I've been tagged!

A minor rant and then I'll get on with it:

Rob and I try to be very intentional about what we eat. I lost 35lbs in 2004 and I'm determined to keep it off. We also try to avoid chemicals and pesticides (especially since I'm nursing) so our diet is about 50% organic or at least local. That being said, I've been eating a lot of processed stuff lately. The holidays have hit early it seems and I've been a bit of a pig on all the free food floating around. It probably started with my (amazing) birthday weekend. We usually only eat meat three or so dinner meals per week and last night's pork chops (an infrequent choice - but again, free) kind of did me in. I feel huge and icky. So anyway, I decided to do a bit of a detox and eat a vegetarian (maybe vegan) diet for a week, drink lots and lots of water, and try to eat as much raw food as possible. Rob was game so I went to the grocery store this morning for the week and here's where my rant comes in...

My bill was DOUBLE what it normally is!!!! Keep in mind - we don't eat too far from this on a regular basis. I chose items based on what was on sale, planning our menu as I went. I did buy some meat that was on sale to freeze, but still less than I do in a typical week. My only non-sale splurges were a bag of organic apples (which *should* be on sale - it's Fall people!) and some fresh Kale. So basically, what it comes down to is that for some reason it costs twice as much to eat locally produced, unprocessed food than it does to eat things that required man and machine power to be made and get to me. arg! I knew all of this before, it was just vividly apparent today.

----End rant----

Brynna tagged me over at her blog for this one. It's similar to the one I did about our family while I was pregnant, so I guess I'll follow the rules this time and write about myself. I won't be tagging anyone else, but feel free to pick it up and do it on your blog if you'd like - and then let me know!!!

The Rules:
1. To link the tagger and provide the rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving names as well as links to their blogs
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs

Seven things about me!

1. I can't touch my toes - standing or sitting. Even after doing pilates every morning for a year straight in college I didn't come much closer to being able to sit up at a 90 degree angle with my legs straight out in front of me. I did yoga a couple of weeks ago with a friend and if it weren't so dark in the room I would have been embarrassed.

2. I am awful at keeping house. I want to be good *so* badly, but I pretty much stink. I'm very lucky that my husband is about the most understanding person on the planet.

3. I have three beautiful and amazing sisters. My older sister, Aubrey, and I didn't grow up together but have gotten to know each other better in the last few years. She is a blessing beyond description and it is so wonderful that God has worked in both of our lives in a way that has made us similar and complementary even though we were miles apart. My younger sisters, Catlin and Patty, should get some sort of award or tax break or something for putting up with me as they grew up. They are 5 and 7 years younger than me and had to deal with me being a dramatic and bossy teenager. I love them more than words.

4. I've wanted to be (in order) a teacher, author, artist, model, actor, oceanographer, singer, missionary, politician, and linguist at some point. I'm glad I turned out to be a wife/mommy/blogger/resident manager/craft group leader, etc.

5. I would still like to be a lactation consultant/doula someday. I will probably have to wait until we are done having children to be able to swing the on-call lifestyle though.

6. I have had an "in case of emergency" box since I was in elementary school. The contents have changed numerous times and it's funny to think back to the sort of things I had in it in the beginning - my favorite stickers, a school picture of the boy I had a crush on, some wheat pennies, ya know - things that I would need to make sure I got out of the house with in case of a fire, tornado, etc. haha. My husband is as much of a nerd as I am and we've graduated to a hiking backpack and a toolbox full of things. Much cooler things (thanks dad) like non-perishable food, water-proof matches, a jet-boil, reflective blankets, a tent, compasses, flashlights, water purification tablets, etc.

7. I love making lists. I have a grocery list, meal planning lists, and books-to-check-out lists that are added to almost every day. I have lists of baby names that I like, places I want to visit, things I want to blog about, book ideas (yes... someday perhaps), crafts I want to make, presents I want to buy people, and my internet bookmarks and RSS feeds are out of control. It's not organization, I promise, just a bit of OCD. ;)

Cute Aidan picture of the day: