New Town, New Peeps!

I think the biggest challenge about our move to Colorado, has been meeting people. Especially for me since I currently do not have a job... which is pretty much how I met all my friends (some in a round about way) in our old state. We love our neighborhood, our neighbors are great, but we are the youngest here and don't have kiddos yet... which means we rarely see them. John has made guy friends through work that he skis with, but it really hasn't done much for me.

So what's a girl to do in a new town? Join meetup.com. Seriously.

What's Meetup?
Meetup is on a mission to help the world’s people self-organize into local groups.
So far more than 6.5 million people have signed up and formed over 60,000 local Meetup Groups.


I was so hesitant to join at first, which is why I waited until I lived here for 5 months before checking them out. I regret waiting that long! In the past few weeks I've joined over 10 groups for everything from hiking to movies to wine tasting. I realize my experiences may have just been luck (no crazies yet), and I've been pretty particular about the groups I've joined... but I have met some really fun, great people through the groups! Since I signed up I have met not just people that share the same interests, but some friends... where we talk and hang out outside of the group. The best part is, my calendar is FULL of fun stuff. If I wanted, I could do a different meetup every day of the week.

Like being outdoors? Hiking, snowshoeing, climbing 14ers, camping? There's a group or 10 groups for one or all of those activities.

Like volunteering? There's a group for that.

Like scary movies? There's a group for that.

Like adventure (rock climbing, kayaking, white water rafting)? There's a group for that.

Like photography? There's a group for that. 

Like going to the theater and/or seeing musicals? There's a group for that.

If you can think of it, there's probably a group for it, but if not you can always start your own. If you're looking for people who are interested in the activities you love doing, and want to meet new friends... check them out. Obviously be careful, and meet in public places.  

No, I'm not being paid by meetup.com... but maybe I should! They are hiring... hmm.

Koda's 5th Birthday

So I was supposed to post this on Koda's birthday... Let's just pretend this was posted then, OK?

Koda was born on April 8th, 2005 but we didn't meet her and adopt her until September that year when she was five months old. Wasn't she cute?

The picture above was taken when we first brought her home. She was so shy and timid... it took a few days for her to show us her true personality. I can't believe she is 5 already!

We went for a walk and she got a kong full of peanut butter to celebrate among other treats throughout the day (and she got 2 hikes the following weekend!). I think it's the funniest thing to watch her try and get all the PB out of her kong. I had fun taking these pictures. Just in case you couldn't tell.

 Happy Birthday Koda!

Happy Earth Day!

I have neglected this blog recently, as I have been busy enjoying spring in Colorado! However, I had to drop in and wish everyone a Happy Earth Day! I was all revved up to volunteer today but I guess I waited too long. I was turned away last week from volunteer opportunities around here for today and Saturday because they are all full. Apparently there are a bunch of tree huggers living here besides me :). Have I mentioned lately how much I love this state? I plan to do some catch up posts about some of our hikes but here are a couple of pictures until then.

Koda and I taking a rest at Red Rocks

View of Mt. Evans from the summit of Evergreen Mountain

Forsythia

Since spring has arrived and the weather has been gorgeous (in general, today it's stormy and rainy) we have been hiking as much as possible... at least twice a week. It would be 4 times this week if the rain hadn't decided to show up! I really can't complain about the rain though, it's making our lawn green and all the trees and flowers bloom. I need to take pictures of the flowers in our yard... we have daffodils, tulips, and a huge forsythia bush (picture to the left, but not of ours...)

Saturday, to celebrate Earth Day we plan to hike Bergen Peak which is at 9,708 ft! I'll admit I'm a little nervous as it's a 9 mile hike with 2,100' change of elevation. But I need this challenge to get into better shape to hike 14er's this summer.

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? Do you plan to make any "go green" changes?

TIME's "The Perils of Plastic"

After a get away to Florida to visit friends and family for almost 2 weeks - I am on my way home (can you hear my sigh of relief?). I arrived at the airport early so I browsed the stores and my eye caught Steve Jobs staring at me from the cover of TIME Magazine and the words "Inside Steve's Pad" (I'm dying to try the iPad).


When I was trying to decide if it was worthy of buying, I noticed across the top "Environmental Special: The Perils of Plastic". Yup, I had to buy it...



Our government is catching on, finally, after a recent biomonitoring survey by the CDC. The survey found traces of 212 environmental chemicals in Americans, including toxic ones too many to list here as I'm typing this entry on my iPhone, on the plane (will not publish till we land and I can turn off airplane mode).

I'm thrilled to see this article in TIME. I know some people are rolling their eyes about this controversal topic... But to me, it all makes sense and a bunch of nay-sayers are starting to back pedal, including the FDA. Wonder why obesity, diabetes, autism, AD/HD, and auto-immune disorders are on the rise? They could be linked to plastics, specifically BPA (which is found in more than just your water bottles, try soda cans and canned foods) and phthalates (in cosmetics to IV bags). The scary part is that babies are already born with chemicals in their systems and then their bodies act like sponges mainly because they eat and drink more relative to their body weight.

I don't believe in the methodology that, "Chemicals are deemed safe until the EPA can prove that they are dangerous". Especially since the EPA has limited information from industry and like everything else, has limited funds and a bunch of red tape which makes the process take years.

