I have had a busy afternoon getting some housework done. I have also done one hour and five minutes on the Wii Fit! I am exhausted. The last thing I did was called free jogging. It was a new thing that I had earned. I started out ok and then realised there was a counter thing in the corner and it was counting down from 10 minutes! I did manage to do it but my knees are now creaking as I go up the stairs.
The good thing is that when I started on New Year’s Day I set a goal of a 2lb weight loss in 2 weeks. I have achieved this a day early!!!! It asked me to set another goal today, so I have done the same. Two pounds in another 2 weeks.
It’s very tempting to put in a half stone or something but I think I would be disillusioned if it didn’t happen and probably stop doing it. A goal of 1lb a week seems obtainable and sustainable. We shall see! Anyway, I’m tired now so I thought I would sit and do the green meme that I found the other day. Time to sort out dinner soon.
Green Meme
1. Name two motivations for being green.1. For the future well being of my grandchildren.
2. It seems to me to be the right thing to only use my fair share of the earth's precious resources. Being blessed to be born and raised in an affluent country doesn't give me the right to squander more than I need just because I can afford it.
2. Name 2 eco-unfriendly items you refuse to give up.1. My computer and the internet.
2. Deep hot baths with lovely scented bubbles!
3. Are you at peace with, or do you feel guilty about no.2?I don't feel guilty about it as I am trying my best in other areas and I do get so much enjoyment from my baths. As to number 1 ....well...... What can I say? I love the internet! I am trying to remember to turn it off at the plug when I am not on it rather than leaving it on all day long.
4. What are you willing to change but feel unable to/stuck with/unsure how to go about it?
I am going to start to grow my own organic fruit and veg on the allotment with Coralie. That will cut down some of our food miles. We are really keen and can’t wait to get going.
5. Do you know the carbon footprint for your home? If so, is it larger/smaller than your national average?I have used the online site several times to calculate it and I believe it was a bit larger than the British average. I need to do it again and see what it is, and then I will be able to see how I am doing at reducing it.
6. What’s eco-frustrating and/or eco-fantastic about where you live?
Eco-frustrating: Living in a city means that, amongst other things:
a) growing space for food is limited as our garden isn't very big, and
b) there aren't very many local food producers to choose from. When we moved here in 1986 our local shops which are about a five minute walk had a supermarket, a green grocer, a butcher, a fish monger and a florist. Now there is only Sainsbury’s the supermarket. The individual retailers disappeared years ago. I have recently found a farm shop that is not too far away.
Eco-fantastic: We have a good road network around the city and also one of the largest cycle networks in the country. Public transport is fairly good here although it could be improved with better time tables, lower costs etc.
I am able to walk to the local shopping centre which includes doctors, local police, leisure centre, theatre, library and other services.
7. Do you eat local/organic/vegetarian/forage/grow your own?Well as you are by now aware, Coralie and I are certainly hoping to grow our own! Time will tell. At the present time, I confess that I rarely buy organic because of the high costs in the supermarkets. I have made several farm visits recently and their stuff is organic. I do try to buy locally sourced foods to reduce the food miles and many of our supermarkets are getting good at stocking local produce and clearly labelling it.
5. Do you know the carbon footprint for your home? If so, is it larger/smaller than your national average?I have used the online site several times to calculate it and I believe it was a bit larger than the British average. I need to do it again and see what it is, and then I will be able to see how I am doing at reducing it.
6. What’s eco-frustrating and/or eco-fantastic about where you live?
Eco-frustrating: Living in a city means that, amongst other things:
a) growing space for food is limited as our garden isn't very big, and
b) there aren't very many local food producers to choose from. When we moved here in 1986 our local shops which are about a five minute walk had a supermarket, a green grocer, a butcher, a fish monger and a florist. Now there is only Sainsbury’s the supermarket. The individual retailers disappeared years ago. I have recently found a farm shop that is not too far away.
Eco-fantastic: We have a good road network around the city and also one of the largest cycle networks in the country. Public transport is fairly good here although it could be improved with better time tables, lower costs etc.
I am able to walk to the local shopping centre which includes doctors, local police, leisure centre, theatre, library and other services.
7. Do you eat local/organic/vegetarian/forage/grow your own?Well as you are by now aware, Coralie and I are certainly hoping to grow our own! Time will tell. At the present time, I confess that I rarely buy organic because of the high costs in the supermarkets. I have made several farm visits recently and their stuff is organic. I do try to buy locally sourced foods to reduce the food miles and many of our supermarkets are getting good at stocking local produce and clearly labelling it.
We do still eat a fair amount of meat and being the daughter of a butcher who grew up on a diet of “meat and two veg”, I can’t see radical change there any time soon! Having said that we do eat less than we used to years ago and I do try to control portion size. I have begun to buy organically produced meat from the farm. It is expensive but very tasty and obviously has less nasties such as hormones and stuff in it.
I have begun to buy eggs from the farm which are free range but they are way more expensive than the ordinary supermarket ones. It’s hard to balance all this stuff and still try and keep costs down.
We are hoping to grow our stuff on the allotment organically as that will be good for Evan.
8. What do you personally find the most challenging in being green?
The last few years like most people we have become much more aware of green issues. The last few months my interest has grown as it is part of trying to live a simpler lifestyle. The trouble is, the more research I do, the more things I become aware of that I am not doing. It’s difficult to change lots of things at once. Baby steps are the way to go.
9. Do you have a green confession?
I still buy lots of magazines as does Simon. We enjoy them but they are costly and we have a good library here so we really should get more books. I rarely buy new books, preferring to get them from the library.
10. Do you have the support of family and/or friends?I think so, although I think some of my children think I am going a bit batty saving toilet rolls! I have a few friends who think my sentiments are admirable; they mostly understand the motivation but can’t be bothered doing it themselves because they think it takes a lot of effort. I don’t think it does involve a lot of effort, just a change in the way you think and a bit of organisation. I’m good at organising; I had to be with 5 children! LOL!
8. What do you personally find the most challenging in being green?
The last few years like most people we have become much more aware of green issues. The last few months my interest has grown as it is part of trying to live a simpler lifestyle. The trouble is, the more research I do, the more things I become aware of that I am not doing. It’s difficult to change lots of things at once. Baby steps are the way to go.
9. Do you have a green confession?
I still buy lots of magazines as does Simon. We enjoy them but they are costly and we have a good library here so we really should get more books. I rarely buy new books, preferring to get them from the library.
10. Do you have the support of family and/or friends?I think so, although I think some of my children think I am going a bit batty saving toilet rolls! I have a few friends who think my sentiments are admirable; they mostly understand the motivation but can’t be bothered doing it themselves because they think it takes a lot of effort. I don’t think it does involve a lot of effort, just a change in the way you think and a bit of organisation. I’m good at organising; I had to be with 5 children! LOL!
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