important, because they are)--we are talking about a state senator--someone with major political force/influence.

So Franken won, right? Well kind of...Coleman's camp filed a lawsuit and now the whole deal is in court (as promised), so Minnesota is ass-out of representation for that Senate seat for the time being. While the economy is crumbling more and more every day...while THOUSANDS of people all over the U.S. are being laid-off...while the housing market is dying and small businesses are dropping like flies...my state has an empty Senate seat and the people of Minnesota have no voice.

Well, I said in my last post (before my unexpected hiatus) that I wasn't going to go political...and I tried not too. But enough is enough--this is crazy. In my city alone, IBM just laid off 800 people last week with another 200 expected to be laid off by summertime. The Mayo Clinic made national news by discontinuing their Clinical Trials division--which directly impacted my family. And Minnesota is down a state senator?

Let's stop the madness folks. Someone needs to take this loss on the chin like a man so we can move forward. I vote Coleman off the island because of his arrogance on election night, sore loser lawsuit and striking likeness to Mr. Ed. Let's get Franken suited up and in the game.

The Duck is back--QUACK!

Can't do it...Can't go political with ya'll...

Don't get me wrong...I'll vote in the upcoming election. I hate politics...I hate politicians even more...however, I know I have a responsibility to become informed and cast my vote. I will do it...but I won't join anyone's campaign...I'll not be donating money to the whole ordeal...I won't be making witty/snarky/sarcastic/cynical comments against any political candidate(s) on this or anyone else's blog. I certainly won't be forwarding ridiculous and unfounded mass e-mails about any political candidates.

I got burned out on politics and the media during the campaign of 2000. The constant Gore won, Bush won, Gore won, Bush won flip-flopping crap pissed me off beyond comprehension. There was no call for it. If you don't know within 98% certainty who will win--shut up Mr. Media...

So as seldomly as I'm able to blog anymore...none of it will be about politics other than to say "Please vote however you believe to be right for you---but please, do vote."

What have I been up to then? Reading...Jane Eyre (forgot how good it was/is...really good) and Pride and Prejudice (still amazing how books can so far and away be better than the movies)...I've been working lots and surviving major uproars at work...and of course with it being so close to fall...my youngest is manic...right on cue. Also, we had to tear our garage down due to severe and irreparable safety issues...so we've been dealing with demolition and pouring of new concrete, etc.

Oh! And don't forget my extremely needy dogs...gosh I love those needy, wretched creatures! My Jack (Bichon Frise) has had another bout of moist dermatitis requiring a change in food, an addition of costly nutritional supplements, and the dreaded e-collar on top of having to drop him off every Saturday for the past 3 weeks at the vet so that she may administer a different vaccine each week and moniter him for any further side effects. My Finley (golden retriever/Bernese Mt dog mix) gifted us with a present last Thursday morning...we woke up to view his explosive fit of diarrhea in the kitchen... It's like friggin' dejavu...you've all heard these 2 stories from me before! Anyways...on Wednesday I received some very upsetting news at/about work and was very emotional...by the time I got home I was in no mood for hyper dogs or children. Both my "boys" seemed almost to sense my sadness and sat by me as good as gold as if to say "Mama--we love you...we'll be good, promise! We'll make you feel better!" And that they certainly did.

And...by me detailing these events, please don't think I'm bitching and moaning...I'm not. I'm just trying to be honest. Everything thus far--despite it's stressful nature--is turning out OK and in some cases very well. So on that note...I think I might go start another book...whatcha think Emma, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility...? I'm on a classical literature kick now...I love Jane Austen...

Struggling...

While so many people in the "green blogger" world have been triumphing and sacrificing and doing without in the name of all that is environmental...I've been purchasing things...predominantly clothing/accessories...they haven't been wacky, senseless purchases, but they have still been purchases. You see, I'm struggling...unlike some--I work in a professional office environment. Currently "business casual" is acceptable attire, but they are piloting a new "business formal only" dress policy that could go office-wide/mandatory. For me, this would mean skirts, blouses, dress pants, and suit coats. We already have a strict policy requiring socks or pantyhose for women at all times. We are not allowed to wear cargo pants, capris, shorts, tank tops, flip flops or jeans. For the past 5 years I've been skimming by with the absolute bare minimum/loose interpretation of the dress code...but lately I've wanted to dress better--not more expensively--just better. I feel that for a long time I'd kind of given up on my appearance and now I'm starting to want to feel "put together" again. By no means, do I want to be all hair, nails and make-up...I just want people to take me seriously and feel good about my representing their company.

At the same time I don't want to be wasteful and a clothing whore. It's hard...I do not at all support the thought that someone should be judged by their appearance...and yet we are judging and being judged by our appearance everyday. I want people at work to ask for and value my opinion, but who wants to trust someone who is a total slob? And...following along the "dressing for success" conundrum...I've been hooked on watching What Not To Wear. I love to see the transformation of the participants and hear how the show has touched their hearts.

