Getting greener.

After our move to Houston I made a point to implement more environmentally friendly moves to our daily lives. I've always done some things but am now making a stronger effort to do more. Chris is not fully on board but he puts up with it and is warming up to it. Here are a few products we using:

1. A recycling bin purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond. We put cans in one side and plastic in the other. Once the bin fills up we take it to the recycling center (no curbside pick up for us!). It's already sorted and we rinse everything before putting it in the bin so it's ready to go. It's a bit pricy, but the good thing is the minimal packaging that comes with the product and those ever present 20% off coupons BB&B sends out.

2. Sandwich pouches : Prior to using these we would wrap a sandwich in a paper towel and then placed inside a Ziploc. The paper towel doubled as a napkin and while Ziploc's can be reused they didn't always make it back home. They are easily cleaned so I recommend them.


3. Smart strips. These are a bit pricey for an initial investment, but they totally pay for themselves very quickly. If you have a television and DVD player and entertainment system (XBox, Wii, Playstation...) or a desktop computer with printer and accessories attached these will cut down on the phantom power that these electronics drain in your house. In our first month of using 2 of these strips our electric bill dropped $20. So if the environmental impact doesn't do it for you, think of the money you'll save!


4. Planted a small box garden. We are growing our own tomatoes, basil, mint, and oregano. I want to eventually be able to grow most of our vegetables, but I have to learn a bit more about gardening.

More to come!

Political Parties

I don't like them.

Political parties are divisive and result in participants in the American (well, democratic) political process to be pigeon holed into a complete set of beliefs. However, most people do not completely align with the full doctrine associated with a political party. For instance, I believe in a smaller government and many of the tax policies that the Republican Party supports. On the other hand, I don't agree with the Republican Party's environmental and education policies. So I find myself in the middle of both party lines. It becomes a matter of priorities. Since I don't believe average American's can impact the government structure or tax policies alone but we do have a choice on environmental and educational policies we put in practice in our own lives, I often vote Republican...not always.

I despise political commentary that falls only along party lines. It's as narrow minded as most racial commentary. Minorities are supposed to favor the Democratic Party so the Republican's show case high profile minorities that support them. American youth historically don't vote. So when young people show support for the Democratic candidate a spectacle is made of it. The reality is that all the commentary and discussion means nothing. It's who mobilizes on election day. Our political process encourages people to stay out of the political process by creating artificial boundaries between candidates.

NKOTB is back.

I was not a New Kids on the Block fan back in the day, but I remember hearing it coming from my sister's tape player. That's probably the reason I wasn't a fan - if she liked it, I couldn't. Sibling rivalry and all. Regardless, NKOTB seems to be making a come back of sorts.

I've seen them perform on the Today show twice now and I just have to say that seeing men in their thirties in a boy band singing about being someone's boyfriend when many of them are married with children just seems wrong. And one of them looks completely bored to tears on stage. I don't think this reunion tour was his idea and he doesn't appear to be fully on board with it.

Weird to anyone else?

Is communism like bureaucracy?

I am a bit of a connoisseur of bad television. It's ok, I admit it. So tonight watching America's Next Top Model I was a bit disgusted to hear the girls talk about their preparation for their photo shoot taking place at various polling places.

One girl was assigned a polling place with a bureaucracy theme. But of course she didn't know what a bureaucracy was. Another girl didn't understand what her environmental polling place had to do with the election. After two years as a TA working with students in political science classes it still continues to disappoint me the lack of interest and knowledge young people have about political processes.

By late teens/early twenties it should be visible to people that the government does impact their lives. They start working and paying taxes. The tax money is going somewhere. Whether it be to your grandparents social security checks or your federal student loans or with the military to the Middle East, your tax money is going somewhere.

Who allocates these funds? Who advises the decision makers on where they should allocate funds? That would be congress and the president.

When presented with the option I truly do not understand having complete apathy towards politics. The decisions directly effect you and your family. And your pocket book.

Returning to my regularly scheduled bad television.

International Adoption Holds

For many years I have wanted to adopt a little girl from China. Luckily, I married a guy that not only supports this but wants to adopt another child from a yet to be determined place. As a result we follow stories about changing adoption laws and try to understand what this will mean for us in the future and for parents currently going through the process.

Today I came across this news story. This makes me sad for the hundreds of families going through the difficult and time consuming process of international adoption and also for the hundreds of children that will now either lose a chance at finding a family or have the opportunity delayed. Currently Americans cannot adopt from Cambodia either. These are countries that carry stigmas against orphans. If they are not adopted the stigma may also affect them as adults.

Hopefully this situation will be resolved quickly and these children will be matched with loving homes. For the American parents waiting on a match or to hear if they will be matched with children, I hope they can remain patient until their families are complete.