Finally...

Ah, what is going on the world of Carmen Sandiego?

She is still stateside, enjoying her job and balancing work and family, like so many of us are...

I've taken the little one to the allergist for skin-testing recently. Great news! According to the skin test he is no longer allergic to peanuts or shellfish! I have tried a little peanut (two peanuts, to be exact) and he was fine. The Dr. says to introduce those items into his diet slowly, so that is what we are doing. VERY slowly.

And I am still my crunchy garbanzo bean self, as one of my sisters has so affectionately named me. I watched Food, Inc. the other day, and it put some pep in my step as far as my transition to healthier, organic foods goes. Unfortunately, it costs more to eat properly in this country, and so some of the change is slow going. But I'm getting there, and finding ways to make it affordable for my family. There are lots of ways! I will share with you what I've done in the future, maybe you will find some useful information.

Although having a child with food allergies is challenging, it forced me to think about what we eat. I started reading labels to find out what was "safe", and was surprised by what I found. I thought a can of beans would be, well, beans, salt, and water. Boy was I wrong. And not only about the beans, about almost everything. So I started going back to basics. I read the labels of everything I purchase, and I opt for the most natural, most basic option I can afford. I look for the shortest ingredient list and for that list to have recognizable ingredients. When I buy canned beans, the ingredients are actually water, beans and salt. My yogurt contains cultured milk, vanilla, sugar and pectin. It might not be organic (yet) but it's a start.

The Trend Continues

This week is all about building green.

What is building green? Well, to me it is building in an environmentally friendly, environmentally conscious way, with little waste, the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle), and making sure that what goes into the house, materials, paint, appliances, etc, is also sustainable, and earth conscious. For me, building green would also mean building off the grid (yay!), but definitely selling my unused power to the grid. Using non-conventional building materials, like bamboo, recycled wood, no- or low-VOC paints, radiant heating, and eco-friendly appliances, are all included in my idea of building, and living, green. I might also consider a green roof. When this is going to happen, I have no idea, but the idea is definitely percolating in my mind. I still have a lot to learn, but by the time I'm ready I'm confident that I will be prepared.

Some of the aspects of going green are really not that much of a shift for me, like life without dryers. I grew up with a washing machine, but not a dryer, and although I do love the way a warm, fresh out of the dryer towel feels against warm, wet skin, it is something I only experienced later in life, and that I don't really miss. In most of the countries I visit (and live), dryers are quite a rarity, and I am quite accustomed to life without them. Other aspects of going green are unaccustomed treasures, like radiant heat. I first discovered radiant heating in China, where many of my friends and coworkers had these wonderful warm floors. In Shanghai, where I spent most of the winter wearing a coat indoors, stepping into those homes was truly a treat, for the feet as well as the rest of the bdy. After one winter in Shanghai, I knew that if I lived in a cold place, I would want heated floors (and walls). It is a wonderful plus that something as luxurious, to me, as radiant heat is also green.

As of right now, the only major challenge to building green, is well, getting the green. Building green, although it saves money in the long run, is considerably more expensive up front. For now.

And for those of you that think building green means living in the woods (if that's your thing, go for it), or building ugly, here are some pictures of green homes to give you a few different perspectives. Enjoy!

From veranda.com:

From jetsongreen.com:

From cnet uk:

From Alys Beach (you can buy one of these if you're interested):




That is just a small sample. If you see one you like, send me the link and I'll add a picture.

Green Pre-fab

Okay, so I watch World's Greenest Homes whenever I get the chance. Most of the houses are distinctive, and it's interesting to see how many different ways people can achieve the same basic goal. So here is a house that I think is worth another look (and not as expensive as the majority of the homes on that show).


It's a pre-fab, a manufactured home. I'm not a big fan of manufactured homes, although I've seen some nice ones. But if I had a piece of land, I would put this on it. Definitely not traditional, and I'm not sure how my husband would feel about the design, but hey this is 2009! Aside from the fact that it is a green home, I love how it doesn't really look pre-fab. Modern yes, manufactured, no. Check it out at http://www.mkd-arc.com/homes/mkbreeze/

Building Green

I would love to build a green home.

The other day, I was driving down the street, and saw an ad outside of a model come. We Build Green. Intrigued, I went back the next day to see what they had to offer, and how much it costs to build an average green home. Boy, was I disappointed. The saleswoman basically told me that they have a few green elements in all of their homes, which means that they have energy saving appliances, windows, bulbs, and a few other features. Everything else is extra. I tried to get ballparks, but it was next to impossible. When I asked about using recycled materials, she looked at me like I was crazy. She kept referring to truly green homes as "extreme". Yes, they can build an environmentally friendly home, and they have (she showed me the newspaper article of the eco-warriors that built their home with this company) with success. However, it seems that the owners ideals have not reached his salespeople. Why advertise "we build green" if you think that recycled materials, solar panels for more than heating the pool, earth/eco friendly building materials, etc. is "extreme"? Argh.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was watching Planet Green (a television channel in the US) today, "World's Greenest Homes". Today's show featured a house in Colorado, 7,000 square feet...they get so much energy from their solar panels that they sell the extra to the grid. WHAT! My first thought was "this is how the rich stay rich". Build a 7,000 sq. foot green home is not CHEAP, and then to be able to sell the extra, solar powered energy. Nice for your pocket. Oh, and the environment too.

CNN - Urban Homesteaders

Going Green

It's official, I am not a yummy mummy. I am an earthy mummy (and still a bit yummy, if I may say so myself).

I have started composting. Yipee! My mother is trying to grow a lemon tree, and I figured that with the horrible sandy soil down here, it could use a lot of help. I actually started composting a while back, but the rest of the family is getting into it now, saving our kitchen scraps and other bio-degradable stuff. Spending my early years in NYC meant that there were not a lot of gardens, trees and general greenery, so all of this is new to me. I am so glad I can google "composting" and get some informative videos. We are low tech for now, we put the kitchen scraps in an old butter containter, but better low tech than nothing at all. So, we'll see how it goes, and how the lemon tree grows. I'm hoping that eventually I will be the proud owner of a green thumb.

For years, I have preferred to buy natural and organic produce, but haven't always had the income or opportunity. The little one's food allergies has definitely helped in that area, as most allergy free foods are also organic. More expensive? Yes. But now I don't have a choice, so I have to find other ways to save. I can't really eat less, being that I'm already hungry ALL the time (or so it seems)...but I do try and find good coupons and shop sales. Buying organic foods makes me feel good. Good about what I'm feeding myself and my family. I took my sister shopping with me, and pointed out that the organic foods had ingredients that we could - drum roll please - pronounce. Tri-color pasta was made of wheat, and beets, spinach and tomato to get the red, green, and orange coloring. Although she, like many of my family members, has her reservations about "health" food (mostly concern that it tastes bad) she will admit that it is nice to know exactly what is in your food.

And it's not just with food that I'm going green. I've started to research ways to build a "green" house, or convert an existing home to make it more green. Solar power, harvesting rain water, all of it. I might be starting small, but I'm thinking big. Big and green!