Stinkerpants

Bzzzzz….

April 23, 2009 in Miscellaneous Ramblings • Urban Hippies • Urban Farming

Photo from here.

This is kind of embarrassing, but I’m going to tell you anyway.  A few weeks ago, I got inspiration from Bee Movie. It is, in fact, almost entirely responsible for my 101 in 1,001 list.

Awhile ago I heard about the decreasing number of honeybees.  I was sad about it.  Maybe even a little bit worried.  But it wasn’t until I saw Bee Movie that I started to feel really bad for the bees.

I am sure that most people did not cry at Bee Movie.  Clearly I have emotional problems.

But anyway.  Bee Movie is the reason why I added #2 (“Save some honeybees”) to my list.   I started researching a little bit today and realized that I couldn’t help any bees without having a nice, friendly backyard with lots of flowers. Chances are, I’d end up killing #8 (“Raise butterflies”) with our current backyard anyway.  So I’m going to have to start with #5 (“Figure out what is wrong with the soil in our yard and fix it”) and #6 (:Grow flowers in the backyard and keep them alive for a season”) first.

I have kind of a black thumb.  I’ve killed almost everything in our backyard.  Nothing has ever flowered there.  My main problem is that I’m totally, 100%, wholeheartedly LAZY.  I get all excited in the springtime about having a backyard full of gorgeous flowers, and then I am too lazy to water them.  I have also been too lazy to do anything about how dead our soil most likely is.  It just seems like so much work.  Maybe a beautiful backyard wasn’t enough motivation for me, but helping the poor little bees and butterflies certainly is.

Well…sort of.  It just seems like so much work to garden.  I wish I could hire someone to do this for me.

Do any of you guys like gardening?  What’s so great about it?  Do you think I would like it?  Is getting started the hardest part?

Random Facts About Stinker

March 4, 2009 in Miscellaneous Ramblings

For some reason, I just love that 25 Random Facts meme on Facebook.  I decided to move it to my blog, and then started adding to it.

