keep goin'

It's summer 2010 and I've decided to name this entry "keep goin" feeling inspired by my Buddhist practice and the people I'm surrounded by. This won't be an angry rant.

Since my last entry, life with three children has kept me very busy. They're out of school for summer so we've done quite a bit of growing together as a family. We moved into a new place. Great vibe here. Glorious, inviting back yard that truly has inspired me to really get serious about being on the road to being as self sustainable as I can be in this concrete jungle that is Miami. In the last 1 1/2 months we've planted tomatoes, spinach, arugula, mesclun, pineapples, papaya and various herbs and flowers, all still very young. Still so much more to plant. Still so much more to learn. We have put so much work into this project & we've barely made a dent in what is our master goal. Between my oldest son, daughter and husband we've started a vegetable garden in the middle of Miami's Design District. We're surrounded by a great night life with great restaurants, galleries and studios and a contagious bohemian lifestyle. There's something in the air that is a unique and captivating. We have done everything from planning the placement, planting seeds and now starting to taste our hard work. We started with herbs back in February and they are now a staple in our kitchen. Just recently we build a raised garden starring spinach, mesclun & arugula. My daughter and I built the frame. Ethan and I turned soil, added compost and planted. They are barely a couple of weeks old but already are little bright green bunches of love. Our tomato plant is doing quite well. Counted 10 flowers yesterday. It's exciting to be a part of.

Ethan is 14 and Mia is 12. Teens! At this point in time technology is mind blowing. All these kids talk about is what the latest gadget is. Or texting (can't stand it). I have made it a personal mission to exposing them to be involved in their food from seed to plate. At first it was like pulling teeth to get those two to be out in the sun with me helping with a simple bamboo fence, but after a few threats and motherly guilt they were very eager to help. Every morning now we go outside, observe the progress and discuss the developments. They're deeply involved in this journey and feel a true connection to another form of life. As a mother, it feels great to see them learn and spread the word to their friends. They're open and anxious to keep growing not just veggies but as activists.



I have also been experiencing this buzz of all this catching on, especially among fellow moms. That's also as much as inspiring. There's that fellowship of aware mothers that are growing their own and passing it along to the little ones as well. Cheers to you and keep up the brilliant work! A friend commented on an article I posted and she was right (Thanks Cris). It is absolutely up to us to start this revolution with our children now. Small steps are being taken to start to make somewhat of a change in the way this country eats. Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancers are taking our loved ones down quickly. But we all know the real change must begin at the home. Yes, it's a lifestyle change, but only a slight shift in the grand scheme of things. For us, it brings us together outside in the sun and in the kitchen. Keeps life (of all types) in perspective. Yet another connection, another respect for life.

So for the rest of you out there who just "don't have time", I implore you to just start with an herb. Easy to maintain and a good start to something that benefits all in the end.

Thanks for having time for my rant and keep goin'.
~Y

so here we are...

So here we are. Present day and time. I guess you can call this a sequel to the"take it in" post. It's been about a month since my last entry and I really must say that every day that goes by impermanence is confirmed and the "easy way out" mentality shines through this great system of ours.


Since my last entry I have come across a few of my peers that have come somewhat informed of our food industry and still continue to make these selfish, self-destructive choices and then there are the ones who simply don't want to know because they think they know and the ones who say they know but just don't care.



During this last month I've done tons of research on our supermarkets and distribution centers but nothing else has brought me more concern (amongst other emotions) than our school system. Through an old friend I came across this blog about an undercover school teacher. She has eaten the school lunch every day this year thus taken pictures of these ever-so-appealing meals. She's even made an anonymous appearance on Good Morning America I believe. Through her I came across the Jamie Oliver show and website. Being a foodie for years now, Jamie's work was familiar to me. I wasn't aware of his latest achievements in England though. I read and read and read on how he single-handed changed the school food system in England. Jamie Oliver goes back to the "Naked Chef" on the food network and more recently his campaigns one being his "Fifteen" project which educates teenagers in the kitchen and show them a whole new realm.




