photo credit: [auro] via photo pin cc  

How do you ensure you get a good nights sleep? How do you get yourself to bed on time? Do you have a green bedroom?

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Fitness Bizarro World

I have a confession to make. 

I really really suck at composting from home.  

No seriously.

It was one of the biggest reasons I was so happy about our area getting a composting program through our city. I finally wouldn't have to worry about greens vs browns or how often I am turning it. Because that is something else I am always forgetting to do.  Mostly because when I would go out there to put stuff in the bin I would slowly lift the lid to see if the wasps that were living there were indeed still there. They always are. So I would throw my organics in the bins as fast as humanly possible and get the heck out of dodge. I don't have time to turn or mix that shit when I am in a stare down with a herd of wasps.

In the 5 years I have been composting at this house I have yet to yield anything that I could use on our gardens. Sure things are breaking down, heck the Sun Chips bags even disappeared, but it is overall not doing it fast enough to produce anything.

To ensure you do yield results from your backyard bin here are some tips:

* Greens are produce, browns are paper, lawn trimmings, leafs etc. Find a good balance between "greens" and "browns".

* If you find yourself with too many greens and not enough browns ask your neighbours/friends/family if you can use their browns.

* Decomposition needs oxygen so turn your bin once a week. Leave something a shovel or pitch fork beside the bin to make it easier on yourself.

*  Prep your bin for winter if you live in a cold climate and aren't going to continue to add to it. Add a layer of leaves or shredded paper to the top.

* Make sure your bins is secured to the ground so that animals do not get into it. I had a raccoon take a whole melon out from underneath mine one time.

* Don't toss whole melons in your bin. Cut produce up a bit first to help with the decomposition process. 

I won't be following these tips for awhile because my current plan is to add bits of what is in our backyard bin to our city green bin each week until it is all gone. Then I may think about restarting it, but I may just use the city program exclusively because it is easier and I can add so much more to it.

Do you compost at home? How successful are you at it?

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Things you are probably doing wrong (but so was I)

Waste Diversion

Reducing Food Waste

I stumbled across the Greenpeace Canada Shoppers Guide to Genetically Engineered Food and was fascinated by the huge list of food that they have compiled. The Guide is several years old but I wouldn't doubt that the majority of it is still accurate. I started to read through the list and making a mental note of everything that we use that is on the list. It is not good.

In an ideal world genetically modified food would be labelled so consumers could easily make decisions on what they want to put into their bodies. But that is not our reality so if we want to avoid buying, supporting and ingesting GM Food we need to do our own research for pretty much every product we buy. Yes it takes time and energy and I can see why people get overwhelmed and just buy what they are used to. The Greenpeace Shopping Guide does a lot of the ground work for you. Just make a list like I did and start to eliminate the foods that are known to contain genetically modified organisms.

photo credit: MillionsAgainstMonsanto via photo pin cc 

Here is the list of things we use that I will slowly be phasing out and finding replacements for (if possible). All items marked with in Green have been completed. I am only including the items that B and I eat...not things that only Joey eats. There are 35 items on our list, of which 7 have been replaced.

Baking Supplies

* Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix - Replaced last week with PC Organics Pancake Mix

* Already use PC Organics Cake Mix

* Bakers Chocolate

* PC Decadent Chocolate Chips

Candy and Chocolate

* Dairy Milk

* Wunderbar

* Twix

Canned and Jarred Food

* Heinz Original Beans - may try to make my own

* Del Monte Cream Corn - may try to make my own

Cereal and Breakfast Food

* Honey Nut Cheerios

* Raisin Bran

Condiments

* Imperial Margarine

* Heinz Ketchup - may try to make my own

* Kraft BBQ Sauce

* Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce

* Kikkoman Soy Sauce 

* Miracle Whip - may try to make my own

* No Name Sweet Relish (NOOOOOO)

Cookies and Dessert

* Already use PC Organic Cookies

* Dare Cookies

* No Name Pudding Mix

Dried Meals and Sauce Mixes

* Kraft Dinner - Tried Annie's Mac and Cheese but B didn't like it.

Frozen Foods

* Tenderflake

* McCain Mini Pizza

Salad Dressing and Oils

* Mazola Canola Oil - Replaced with PC Organics Canola Oil

* Kraft Salad Dressings (French, Catalina) - may try to make my own

* Already use Simply Natural Balsamic Vinaigrette

Snack Foods

* Lays Chips

* Nutri Grain Bars

* Wheat Thins

* Premium Plus Crackers

* PC Thick and Chunky Salsa - Replaced with locally made salsa

Soups

* Already use PC Organics Vegetable, Chicken and Beef Broth

* Campbell Cream of Mushroom Soup

Tomato and Pasta Sauce

* Ragu Pasta Sauce

When I know I am eating right and working out consistently I am on the scale all.the.time. I high 5 myself when I see the numbers dropping and it pushes me to work harder and eat better. But for me the opposite is also true. When I am not eating right and slacking off at the gym I don't even look at the scale. It's like it doesn't even exist. I don't want to know what number it will display. I don't want to know how far I have veered from my goals. I continue to eat poorly because I think 'meh, I'm already doing crappy what is one more cookie going to matter?' It does matter. One more cookie is one more act of not getting back on track.