1. My dad was a doctor at the hospital where I was born. As a result, my name is on a plaque on the wall there. One of my best friends was at the hospital a few years ago because her sister was giving birth–she saw my name and wondered what I’d done to deserve such awesome recognition.
2. Speaking of my dad, he has a lot of integrity.  When I was a kid, my family had to go through a lot of crap because my dad stood up for Women’s Right to Choose when no one else would.  I am very proud of him for that.
3.  I was a vegetarian for five years until I went to Italy with my friends Rachel and Conrad for three months. There’s not too much selection there for vegetarians, so I started eating meat again. I was a meat eater for another four years (give or take). I became a vegetarian again in mid-2008 after reading Skinny Bitch, which was given to me by my friend Marianne.
4. I feel much better now that I’m a vegetarian again.  I feel like I’m doing what’s right for my body and the world, and I do not miss meat at all.
5. I would probably not eat eggs anymore if we didn’t have our own chickens.  I feel very, very horrible for the chickens raised in factory farms, even the “cage free” ones.
6. Y and I decided to raise chickens in our urban backyard.  It’s fun.  Sometimes I think about moving to a farm, but other times I really want to move into the city.
7. I used to hate cooking.  I started cooking in December of 2008 and now I really like it.
8. We get a Community Sustained Agriculture box every week.  I enjoy trying new recipes with weird vegetables like pea shoots, which I never would have bought otherwise.
9. I have never broken a bone (knock on wood).
10.  I feel weird calling my husband “my husband” and sometimes call him “my partner.”  But that still feels weird.
11. When I was in first grade, the local newspaper interviewed my classmates and I because we were going to be the Class of 2000.  They asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up.  I said, “a cheerleader.”
12.  In the second grade, my best friend was Erin. She and I were obsessed with the Baby Sitter’s Little Sister books, and we wrote to the author, Ann M. Martin. She actually wrote back to us!
13.  Also in the second grade, I wrote a wonderful book entitled, “Rats are O.K.”  I won the Young Author’s award and have a medal to prove it.  They told me they’d keep my book in the school library forever.
14.  I went back to my elementary school when I was in college, and they couldn’t find my book anywhere.  :(
15.  I have a really terrible memory, which makes me sad. I can’t remember many things about my childhood. It makes me wish I had siblings to remind me of things that happened when I was a kid.
16. My family moved to Salem, Oregon when I was a junior in high school.  It sucked, but I’m glad we did it.
17. I went to the University of Oregon.  Quack.
18.  In college, I changed my major four times. I started out as Psychology, then went to Journalism, then Undeclared (yes, that’s a major!) and then back to Psychology.
19. I actually went to one year of graduate school and completed my first year of a doctorate program in Psychology.  I left school because of chronic migraines.  People are always surprised when I tell them this.
20. My husband is Chinese.  I love learning about his culture, and he loves learning about mine.
21. Passover is my favorite holiday.  I really love haroset and horseradish sandwiches (with matzo).
22. Y hates horseradish.  I don’t understand this.  He doesn’t understand why I am grossed out by most Chinese food, though, so I guess we’re even.
23.  Learning languages is really hard for me. I’m not sure that my brain works that way. Y really wants me to learn Cantonese (and I really want to!) but it’s REALLY hard. I can’t remember the words because the intonations are so similar. I am constantly calling my father-in-law “old man” instead of “father in law.” Oops.
24. I like cleanliness, especially in the kitchen.  I have two sponges for the kitchen: one for the counters, and one for the dishes.  Y can never remember which is which and thinks I’m crazy for having two sponges.
25.  I really, really like organization. A lot. My label maker is one of my favorite things. In fact, I was ready to marry Y all over again because he bought a new and improved version of it for me.
26. I adore frozen yogurt. There’s a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes where they have little tiny cones and you can make your own. I love it. LOVE IT.
27. A few years ago Y bought me a soft serve maker for my birthday. Sadly it doesn’t work as well as the big awesome machines. Also, I am pretty well convinced that there have to be a lot of chemicals in the soft-serve to make it properly delectable.
28. I used to keep a bunch of crap. Now I really try to get rid of clutter. I am constantly donating things. I don’t know how we accumulate most of the crap we have, but I like to get rid of it. It is very satisfying for me.
29. I am very frugal.  I like to get the best deal possible on the things I buy, and I really avoid buying things that add to our clutter.
30. I love NPR.  I love the way Terry Gross says, “FRESH AIR.”
31. I love making lists. Sometimes I add things to my lists that I have already completed, just so I can cross them off.
32. I am Jewish, but I never had a bat mitzvah. My parents didn’t feel like driving me all the way to Sacramento to the nearest synagogue. They did, however, send me to Camp Tawonga (a Jewish camp near Yosemite) for three weeks with my friend Jessie. Interestingly, this really created my Jewish identity. The other major contributor was going to Israel in 2004 on birthright.
33. While on birthright, I became close friends with two girls–Mandie and Tara. Nearly a year after returning to the states, Mandie came running up to me at my cousin Alex’s bar mitzvah. As it turns out, Mandie and I are sorta-kinda related.  It’s a small world, or at least a small tribe.
34. I don’t understand buying DVDs, because I rarely watch the same thing twice. Even though I can never remember what a movie was about and would probably benefit from re-watching. Same thing with books, but I tend to buy those anyway.
35. I would really like a Kindle.  If anyone wants to buy me one, I would not turn it down.
36. I made some very close friends online while planning my wedding. I realize that this makes me a really big dork, but I don’t care. I love them and we talk all the time.
37. Y and I decided to become a couple underneath a tree in Crissy Field, San Francisco. Three years later, we got married in the same place.
38. When I first started my business, I didn’t know how to use Adobe Illustrator, and I did all of my drawing in Photoshop, which is both really tedious and really stupid.
39. I don’t like reading directions because I am too impatient. I generally teach myself how to do things. I’m pretty sure I got this trait from my grandmother, who never learned to operate her answering machine or her VCR.
40. I have a Type A personality. I am also a Virgo. And an ENTJ. If any of these things mean something to you…well, there you go.
41. I started my business out of my passion, but also out of necessity.  I have chronic migraine headaches, and thus have a very difficult time working a “regular” job.
42. I don’t drink wine or beer because I get migraine headaches. Poor Y has no one to drink these things with. We have many, many bottles of wine that have been given to us as gifts.
43. I get bored easily. I can’t imagine staying in the same job for year after year. I also have a difficult time exercising because I get bored after 10 minutes.
44. I have always loved reading. In the fifth grade I read the most books in my class and won a trip to Baker’s Square with my teacher.
45. I used to be a blogger for a wedding website called Weddingbee.  I was Mrs. Cream Puff.  I left after Weddingbee was sold to eHarmony.  I didn’t blame the owners for selling at all, but was very disappointed by a lot of people during that whole mess–they were angry at me for standing up for what I believe in, even though they agreed with me.  I definitely tried to be as polite as possible while still sticking to my guns, so I really didn’t understand that.
46. I am very passionate about certain political issues.  Most recently, this has been equal rights for all (read = gay marriage).  I am very disappointed when people try to take away others’ rights.
47. I am a world-champion procrastinator, but I still manage to get things done.  I set goals for myself and then freak out as my deadline approaches.
48. This list may be another symptom of my procrastination.
49.  