So I watch "Food Revolution" on ABC. ( I give it to him for getting this type of show on such a network) I begin to tell my children to take pictures of what they're being served at school. I become disgusted. And just as it happens my children are being fed the same poor excuse for nutrition that was being fed in this school in West Virginia.
I suddenly became angry once again. I felt like a real puppet. Like this government doesn't even care about its children and what they eat. Not only is the education system all fucked up, but hey, why not feed them shit too, right???

Which brings me to this entry. I have since been sending them off with homemade, organic lunches but having them know what it is they're putting into their bodies. I constantly encourage them to ask and know, really know what it is that is going into their bodies. I encourage them to share certain lunch goodies with their friends and spark some kind of curiosity within them. Whether it's an organic, grass fed, humanely treated, ham & cheese sandwich to a chai cupcake. And it's worked. My son Ethan comes home with rave reviews about a friend trying a sandwich to his geography teacher pausing class to savor and inquire about his chai cupcakes.



I have also come across the mothers who simply have become a statistic of this community of drones that this government has created. Believing that Mcdonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, etc, just "aren't that bad". Believing it's ok to go the local store and buy whatever animal is the cheapest and feeding it to our kids because we see all these commercials and advertisements saying this is good food to eat. When it's really one big lie. And the best part is that this is all legal. It's legal to brutally lie to our citizens about what they're living from. It's become this focus on price and not true, real food. We have lost sight of one of most important things we can do for ourselves and that's what we eat, our health. Child obesity and diabetes are on an all time high. If we eat crap, we will be crap and we will be a crappy example for our kids.
Are you ok with being crappy too??
How do you see this matter. let me know. We CAN make a difference.

take it in

Some of my closest friends say that I've been really busy the last year and a half, or that I've made such a drastic change in my life. All really nice things, they say. Personally, it's just that I decided to make certain changes in my life and then I've been forced to make changes. By that I mean that in the last year during my pregnancy, I was forced into bed rest due to some complications. During that time I applied my practice more so than ever to my daily life (Dharma), I read lots, watched a great deal of independent, eco-educative tv, and tons of short documentaries (thanks current). I made changes such as starting a compost, committed to recycling, using non-toxic household products, etc. I must say, it's been a little adjusting, damn well worth it.

In the recent past I saw yet another documentary that really made an impact and tied in all the other changes I had already made. I saw Food, Inc.

A close friend had told me a while back and I cut him off quickly saying I just couldn't afford it and that was it. But then I saw it for myself.

Let's just say this really answered an endless amount of questions and raised others. This film laid it all out on the table. From the growers, to the farms, to the processing plants, to the table, to the hospital. Really confirmed once again our interconnectedness. It addressed the veil that this "great country" of ours pulls over our eyes on a daily basis. Not only are they deliberately hiding the livestock covered in feces, but they're not even washed before they're dismembered. Riddled with disease and bacteria, this is what we buy at our local market. The occasional diarrhea...bacteria. So many unreported child deaths due to E. Coli. And so on, and so on.
You think you know...

This is our government.

The truth is that now days eating organic and reading our labels is our weapon against being puppets. We must educate ourselves to the best of our intelligence and human ability to know what we're eating and where it comes from. Be aware of what it really is we're feeding our children (if you have any). It's imperative that we pass this on to them and at least be in control of what we eat.

More and more supermarkets are increasing their organic lines, so the "high price organics" is no longer a valid excuse. Here in South Florida, Winn Dixie Supermarkets carry their own organic line. Walmart also carries a variety of fruits, veggies, milk and other products as well.

Personally, here at home, we've cut down on meats, poultry and fish to once a month each, Maybe even longer. Honestly we don't even miss it. But that's just us.

It just takes a little re-budgeting (I know, I know times are tough) and a little research and it's all worth it. We are 6 and a dog on one income and we still manage to pull it off.