I could go on and on about this... If you are interested in reading this article, email me (click envelope on the right side of this page) and I will email it to you once I scan it. Also, I have a bunch of other resources I've collected over the past couple of years that I could share, like a guide to the numbered plastics (what's in them, which are safest, etc.).

Check it out, but really I think it's only a matter of time until it's in front of everyone's faces. America seems to finally be catching on! The sad part is that the government, the way the regulation system works, fails to protect us. From the article, it sounds like proposals for regulation reform are coming soon. However, implementing change will take years. Reading this at least makes me think that maybe all these petitions I'm signing and letters to legislation are being read...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Clouds

Flying along the coast of Florida...











- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hilarious Cake Wrecks

I've been meaning to post about the blog Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong for a while... I subscribe to it in Reader and then every once in a while check them out. A few nights ago I couldn't sleep so I stayed up late catching up on the past few months. It may have had something to do with the fact that it was 2 AM, but I was laughing so hard I was crying! It's not just the pictures of the horrible cakes gone wrong, but the commentary that is just the icing on the cake (har har).

I was going to post some favorites but I couldn't choose and I'm out of time... Check 'em out. Browse around... http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/. Oh, they even have a book!

Share favorites in the comments!

What should I name my RAV-4?

Isn't my RAV-4 pretty in the snow? It's dirty these days, you just can't keep a clean car during winter in Colorado. Sorry for the crappy picture, it was taken with my iPhone and it was foggy and snowing at the time. Plus, I took the quickest snapshot possible as my hands were freezing (by the way this is not our driveway, if only...).

I'm loving my RAV-4! After researching cars and SUVs to death, test driving them up I-70 (up a mountain), and waiting for inventory to recover after the cash for clunkers program... I am really, really happy with my choice (the other big contenders were the Toyota Prius, Honda CRV, and Honda Fit - yeah, really). I can hear the question coming... so no, I've had no issues with the gas pedal recall issue and I just learned that mine is not part of the recall - hurray!

I've been trying to think of a name for her but nothing has felt right yet. Yes, I think it's a her but really it may be because it just seems right that a car is a girl, like boats. Boats are usually referred to as female. I can't think of one boat/ship that was named or referred to as a guy. Anyway, she's a RAV-4 Sport with the Sport Appearance Package (no tire on the back), and leather interior (I agonized over that decision but in the end opted for the heated seats). She's sporty, functional, and fun to drive... any ideas on what to name her? I'm hoping it will just come to me one day... but I'm open to ideas as I want to call her something.

Time for Lunch Campaign

I'm not a mother (yet), but as a girl who grew up having to participate in the "Free Lunch" program, this issue hits close to home for me. My school lunches in grade school were typically pizza, hamburgers, chicken nuggets (not breast meat), and french fries. On the days I had breakfast at school there were donuts, muffins (not homemade), french toast dippers (pre-packaged frozen variety), biscuits with gravy... you get the picture. Just thinking of these foods make me shudder, and my stomach hurt. The sad part is, many years later nothing has changed for the better, it's worse.

I recently signed a petition for the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization after watching the movie Food, Inc.. I was so moved by the movie - which I highly recommend - that I signed up to Take Part for this cause. So when I received an email from Slow Food USA a couple of days ago about the Time for Lunch Campaign, I didn't hesitate to check them out and email my legislators to voice my support.

Here’s their key message (taken directly from the campaign website):

It’s time to give America’s kids a healthy future.

• Child obesity is spiraling out of control, and our kids, our economy, our health care system and our quality of life are at risk.
• Our best opportunity for fighting obesity is to ensure that every child has access to fresh, wholesome food every school day.
• Right now, Congress gives schools $2.68 per lunch, about $1.00 of which goes towards buying ingredients. As a result, schools have to rely on the cheap processed foods that are fueling the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
• With an additional $1.00 per lunch, schools would be able to serve real food, buy whole ingredients and cook meals from scratch.
• President Obama’s budget adds $1 billion per year to child nutrition programs. That’s an important step forward, but it’s not enough to give America’s kids a healthy future. Not when Congress spends over $13 billion per year subsidizing processed foods, and when obesity costs our nation $147 billion per year. Congress should add at least $1 billion to child nutrition programs, and recognize that until we give schools $1.00 more per lunch, we’re putting the health of America’s children at risk.
• Congress should also pass mandatory funding for Farm-to-School programs, which link schools to local farms, create jobs in local economies and give schools the resources to update their kitchens and plant school gardens.
• Finally, Congress should strengthen the nutrition standards for all the food sold at school, including the food sold in school vending machines and as “a la carte” items in the cafeteria.

Learn more about the campaign at www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch. Also, from this website you can easily email your legislators to tell them you support schools serving real food. Please take less than 30 seconds to voice your support!

Another supporter for this cause is Jaime Oliver who is starting a food revolution to be aired on ABC starting Friday, March 26th at 8 PM EDT. His show is called Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution. The first episode will also be shown as a sneak preview tomorrow night, Sunday March 21st at 10 PM EDT.



You can also sign Jaime's Food Revolution Petition by clicking the image below.

 Check it out, voice your support, get involved, or donate!