Well, I better head for bed now...I keep nodding off in front of my computer...I'll write more about all of this later! Ciao!!!

100 Thing Challenge...Really?...OMG...Ick...

This is quite possibly "old news" to many of you...but it is new to me and has really got me thinking about it over the past couple of weeks. Check it out:

http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html

Could you live--happily--with only 100 personal items for a year...or better yet for the rest of your life? It sounds like a lot of stuff. It sounds easy to do, but when you start adding up your stuff...well, that's another story. My husband is 100% certain that he could do it...and I believe him. Actually, he has done it before. When he moved to Oregon to help out his dad 7 or 8 years ago, he slept in a tent for 6 months and had far less things than that. My husband also has stricter standards for the 100 Thing Rules than I would. He views 1 pair of shoes as 1 thing. He views each dish as 1 thing....each book is one thing (which is just sadistic)...however I bet I could trip him up when it comes to tools...or maybe not...he's pretty darn good.

My interpretation of the rules is far more liberal. I think underwear (as a group) is 1 item...not 1 item per pair. I think 5 handbags should count as 1 item...3 pairs of shoes should be 1 item...5 books should be 1 item. While I love the look of a minimalist house and I love the idea of a simplified life, I'm still too attached to my stuff. So here I am back at square one...being attached to my stuff...Miss Consumer...Miss Materialistic.

Please don't misunderstand...I'm not "being too hard on myself"...and I know I'm not alone...many people are in the same boat as I am...as a matter of fact, I think I'm in the boat with the majority of folks... But, this also reaffirms that I need to keep re-evaluating. I need to keep revisiting this topic until I get a better handle on it. I need to keep purging stuff.

The old saying "Less is more" is absolutely true...it's true for wearing make-up...it's true for eating potato chips and it's true for owning stuff...

Looks like I've got work to do...I better get to it.

Holy King Corn, Batman!!!

So while I was out on sabbatical I rented the movie, King Corn. Has anyone else seen this movie? Wowie-zowie! It was jam-packed with information that I had never thought about/knew about before. It also made me a hard-core believer in pasture-raised/fed animals for my meat and dairy product purchases. I didn't realize how much corn had infected every facet of our lives!

**Spoiler alert...The most interesting and disturbing scene in the documentary was footage shot at the University of Iowa. Researchers are studying how corn affects cattle and they actually had this huge-ass cow in some sort of containment contraption and the guy stuck his hand through a big hole in the cow's side, reached into one of the cow's stomachs and pulled out some of the rotting food! My husband and I first saw it and looked at each other and said "That wasn't really a hole into the cow's stomach...nah, that'd be insane...", so we played it back two more times. After the first replay we said "Oh my g-d! That is a friggin' hole in the cow all the way to his stomach! Oh my g-d!" After the second replay we just sat there staring, mouths wide-open, noses wrinkled and saying "Ick...ew...yucky". This movie was the first time that I heard (from respected, legitimate researchers/scientists) that when cows eat corn, they quickly develop 'subacute acidosis'--a condition that causes them severe pain to the point that they kick at their bellies, go off the feed and will even eat dirt to try and stop it. And they endure all of this so that we can purchase our milk in mass quantity for low prices at our neighborhood "Big Box" chain stores!

However, I don't want to short-change this movie...there was SO much more to it than just feeding cows corn. It sheds light on how mucked up our government subsidies for farmers are and how corn is in EVERYTHING now pretty much by design and how this all just really took hold in the last 25 years. King Corn was enlightening, well-informed, well-made and thought-provoking. If you haven't seen it yet...it requires only about 90 minutes of your life and I highly doubt you'll regret it!

Where in the Hell have I been?

Ya know...around...I don't know what to say...I was getting caught up in the "How many people read my blog? How can I get more comments? What will really strike a chord with people?" thing and getting WAY too emotionally invested...and not in a good way. I was moving from 'trying to change my life in a positive way' to 'how friggin' popular can I be'...and that's not a healthy place for me to be. So I took a whole lotta months off...

Not to mention I lost my mind in the middle of a "Buy Nothing Challenge"...I went the opposite direction...I think I bought more that month than ever...and it kind of threw off my emotional center of gravity...(wow that sounds a little drama queenesque...) Anyways, I'm back...don't know if anyone will notice...I've been gone so long--I'm sure a few have given up and I don't blame them!

So I leave you with this thought provoking question: With the economy as downright sucky as it is--how does a person afford hormone/antibiotic free milk every week?...seriously, it's been buggin' me...

Zero Population Growth...

Say what? Oh yeah, I went there. This one is for my peeps (leslie, I'm winking at you!)...

