Happy Birthday to my Husband!

So far, the fall has been absolutley wonderful...

Not only were Tom and I married on September 26th, but it was also Tom's birthday on October 7th. We celebrated over this past weekend by going with a bunch of people to El Sol in Barre for Karaoke :) We've had many reasons to celebrate just being alive recently.

Yes, so far, this far was been pretty fantastic.

Awesome Baked Tofu

While I was stumbling about on the internet last night, I found a recipe for Baked Tofu (you can find the original recipe here). I didn't have all the ingredients that they called for, so I improvised--with success! Even Tom liked it, and that's weird--he doesn't like Tofu (or so he claims). Anyway, below is the recipe that I used. Enjoy!

Stacie's Awesome Baked Tofu

1 pound firm tofu
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion granules
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

(or use whatever spices you've got on hand!)

Cut the tofu into 1/4″ slices and wrap in paper towels. Place a weight on top for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and the 11 herbs and spices and mix well. Dip the tofu slices in the veggie broth and then in the breadcrumbs mixture, coat well on both sides, place the coated pieces on a oiled baking pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes on each side.

Serve with a dipping sauce like soy sauce, or just use ketchup. :) Mmmmm. For sides I served corn on the cob and cucumbers with oil and vinegar.

A Pescatarian Eats a Ripton Chicken

Those poor chickens.

The ones that died before the rain, that is. The others got a stay of execution...for a time.

I'm talking about Chicken Murder Death Day, of course.



Last weekend, it was slaughter time at the Ripton Farm that we've all grown so used to reading about. We were slated to kill 35 chickens, but the rain made us stop before we could get past 18.

And, yes, I'm a Pescatarian....I haven't touched poultry or red meat since March. Truly! Except for this one time.

My values around meat-eating are not of the traditional sort. I eschew any meat that comes from factory farms (and that's most of the meat you eat, b's and g's) or any meat that goes through traditional or kosher slaughter houses. Since labeling does not go so far as to say something like: "This chicken hatched from it's egg on March 18, 2008. It was given 8 hours of free range time in a grassy meadow every day; it was given feed that contains only healthy ingredients (no forced cannibalism); the cage environment was humane, and the slaughter was as un-traumatic as possible," I won't buy it.

Allow me to be more clear--my problems with the meat industry are many, and that's were most of my objections to eating meat are. Add that with my firm conviction (and the conviction of many nutritionists as well) that eating meat is not necessary for a healthy diet, I chose to eat mostly plants, grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy and fish. (And, yes, I know that fish feel pain).

However, I will make exceptions.

One annual exception is the Chicken Murder Death Day. We all participate in the slaughter of the chicken, from plucking the poor innocents from their coop (they're normally running all over the yard, but they need to stay where they can't find food for 24 hours before the slaughter) to storing the carcass in ice water.

Below is a photo montage of a chicken killing: (the photos below may be kinda gross to some people. It's my opinion that if you can't stomach it, you should probably consider yourself a hypocrite if you eat chicken, but that's just me. Seriously, though, don't look if you've got a weak stomach for dead things.).

In the first photo, you can see my friend slitting the throat of the chicken, while keeping her hand around the chicken's head (the chicken goes to sleep if it's in the dark). In the next, the dead chicken is dunked into hot water to loosen the feathers which are then plucked; in the third, my other friend eviscerates the chicken carcass.

Although I do feel moderately bad for taking the life of a chicken just to eat it, I do enjoy this yearly event. I feel that the chickens on the farm lived a much better and healthier life than most factory farm chickens, and that as a result, I'm eating much healthier meat.

What do all of you think? Are factory farms fine for the animals? Should we all aim to eat "happy" meat? What are your guidelines around eating in general?

Between the Athiests and Everyone Else

I had an interesting conversation with a friend this past weekend, which is the reason for writing this blog. They had some misunderstandings about my religious opinions that I imagine are quite common to people who don't ask questions, so I decided to clarify.

