Book Worms

Hello,

My name is "bwings" and I read a lot!

Screenshot from Silly Survey Sunday 21

When I was a kid my nickname was Miss Read-a-lot. Not very creative but certainly true to my character. At 5 years old I would go to the library, borrow 30 books and read them in one day. I would then beg and plead with my mother to let me go back to the library for more books. The librarian used to become annoyed and say, "Shouldn't you leave some books for the others?"
By 8 I had this unspoken goal to read every book in the library. I learned quickly this was a hard task. Not because there were a lot of books in the library, but because when you went back they were always in a different spot. They were sorted by author but not necessarily in alphabetical order after that. I suppose this might have started my obsession in alphabetical order and everything having it's place. My DVD rack is in alphabetical order Annie through to Zoolander. But I digress.
I never did finish reading all those books, although I did read an entire bookshelf section of Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. I did however partake in a green and practical exchange of literature. Because of the glue that binds the books they would not be considered recyclable. In purchasing a book I would have to sell, exchange or donate the book afterwards. In the effort of keeping green and saving some money the library is among the best options. Assuming of course you are studious and return your books on time you won't have to pay market value for the book. If you want to spend countless nights snuggled up with this particular book, as is the case with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in this house, then taking advantage of a second hand book store might be beneficial.

Now for a survey of 100 top voted books of our century according Waterstone's Books/Channel Four's list of the 'One Hundred Greatest Books of the Century',
That and a poll is beneath the fold. Until tomorrow that is all from your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

To the left is the fridge...

Hello, 

My name is "bwings" and I'll be your tour guide for this evening.

To touch more on the previous post I thought I'd give you a tour of my kitchen.
With vegetarian food it's all about spice and/or flavor. Literally taking something simple (vegetables) and spicing it up. I try to keep most of these items in stock or plan to in the new year.

For Dry/Canned goods {I avoid cans because of possible BPA lining}:

• Pasta
• Beans, chickpeas,lentils
• Rice or whole grains
• TVP (textured vegetable protein)

Baking  supplies:

• Baking Powder, Baking Soda {of course Baking Soda is great to have around no matter what!}
• Cocoa Powder/Chocolate Chips
• Egg Replacer (I currently eat eggs but am considering switching to no eggs or milk)
• Flour
• Liquid Sweetner
• Sugar
• Vanilla

ESSENTIALS (most common in vegetarian specific recipes)

• Soy Sauce (I don't use too much because fiancée hates it)
• Tahini (think Humus!)
• Stir Fry Sauces {Peanut ... oh the name escapes me right now...I'll get back to you. It's delicious! Spicy and delicious! Goes great with pasta's. Sweet Chili Sauce as well.}
• Olive Oil, Sesame Oil (Again, I use Canola Oil as I find it to have more nutrients.)
• Balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar (I have white and balsamic. Again another good thing for cleaning ;) )
• Peanut Butter/nut butter (I have but honestly don't use pb much. Mostly my meat-eating partner in crime)
• Yeast (I keep active yeast available when I can)

My Spice rack favorites are Paprika and Garlic Powder. Often onion flakes as well:

• Basil
• Cayenne (Remember, only a little can make it hot hot hot!)
• Chili Powder
• Cinnamon
• Cumin (I personally do not like it, it's in a lot of vegetarian dishes though. I find it has a taste that you either love or can do without. Often in Samosas) 
• Curry (again, not often used in this house.)
• Garlic Powder (in everything! I will put it in instead of chives because it's quicker)
• Ginger Powder (I have run out)
• Onion Powder (or onion flakes)
• Oregano (running low)
• Parsley
• Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt (I really don't use that much

Aside from that I personally buy my fruits and vegetables frozen, mostly because it can be hard to keep and expensive to buy fresh. That's not to say we never have fresh never frozen fruit/vegetables. Just you'll always find a bag of frozen vegetables in our freezer. Rarely will you find canned fruits or vegetables (again bpa lined cans)

I also try to keep a little container of lemon juice and some people always have tofu handy but I rarely have tofu.

This is the kitchen of a vegetarian. The chicken in the freezer is my meat-eating roommates *cough* finacée's ;p

Now that I've made you all hungry I'll leave you to make some din-din.

Have a great weekend,

Your friendly neighborhood hippie mom!

Cooking in the Kitchen with Bwings

Hello, 

My name is "Bwings" and I'm still a vegetarian. 

As I stated in the previous post I can sum up most meat-eaters into seven categories. Open-minded, close-minded, jealous, offended, "practically a vegetarian", former vegetarian, compensating. Each has their own responses to the statement, "I'm a vegetarian." and each plays their own role in my life as a vegetarian. My  friends, who for the most part are meat-eaters, know I respect and appreciate them regardless of their animal consumption and I hope it is the same in the reverse.

I started this post because I received a letter asking for vegetarian recipe ideas. Although I have responded individually I have thought of this letter a few times. The genuine desire to make a vegetarian meal for their friend warmed my heart. I have friends who have done the same and I love them for it so this letter reminded me of how much a person can care. I have had a vegetarian meal made for me and I in turn have cooked my share of chicken or hamburger for someone. It's not easy for me to do but I have done it out of love before.

Dear Hippie Mom,

I read on here that you are a vegetarian. I was wondering if I could get a good recipe from you. My friend has always been so helpful for us in the past. Always cooking for us and taking care of us when we need it and now I'd like to return the favor. But she is a vegetarian and her husband is a huge meat lover so it is hard thinking of a meal to make them. Do you know of any good casseroles or soups to make that they both might enjoy. I don't want to just give her a salad or veggie hamburger because it's not original. I just don't know of any good recipes without meat or what could be substituted for the meat that would taste good. I know she makes bean burritos that are good. If you know of anything good please let me know it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Thoughtful Cook

Well, Thoughtful Cook, it is wonderful for you to think of your friend and want to do something for them. Even more so for you to want to make it individual to her diet and unique at the same time. I can understand not being sure of what to make as a vegetarian I am always trying to spice up my cooking. 
A few recipes come to mind but in general it's your own creativity that makes the dish special. For instance I love burritos but my fiancée hates beans. So I make egg burritos, which are incredibly easy. Imagine an omelette, scrambled, put into a wrap. Similar to a crepe I suppose. In mine I put paprika, garlic, and mild-medium salsa all mixed in two eggs. While that is cooking on the stove (scrambled so stir often) I grate some cheese over the centre of a tortilla wrap (cheese flavored typically) and occasionally I will put a tbsp of plain unflavored GELATINE FREE yogurt. I stress Gelatine free because some don't realize that Gelatine is actually made using pig tendons and bones. If it jiggles check to see if it uses Gelatine! The yogurt is not necessary and I only put it in occasionally, mostly for extra nutrition. 

Make one for yourself first to see what you think of it. 

As for casseroles one of the easiest things to do is go into the salad section and buy the fake ground meat they have there. It may seem like cheating but why put yourself into chaos of trying to master what someone else has already figured out. Unless of course you're going to be doing it a lot and could save yourself money by mastering making fake meat. Fake meat is usually made using TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) and there are plenty of recipes online to try out. But in a hurry the pre-faked-fake stuff is just as good 9 times out of 10. But I will try to make my own again soon and when I do I'll definitely post my results :) 

Using the fake meat you can make that lasagna or your tried and true family recipe passed down from great-great-grand-mama. Just use the fake stuff in substitute and most meat-eaters wouldn't know the difference unless a vegetarian was serving and or eating it. I suspect if I made a huge casserole and served it my meat-eating friends would ask what was in it. If I was biting into it they'd either faint or assume it was fake. Actually I once panicked a friend when they saw me take a big bite of a veggie burger they didn't realize was fake. They couldn't tell the difference and I had thought they already knew. Whoops.


One final thing to note is to always check the ingredients on the products you buy. You might be surprised as to what you'll find. I once grabbed a recipe from a vegetarian cookbook. The recipe called for Worcestershire sauce, if you look at the back of your bottle and read the ingredients you'll learn that Worcestershire sauce uses anchovies. Same is true for a lot of Caesar dressing. Not so alarming that it happens but more so that a vegetarian book called for this ingredient. Moral of the story is to always question what goes into the products you purchase pre-made. 

I hope that helps some, I do have lots of other recipes although most just involve subtracting the meat, such as the case with my quiche recipes and such. 

If you have recipes or suggestions for Thoughtful Cook then post a comment below for them to discover. 

Your friendly neighborhood Hippie Mom


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Friend not food

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I'm a vegetarian!

As is my daughter until she is old enough to decide for herself. I'm not going to be preachy that's not what this website is about. However I received a letter asking about how to feed a vegetarian. Bare with me I promise this will be informative and related to my efforts in going green. I also promise I am not trying to convert you to stop eating carcass meat and go vegetarian no more than I'm trying to make you clean your stove with baking soda. Skim if you must and you will see I'm not a mean paint slinging activists out to destroy your plate of death meat although I might tease you. This post will be long so will be in multiple parts this week.

I am often asked what I eat. My simple answer is, "The same as you just not the meat." It is not my intention to be a smart ass, I just get that question a lot! Having been a vegetarian for nine years I have formulated the quickest answer for the most common meat-eater question. Here's the scenario, you've gone to a new restaurant with friends (brave, brave you) and unfamiliar with the menu you ask the waitress/waiter what they recommend for a vegetarian. They offer the smoked salmon and without biting their head off you say, "I don't eat fish. I'm a vegetarian."
"oh!" they say, "Do you eat Chicken?"
Sure you could carry along pamphlets from PETA or some other pushy organization but I find the best answer in my experience is to say, "I don't eat anything with eyes, brains or a nervous system with the exception of carrots or potatoes." Why include the last part? It's simple, because it aids in not offending them as it's humor and because there is always some smart-ass in the crowd who will say, "Duh, but potatoes have eyes!"

In my opinion there are seven types of meat eaters

• The open-minded meat eater who can completely wrap their head around a diet without meat, it's just not for them.
• The close-minded meat eater who believes you need meat to live.
• The jealous meat eater who wants to be a vegetarian for health/morals but: doesn't have the will-power; can't afford a vegetarian lifestyle; loves the taste too much; wouldn't know how to cook meals anymore and would starve.
• The offended meat eater who is enraged by your vegetarian/vegan lifestyle as it is a direct insult to him/her as a person.
• The "practically a vegetarian" meat eater who only eats ugly animals. "I don't eat cows, well except steak, and I won't eat chicken unless it's grilled." "I only eat fish, they aren't animals." 
• The former vegetarian meat eater who sees the best of both worlds.
• The compensating meat eater who can't figure out what you'd eat or what to feed you. 

How I respond to each:

