Food for Thought

Quick facts about the food Americans eat:

• A generation ago, three-quarters of the meals consumed in the U.S. were made at home. Today, three-quarters of meals are prepared outside the home, mainly at fast food restaurants. A fast-food kitchen is merely the final state in a vast system of mass production.
• Many of you have already consumed genetically modified (GM) foods. Between 50 million to 70 million acres of farmland are currently sown with GM seeds- mostly soya, corn, cotton, potatoes, tomatoes, and wheat. Four years ago, the acreage was zero. The FDA does not require food labels on GM foods.
• According to the Pesticide Action Network, more than 20,000 pesticides are registered for use in the U.S. About 75% of the chemicals (some 2.2 billion pounds annually) are used on more than 900,000 U.S. farms at an annual cost of $8.3 billion.
• News reports recently noted our exposure to man-made chemicals through our food is suspected of being a major factor in the increase risk to cancer, nervous system disorders and endocrine system disorders.
• Groundwater contamination caused by pesticides has spread pollutants to our world’s rivers, lakes, and oceans- often killing wildlife and aquatic plants.
• Some experts believe that certain agricultural chemicals can be toxic to fetuses.
• 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides, and 30% of all insecticides are considered carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• In 1987, the National Academy of Sciences reported that an estimated 20,000 cases of cancer a year can be linked to U.S. pesticide use.

For more information, visit The Turnip Truck.

Puppy!

So even though I am not in school anymore, I suddenly am involved in all kinds of things all at the same time! I finally have a regular sub spot in the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra, and we are playing a concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Oct. 4th (It's free!). I am pretending like I remember anything about playing the violin by playing in a bluegrass band at St. George's. (They don't know how terrible I sound!)

And there's the youth group at West End UMC, which is tons of fun, and our new addition to the family: Lucy, who is a 13 week-old Schnauzer. Schnauzer is code for "big, ferocious dog in a tiny, adorable puppy's body."

Chris and I are pretty much entertained all the time by Lucy and her antics. She's always trying to get extra treats by doing tricks at random times. She also likes to bring treasures home in her mouth when we go on walks...things like: clumps of grass clippings, pine cones, sticks that are at least 3 times her size, and any piece of trash that is totally inappropriate for her to eat. She's fabulous! Everyone should have a puppy!

The Big Move!

Wow, so I have successfully spent most of the morning at work today trying to figure out the following:
a) did not get an apt for the month we'd hoped for
b) have the possibility of having an apt immediately!
c) Made an appointment for this afternoon to see said apartment
d) Figured out potential travel arrangements for Chris if he gets a job he cannot walk to when we move
e) Emailed our current landlord

Whew! Too much craziness. And too much coffee!
But I think this will all probably work out fine. And we can have our moving/packing party soon! I heart packing...

Now it's time to actually accomplish some kind of work-related tasks!

Reinventing the Blog...

So I am a huge slacker.

After three years, I am finally beginning to foster an addition to Facebook, and I think this is a great time to see if I really want to keep up with this blog or not... ::grumble::

I am having a a really slow week at work! After a fun, energizing, and humbling trip in Atlanta, I would rather be walking 10 miles a day in the summer heat than sitting in this chair at work. Luckily, I have decided to re-evaluate the way we help out people in need at work, so all that experience is going straight into this project. Now, if only we had more money to help more people....

Trip to the pridelands!

Well, not really the pridelands...it's more like the Furmanlands! Chris and I are leaving TOMORROW for a long relaxing weekend in Greenville (because it's close, cheap, within half-a-day's driving distance, and has GREAT ribs). Not to mention the fact that we'll get to watch the cute baby ducks and reminisce about Good Ol' Furman. Mostly, I'm amazingly excited to go on a vacation, even if it's only for a few days, and it's not anywhere exotic. There will be time for that, I'm sure!
On the crafty side of things, I have finished the quilt top! The border is constructed but not sewn on yet. So the prognosis looks good-I may actually finish this thing!

My Adorable Wallet!

This is my third attempt at making a solid, sell-able wallet. The first two were fine, but without interfacing, and I hadn't figured out the coin pocket bit. Now I have too much interfacing (too thick to sew evenly) and the coin pocket needs a little refining. But needless to say, I'm getting very close! And these great Heather Bailey fabrics don't hurt anything, either. :)

Oh my goodness! I truly am an old lady. They must have a lot of fun getting it on with their sewing machines. :) Actually, I've been mildly bombarded with fabric. Chris's mom sent down a TON of coordinated pre-cut fabric squares, and a volunteer at St. George's brought me a bunch of flannel fabrics that she swore she would never use. Last Friday, I came home from work and went to check the mail, and found a wine box parked in front of the door. It was FULL of fabric!! Literally. Packed to the brim. I must have 50 or more large pieces to work with now-between only that box and what I had originally. Needless to say, I was inspired, and these 20 squares are the product of all my hours in front of travel channel DVDs this weekend. I haven't decided quite how I'm going to put them together yet. With individual borders? What color? All the same color? I'm in a creative crisis, and I can't decide!