I'm an agnostic. That means that although I don't believe in the existince of a god--I don't rule out that possibility altogether. Sometimes I label myself as an athiest, because more people seem to know the term, but I am technically not. Basically, my motto is that I don't know the answer! Although I've tried many religions, none have felt quite right for the same reason--I couldn't get around the idea that, for me, an omnipotent being just felt to be a falsehood. I couldn't pray or create a ritual for a deity that I felt did not exist. A god does not exist, in my opinion. It does not seem true to me. But, hey, it might be true.

A lot of people confuse Atheisim and Agnosticism. An atheist denies even the possibility of a higher power, while an agnostic keeps that possibility open in his or her eyes.

To me, the lack of a God or gods and the lack of heaven and an afterlife makes life all the more valuable and precious. Consider: if there is no reconnection with your loved ones in heaven, you need to enjoy what you've got right now. If there is no Devil making things right by torturing your enemies, you've either got to make things right in this lifetime, or let things go. If there is no one coming out of a Lotus flower to make the world make sense, seems like it's up to us. Makes sense to me.

However, that does not mean that I feel that people with religious values are stupid or wrong. In all honesty, I feel a little jealous that they have a happy and close-knit community to go to every Sunday or Saturday or Flying Spaghetti Monster Day. I will not judge someone on their religious beliefs. I do not sneer as I drive by churches or temples or mosques or prayer circles. Do I, however, sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays? You bet.

I feel that everyone's opinion is important, and since there is absolutely no way to know who is right and who is wrong, it would be ignorant of me to condemn others for their beliefs.

Religion, in my opinion, can serve great good. (It can, also, serve great evil). However, in most of my experiences, I've noticed that the people who have become a member of a religious organization or have adopted religious beliefs have been able to make positive changes for themselves. For example, one of my uncles and his family have recently entered into a church that has taught them to be more loving and accepting of others, and to be happier as a family. I am proud of him for making that decision and for the positive steps that he and his family has taken.

I truly believe that all people with all beliefs serve a purpose in this world, and that they are all necessary. Perhaps my job as an atheist is to serve an an antidote to people who live too frequently in their religious vision--to bring them back to earth a little. Perhaps the people who are religious are to show me that there are possibilities that I haven't considered.

I don't want to be seen as a person who hates Christians or Jewish people or Muslims or any religion for the mere fact of their religion. I am not a bigot--my mind is open to possibilities. Just because my opinion is different than the majority of people in this country, does not mean that I hate them or feel uncomfortable around them. I feel that people who truly feel a calling to the ministry or to the priesthood should do so! People should follow their hearts, because that's where their truth is.

My agnostic beliefs are not about hate, or about the denial of the happiness and good that a religious following can bring. It's about being open to possibilities. It's about letting go of the idea that I can be right about religion. It's about accepting that a higher power might be beyond my ability to understand. It's about being who I am.

Mass Transit? Not in Vermont...

As oil prices continue to rise ($4.10 a gallon the last time I put gas in my car--I can't say "filled the tank," because I couldn't afford to) I keep searching for a solution that would allow me to get to where I need and want to go, but still have some sort of green in my wallet. Most internet sources tell you to "ride the bus or walk," but since I live in Vermont, that seems to be an option only some of the time. For instance, the bus system here is hardly statewide, and does not have routes that run everywhere you'd want to go every day of the week. Walking to where you need to go is almost a joke--most people I know work in a different town than where they live.


For instance, Tom takes a trip to Burlington every week. I had initially suggested that even though he is carpooling with our friend Mike, that they look into taking a bus. We did, and we found that even though GMTA has a commuter bus that goes from Montpelier to Burlington several times a day every day of the week, they don't have a bus that follows that route on the weekend. It's these types of problems that make finding alternative transportation a little trickier in the Green Mountain State. For readers who don't live in Vermont, let me make myself clear--we can be talking about distances of up to 30 or 40 miles--one way. People commute this distance every day, because, up until recently, that was a viable way of life for many people here. Not any longer--if you use your car.
So what's a Vermonter to do?

