My wife and I have decided to do a few things differently. Not new year's resolutions, we think the idea sucks. No, no, life changes, I guess. We've been doing it incrementally - sometimes forced by "obstacles" we've faced. It mainly has to do with health. we aren't the healthiest, or thinnest, of people, but we like who we are - pretty much. We both know we need to lose weight - if only to keep up with the kids - due to health issues in our recent pasts as well in our families. We're not making huge changes all at once - that would be like getting cancer of having twins.

One of the first things we did was get rid of all of our non-stick Teflon pots and pans. We have a nice set of some sort of non-toxic metal we now cook with and things are fine. Teflon releases all sorts of chemicals into the air and into food, and we think most foods have enough chemicals anyway. (see http://www.ewg.org/node/21302 for a fun news release). We did that about two years ago.

Since then, we have tried to include more healthy items in our diet, as well as drinking more water (though Vineland just sent out a notice about elevated gross alpha levels in it's water supply - great great great). This had to do with two things - me not wanting to eat crap that may cause cancer or not allow my immune system to function and making sure that the boys got enough nutrients while in the womb. We actually did cut down on a lot of crap foods, stayed away from restaurants and fast food establishments (but to be honest, I've pretty much cut out fast food from chains for at least two years, relapsing once in a while only to pay the price in Liqui-Poo - but we still would get a pizza or sub or Wawa sandwich more than we should have). One of the catch-22's about changing our eating habits is that we needed to increase fresh fruits and vegetables - however, if they weren't washed and prepared properly for me, it could mean death. So we've been sliding our way coyly towards organic foods.

the whole "organic" term and craze has had me perplexed for years. Some people swear by it, even going as far as making 9false) claims that you can't get sick from eating just organic vegetables. Sorry, but natural fertilizer is shit and shit is organic, and shit contains parasites and viruses and bacterium just waiting to get into your system to wreak a ravaging hell upon your cells and DNA. How do you think cows get e. coli? Sharing dirty hypodermics? Nah, they get it from eating grass sprayed with shit contaminated with a naturally occurring killer. But I digress. I do believe that naturally growing fruits and vegetables are much better for a healthier you than processed and injected foodstuffs (here's a scary list of pesticides in food - http://www.ewg.org/sites/foodnews/). What does Organic mean? From http://www.organic.org/hom/faq#faq1) - "Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge,genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones."

It costs a little more, but have you seen prices of traditional and conventionally grown/raised foods lately? Holy bejeebus, Batman! I'm going to have to take out a loan just to feed my family! Organically raised/grown food will most likely go up, as well. So, we have a solution to that as well - we are going to grow a little garden in our yard this year. We've done it in the past and had plenty of tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, and lettuce for the spring, summer, and fall. We'll just can or freeze for the winter. That also means salsa again! That's for later, though.

That brings me to another change I'm going to make - I am going to start composting food waste to use as a natural fertilizer for my garden. Not only will it prevent the extra chemicals from going into the food, it will reduce our pollution and environmental footprint. We're also going to plant some saplings, but again, that's for another post. What I would love to do is add a greenhouse to the second floor and grow our food hydroponically. I've always been fascinated with that ever since my first visit to Epcot when I was a wee lad of 8.

An important change we are completely drawn to is the removal of chemicals in the house and yard. We've already changed dish washing detergent and laundry detergent to Seventh Generation (High Efficiency - my mother-in-law bought us a brand new , high-efficiency, large frontloading washing machine in the fall - I love it!), as well as fabric softener (Ecosomething). It's a little pricier - maybe 50 cents or a dollar more depending where you buy it. We bought it from a natural foods store, so it was higher than ShopRite (but it supported a local small business) by a dollar. We had coupons though, to make up the difference. We're going to be making changes slowly, as I said.

In tandem with these little life changes (as well as energy conservation), we are making a concerted effort to be more active - taking walks, riding bikes (when we get them and the weather gets a bit warmer), me fencing again (I can't fit into my tunic, dammit!) - little things to increase our activity and immune systems. It also sets a good example for the kids. Speaking of which, I have to sign up the oldest for Little League tomorrow - we missed the first day of signups last Saturday (the paper was lodged in the bottom of his backpack).

One of the biggest changes we plan on making won't happen for a year or more. We plan on refinancing and changing the structure of our house to be more energy efficient, as well as buying a solar power grid-tie-in system. The cheapest system I saw was 5K, but I'd probably try to go with a higher kwh rating. I'd get the panels mounted on the roof of the house and the garage, as well as a small array along the fence that separates us from the medical complex next "door". We probably don't have enough room for all of it, which is why it's all incremental and requires careful planning. Right now we do a lot of little things to cut down on energy costs. However, since we are both home right now (but not for much longer), the costs have ballooned. We have to keep the heat up for the babies, we use a lot of electricity to heat water and run the dish washer (sanitizing the baby bottles) and laundry area. It's a battle we fight with small solutions like keeping the shades open to let natural daylight stream in during the bright hours and closing them off with curtains at night. We are changing all of our bulbs one by one to the compact fluorescent kind. We try to keep doors closed on the refrigerator and freezer, only going in when we know what we want.

So, we're taking small steps here and there, trying to improve our quality of life as much as possible without increasing the costs - even decreasing in some areas. I never thought of myself as an environmentalist or a health food junkie or anything like that. However, the realities of the world and the chemicals we face each day has helped me dig out a new way of living.

-Brett