• Open-minded meat eater - Most of my best of friends are open-minded meat eaters. I, to be fair, am an open-minded vegetarian. I ate animals meat for 16 years so most of my life thus far has consisted of digesting the flesh of animals meat. I remember death meat, I just don't miss it. I believe everyone should be open to making their own decisions in life and won't push my beliefs on you provided you respect the same. Of course I get the vegetarian jokes placed on me and I return the favor. So how I interact with open-minded meat eaters is to kid. For instance, my fiancée once ordered a meat lover pizza. When it arrived I asked what was on it with a scrunched up nose. Bacon, hamburger, chicken, pepperoni. I proclaimed, "You have the entire farm on there! E.I.E.I.O" Other times I might let out a "moo" when he bites into a burger or ask my friend if they want a side of carcass with their fries. I only do this with friends though as they will know I'm making light of something. The elephant in the room must not go ignored but I don't want to be rude either.
• Close-minded meat eater - I don't often become close with these people. They are close-minded and thus whenever you are around them they are going to be pushing their beliefs on you. Justly I will do the same back and neither of us will budge. I might be open-minded to them having their own reasons but as for my diet and morals are concerned, the topic is not up for debate. So when a complete stranger tells me my daughter needs to eat her "meat and potatoes" I will of course give them the years of research that says otherwise. I always insist that she will make her own mind up when she's older as it is her decision. When an acquaintance suggests they will sneak her meat in private, I take direct offence to their outward questioning of my parenting and nevermore is she allowed alone with them. So in short, I close off the close-minded.
• Jealous meat eater - It's hard to properly respond to these conversations of wanting to not eat meat but not being able to not eat meat. Mostly because the concept is difficult for me to understand as for me it was as simple as just not doing it. I don't know if there is a proper response. These are people who are on the fence and a big part of you wants to pull them over to your side (naturally as it's what you believe in) but the rest of you wants it to be 100% their decision. So you basically sit on the other side and let them know if they ever wanted to be a vegetarian you would show them lots of recipes and promise them it's not as hard as they may think it is. Talk with them about why they do/don't want to be a vegetarian and see if there is any worries that you can calm. I also tell them that if they ever did become vegetarian and then went back I wouldn't think less of them at all. 
• Offended meat eater - similar to the close-minded meat eater but more volatile. The offended meat eater is the paint slinging activists for the other team. You've all seen the movies where an activists slings paint on a fur wearing patron and screams "FUR IS MURDER!" Well, not all vegetarians are like that and not all meat eaters are like this one. The offended meat eater will try to sneak meat in your food. If you manage to take a bite before discovering they declare what you're eating to be meat as if it proves something. This type of meat eater waves a burger under your nose after just meating meeting you and says, "Mmmm smell the blood". Essentially this type of meat eater takes a joke and pushes it too far, with a serious undertones. I may moo when my friends bite into a hamburger but I'd never slam down a picture of a cows head, tongue hanging out, on their plate! Nor would I ever throw their expensive turkey dinner in the kitty litter and do a victory dance. I won't throw paint on your fur if you don't throw meat in my salad! 
• "Practically a vegetarian" meat eater - as a true vegetarian it's hard to swallow the statement, "I'm practically a vegetarian." This one is nothing like the jealous meat eater. The jealous meat eater is at least accepting of the fact that they are not a vegetarian. The "practically a vegetarian" meat eater comes off as a poser and makes me want to say, "So you don't eat the cute animals? Do you want a cookie?! Oh, you cut back on your red meat? Want a gold star?" To me these are nearly as bad as the "I'm a vegetarian, I only eat fish and chicken." People who call themselves vegetarian but are eating flesh.....who are you kidding?! So to the "Practically a vegetarian" meat eater I say, "I'm practically a male, except I don't have a penis.... and I have boobs...and a vagina....and I'm nothing like a male...oh I have nipples like a male.....yeah...so I'm practically male!" 
• Former vegetarian meat eater - I'm always secretly curious why the were vegetarian and why they went back. That's pretty much the extent of my concern here. They aren't typically pushy in either way, it's like the best of both worlds. They've seen both sides. Sure they picked the enemy's other side of the fence but at least they ventured into my side for a bit. I guess it makes them more accepting of my choices and leaves me able to be more accepting of them. I don't know how to explain it any further. Sure I'd wish they were still vegetarian but I like that they gave it a shot, I guess that's what I'm trying to say. It's not for everyone but if they gave it a solid try then how could I ask for any more from a meat eater ;) 
• Compensating meat eater - This is actually the type of meat-eater that sparked this series of posts (there will be at least 2 if not 3) This is the kind of person who is open-minded as well as one of two things (if not both) 1) Unsure of what vegetarians eat or 2) want to feed their vegetarian friends a vegetarian meal. To this day I am met by people who worry that they don't have tofu in their kitchen when I come over. It's hard not to laugh at this as honestly I haven't had tofu in nearly 3 years. But they are also one of the more curious meat eaters. Whether it be because they can't wrap their head around your "limited" diet or because they want to treat you as they would their other guests and make you something special. In most cases it's the inability to wrap their heads around it. But occasionally I do get a letter asking what I eat as a vegetarian so they can make it for myself or their other vegetarian friends.

Tomorrow I will continue with a letter from a compensating meat eater.

For now I have said enough about meat and vegetables and must go make a late supper.
Your friendly neighborhood hippie mom. 

Baking Soda Vs Pot

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I burnt my pot!

I believe we have all done this before, you put rice,pasta,vegetables etc. in a pot of water, you walk away, become distracted and before you know it... you have burnt impressions of your food on your pan. You can scrub and scrub and it still won't come off and can be so incredibly frustrating. If you're anything like me you give up and resort to using this pan for things like boiling eggs until you can replace it.

Given the results from the stove I thought I'd give baking soda a try. You've already seen the before picture, so let's move on.

I ran some water through the pot to moisten it and then added a good helping of baking soda to the damaged goods.

After about 5 minutes of rubbing I had removed a lot of it. But the centre remained stubborn.

 I repeated this behavior twice more before deciding to add vinegar to the mix.

Of course it bubbled and foamed angrily and then I scrubbed just a little more off and then snarled. Baking soda was getting it's butt kicked. I had heard about boiling vinegar and can I just say that vinegar boils fast! After it boiled I added some baking soda and then scrubbed again. Less came off this time than the time before.