Well, here are some ideas that I hope will spark debate and inform conversation:



Buy a scooter. Better yet, have your boyfriend's dad give you one. A few weeks ago, Tom's dad gave us a 1982 Honda Passport with low miles and a clean maintenance history. It runs great--and gets 100 miles to the gallon! I'll be able to cut my commute gas bill down by 1/4. For those of you who don't have a really generous father-in-law to be, I suggest searching Craig's List or the local newspapers for scooters, motorcycles, or mope-heads.

Carpool. Back when I worked at People's Academy High School, I was broke. I mean eating-ramen-and-pb and j-broke. I carpooled then out of an economic necessity, and it helped a bunch. Also, if you get the right combination of people, it can be a friendship-maker: both of the ladies that I carpooled with are now invited to my wedding! Try putting up a poster at work, send a mass email, or chose from the offerings at Vermont Rideshare.

I want to ride my Bicycle...
Even if you don't live close enough to work to bike there, perhaps you live lose enough to where you do your grocery shopping, the library, or the park. Instead driving (even your scooter), take a bike. Especially in cities, it's just as speedy as a car. It takes a little getting used to if you're like me and grew up taking bike rides on lonely, not oft-traveled dirt roads, but once you do, it's kinda fun. :) Of course, you'll want to wear a helmet and make sure that the bike works well, and spiff up your hand-signal skills. There is a bike co-op in Montpelier where you can buy a bike or fix up the one that you own, and Onion River Sports has a bike swap every year. Bikes are also a common item at yard sales, and of course, on Craig's List.

Work from home, if you can.
This is becoming an increasingly popular option for some people. It used to be a luxury--and now, no joke, it's becoming a necessity. It's good for the employee because they can save on a day's commuter cost, and it's good for the employer because the employee is happy. If you're in a position to do so, talk with your boss and see if you can't work from home one day a week (of course, you've got to actually work). If this isn't a possibility, see if you could set up a vanshare with your co-workers at the company's expense.

Do a combo-deal.
Perhaps the bus will take you half of the way to where you need to go. Bring your bike with you (some of GMTA's buses have bike storage), and bike the rest of the way. Or carpool with someone in the mornings and take the bike/bus thing on the way home if you can't carpool on the way back. Walk to the carpool spot, or take your bike. Take your scooter on the days that you don't have meetings that you need the flexibility of your own car for. Take the bus to the places where it does go--increased riderships will mean more routes and more buses. I'm assuming that I don't really have to mention that walking is, of course, technically transportation (the oldest form that there is!), and if you live within walking distance of work and food and entertainment, of course you have no need to even be reading this blog. (I'm glad that you did, of course).

What I hoped that I expressed is that in Vermont, as with many other rural states, you have to think outside of the box for 'alternative' transportation. I've given you my ideas; I hope that you'll comment with other ideas if you have them. We've all had to deal with the rising gas prices--if we help each other out with what we're learning, we'll all fare much better.

In closing, it's important to call GMTA and our representatives to let them know that we've got a real growing need. We need reliable transportation that isn't car-based. We need buses, trains...hell, even a flippin' subway! We will only get what we want if we can show that there is a need, so if you have a particular route that you'd travel if there was a bus there, let them know. Advocate for yourself!

See you in the carpool lane (or at the bus stop)!

Apartment Environmentalism

My little brother (who's not so little anymore--he's got like eight hundred feet of height on me and is actually going gray and was married long before me) was the inspiration for this blog. It started off with Tom sending me this link to a $500 Eco-Friendly home. I sent it to Andy and his wife and some other friends, and when Andy received it, he asked a really good question: "what can the apartment dweller do to make their apartment more eco-friendly?" As we and most of our friends are still in the "we'll move into houses one day...but not this year" mindset, this is important to us. It's an important consideration, because these days, more likely than not, being green is saving energy...which is saving you money. If your budget is anything like mine, it's being re-vamped every two weeks (literally) by the rising gas prices. Less into savings, more into the gas tank! Yikes! But! We are not naysayers! We can have a savings account and an apartment that is comfortable (with it's security deposit intact)! We can also not leave behind a Superfund site when we go. How? A listy list of ideas:

• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. I know, I know, you've heard it before. So do it! Yes, the bulbs are more expensive than traditional bulbs. However, they last longer, making them better value for your money. Also, you'll have a smaller electric bill for it. This is truly the first step that you should take--it's simple and you'll see rewards right away.
  