The fact that I have been unable to stick with it for the short 12 weeks this challenge will be taking place is a testament to how hard it is to make a fundamental change in your life. I was doing so good...7 months of doing good actually. But the last 7 weeks have been terrible. I'm working out 50% less but worst of all I am eating horribly. And I know it, hell I have admitted it here several times but still I don't stop myself.

So the question is WHY? The answer is TIME. I spend too much time doing things that stealing time from making healthy decisions. Like meal planning, preparing breakfast and lunch the night before and sleeping well.

Tonight I forced myself to step on the scale. I braced for the worst. But what I saw wasn't terrible. It wasn't 7 months of wasted sweat and tears. It just wasn't a good number and it certainly wasn't going in the direction that I wanted it to. I have never relied on the scale as to a measure of fitness because I find the way I feel and the way my clothes fit tell a better story. I feel like crap, I'm tired all the time and my clothes are starting to not fit comfortably again. That number on the scale tonight was the final validation that I need to stop this train I am on and smarten the hell up.

Not my feet! photo credit: Alan Cleaver via photo pin cc 

It is funny how a number as small as 4 can make me feel so different. It isn't just that I have gained 4 pounds. I know it means that I have lost muscle mass and that translates to that 4 pounds actually being more since muscle weighs more than fat. I have lost muscle and gained fat back. I am living in a fitness bizarro world.

Jen's New OMG I HATE THIS BIZZARO WORLD Plan

* Cardio 5 times a week

* Weights 3 times a week

* Find new recipes that we will love

* Meal plan each Friday night

* Organize pantry with baskets for each meal on the plan

* Make time for meal preparation each night

* In bed by 11PM every weeknight

* Go out for lunch maximum biweekly

* No takeout for dinner for the rest of the challenge

When Greenpeace calls you pick up the phone. Or in this case you answer the email (and pee your pants a bit that they actually found your blog and email).

I have never had the pleasure of working for an ENGO (Environment Non-Government Organization) so as much as I would love to I have no idea how they "work". I'm used to working in industry and I am about 9 million percent sure the inner workings are vastly different. So naturally I have always wondered what a day in the life of a Greenpeacer would be like. It's not all banner making, fall protection training and gassing up the Zodiak.

Kumi Naidoo, the Executive Director of Greenpeace International has launched a series called 'Living for a Cause' that is aimed that giving people a look at the inner workings of Greenpeace.

Check out his blog here for further videos in this series. The book Greenpeace vastly changed my perspective and opinion on the organization so if you get a chance check it out (you can buy it here). 

What are your impressions of Greenpeace? It will be interesting to see if they change after this video series (or after you read the book).

Last Friday I sweat more than I thought was humanly possible. I usually go to spin class at lunch on Friday but in an effort to use up my bootcamp sessions prior to my studios closure this week I decided to go to bootcamp. There was not a single part of my shirt that was not covered. And while those 45 minutes hurt like hell and I am pretty sure I swore more than a sailor it was worth it.  There is something awesome about waking up the morning after a good workout and feeling pain. When getting out of bed takes 7 times as long and you have a complete inability to raise your hands up to your head to do your hair. 

Over the past year I have learned ways to manage pain and fatigue in a natural way so I don't have to pop tylenol or advil or whatever else people take for muscle pain. This is what works for me but everyone is different so try them out and see what combo works best for you.

Before Workout

Make sure you plan your meals before a tough workout to ensure that you have enough energy for your workout. Protein is key so make sure you have that with each meal. I also try to have a protein shake 2-3 hours before I workout if it is scheduled for the evening.  I have found that if I don't eat right before a workout that I get tired during it and that is where muscle strain or even injury can occur.

What you eat or drink during a workout will change depending on your workout. Obviously running 20K is going to require different nutrition than 60 minutes of weights. During a workout I drink water. The amount will depend on how long I am working out and how hot it is. I go through way more during spin class or bootcamp than I do when I am doing a circuit at the gym.

After Workout

The key to minimizing pain after you workout is a good long stretch and to drink a crap load of water. I'm talking like 3 times the amount of what you think you should drink. Eat a good meal too, again focusing on protein but also adding in the good carbs.

