I’m about to write the kind of entry that I haven’t written in a long time. A big long ranting, preaching to the choir entry. So I suggest you grab a drink and sit back for the long haul.

I mentioned earlier that Chris and I saw Food Inc. over the weekend. Some things in the movie were not new to me, but there were other things that made me start questioning even some of the soy products I occasionally eat. In fact, the minute we got into that car, I burst into tears and wailed that there is nothing, NOTHING, I can eat now. I new this was coming. I started getting a tightness in my chest during the opening credits and there were times during the movie where I was actually clawing at my face.

I used to feel guilty about the amount and types of food I ate simply because it was unhealthy and I was fat. Now, my guilt issues with food has to do with the global impact of that food item on the environment. And people, it’s not good. Really, we should be ashamed of ourselves. Last week Dooce received a lot of criticism for using Twitter to get her washing machine fixed. It was said that she was being a bully and she was abusing her “power”. I’m sorry, but if I spend $1300 on a washing machine, I’m going to demand real and honest customer service too by any means possible. We’ve let the same thing happen with our food. We’ve gotten this mentality that we owe the big companies, that they are doing us the favor. Bullshit! It’s our money. We should demand better. We should demand better service, better products, better FOOD! There’s not enough people asking the question “why?” and that needs to change right the fuck now. There is no reason why a family of four should have to choose the dollar menu at McDonald’s over buying fresh vegetables like broccoli at the grocery store because it’s the cheaper solution, even though they know that the food is slowly killing them. We are better then this.

This month Chris and I start the grand experiment of eating locally grown or organic food only. Can we do it with our measly budget? Chris is more optimistic then I am, but he’s always been my food champion sending things back for me when the order is wrong, supporting my move to vegetarianism. We’ve figured out that we’ll have to go to at least three different places to get a decent selection and price for our groceries, but I think the hassle will be worth it. No more sitting at the couch, watching TV during meal times either. We’ve cleared the table and we’re working hard to keep it that way. Also, we’re going to try to plan a potluck dinner once a month for friends and family with the focus of the dinners being good wholesome foods.

It’s time to stop being lazy and apathetic. I may not be able to convince everyone why ammonia washed meat isn’t a good buy or why companies like Monsanto are ruining American farming. But I can make a change for me. I can take a stand on how I spend my money. Every time I buy organic in the grocery store, I’m voting. I’m voting for the foods I want to see as a norm in the stores. And little by little, I will make a difference.

Chris and I spent all day on the scooters and It. Was. Great! We started the morning at Coffee Slingers where we lingered over our coffee and a pastry and loosely planned out our day. The only scheduled thing for the day was to deliver a computer bag to Zelda and meet some friends for lunch.

Then we ruined it all by going to see Food Inc. More on that later. In the mean time enjoy some pictures of the day.

I am, and have always been really, a person of routine. The routine is very important to me and I get a little frazzled when the routine is disrupted. I feel like for most of the month of August, the routine has been off. I’ve subbed yoga classes. We’ve taken an unexpected trip and for most of this month I feel like I’ve been playing catch up. I’m holding on to things by my fingernails, just barely finishing normal chores like laundry. Just getting by.

This week, I didn’t sub any classes and things look like they are starting to fall into place. We’ve been trying to re-instate family walk night for months now and thought Monday’s would be a good night for that. Then I started all the subbing, but this week we finally managed to take the dog to the park.

So, on this Thankful Friday, I am thankful for the routine because the routine brings me peace. I am thankful that I’m finally finding a rhythm to the day and finding a place for the big and small things on the list. My meditation journal has consecutive dates instead of random moments of hasty meditation. I am thankful for the peace.

Have a wonderful and peaceful weekend. Happy Thankful Friday.

The walking track I do outside takes me through a neighborhood. I’m always distracted by this one section of sidewalk. There’s a little foot in it. See it?

I like to make up little stories about how that little foot got to be trapped in the pavement. My favorite theory is that a little gnome was running across the street to get to the beautiful green yard on the other side of the walk. On the way, his flip-flop came off of one of his feet and he ended up leaving his little gold foot print on the sidewalk. ‘Cause every one know that gnomes tend to have gold dust coating their feet.

So, Love Thursday is about finding the magic in the smallest and simplest things. It’s about holding onto that imagination we tend to loose as we grow old. You know? The Finding the elephant in clouds kind of imagination.

So, this was probably funnier yesterday and the first round of the waffle description was better. I made Chris run through the whole spiel again because typing all that up would have been just too much work. The first time around, he fixated more on the sugar part of the description. He said they used beet sugar and I said “what’s that?”. Then he went on to say he had no idea, just that it was really big sugar.

This is a typical evening in our home.

I think I mentioned that my mom’s cat escaped from the camp trailer while on the camping trip over a week ago. My poor mom is heartbroken over the whole thing and not quite ready to give up. There was a sighting of the cat on Monday of last week somewhere in the cave and there have been just enough visitors around that have seen “a calico” cat to give my mom some bit of hope in finding Foxxey (the cat).

I have to say that the park rangers at Alabaster Caverns have been wonderful through this whole ordeal. They’ve kept my mom informed on sightings and they’ve told the visitors to keep an eye out for Foxxey. They even let my Mom have free range of the cave to look for Foxxey as long as she had two other people with her and a hard hat.

