So it begins...

Sure I recycle from time to time. I turn the lights off when I’m not using them. I also try to conserve water when I brush my teeth. But to turn my whole world/life “Green”????? That’s quite the monsterous undertaking. So why do it?

I think it's best put when you talk about "Being Green" as an appreciation of Earth. I like that. When you look at all the "rules" that accompany this lifestyle, it seems pretty hardcore at times and at others a bit overwhelming. Some of the "rules" are hard to remember, especially at the beginning and that is what makes it seem so hard. Simple things like asking for no bag at the grocery store, or putting the bottles and cans in the recycle bin. But for me, when I look at it as appreciating the world we live in, it makes it a whole lot easier. Easier to remember. Easier to do. And I am all about easy.

When you take something for granted, you treat it poorly, or just flat out ignore it. No one likes to be ignored. It's a horrible feeling. But when you enjoy something, you love to show your appreciation, sometimes even go out of your way to do so. So that's how I'm going to approach this new lifestyle—as a newfound, or rather, rediscovered appreciation for this place we live in. Sure it sounds trite and corny, but it works for me. At least the concept does. The undertaking itself may be a whole different story. My wife used to live this way so it should be a bit easier for her to make the adjustment, but I need that concept to hold on to. It makes the goal seem less nebulous and much more concrete to me.

So that’s where we are now… my wife and I are adjusting our lifestyle. Not that we are extremely wasteful, but there are always a few things we can improve on to make our footprints on this world a bit more eco-friendly. Afterall, with two kids inheriting this world after we are gone, it’s a good idea to leave it in a state in which they can enjoy it. And hopefully in our green learning/living, the kids will pick up something too.

Here we go…

No More Excuses...

So I overheard a woman at work say she bought a french press. "Yeah! I'm trying to go green!" she said. It made me think of all of the 'green extremes' that are out there and all the little things people do to contribute to saving our beautiful planet. Of course I evaluated my contribution. Well, I used to recycle everything. I used to compost. I used to buy organic as much as I could. I used to shop locally and at farmer's markets.

So what happened? I moved. Yup. I moved to southern California from the beautiful and very green north in Humboldt. I live in a very small upper story apartment about 35 miles from work. So much for riding my bike....My meager income,which was sufficient for Humboldt, is next to nothing compared with the cost of living down here. There goes organic.....Recycling? I admit, I was reeeeealy spoiled up north with a great recycling center with a super organized system that took everything just up the road from me. Here? Only a slight pain in the behind.

I know...excuses, excuses. I've got one for everything! So now that I'm finally getting settled (2years later) and have an incredible (and sexy) husband that I can talk into just about anything, we are going to try this green thing again. The blogging keeps us honest!

For myself, it's an experiment in patience and some serious planning; especially when it comes to recycling as much of everything that we can. Nothing in SoCal is convenient and I'm all about instant gratification! I really don't want to spend my weekend driving all over the place to recycle tin here and aluminum there, etc. And though some folks may not consider the health impact that green living has, it does force you to really think about how your food gets from the farm to your table; never mind the health of the plants and animals you may be consuming. There is no straight line if you catch my drift. My husband is much more romantic about it and looking at it as an appreciation and gratitude for our world. Whatta concept, huh? If we only had more people like him around!...And being the incredible artist he is, he's already having fun making stuff out of tin cans and fun stuff like that!

So we call it our 'misadventures' because if you knew the two of us, you'd know there's bound to be some tripping over our toes! Wish us luck! (and keep the band-aides handy....what?)