Before

After

So it did make a difference but I believe this will be an over time process. I also read about leaving it soaking for several hours in vinegar. I had done this once before with an egg as an experiment as a child. The vinegar ate away the shell of the egg and left me thinking it was the coolest and messiest experiment ever at 8. 

Moral of the story, don't leave minute rice unattended. For tonight Baking Soda vs Burnt Pan is in hiatus while the pot soaks in vinegar for the night.

Until then adieu from your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

Let's wrap this up!

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I've started the holiday wrapping!

This Shiny Paper is not recyclable! But totally reusable!

In the policy of keeping Monday light I'm bringing up a previous topic. Wrapping paper, although most has already been mentioned on this topic it is good to note something brought to my attention that I missed. As a reminder you should know that not all wrapping paper is recyclable so if you are concerned about recycling you want to purchase paper that hasn't been overly treated and glossed. Not only is it not likely to be recyclable but consider the amount of toxins that were used in making that same paper. Second and what I missed last week is the fact that once you are tossing the the paper into your blue bags for the curb ensure you've removed all the tape from the paper. It may seem completely annoying but trucks will reject whole bags if they spot one spot of tape.

I have worked as a landlord and I can tell you 100% for certain that my cardboard recycling has gone untouched for a week in the past because tenants hadn't properly disposed of their boxes. As a result it was left for us to correct so the trucks would gather the recycling. If you don't have a huge hate on for your landlord or you just want to make sure your paper is recycled for another purpose, then make that extra effort and snatch the sticky stuff off of it. So check to see if your paper is recyclable and then call your local clean up crew to see if they will accept your wrapping paper. A lot will, provided it's recyclable.

I purchased my wrapping paper last week for a quick and easy $5. However, not all my presents will be wrapped in recyclable paper. WHOA, WHY NOT?! you might be asking. Well it's simple, last year, and years prior, I received gifts wrapped in over glossy, non-recyclable wrapping paper. When I open these presents the paper doesn't always become crazy destroyed. I'm not anal about unwrapping gently mind you. But if it wasn't crazy wrapped in tape the paper is salvageable. Once unwrapped we put all the paper in a big gift bag that I have out every year. While everyone is off playing with their presents I go though this gift bag and fold the salvageable paper into neat folded piles and store them for next season. This is my way of twice loving paper that is just otherwise going to sit in waste for years. It honestly only takes another 5 minutes out of the year and saves the paper from years in trash. Not to mention it stocks me up on paper every year and reduces my wasted cash. I have, this year, wrapped 10 presents in reused wrapping paper. The more I wrap my families gifts in the more I'll have for next year.

Remember, in the U.S. of A. alone an additional 5 million tones of waste is generated from Christmas!! 4 million of those tones are from wrapping paper! Do you know how much paper equates a ton?!

Well, I'm going to go back to wrapping presents with the beast now. Your friend neighborhood hippie mom.

Dear Hippie Mom - My Zapper's Zapped!

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and today I'm answering an e-mail.

Dear Hippie Mom,

I have to replace my microwave since it is making some wierd noises and then there is a burnt smell. Not so good. So we are heading off to the store to buy one that hopefully won't burn down my house. I was wondering if there is any eco stuff i should know about appliance shopping? and also how to safely dispose of the one I have? Normally if I replace I give away the old one, but not such a good idea in this case lol

Yours, Happy Hippie

Dear Happy Hippie,
That's an excellent question, I have honestly questioned my possession of a microwave in the first place but when I did some research I discovered it's better on energy than your standard electric stove. Ergo as long as I'm okay with the small amounts of radiation it might emit I shouldn't have a problem using it. That and Asmerus is opposed to ever getting rid of it ;)

So what to do when homemakers best friend bites the electric bullet? A lot of people would just throw it in the garbage and not give it a second thought. But often your local trash disposal company will recycle them for you and if not they may know of a location that will. Another option, if you reside in the US of A is to go to Earth911.com where you will find a search engine to seek out appropriate recycling facilities in your location. Unfortunately I couldn't find much in the way of contact for Canada outside of B.C. in any case you still may be able to use the # 1-800-667-4321 to request a location. Of course you can also check to see if there is any good-will location nearby that might repair it and sell it or use it for parts.
Sadly there is not much in a microwave that is recyclable so if you've tried all your options I don't think you'll have any heavy amount of bad Karma if you do just toss it. I'd put it on Craig's List or Kijiji for a week nonetheless for free and needing repairs and see if maybe anyone has the parts and know how. Might give you piece of mind.

