They paved paradise to put up a parking lot...

New favorite "Green" song:

Big Yellow Taxi

originally by Joni Mitchell, but I really like the Counting Crows version with Vanessa Carlton.

I'm torn between two favorite lines:

don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got til it's gone...they paved paradise to put up a parking lot.

and

hey farmer, farmer put away that DDT. I don't mind spots on my apples, leave me the birds and the bees...please.

Anyway...someday I'm going to write a song as political and green as that. I know I haven't written in a while, but I have new goals for the coming school year (my first year in an apartment, with a kitchen!!):

1). Go to the farmers market as often as I can.
2). EAT healthy...aka..real food...fruit...vegetables...whole grains...homemade stuff:)
3). Continue to be a vegetarian....(going on 7 months!)
4). Eat breakfast!!!!!!!
5). Buy Local, organic and fair trade as much as I can!
6). Go to the International Cinema really often.
7). Become a really good cook.
8). Make my own stuff
9). Be creative and recycle.

I'm excited for this next year...it's going to be a blast.

-LC

Earth Day

Earth Day is April 22nd! Act "greener" than you normally would!

-LC

Places I want to go/visit/live

-Mexico
-ITALY
-France
-Greece
-Australia
-South America (I haven't decided where exactly yet, but I would love to experience Latin American culture firsthand, because I already feel such a connection to the Spanish language and the parts of the culture I am familiar with.)
-Cuba....mainly because of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights...so maybe not current Cuba...but the Cuba of 40 years ago.
-New York City
-California...I've been there many times, and I believe I inherited a large amount of "California blood" from my mother, a beautiful, "beach-loving" California girl.
-Stars Hollow....somewhere like that.
-Denmark...preferably Copenhagen. My parents visited there and told me that it seemed very economical and efficient.
-India
-South Africa
-Spain...wow Ican't believe I didn't think about that one until now.
-Germany
-Okay, basically everywhere in Europe.

I want to go these places, live there for a time and learn the languages. The Ultimate Goal.

-LC

"It's not worth the calories..."

I remember several times hearing my mother use this phrase in relation to some sugary candy, mediocre macaroni, or the like. This is not saying that my mother or I are overly obsessed with counting calories and dieting. Hardly. But now that I am older I realize there is definite truth to this phrase, some food really isn't worth it. If you are only eating it because it's there, because you are bored, because what you really want isn't available at the moment or takes more preparation, or for any other reason than for the simple enjoyment of that particular food, it really isn't "worth the calories."
For several weeks earlier this fall my best friend and I decided to go without sugar, just for the heck of it. I really feel like this experience refined my tastes and made me realize which sweets are worth it and which I would've eaten for any of the above reasons. For example, store-bought cookies are okay, but my mother's homemade chocolate chip cookies are worth the calories every time.
I don't mean to sound like I only ever indulge in foods that are of the highest quality and taste, I am often guilty of eating something just because it is there or because I am too lazy to make what I really want. I think it's also really hard to only eat what you really want because we live in a society surrounded by food. At almost every gathering, there is bound to be an array of mediocre goodies and sweets determined to sneak into the hands and eventually the mouths of unsuspecting guests. The "I'll just have one" mindset rarely finds success at such events.
Anyway, I guess this has sort of turned into a rant about mediocre cuisine (ironic phrase, I know) and I really didn't mean for it to turn out that way. I might need to go on another no-sugar kick in order to purge my body of high fructose corn syrup and refine my cravings once more. Maybe not...
I'm off to eat dinner...and I will probably have ice cream for dessert...but in lieu of this recent post, maybe I'll only have one scoop:).

-LC

ps: still not eating meat....pushing two months...does that mean I should identify myself as a vegetarian?

music will change the world

current favorites:

-gravity, sara bareilles
-wasted, cartel
-lighted up, gabriel mann
-eres mi religion, mana
-someone to watch over me, when ella fitzgerald sings it
-mack the knife, louis armstrong
-sing to you, table for one/caleb blood
-things i'll never say, avril lavigne...story of my life
-congratulations, blue october

music is powerful...it touches emotions that the spoken word cannot...it is both a refuge and a celebration.

Temporary Vegetarian...

So...one of the goals that I mentioned in a previous post was to be a vegetarian for a week. Well, I did it! I've actually been a "vegetarian" (I don't feel comfortable saying that I'm a vegetarian yet because I don't know how long it will last) for almost 3 weeks. It's honestly not as hard as I thought it would be. Considering I rarely eat meat for Breakfast or Lunch and cafeteria meat never really piques my appetite, it's been fairly easy. I think the biggest challenge is finding other things that fill me up, and learning to like salad. I guess the salad part isn't a requirement to be a vegetarian, but I figured I should like vegetables...since it's kind of in the name. Anyway, I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up. So far, so good. I doubt that I'll never eat meat again (especially when I get home and am around my moms venison tacos, or my grandmother's pork roast), but I like the fact that I can handle it. Anyway....just some thoughts. I felt like posting something.

word of advice: do something to change your world, and do it now.
~LC

ps: I can't wait for next year when I'm no longer without a kitchen. I would love to fill my apartment kitchen next year with organic food and local produce. And be able to cook and not rely on mass-produced cafeteria food. Hooray for getting out of the dorms!

Must run in the family...

So if there are more than 2 people that actually read this blog....check out my mom's "Eat Local" blog. It's another issue that is incredibly important.

http://flavorsoftheumpqua.blogspot.com/

Check it out!

-LC

What a waste....

So since I've been at school...this semester and the past semester...I've been trying to recycle as much as I can. Mainly, bottles and paper. But there are, of course, items that don't fit in either of those categories. I've realized two things: 1) that I can find a second or third use for a lot of things and 2) that I used to waste SO much.

I think since I've been in this mindset, that I look at things I used to throw away and see potential to make them into something else. Seriously the three R's are not just good for the Earth, but they're beneficial to a college student's budget. I don't waste money on buying new things because I've remade my old stuff into what I need. I realize this isn't going to work for everything, but still. Lack of cash breeds CREATIVITY and ORIGINALITY. Gotta love it.

Well...that's all for now...pretty simple...but just the thoughts of a wants-to-save-the-earth-and-likes-making-her-own-stuff chick:).

-LC

The above pictures are not my own creations...but I thought they were cool:)....if you can't tell..it's pop cans:) and candy wrappers