No Impact Experiment - Day 4 Food/Day 5 Energy

I will keep this pretty short.

Food. 

Avoid the processed stuff. Keep local. Try going vegan. (we skipped this one due to Big B's dietary limitations. Sheesh..hard to keep up with all the health restrictions in this house!).

That was the upshot of this one. Pretty much describes our dietary lifestyle...except the vegan-ism.

We raise chickens..meaning lots of eggs. Generally speaking..we are pretty predictable in our diets.

Breakfasts: choices of fruit, eggs, toast, yogurt, oatmeal (non-instant) and we splurge on those darn 2 boxes of cereal a week.

Lunch: choices of more fruit, boiled eggs, sliced veggies, hummus, pita, dinner left-overs

Dinner: try to stick to Mediterranean Diet (primarily Sicilian..a little Greek) with a touch of tex-mex (it's a practical, regional thing)

Snacks: fruit, veggies,(see lunch options), and quesadillas. When it is hot we try to keep gazpacho, tabbouleh, or cucumber salad in fridge. When it is cold we try to keep soup in a crock-pot.

Now..where is this food coming from?We found 3 food items in our home that were outside of a 250 mile radius..production wise. Most of the food we consume is produced locally (like our backyard or Bandera county) some from SA area..and then 3 items (humus, pita bread..and a Cheeto bag. The Cheeto bag? No one seems to know from whence it came...) were produced farther away.

Energy.

yeah..well..we do consume it.

Taking an inventory of all products in our home that use energy and decide if we can eliminate or minimize it. We turned off the a.c. (when it gets in the high 80's..it's going back on..because it will quickly escalate to high 90's and it will take FOREVER to cool off again).  I unplugged the t.v. (Not so hard..we have done this numerous times before.) La familia is used to our NO TV tangents.

I actually felt myself sigh with relief when I unplugged the t.v.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this mind candy all summer..but it is preventing me from ..you know..letting my mind take a break from white noise and stuff. It also is the numero uno reason I have been too darn lazy to go to the river with Austen when his friends are in school. He keeps asking us. (no swimming allowed without someone with you has been a rule for Austen his whole life..) It should be for all of us..but with epilepsy? Not negotiable. So..I'm going to the river with Austen this afternoon. No more guilt!

  Computer? This is going to be the toughest one..I believe. I made a pact with myself to keep my computer use to one hour a day. It's something I've been needing to do for a while. But I can't speak for other family members. Will have to see what sort-of agreements we can come to. Fact is computers are the largest default activity in our home.

  Washer and Dryer? We use HE washer and dryer. I don't mind switching to line drying on my deck for a lot of items. Not too big of a switch..and with the extra time I've saved from computer/t.v. unplugged..I can do this.  Washer..I'm selfishly holding onto.

Cody reminded us that when he was in Europe very few people used a washer. I know he is right.Most of the world would say the same. However,.we have a little pee pot by the name of Levi. As a matter of fact, we have started singing "I'm a little pee-pot" to the tune of "I'm a little tea-pot." (uhm just that phrase..not the rest of the song) to Levi on a regular basis. He responds with grinning and trying to sing with us. But being a pee-pot is not the limit of his mess making. The kiddo also goes on spit-up binges. Poor guy. So this is my "justification" for not washing by hand. AND? One of the beauties of living in the West? A washing machine. So I am selfishly holding on to this luxury.

Those are the biggest energy consumers. The boys have been on my case for leaving too many lights on. They are right. As a matter of fact yesterday..they removed all the lightbulbs in the living room. I did not notice until evening. They grinned proudly saying We're helping you conserve energy!"

I made them put them back in so I could rock Levi while I watched t.v. (ugh..this sounds worse by the second) insisting that we were NOT on energy conservation yet. ..and my darling children? We're happy to let me know how pathetic I was...being as how, you know..(ahem, cough, cough)energy conscious, they themselves are.

So that is it. I have 20 more minutes left before I officially unplug for the day.

Back in a few days.