Now for the sticky business of finding a new one, you want to seek something durable with a good warranty it will cost you less in the long run. You'll also want to consider just how big you need it. The smallest size you can get away with will save energy. That is your main basis for energy consumption comparison as Energy Star doesn't rate microwaves. There isn't much else you can look at when buying a microwave as far as eco-friendly and practical use goes. Obviously there are a lot of other personal options that await you, child locks, pretty colors, you name it, but you'll figure out what you want I'm sure. Just don't boil your distilled water as mythbusters proved it can be quite dangerous if super heated
{See below}




Another microwaving no-no is plastic containers, take out containers and microwaved popcorn. I too am making a sad face right now. The plastic containers go without saying, you want to make sure if's microwave safe. Yet, even a microwave safe plastic container will leach into your food. It's best to just avoid them. Take out containers aren't usually microwave safe and you'll have melted styrofoam in your food.
Lastly and I feel more importantly, the microwave popcorn uses PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) to line their bags. PFOA is a carcinogen, leads to liver, developmental and immune system problems. It can also exert hormonal effects including altering your thyroid hormone levels.  that is also used in nonstick coatings of cookware and water-repellent fabrics. PFOA is to be phased out by major manufacturers by 2015, for now, make your popcorn on the stove in a pot with a little oil. Or one of those old popcorn poppers. I remember them when I was child. It was so loud and it took a few moments to heat up but then one kernal would fly out, it seemed it only took a few seconds after that and they were all flying. The extra positive is the unpopped kernels will stay in the machine so it'll be less picking. Mine also came with a tray for heating the butter while it popped your popcorn.

Now I've made myself hungry for popcorn and nostalgic for that old, loud popcorn popper.

So I'll leave you with a checklist of other things you might want to know about one of the most common household companions since the early 70's.

• Food cooked in a microwave does not become radioactive. 
• Radiation leakage is at a minimum and must meet FDA approval. If you are concerned about radiation you needn't run from spinning glass plate, simply step back. FDA research shows that radiation at 20 inches would be 1/100th of the value at 2 inches distance. 
• Microwave's ability to cook quickly in little to no water helps food retain vitamins and minerals. 
• Microwave's don't heat up the air, a welcomed relief in the summer months.
• They use far less energy (up to 80% less) than conventional ovens. Saves your electric bill. 

That's all for this week, I'll be back with more Monday. Until then, have a good weekend, your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.


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it's the most wasteful time of the year!

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I'm out of wrapping paper!

When it comes to wrapping paper and bags I have a system. In my storage closet there is a large plastic storage bin on a shelf. It contains within it gift bags of every size and occasion from years of collection. These bags are sorted by size making it easy to find what you are looking for. On the side of this container is a stack of folded neutrally colored tissue paper, neatly tucked for your packing pleasure. I have not had to purchase a gift bag in maybe 7 years! Gift wrapping paper I will keep in a similar style. Even when it's down to the sliver, I will use those slivers to make name tags for my gifts.
So after 6 years my wrapping paper has almost completely dried up. This year I am on a mission to replace it, the additional mission is to replace it with recyclable paper. A commonly missed fact is that christmas paper is not recyclable! Does that not make you a little sick?! Just think how much paper you go through in your house, now think how much paper your friends go through in their house. Now think of that estimated  6.6677 billion people who celebrate Christmas every year and how much they might be going through.
So now that I have run out wrapping paper that I admit I purchased cheap and was likely not recyclable in the slightest, I shall see what I can do. Of course the quick easy solution would be to chase down a recyclable variety. But that's boring, so I looked up some other methods of wrapping. Here are some of my ideas and some I found online.

• Personalized paper - Take standard brown paper (like a brown paper bag or big brown paper towel) and personalize it, color on it with your children, glue things on the finished wrap job. Sparkle it up. I really think I may do that this year. Get some large recyclable craft paper and go nuts with the family. Make it a family fun day of doodling. And on the bottom of each gift I might just stamp, "100% Recyclable" so the recipient knows to not toss this with the rest of the paper ;) 
• Gift Bags - Might not be as fun to open but you can reuse them over and over again. That's what I do for my adult friends. I love to wrap though and kids can sneak into bags. 
• Gift in a gift - Teen in university/college pack a laundry basket of goodies. Fisherman friend, tackle box of presents. Buy them a gift you can pack in a gift, like a gift and a towel. Wrap the towel around the gift and tie it off. 
• Fabric gift bags - Make your own fabric gift bags. As much as this sounds like a sweet idea it doesn't really seem cost effective to me. Unless you had some pact with your friends that you give them the fabric bag this year and next year they use it for you. That just seems like a lot of work for a once a year event. 
• Recycled wrapping paper - already mentioned but it goes without saying. 