Day After Workout

Watch how much caffeine you drink because it will counteract the water you have been drinking and will mean you will have to drink even more. Keep drinking lots of water and make sure you stretch part way through the day, especially if you are sitting for most the day. I try to still do something the day after a tough workout...I don't go crazy but even something as small as going for a walk can help to mitigate pain by stretching out and relaxing your sore muscles.

Credit - Abhijit Tembhekar

Do you find water boring? Here are some great recipes that you can try that will ensure you get enough water because you want to drink it.  

When it came to heating options for our pool we automatically knew that gas heaters were out of the question. They are expensive to operate and they have a huge impact on the environment with their natural resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions.  The options left were to not heat the pool at all or to install solar. We weighed our options and decided that since we live in a colder climate we needed to have some sort of heating system to be able to enjoy the pool for longer than a month or two each year. Hello solar heating!

There were two options available to us. A plastic system that would have to be taken down each fall and reinstalled each spring or a rubber system that would stay up all year. We went with a rubber system by Enersol. It requires less maintenance, will last longer, have less issues of breakage (so less wasted materials) and it is made within 45 minutes of our home. 

 Sorry for the bad picture....horrible weather here right now so I this was as good as I could get

As a kid I remember my Dad going outside every morning and turning dials to open the valves that would allow water to flow to and from the solar panels he had built on the roof. Yep, my Dad made his own solar panels! I thought it was so cool but knew it was a pain having to manually turn it on and off each day. The system we installed for our pool solves this problem. The system is hooked up to our pump and control center so it allows us to preset the temperature at which we want it to kick in and send warm warm from the roof into the pool. Once the temperature is back above that preset number the system shuts off and stops pumping water from the panels on the roof and instead just pumps water through the filter and back directly into the pool.  This system is saving us a ton on the energy required to run the pump as it has to work less if it is not pumping water to the roof to be heated.

If you don't have the rough angle, space or direction to mount solar to it it does not mean that you can not get solar to heat your pool. Talk to installers about options like mounting the panels on the roof of your shed or creating a platform specifically for them in your backyard. 

My garden is alive with deliciousness and WTF is that ness.  Right now I am growing what is either one kick ass head of exotic lettuce or one really huge probably not delicious weed. But how do I know which it is...that is the question! And Facebook is 50/50 on the weed vs lettuce debate. 

My harvest has been okay so far but I am still waiting on a lot to mature. Like my carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. My peas are doing okay but this dry and hot summer is not been great for them. The beans have been fantastic and are still going strong! The radishes...yep they are all gone and Joe says they are the best he has ever had.

I'm learning that I am a good gardener when it comes to things that grow above ground. It is easy to see when they are ready to harvest because you know they are right there. But those produce that grow in the ground. Ugh...how am I supposed to know when you are done crunchy carrot??? You know those things that some turkey's come with that pop up when the turkey is done? Underground produce need one of those (TM TO ME <<<<<< totally legal and legit). 

Each time I go out to the garden I think about how little I get each time. I am probably picking 15 beans every week...coming from 4 plants! I seriously have a whole new appreciation for farmers and what it must take for them to take grow and pick that basket of produce.  I tip my hat to you sir farmer....I don't know how you do what you do but I love that you do it (but I am still going to try and do it at home too because I love being tortured by gardening).

I was up in B's room this weekend creepily watching him sleep. It was 11:19PM and I was thinking about the minute he was born. The tears, the smiles, the weird doctor that whispered in my ear that he had "topped me up with the good stuff". And then there was that defining moment when you not only hear your baby crying but when they bring him over to you and let you see and hold him. So many lives forever changed at 11:19PM. 

Being a parent has forced me to look even deeper into our journey to be green. Looking for new ways to reduce our impact and cut out exposure to toxins. I'm looking into products and services that I probably wouldn't have worried about before being a Mom. Things like eco-friendly mattresses that are free from toxins like traditional flame retardants and furniture made from sustainable wood and non toxic stains. I'm about 99% sure that things like this would not have even been on my radar if it wasn't for B. Before we became parents we focused our efforts mostly on waste and energy reduction and using less natural resources. It is amazing how a minute in time can affect the entire path your life is on. 

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My hope for the next 3 years is that our home became a toxin free zone and that our carbon footprint is the lowest it has ever been. I hope that B is as passionate about the outdoors as I am and that he makes smart choices every day. I hope that the average person is more informed about the decisions they are making and their impact on the environment and future generations....B's generation. 

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The last 2 weekends we have celebrated the boy that we all love. I may not throw the most exciting birthday party but I sure as hell know how to throw an eco-party complete with e-invites, all local food and almost zero waste. After all the festivities were over do you know what he remembered the most? Not the presents or the cake, but his friend and cousins being at his house to play with him. I seriously hope this means we are raising him to love people more than things.

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