Happy Birthday!

February 17, 2009 in Miscellaneous Ramblings

Lulabelle turned three today!

Why I’m a Vegetarian (no gross details, I promise!)

February 4, 2009 in Miscellaneous Ramblings • Urban Hippies • Urban Farming

Photo from here.

Y and I are in the process of doing something right now (we’re getting chickens), and I’m going to talk about it tomorrow.  As I was writing that entry, I realized that I needed to provide a bit of background about why we’re doing what we’re doing before I could describe the chicken situation.

Okay, so I’m a vegetarian.  It’s not that I don’t like the taste of meat–on the contrary, I actually like it quite a bit.  I’m a vegetarian because I’m disgusted by how animals are treated while they’re being raised for food, and how they’re slaughtered.  I won’t go into detail here.  I figure you’ll do the research yourself if you care about the poor widdle animals.

I was a vegetarian for five years (back then, it wasn’t about the animals–I just felt like I wanted to be a vegetarian for some reason), until I went to live in Italy for three months.  I started to feel really sick after awhile, because there aren’t many options there for a well-balanced vegetarian diet.  I ate meat for about four or five years.

Then I started reading.  If you’re interested in learning more about how animals are raised and slaughtered (and their impact on the environment), I recommend checking out these books:

Skinny Bitch / Animal Liberation / MAD COWBOY / Slaughterhouse

I personally feel that you should know what an animal had to go through to provide your meal.  I also believe that if you’re going to eat something, you should be able to kill it.  I know I wouldn’t be able to kill an animal, so I don’t think I should be eating meat.  I have no problem slaughtering a vegetable, though (haha).  I’m not doing this because I think I can make a difference in the meat industry.  I’m doing it because the idea of eating meat now disgusts me.

I am not a vegan.  I don’t really care if it’s “unnatural” for humans to drink milk.  It is delicious.  And life without ice cream and cheese?  That sounds horrendous.  I also don’t care if an egg is an unborn chicken.  It doesn’t hurt the chicken to lay the egg and it doesn’t hurt the chick to eat him, so whatever.

Photo from here.

Except.  Except it does hurt the cow to give milk, and it does hurt the chicken to lay the egg.

I have been trying to reconcile this for quite awhile, and up until this point, my solution has been cage free eggs and organic milk.  I knew that neither of these were awesome solutions (because animals who are part of any industry probably aren’t treated that well), but I wasn’t sure what else to do.

Anyway, I’ve eaten cage free eggs for as long as I can remember, and I’ve converted other people to eating them, too.  Recently, though, I learned a lot about what it means to be a “cage-free” or “free-range” chicken.  To be honest, there’s not really that much of a difference (this documentary looks awesome, and it’s all about chickens if you want to learn more).

I don’t think I can continue to eat eggs without picturing their poor little chicken faces (dammit!).

Sooooo…that there’s a good reason to get some backyard chickens.  Which we are doing!  I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.  :)

101 in 1,001

February 3, 2009 in Miscellaneous Ramblings

So.  About 10,000 years ago my friend Kate over at Pretty Damn Fabulous started the 101 in 1,001 project and encouraged everyone else to do it as well.  I am a serious slacker, so even though I really wanted to, I’m only just now getting around to it.  When Kate started this, she added an item to her list that she’s had a hard time checking off: #88: Get three more people to start lists.  Well, Kate, you can officially check another person off your list.

This list was pretty difficult and time-consuming to compile, but I’m really excited about it.  For some reason, I feel like I have purpose now (weird, right?).  Something about having long-term goals, both serious and non-serious, makes me feel good.

I’ll be updating randomly when I check things off the list.  I also intend to start taking more photos (good ones), especially of these goals while they’re being completed.  So without further adieu, the mission statement and my list:

Stinkerpants’ 101 in 1,001

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Completion Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The official list will be kept here.