Those are just some ideas, I'm sure if you think on it you can come up with so many more! I am set on the crafty idea, adds a personalized touch and can be personalized for every season so no need for me to have so many individual rolls in my storage closet. One roll to rule them all one roll to...wrap them!

That's all from your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

Rocking around the Christmas Tree

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I'm still hearing comments on Christmas Trees.

After yesterday's post I took a survey to see how many of my friends used real and how many artificial and why. Their answers were dead on 50/50

There were 5 friends who commented real and 5 who commented fake and 1 who couldn't decide! It appears just as the chart showed this one is definitely a down the centre.

So what then is the environmental option. Research showed that buying a live tree that you can then plant later is growing increasingly more popular. But in many situations people are forced to use fake trees in their apartments, as previously mentioned, and that option is removed from them.

So I thought I'd involve the readers (please only vote once)

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Post your comments below as to why.
Tomorrow is another day but today is over, your friendly neighborhood hippie mom

OH Christmas Tree!

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I have an artificial tree.

Oh Artificial Christmas Tree, Oh Artificial Christmas tree, they leaves are so unchanging! Hey, that's more true for the artificial tree than the real ones. The real ones have to be watered, maintained and pose more of a fire hazard with those drying, dying leaves. Unchanging my butt!

As I sat glancing at my engagement ring I admit I had no idea what I would blog about today. It was then that I scolded my daughter for slapping the Christmas ornaments. My friend was on the phone with me at the time and commented on my tree. She mentioned how my blog had made her consider using an artificial tree from now on as it's more Eco-friendly. Of course I found myself surprised and flattered again that my blog has impacted another. Although I was mostly just thrilled to have such an obvious topic pointed out to me.

One might call my friend a tree hugger for wanting to save the trees. Perhaps even argue that it's only one tree! Nevertheless one must calculate that one tree per every house that celebrates Christmas every year for their natural life! Let's assume an 85 year life and a natural tree for each of them. That makes 85 trees per person and roughly 6.6677 billion people celebrate Christmas annually regardless of religion. Based on those numbers if everyone were to follow that logic that would be 6,667,700,000 trees per year and 566,754,500,000 trees per lifetime! Still think it's the most logical statement?

This is one of those moments where I admit that I am green because it saved me a buck or two. Not to mention time with decorating. Let me explain the pros with an artificial tree vs. a real one and then maybe offer some solution to those things you like about the real.

My personal pros with my personal artificial tree:

• Pre-decorated - You can have artificial trees with the lights already on them and wired in. I don't have one of those. Still, when I disassemble my tree at the end of the season I remove the garland & lights and leave the Christmas ornaments on the branches. The next year that's one less thing for me to do.
  
• Less maintenance - Depending on the age of your artificial there is little to no mess from fallen leaves. Mine has aged and so when first putting it up there is a dustpan of leaves to sweep up, still far fewer than there would be were it a real tree. I don't have to water it or pick it out in a lot.
  
• Cost efficient - returning to our 85 trees per life theory, let's say your parents bought 25 of those and you bought the remaining 60. At roughly $25 - $100 per tree off the lot that's $1500 - $6000 in a lifetime spent on a tree. Excluding decorations. A high end fake tree with lights already on it would run you $600. Mine cost me $20 and I have no complaints. I've saved myself $1480 - $5980 in trees!
  

Now, let's get a little negative, it's not as green as you think. 

Artificial trees are manufactures using PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) a petroleum-derived plastic. Non-renewable, does not biodegrade and results in unhealthy emission of many carcinogens (ex: dioxin, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride.) In a lot of cases, this may concern you the most, the manufacturers will use lead and other additives to soften the needles. These have been linked with liver, kidney, neurological and reproductive system damage. The trees may shed lead-laced dust, which may cover branches or shower gifts and the floor. Some trees will contain warnings of their lead content. If you suspect your tree contains lead keep children away from them and avoid contact. If you do touch the tree wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face or handling food. Do not vacuum under the tree with a vacuum that does not have a HEPA filter. It would spread the dust through the air creating an inhalation problem. 

