January, Slowly

January was lovely.  I think that most years January is likely our very calmest, least scheduled month of all.  That's so rare for us, and although I never regret all the many things our weekends are full of throughout the year (family celebrations, festivals, camping, travel, house concerts, etc), it sure is nice to have a month where there's not much at all that's on the calendar.

During this slower month, however, we found plenty to entertain ourselves.  We swam at the rec center, we cooked, we read, and snuggled and watched movies.

 

We have a bike rider on our hands, so we've been working on that quite a bit.  Walks outside with the dogs and the neighbors.  Lunch with Nana and fabric shopping. 

 

A last minute decision to spend the morning at the National Western Stock Show turned into a family day in Denver.  Visiting the animals; lunch at one of our favorite Denver institutions, My Brother's Bar; beers at the Falling Rock Tap House; and enjoying the sunshine outdoors with friends.

 I've been reading up a storm, cooking up a storm, and catching up on sleep (thanks to a pesky little back issue that arrived with the new year).  February will be busy as usual, and before we know it, house concerts and visits from family and to family will commence.  Soon we'll be talking about festival season and summertime plans.  With all that fun ahead of us, it sure was nice to have at least one month of no plans, close to home.

Miss Representation

Please please please see this movie if you have the chance.  I believe it is important for ALL men, women, employers, female and male young adults, and parents to see. I saw this movie last night and was very impacted by its message.  It wasn't new information for me, but it was presented in a very upfront manner.  The movie has renewed my commitment to be vigilant about the message that media is sending my daughter and also to be more supportive and encouraging of other women in my industry.  I think this is particularly important in the industry I work in, which is still heavily skewed toward males.



And after taking the MissRepresentation.org pledge, I'd like to pass along some actions I plan to take and you can take immediately to make a difference:

• Parents- watch TV and films with your children.  Raise questions like “What if that character had been a girl instead?”
• Remember your actions influence others. Mothers, aunts and loved ones- don’t downgrade or judge yourself by your looks. Fathers, uncles and loved ones—treat women around you with respect.  Remember children in your life are watching and learning from you.
• Use your consumer power. Stop buying tabloid magazines and watching shows that degrade women. Go see movies that are written and directed by women (especially on opening weekend to boost the box office ratings). Avoid products that resort to sexism in their advertising.
• Mentor others! It’s as easy as taking a young woman to lunch. Start by having open and honest conversations with a young person in your life.

Food, Inc.

I've been giving a lot of thought to food lately. I'm making an honest effort to buy organic produce, I look forward to purchasing as much local produce as possible this summer, and I'm making progress on my vegetable garden.

I watched what I think is a VERY important movie this weekend that I think every American should see, Food, Inc.

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change? - Trailer and Photos

I cried and cried after watching this movie. I knew about a lot of the issues that are raised in the movie, but the way they were presented really hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. What I didn't really know as much about is the absolute power that a very small number of corporations hold over almost ALL of the food in America. The fact that it's illegal for farmers to save seeds, that it may soon be illegal to show pictures of huge cattle yards, and that you can be sued for speaking out against food produced by these large corporations is terrifying. Maybe all these people screaming about the government's involvement in our healthcare system should put some of that rabid energy into fighting against the government's nearly complete control of our food industry.

As scary and depressing as it was, I'm feeling more motivated than ever to continue to make responsible choices in the food my family eats.



A wonderful resource I've enjoyed for finding local farms and meat producers is http://www.localharvest.org/
I also really like this list of the 12 produce items that have been found to contain the highest levels of pesticides (and are therefore probably worth buying from the organic produce section).

We've also started watching a great show on ABC called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I have a big fat crush on Jamie Oliver, and he's even sexier when trying to make big, revolutionary changes in the way our country feeds our children!

One of the scariest moments in the the premier episode of the show was when a group of first graders couldn't name some of the simplest vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, onions, etc.) Seriously terrifying!

All this has got my brain spinning. In some good ways and some bad ways. I feel very grateful for the delicious, homecooked, healthy, fresh meals I ate growing up (thanks Mom!). It was good for me then, and taught me good eating and cooking habits for now.

Here are the 10 tips to take in your own life to change the food system in the country offered by the "Hungry For Change" website.

1. Stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages.
You can lose 25 lbs in a year by replacing one 20 oz soda a day with a no calorie beverage (preferably water).
2. Eat at home instead of eating out.
Children consume almost twice (1.8 times) as many calories when eating food prepared outside the home.
3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.
Half of the leading chain restaurants provide no nutritional information to their customers.
4. Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks.
Over the last two decades, rates of obesity have tripled in children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years.
5. Meatless Mondays—Go without meat one day a week.
An estimated 70% of all antibiotics used in the United States are given to farm animals.
6. Buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.
According to the EPA, over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S.
7. Protect family farms; visit your local farmer's market.
Farmer's markets allow farmers to keep 80 to 90 cents of each dollar spent by the consumer.
8. Make a point to know where your food comes from—READ LABELS.
The average meal travels 1500 miles from the farm to your dinner plate.
9. Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.
Each year, contaminated food causes millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths in the U.S.
10. Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.

This feels like a good place to start. Here we go....