• Turn off stuff that you're not using. Is that guitar amp just sitting there in between sessions? Unplug it. Is that DVD player just sitting there, and you're not watching Steel Magnolias for the 1,000th time? Unplug it. If you've got a lot of stuff that you'd have to unplug, invest in a squid or a surge protector with an on/off switch. That'll make the "un-pluging" into an easier task. The appliances draw electricity even when they're not being commanded by you to do something, which draws on the earth's resources and your wallet. Nip that shit in the bud, man!
• Switch to a low-flow showerhead and install airators to your faucets. These changes take just a few minutes, will not cost you much, and you can put the original hardware back on before you move out. You'll save money on water, if you're charged for it, and you'll also be conserving water (remember, eco-friendly = eco-awesome!)
• Ditch your air conditioner. Yeah, I know, this is a hard one. But, it's not like I'm asking you to live on sprouts and tempeh (although I do ask that of Tom). Hear me out: we've had extremley high temperatures here over the past few days, and we're keeping the apartment livable by keeping the windows open and fans going all night, and then closing the windows and drawing the shades during the day. It does keep it cooler inside, and only costs us electricity for the fans. Awesome-sauce!
• Turn down your heat. If you're reading this when it's winter, turn down your heat. Even if you don't pay for heat, (you lucky bastards) the environment does. It's tempting to forget the true costs when you don't have to open your wallet for stuff. And, it doesn't have to be a big change--just going from 70 to 68 will have an impact. Better yet, go from 68 to 65 and put on a sweater.
  
• Air-dry your clothes (after washing them in cold water). I know, it seems hokey. But Tom and I have been doing it since we moved in, and it's really not a big deal. We even air dry in the winter! We have a clothes drying rack that my mom gave us, and if the weather is nice, we plop that bad boy outside and let the sun do what some quarters and an hour in the dryer would do (read: for FREE). In the wintertimes, we just stick the drying rack in our study and dry in there. It takes longer in the winter, but you learn to deal with that. Also, if you've got cats, it'll double as a play area for the cats. If you really want to be an eco-dork like me, use the Bio-Kleen laundry detergent (concentrated, you only use 2 tsp. per load) and recycle your container.
  
• Use eco-friendly cleaning products. The stuff that you pour down your drain goes into the real world, remember? So act like it. The chemicals in many cleaning products are harmful to the environment and the ecosystems within that environments. So! What to do? Well, you could buy a bunch of cleaners that are costly and have pretty labels, or you could buy these few things: castile soap, baking soda, vinegar, and non-petroleum based dish soap. Want to clean your toilet? Pour some baking soda in the bowl, then the vinegar. Watch it foam! See, you're having fun already! Close the lid and clean the outside of the toilet with castile soap (or a vinegar and water solution if you're a germy-phobe). Then use your toilet brush and swab the inside like you would with any other cleaner. Flush, and done! Sparkly. Nice. Clean. Also, in a spray bottle (buy a new one, or reuse one) mix castle soap and water. There's your all purpose cleaner. In another spray bottle, mix water and vinegar. Use that as a window washing solution and germy-go-away solution. Use the non-petrolum dish soap for dishes only--conserve it because it's usually more expensive. (You can use castile soap for dishes and even washing yourself, I just haven't yet, since we can still afford the Seventh Generation dish soap. However, I have done so before).
  
• Turn off lights when you're not using them. Any trip longer than, say, 30 seconds should warrant a light turn-off. Oh, and also: you're probably not performing surgery in your living room while you're watching The Office. Turn off the extra lighting. (The T.V. has a light in it, remember?)
• Buy in bulk, reuse your containers. If you're lucky enough to have a food co-op around your area, I bet they have a great bulk section. If not, most mega-marts have some bulk stuff--think produce and candy. Bring your own bags or other containers.
  
