With the passing of Labor Day and the official beginning of fall next week, I'm feeling simultaneous sadness and excitement. Since moving to Maryland in 2003 I have learned to love fall. Every year some of my closest friends and I get together for various "holidays" including Fall Fun Day and Friendsgiving (which we once called El Dia De Erntedank Celebration and I couldn't … [Read more...]
“Begin At The Beginning”: Essential Oils
Two facts about me: (1) I'm cheap; (2) I have asthma, allergies, and sensitive skin. These two facts used to be in constant conflict. In order to clean my house without an asthma attack sending me to the ER I had to use the fancy schmancy expensive cleaning products made with nothing but rainbows and unicorn farts. And any personal care product that touched my skin had to be … [Read more...]
Inspired: 100 Days Without Fear
Last week I came across an article of a young woman who grew up scared of a lot of things. As part of a class project that was to last 100 days, she decided to tackle 100 of her fears - one day at a time. She's about halfway through the project and has danced like no one was watching, held a giant snake, and sung karaoke (check out her website). While I am not afraid of a lot … [Read more...]
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (Book Review)
I've been reading a fair amount of food books lately now that I'm doing the vegetarian thing, but Eating Animals is at the top of almost every "Top Books for Vegetarians" list. Now that I've finished it, I can understand why. The book is a poignant memoir by a man who faced the reality of where his food comes from upon learning that he is going to be a father. This was my first … [Read more...]
21 Days to Make A Habit: I’m a Vegetarian
There's a saying that it takes 21 days to make a habit and I'm inclined to agree. Exactly 21 days ago I became a vegetarian. The fact that today is also Earth Day is cool but completely unintentional. So why did I give up meat? Well, I did it for a lot of reasons, but it started out as a month-long challenge simply to see if I had the willpower to try it out and stick with it. … [Read more...]