HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's the new year and I've been trying to think about what it is that I did last year that I liked and what I would like to continue doing so that those things can become automatic and part of my whole lifestyle in the future. One of those things is vegetarian eating with an emphasis on more vegan food. I have been doing great eating vegan at home thanks to my Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Comfort Food cookbooks, as well as several food blogs including Vegan Crunk and Vegan Dad. So far this year, with the exception of one tuna sandwich, I have not eaten any meat, and I'm trying to continue with that- one meal at a time.

I have been trying to recycle more, both with "trash" going out back for recycling pick up and also by repurposing things that aren't necessarily trash- like glass sauce jars. I even just remembered to put some paper bags by the door for when I go to the grocery store later today. Woohoo! :-)

I am slowly getting stuff together to sell on Etsy. I paint and have been trying to make other things as well and I would like to develop that into a successful side business- to both help support my family, as well as my favorite animal rescue. I've never done anything like Etsy before, but I am slowly putting my site together and trying to make a go of it. My shop is still pretty rough, but it's getting there. I am slowly adding descriptions and items.

Other than the things I've mentioned, my OVERALL goal this year is to be frugal. Babies are crazy expensive, so to keep some of the OTHER things I love in my life- like my five rescued animals- I need to cut back and find ways for me and my family to save money. Not eating meat and cooking for myself is DEFINITELY helping, but I know there are more things I can do to help save. The Mindful Merchant is one of my inspirations- she seems to be genetically thrifty and provides great inspiration and tips. I'm not naturally frugal, but I'm making a go of it and so far I think I've been doing a great job. Coupon clipping and all!

So, this year, as always thanks for reading and may 2010 be the best year yet for all of us!

Update on Goings on Here at the Eco-ing Myself House

Cooking is still going well (the above is a tofu stir fry I made with brown rice. YUM. And pretty too!), and as for the 'eco-ing myself' part of this blog, I am doing well with that also! I really find myself thinking before I do a lot of the things I used to and making changes based on what would be greener. For instance, I used to print out tons of things at work. Mostly because I read better off paper than off a computer screen, so I liked to print things out to work on and then follow up with the document on the computer. Lately though, I have been thinking about all the poor dead trees before I push print. "Do I really need to print this?" runs through my head before I do and most of the time, the answer is no, so I don't. Sometimes it takes a little more effort, especially when I'm switching between multiple spreadsheets, but I'm working on getting better at it and it's working!

I also think twice before throwing things away- I have found all sorts of uses for old jars and bottles that I never would have thought of before. All it takes is a little creativity.

So things there are going well! A special thanks to all my friends who frequently Tweet and post blogs about little ways to be greener- they really help keep me on the straight and narrow earth wise. I guess I have developed an eco-conscious, and am hoping to find even more ways to improve. You know, when you start with little things...going greener really doesn't take that much more energy and time, all it takes is a new mindset.

To close, below is a picture of the card I made for my dad's birthday with fabric scraps I had left over from sewing projects. It would have looked much better had I not used super glue- it was all we had in the house and unfortunately...it came through the fabric and left little crusty looking spots after it dried. But hey...it was still a cool card and my dad liked it, which is all that matters anyway. I paired it with some cocoa chip muffins that I made by leaving the coffee out of the mocha chip muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance. My dad isn't a mocha fan, but the muffins were a hit by leaving it out! :)

More Cooking

I've been really successful with my cooking projects and am really finding that a) I enjoy it and b) that it has really helped me save money because I actually PREFER to eat at home because the stuff I make is yummy. This is unheard of in the Hope Mentality. In the past I eat at home because it's necessary...not because I want to. So that's awesome, because it helps me in my goal to transform into Scroogy McFrugalson due to the nature of the family finances (babies are SO PRICEY! Yikes.) I could stand to learn some frugal techniques, and not eating out is really helping me get a jump start. I've also made it into a game, so that's been my sanity saver. I'm kind of having fun seeing where I can cut corners to keep the dough residing in my wallet. Coupon cutting anyone? (Thanks to The Mindful Merchant for letting me know about Mambo Sprouts!)

Today's adventure is trying to find the brand of cat litter I use at the lowest possible cost to me. Woohoo!

But anyway, back to food. Here's some things I've made lately:



These are the herb potatoes from Vegan with a Vengeance, which are a big hit with the fam. I always have to make extra for lunches the next few days. YUM! (Note: This is not meant to be a Food Blog, so I know the pictures are crappy and make the food look....um...not as appetizing as it actually was. I'm just trying to document my progress here.)









This picture is of the tofu scramble (also from VWAV) I make to go with the herb potatoes. Also tasty. Even my non-vegetarian husband likes it. It's especially yummy when made into a breakfast burrito with tortillas, salsa, and guacamole.






And HERE...are the cupcakes I made to take to Pumpkin Night- a night of fun and pumpkin carving my family always stages around this time of year. It was also my cousin's birthday, hence the candles. They were a hit, and I told no one that they were vegan. :)



I also made frosting...that didn't quite do what I wanted it to do. It didn't firm up enough to spread on the cupcakes without being a TOTAL mess, so I left it in the bowl and it became "Pourable Frosting", which totally worked because in the end, people were dripping it over ice cream and dipping fruit into it. Multipurpose! I figured it was a major success when my cousin told me I should bottle it up and sell it.