So, ground rules and basic important statements:

• I am not--in any way--telling people what they should/should not do.
• I merely trying to foster an interesting and important discussion.
• I am NOT an expert on this topic. I am posting my initial thoughts, but am positive that there will be many points which others think of that I have not...so let me know what I miss.
• I know many fantastic parents of larger families (with 4+ children)--I am in NO way saying that they shouldn't have had their kids. I am not criticizing them in any way. Again--this topic is to spur healthy discussion NOT to offend anyone.
• I also know an increasing number of couples who have chosen not to have any children...and they are happy fulfilled individuals.
• I absolutely welcome comments to this post, so feel free to join in the discussion as long as it is in a respectful manner.

What is Zero Population Growth?...Well, it has a longer explanation--but I'm condensing it down to the bare bones: Birth rate equals death rate. There are a lot of factors that make up or effect both of these rates. Education, economy, health care...are just a few of the many factors.

So why am I even mentioning the concept of zero population growth? You can only fit so many nails in a piece of wood before it splits into a bazillion splinters...the same concept is true of the Earth and how many people it can hold/sustain. In 1999, our planet passed the 6 BILLION person mark. By 2050, we are expected to top 9 billion...and China is NOT predicted to be the most populated country at that time! India is currently hot on China's heals and by that time is predicted to overtake China's population. Have you compared the land mass of China to that of India lately? Go do it right now...I'll wait...no really I have time...don't lie to me...you didn't check...fine, but you're only hurting yourself by not looking it up... China is WAY larger than India...and India is going to be the most populous country? I don't mean to be an Alarmist Annie, but that doesn't sound like a good thing.

Let's start with the basics...food...how will we as a planet feed everyone? People are already starving to death...should we just add a couple more billion people then? This is a point of debate as many believe that we produce enough food on the planet to feed everyone--we just aren't able to get the food to the needy people due to politics, economy, etc. Regardless, no one can dispute the fact that people are starving everyday. Next...water...clean, potable water...where are we going to get it? In America and Canada we turn on our faucets and let it flow, but in Africa and other parts of the world--people travel miles to bring back drinkable/usable water every single day. Most of the Earth might be made up of water, but most of that water is salt water. Desalination is costly--not just monetarily but also due to the energy/resources it takes to desalinate the water. Third basic point--how do we dispose of the human waste? According to an article I read today on CNN.com, handling waste and the public health issues of not properly handling waste is the biggest problem that we will face in rapidly growing urban areas in the developing world. This means a huge potential for the spread of disease. A fourth point would be the drain on resources worldwide...wood for furniture, metal for tools, coal/wood/whatever for cooking and heating, cotton/hemp for clothing, etc. More people means more drain on these resources...prices skyrocket...resources become scarce.

So what do we do to stop this runaway train? Well...some people think that zero population growth is the answer or at least part of the answer. That means birth control would need to be made accessible--possibly free--especially to the poor. It's not fair/right to say "no money for birth control, no sex"...you can't make having sex or having children a right exclusive to the rich. Education...if I've quoted School House Rock once, I've quoted it a thousand times "Knowledge is Power"! The old wives' tales need to be put to rest. You CAN get pregnant when you're breastfeeding. You CAN get pregnant the first time you have sex. Taking a bath immediately after sex will NOT keep you from getting pregnant...etc.

Now I'm really going into some touchy territory...maybe some people should choose not to have biological children at all... Many thousands of children all over the world are in orphanages and foster care...they need parents...they need protection, love, care, education...basically they need a real chance at survival. A man I work with just became a first-time grandparent when his son and daughter-in-law traveled to Vietnam to adopt a beautiful baby girl...not because they couldn't have biological children, but because they felt it was the right choice for them to adopt. Step-parenting is another way to become a parent...My husband is not my daughters' "biological father", but he is EVERY bit their father. He gets upset when anyone dares to mention that they "aren't his real kids". He and I have chosen not to have biological children together, but he doesn't feel as if he is "missing out" on anything. He is just as much of a parent as I am...in fact, sometimes he is a far better one! Other people may choose not to become parents at all--and that is perfectly acceptable too! Although having a child can be wonderful--it is not for everyone. I highly respect those people who are honest enough to say "No, I don't think becoming a parent is right for me" for whatever reason.

I'm sure that I'm missing a whole bunch of good points and great information that should have made it into this post...I've been ruminating over this topic and trying to get this post written for almost a week now...finally, I just sat down and pounded out what was in the forefront of my brain...After re-reading what I've written, I now realize that I've almost exclusively addressed controlling the birth rate and really haven't touched on the death rate at all. The two need to be equal to achieve zero population growth. However, I do not advocate war, mass killings, fatal epidemics, smoking or poor health care...so that pretty much leaves me with the concept of controlling the birth rate as it (in my mind) is by far the most humane option.

Well, am I just some wacko nut case with a weird birth control fetish?...Does any of this make sense to anyone besides myself?