So, you can guess what Chris and I did on Saturday. We met my mom and sister in Enid at seven AM on Saturday morning and then we all made the final trek back to Alabaster Caverns together to spend the day hunting for the cat. Janell, Mom and I had cave detail while Chris hung around the campground with some of Foxxey’s favorite things like a banana (her favorite treat), her sleeping basket, and a roast beef sandwich. Wait. Now that I think about it, I think the sandwich was really more for Chris then the cat.

I’d like to say that we came home with a cat, but unfortunately that just wasn’t the case. Janell and I searched just about every nook and cranny of that cave. We all scoured the campgrounds; we even waited until dark to see if she would come out. But no, nada, no cat. It was sad for Mom, but Janell and I had lots of fun exploring the cave. We got to explore places of the cave that the usual tour group never gets to go. I found a horse skeleton and we saw loads of bats. Just no cat.

Mom’s still hopeful. She’s already talking about going up and staying at small hotel up there. I kind of think that Foxxey is kind of pulling a Homeward Bound and is headed home. Either that or she’s just having too much fun in the wild and doesn’t really care to be found.

I was prepared to write a thankful Friday entry dealing with how thankful I’ll be that this week is over. How I was looking forward to a weekend of cleaning (yes…looking forward to that) and sleeping and finally taking some time to come up with a more inspiring food plan. Meals of late have been ho-hum. Instead, it looks like I will be heading back to Alabaster Caverns on Saturday to look for my mom’s cat.

As Chris and I discussed the prospects of climbing through caves searching for a cat, I looked at him and said “tomorrow’s Thankful Friday”. He just laughed and said that I better “dig deep”. So, this morning, I plugged in my iPod and headed out for my daily walk and to think about what I am thankful for today.

• I am thankful for the music I have on my iPod. The music I’ve been listening to lately just makes me happy. The lyrics and the beats makes my body hum and zing. It makes my steps and heart lighter.

• I am thankful for this beautiful bright blue day. I always enjoy my walks better when I don’t have to do my inside track that takes me through smelly hospital hallways. Plus Chris and I were both able to ride our scooters in to work this morning. His scooter has been out of commission for almost two months. I’ve missed those morning rides with him.

• I am thankful for my health. I realize that I am the least likely of the bunch to walk away from tomorrow’s caving adventure crippled. Of course I probably just cursed myself with that sentence.

• I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my family. OK, so it’s under some pretty crappy circumstances. But the park rangers are allowing us to search the cave off of the main trail (as long as we have hard hats). Not many people get the chance to explore caves off the main trail. I think the boys are going and they’ll love it. This could turn out really good.

I had also asked around on facebook and twitter about what you may be thankful for today. It turns out that we are pretty much thankful for similar things. Some days it may seem like a challenge to be grateful, but even the simplest thing is something not to be taken for granted.

Have a great weekend! And a Thankful Friday.

Well, Duh right? I mean how easy is it to do a love entry about your husband? I only decided to do today’s Love Thursday entry about Chris because of something I experienced on our way to Alabaster Caverns last Friday.

We were driving out into the Oklahoma panhandle, surrounded by fields of corn, sunflowers and nothing. I had the iPod hooked up and playing Ingrid Michaelson, singing along. Then her song “You and I” came on and I continued to sing along, when all of a sudden the lyrics in that song hit me like a brick. That song is us. And I’m singing along and I turn to Chris with this big grin and I look at him and my heart swelled. It swelled so big, it filled all the way up to my eyeballs. And I was happy, truly happy.

Listen to that song (the video I chose for it is pretty cute too). Then go hug that person you want to build a house with. Happy Love Thursday!

After our last camping trip, I made a vow never to let the camping lapse again. I planned this weekend’s trip with the meteor shower in mind and it’s the main reason I chose for us to go to Alabaster Caverns. I also thought it would be fun to invite friends and family out, but our only takers turned out to be my parents.

Chris and I and some friends had been out at Alabaster Caverns this time about, oh, eight years ago. There was a big group of boy scouts there all working towards their camping and spelunking badges. I just remember being surprised by how beautiful that part of the state is. And not much has changed. Our tent started out looking very lonely out there on the prairie, but by the end of the night we were surrounded. By boy scouts.

We had a really nice time. Did the cave tour, saw some bats, and got to see a couple of meteors. There were only a couple of down sides. My parents got there on Wednesday and Thursday night, my Mom’s cat got out of the trailer. We hunted, but she hasn’t been found. Dad was pretty upset. Another down side was realizing that Dad is getting old. He didn’t do too much of the hiking with us and complained of the heat constantly. Both of my parents seem really out of practice with the whole camping thing and were even a little overwhelmed with the idea of cooking outside. Chris and I pretty much just steered them in the right directions. Sort of like “See? This is how you roast a marshmallow”.

And speaking of marshmallows. Chris and I decided from the last camping trip to start trying different candy bars in our smores. Why limit yourself to just a plain old Hershey Bar? This trip we used Reeses Peanut butter cups. I think this is my favorite so far.

By the time you read this, Chris and I will be on our way to Alabaster Caverns and our second camping trip of the summer. That’s right. I said SECOND CAMPING TRIP. In one year. That’s a record people.

I am thankful for the opportunity to get away this weekend. I am also thankful for the few family members that took us up on the offer to meet us out there. Well, OK. Turns out to only be Mom and Dad, but still. It’s been ages since we’ve all camped together and I’m really looking forward to it. I am thankful for the promises of beauty this weekend holds with a meteor shower and bats and campfires and smores.

This weekend is a weekend for wishing on stars. Be thankful for your wishes and have a lovely weekend!