Dearest Melissa,
As requested. :-)
Love,
Kelly
*** this is a bit rambly, I'm tired and don't really feel like trying to edit too much... Feel free to judge me, but i still love you ***
So in the past several months, I've made several unplanned, highly unanticipated changes in my life. The biggest of which has probably been the fact that I stopped eating meat. That's right, I've vegged out! The funniest thing about it is that I really have not missed it. At all.
More than once I have foundthat the smell of burgers and hot dogs on the grill is enough to make my mouth water like one of Pavlov's dogs. However, I have not felt tempted by it. To me, the real test was when Hubs and I were down in the basement chilling on the aerobed watching television -- it was a hot day and the basement was cool. Chilly even. Don't judge! -- and somehow ended on Food Network and we began watching a marathon (3 episodes) of
Diners Drive-ins and Dives. It was ninety minutes of barbecue ribs, pulled pork, hamburgers, etc. All foods I LOVE -- or is that loved? When we turned the television off, Hubs got all hot and bothered to grill something, but I was able to watch with detachment, I guess. While the food all looked fantastic, delicious and downright delicious, I did not WANT it. I could appreciate it. But I did not want it. That was rather empowering to me, that I could resist and it was not hard! Restaurants are, on occasion, a bit of a challenge. Not all have a good list of vegetarian cuisine; and of those that do have offerings, many just go through their menu and say, "Ooh, there's no meat in this, let's label that Veg" In other words finding things beyond salads, grilled cheese sandwiches or Garden Burgers can be hard. But it's not impossible.
I should clarify, I am not vegan -- I really do not want to make that kind of a commitment. In other words, I still eat eggs and dairy (which certainly makes it much easier), and I also let myself have fish & seafood -- this makes travel a LOT easier. Not to mention that there is NO WAY I could give up sushi. I love it so.
Furthermore, I should add that there was no motivation behind my shift to vegetarianism. In fact, it was so anticlimactic that I am unable to even pinpoint when it happened. It just did. I know it was right around my three year wedding anniversary (March 7, if you were wondering), but that is the best I can do. It just happened. I'm not committed for life to this (I'm leaving myself that out as it takes the pressure off of me) but I am curious how long I can ride the V(eg)-Train.
Another change which I have made -- this one had a bit more conscious of a decision -- I switched from salon shampoos and conditioners to natural, organic ones. It took about two or three weeks before my hair stopped feeling like a straw-like, knotted mess when I washed it, but my hair has acclimated, and is shiny, full and silky. If you are wondering, I use Desert Essence Shampoo (
right here) and Conditioner (
and here) in Italian Red Grape. I bought mine at Whole Foods. The fragrance is AMAZING and lasts for days -- I wash my hair every other day, and I can still smell it on my hair.
Last but not least... this one has been slowly growing for the past two years! When it comes to household cleaning, I have switched from harsh cleaning chemicals, to more kid and pet friendly, green variety. Having Scout has been very eye opening, and was the biggest catalyst for this evolution. She is such a curious dog that every time I would go to clean, I would constantly worry that she would lick at something or worse, so it became important to me to find things that I would not be as paranoid about. Not to mention the fact that we are planning to have kids, why not be ahead of the curve. As it is, I already hate cleaning and scouring, so when I felt like I had to constantly put effort into keeping the dog away to clean it became an even bigger chore. Now, I am much less worried when she shadows me.
I use a couple of brands for cleaning products. The first one I love because they are actually pretty reasonable and they are effective in cleaning (obviously important) is
Naturally It's Clean by Enzyme Fresh Home which you can buy at
Alice.com (I love ALICE! You
always get free shipping, there are frequent coupons for products and the mark-up is nominal over a grocery store -- and you more than make up for it with the FREE SHIPPING!). The best perk of using these products is that they are made and produced right here in the Metro Detroit area in Bloomfield Hills. WINNING!
The other products I use are made by
Shaklee -- who have been making GREEN cleaning products since the 1956. Their
Basic H2 is not only extremely long lasting -- you use a few drops to a tablespoon depending on your instant need, so a small 16oz bottle can last for a couple of years, easily! Further, it's unscented, so I add a drop or two of the essential oil of my choice for fragrance (currently lime). I love it!
What have you done to green / healthify (yep, made that word up) or otherwise spruce up your day to day routines? Tell me in the comments.
PS: Melissa, you are required to leave a comment. Consider it my reward for posting ;-)
--happy living