YAY for a non-cooking person being a success at cooking!

I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I'd start with....

... your LEMUR OF THE DAY! Courtesty of Cute Overload.

(No, this has nothing to do with anything- I just really like lemurs.)

Pin Cushion Project

Last week, I made the most beginner of beginner projects in the Sew Everything Workshop Book, which was the pin cushion. It served two purposes- I needed a pin cushion, because I didn't have a pin cushion and it gave me a chance to jump back into sewing. The project was successful, and in the process I was able to re-purpose a pair of fuzzy socks that had holes but which I hadn't thrown away because...I have problems throwing things away. So I used the socks to stuff the pin cushion instead of buying polyfill. Economical AND environmentally friendly. Not to mention emotionally friendly since I didn't have to throw away the socks that I clearly had some unnatural attachment to. (I'll say right now because anyone reading this will probably find out eventually anyway- I have a real issue feeling sorry for inanimate objects and therefore have trouble doing things like....THROWING STUFF AWAY.)

But I digress. I was very successful in my pin cushion project and made something that is super cute AND functional!

Viola!



The only problem was that I didn't use my sewing machine. It was a small project and I sew pretty quick by hand, so instead of learning how to use my new machine, I just went ahead and sewed it by hand. It didn't even take me an hour from start to finish, which was cool, but before I do any larger projects, I need to learn my machine!

So that's my goal for the weekend. To learn my machine and make a pillow. I have the fabric cut and pinned...so all I need now is to bite the bullet and get acquainted with my Brother. :)

I think I should give it a name. Make it a friend. I'll think about it and let you know what name I come up with for my new sewing friend.

Successful Thursday Mealtime

Tonight I made the Maple Dijon Potatoes and String Beans from Vegan with a Vengeance and can I say...AWESOME. I also had a pack of tempeh in the fridge that was getting dangerously close to it's use by date, so I used the glaze on that too (my husband used it with chicken) and it was ALL AWESOME. Smiles all around. And leftovers! Whee!

Not only that, but last night I finished a painting for my friend's housewarming.


(The painting is way more vibrant in real life, it's not the greatest picture...but whatever...I'm trying to get more comfortable posting things I've painted, so...there it is.)

It's been a successful week of making stuff!

I have another yummy meal planned for tomorrow...so hopefully that will set off a successful week-END of making stuff. We'll see how it goes. :)

Where I've Been and The Slightly Altered Focus of this Blog

Where have I been lately? Good question! I've been...MAKING STUFF! It all started with finding out that cheese is not my body's favorite. See, since I didn't eat much meat before, and now eat even less now that I'm trying to be vegetarian, cheese was my primary source of protein...along with a frequent veggie burger. So with cheese out, most of my diet disappeared.

So I got to thinking, if I want to, you know, get some nutrients once in awhile, I'd better start cooking. So I went online and got the awesomest cookbook EVER: Vegan with a Vengeance. I've made cookies, and muffins, and tofu, and stir fry, and stuffed shells (sans cheese = AWESOME!), and tacos, and...more cookies and muffins.

This is amazing to me, mostly because I am not someone who ever had a desire to cook- I found it an annoying necessity and relied mainly on frozen microwavable entrees and take out. Needless to say...that's not that good for you (at least as much as I was doing it) and it’s also expensive...and being that I am also now on a pretty strict budget...this is good for both my health and my wallet. It’s also better for the environment with less packaging, less animal products, and less chemicals used to produce the food I'm eating. The biggest discovery during all this though, is that I'm enjoying it! I LIKE cooking… make things that are actually EDIBLE...and all while having...FUN?!! Who knew!?

Well...THAT’S NOT ALL! As I was cooking and realizing- “Hey...I can do this!”- I was also trying to do more reusing and 'repurposing' of household items to, again, help my budget and the environment all at the same time. One of the things I wanted to do was to repurpose some of my extra sheets and comforters I have laying around to make a DIY dog bed for my poor geriatric Pomeranian and THAT idea led to the purchase of a sewing machine from Overstock.com... which led to wanting to make my own placemats (I never could find any I liked)...which led to my mom getting me the Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp...which led to...a crafty DIY addiction! (And yes…I’m a little late to the DIY game…)

This "I can make stuff" mindset led me to look around at all the paintings I have sitting around my house (I’ve taken a watercolor class every Wednesday for the past three years)…which led me to think...I could sell prints of these...which led me to think "and note cards! I can make note cards!" which led me to think...I can make prints, note cards, AND stuff I can sew...which led me to think...I should open up a shop on Etsy!

So. That's what the last few weeks have been for me: Lots of new ideas and a sort of refocusing of my life, which was LONG overdue.

So as a result, this blog might be changing focus a little and I'm going to focus more on posting the various projects I undertake using my goals to be greener by reusing things I already have (sometimes with the help of an awesome sewing machine), cooking my own vegan food (I'm not totally vegan when I'm out, but I don't make anything for myself that isn't), and attempting to raise some money for my family (and a favorite charity) by selling some things on Etsy! Still Eco-ing Myself...still going vegetarian...but with a new and improved focus!

Stay tuned...and if anyone is still reading this...thanks for sticking around. :)