Help the planet:

001)  Get a couple of chickens for our backyard and eat truly free-range eggs.
002)  Save some honeybees.
003)  Go to the Farmer’s Market four times. (4/4) (we go all the time now)
004)  Set up an herb garden.
005)  Figure out what is wrong with the soil in our yard and fix it
006)  Grow flowers in the backyard and keep them alive for a season
007)  Eat a raw food diet for 3 weeks
008)  Raise butterflies
009)  Start saving and reusing plastic bags
010)  Pick fruit of some kind at an orchard of some kind
011)  Volunteer for a recycling group

Learn something new:

012)  Bake a pie (from scratch!)
013)  Take a Photoshop class
014)  Bake some challah
015)  Make an apron (nevermind. my mom made me one and now I have 3!)
016)  Learn to make five kinds of candy (0/5)
017)  Learn to play Mah Jongg
018)  Read 5 biographies of people I admire. (0/5)
019)  Watch 5 documentaries on things I don’t know enough about (1/5)
020)  Listen to 5 books on tape while working (0/5)
021)  Make pasta from scratch
022)  Find Cantonese classes and start learning to speak

Take care of myself

023)  Walk the dog 4x per week for two months (0/32)
024)  Take the stairs instead of the elevator all the time.
025)  Go on a walk with my dad.
026)  Start jogging
027)  Start a list on Mondays and finish it by Sunday for 2 months (3/8)
028)  Do Wii Fit 5x week for 3 weeks (0/15) sold the Wii–joined the gym instead
029)  Drink 8 glasses of water every day for three weeks
030)  Write in my personal journal once per week (0/4)
031)  Complete a NaBloPoMo
032)  Eliminate all processed foods for 30 days (0/30)
033)  Go a whole day making an effort to only focus on good things
034)  Join a book club
035)  Take a cardio step class
036)  Take my vitamins every day!
037)  Use a skincare regimen for 60 days straight (60/60)
038)  Complete 6 Questions to get the most out of life
039)  Wean myself off of earplugs
040)  Start using all organic products in our home and on my body
041)  Start a gratitude journal
042)  Respond to my emails as soon as I get them every day for a month (0/21)

Be good with Money

043)  Shop with coupons every week for 2 months (0/8)
044)  Put away $50/month into Savings 12 times (0/12)
045)  Put away $50/month into an IRA 12 times (0/12)
046)  Pay off my credit card debt
047)  Start saving for a house

Work on my business

048)  Get my etsy shop up and running (and closed it!)
049)  Submit cards and press kits to 15 magazines (5/15)
050)  Get on TV three times (0/3)
051)  Be featured somewhere 15 times (0/15)
052)  Buy a new Mac Pro for my business
053)  Buy a new, higher quality lens for my Digital Rebel
054)  Join two networking groups (0/2)

Be Social

055)  Throw a kitchen-warming party
056)  Have friends over for dinner 6 times (2/6)
057)  Have a girl’s night 6 times (2/6)
058)  Have a girlfriend over for afternoon tea
059)  Host a fabulous Chrismukkah Party
060)  Throw a Paw-Mitzvah party
061)  Take my husband to see Phantom of the Opera
062)  Go geocaching with Kathy and Mark
063)  Organize a camping trip
064)  Throw myself a birthday party (ie, suck it up)
065)  Walk the stairways of SF with a friend.

Be Creative

066)  Create a Tastebook
067)  Create a Tastebook for my mom
068)  Send out creative holiday cards
069)  Finish the scarf I’ve been avoiding
070)  Plot out a plot for a book
071)  Upload 500 nice photos to Flickr (0/500)
072)  Create photo books for past years (0/4)
073)  Figure out how to get my Twitter updates on my personal journal.
074)  Create photo books to be updated with events & printed at the end of the year (1/3)

Do Something New

075)  Fly in a hot air balloon
076)  Go sailing
077)  Visit Oatman, Arizona
078)  Participate in a flash mob
079)  Try a treasure hunt
080)  Go snowboarding or skiing
081)  Look into horseback riding lessons
082)  Fire a gun at a shooting range
083)  Rent a big house somewhere for a group of friends for the weekend (or longer)
084)  Go whale watching
085)  Visit a botanical garden
086)  Go on a haunted tour
087)  Send a postcard to Post Secret.
088)  Visit a country I’ve never been to before.
089)  Visit 5 states I’ve never been to before. (0/5)
090)  Visit friends in Los Angeles
091)  Spontaneously visit an amusement park with my husband.

Random Acts of Kindness

092)  Knit a scarf and give it to a cold person.
093)  Bring flowers to a retirement community.
094)  Look into becoming a mentor
095)  Send a random gift to a friend
096)  Volunteer for or donate $$ to NPR
097)  Donate time to animals
098)  Volunteer to plant trees
099)  Send a card to someone I’ve lost touch with.
100)  Pay 10 strangers compliments (0/10)
101)  Donate books to the library.