• Recycle. Enough said. I mean, come on already!
  
• Bring your own lunch in reuseable containers. You'll save a ton of money by doing this, and if you bring it in a reusable bag that holds reuseable containers, you won't throw anything away! Yeay, you!
  
• Stop buying bottled water. Seriously! Unless you live in an area where the water isn't drinkable, you don't need to buy bottled water. The bottle of water that you hold in your greedy little hand took four times the amount of water that it holds inside of it to produce that bottle! And think of the energy costs that it takes to get it to you! Do you think that it's cheap to travel from Fiji? And I don't give me that crap about how Fiji is planting trees to save it's image. So what? They're still in a wasteful industry. Buy a reusable water bottle (metal, please!) and fill it from-gasp!- the tap. We are lucky enough to live in a country that provides it's citizens with potable drinking water as a matter of course. We are being pompous and arrogant to "prefer" water from other areas of the flippin' globe. You like their water? Fine. Move there. Get out of my ecosystem. (Also: most bottled water is simply tap water).
  
• Need a...something for your apartment? Borrow! By not generating the demand for a new item, you will be helping to keep down waste. If you need a drill, or a fancy tablecloth, or a caulking gun, ask your dad or your uncle or your best friend's cousin's stepson. I bet you can find what you need for free rather than buying...and you'll be helping to solve our garbage problem, too.
  
• Furnish from Craigslist or yardsales! You don't need new stuff all the time. Keep down demand for new goods (which uses electricty and generates waste) and recycle your neighbor's couch and the bookshelves from the dude down the street. Heck, they may want your crockpot and your faux antique ladel!
  
• Read books from the library. You don't need a printed forest inside of your house. There are, of course, some books (like reference books) that are good to have around...because you may reference them. However, that's why you can't check them out of a library...to ensure that they're always on hand for someone who would want to read them. Why cut down a tree just so that a book will be seen by your eyes only? On a similar note, rent movies. How many times are you really going to watch that copy of Gladiator? Yeah, thought so.
  
• Bring canvas bags with you as a matter of course. Whatever you bring into your apartment is your responsibility to dispose of, and that counts on your apartment eco-score.
  

This, of course, is not a complete list. I'd love for you readers to post comments with your own ideas. (Please?!) I truely do feel that if we as a generation and a socieity work together, we can solve the world's energy crisis--and maybe much more. Crisis can either wreck a society or brig it closer together--and solving problems usually helps bring people closer together. Let's plan on telling our grandchildren that we were part of the solution.

In addition, there are additional considerations for going green that stretch beyond our apartments and into the world beyond. Issues like transportation and buying local are issues that I will explore in my future blogs.

As always, thanks for reading!

The Proposal...

It's finally happened! I'm wearing my engagement ring...and it's more beautiful than I ever imagined!

And, because Tom is awesome, he made the actual proposal as unique and surprising as he is.

On Friday night, Steph and Tom and I were hanging out. I was craving something sweet, and so I asked Tom to get the maple candies that were in the cupboard for me. He did, and after awhile I opened the box and handed one to Steph, and took one for myself.

"Trade with Stacie," Tom orders Stephanie. We exchange a worried glance: what's wrong with that candy?

But, because we're suckers, we traded. I noticed that my candy was heavier, but I thought that I was just making things up.

It was only when I took the candy out of the wrapper and saw what was written on the bottom that I understood. "Marry Me?" was written on the bottom of the wrapper. Pressed into the bottom of the candy, was the engagement ring.

I probably squealed or screamed. I'm not really sure...I remember discarding the maple candy in a way that is probably sacrilegious, and thrusting the maple candy at Tom so that he could put it on my finger. I didn't even say "yes" until he asked again! But, needless to say, the answer was, of course, affirmative. The ring is also engraved in the style of us: "We are super, super awesome" it says on the inside. And, yes, we are!