Hmmm ...keep your child away from the pretty decorated Christmas tree? Don't touch the shiny tree? Sounds like a Merry Christmas!

But let's not be all anti-artificial. On the flip side one should also consider the pesticides used on the natural tree, likely the case if purchased. Obviously this is bad for the environment as well as the air in your home. In addition to pesticides these trees are often subjected to chemicals to speed growth and therefore production. The positive spin of course would be while they were being produced they were reducing the carbon dioxide produced by industries. Heck, if you wanted to be really chipper about your natural tree, you could say these naturally grown trees were reducing the carbon dioxide produced by the manufacturers of artificial trees. In addition the christmas tree farms are usually placed in areas unusable to other forms of farming since they are such a strong plant. Of course whenever a tree is cut down it will be replaced, naturally as this is the farmers source of income, however did you know most farmers will plant one to three trees for every one they cut down. This is done to increase their annual profit, as a result they increase the tree population thus reducing CO2 in the air that much more. That one tree a year for 85 years  doesn't sound as bad now.

It's obvious you can save yourself some money by purchasing an artificial tree and yes it is reusable. Nevertheless, when you decide you don't like the sparkle of the old one that tree is not recyclable or biodegradable and will significantly impact the environment. These trees when produced added many chemicals to the environment and when tossed out will never break down and become a permanent decoration in a local landfill. If incinerated the PVC will go into the atmosphere, dioxins and other carcinogens will be added to our air..  YAY

So what is my conclusion? I am completely frazzeled? I went into this post today feeling I had chosen an easy topic. Yet again I have forced myself to question my own actions and reconsider my stand on something. This might be reassuring to those reading as it confirms my lack of bias when researching a topic. Still it doesn't settle my mind. I may be a hippie, I am also a nerd and being the nerd that I am I made a chart

{click picture to see in full size}

I have reviewed the chart over and over and still it is quite 50/50 for me. I must admit though, that as far as personal health goes the natural tree is the obvious choice. As far as Environment goes, surprisingly the scales are still tipped, even if only in a slight amount, towards the natural tree.

As a whole Christmas trees (real or fake) are bad for the environment and completely illogical. As far as religion goes what in the heck do they have to do with Christ. What does the day have to do with him. He was allegedly born on another day entirely!! I'm going to celebrate my birthday in June from now on because I always wanted a summer birthday!! If Christ can do it so can I!! 

The last tiny figure to take into account is apartment dwellers. If you, like myself, reside in an establishment that does not permit the use of real trees there are still ways you can reduce your impact on the environment and even further save your money. Do like I did, purchase your fake tree second hand, give a non-biodegradable tree another chance to brighten a room once a year. When you are done with your tree try to sell it or give it away to a needy family. This will not just reduce your carbon footprint but will also improve your karma ;) {later is not a guarantee} If you are worried about your personal health I would worry less about the PVC in this case and more about the lead. Look for labels, warnings and never take for granted what you are purchasing. If you want that smell but will have or have to have an artificial pal then find a scented essential oil that matches that of a tree. If you must go with a scented candle obviously remember to make it as natural as possible. Reduce the smog in your home. 

For now, as with the PVC entry, I must admit I am mostly undecided. Notwithstanding I have no choice in my current situation. My location does not permit natural trees and thus I shall have an artificial or none at all. I will continue to use the tree I have and when I am done with it I will donate it to a worthy individual. Although I will be taking a peek to see if my tree allegedly contains lead. If that is the case, for the health and well being of my daughter, as was the purpose of this entire blog, I will be forced to discard it and seek a healthier substitute. Sorry earth, my hands are tied on this one.

Some fun, light hearted facts, you know, the useless stuff that Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper would throw at you in casual conversation:

The first artificial Christmas trees originated in Germany as metal wire trees covered with greenly dyed goose/turkey/ostrich/swan feathers. By 1930 Addis Brush Company created the first artificial-brush tree using the same machines used to make their toilet brushes! They patented their "Silver Pine" in 1950 which was designed to have a revolving light source under it and used colored gels to allow the light to shine in different shades as it revolved around the tree.

This entry took longer than expected so I must rest, your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.