Drilling for oil is the new TV Show?

Did anyone see this or hear about it? Tonight, while aimlessly driving down the road to yet another baseball game AND practice - both on the same night, and across town from each other - I heard a commercial for this TV show - Black Gold. OK, so I was using my fair share of the bubbling crude to get me from point A to point B, but I was still surprised that this is a real, honest to goodness show. A TV show that glamorizes the "tough guy life" of drilling for oil?!?!? With a tag line of "2 miles deep or 6 feet under!" BLECH! Here is what the producer has to say:

"Drilling for oil … is fascinating and dangerous at the same time," truTV executive vice president Marc Juris says. "When we looked at the characters, the stakes and how relevant this world is, in terms of the role oil plays in our lives, it hit on a lot of emotional targets."

He doesn't believe hostility to high oil prices will transfer to the roughnecks and drillers. "They represent what this country is all about," he says. Black Gold "is about American oil, not about being dependent on foreign oil."

Am I wrong to be a little outraged? All of the money, time and resources devoted to making a TV show about the one thing we really need to be cutting back on makes me a little ill. Where are the thrilling and dangerous shows about suburban moms struggling to go green? How about a series devoted to drama and suspense of what is happening at the local recycling centers? Shoot, I know people who don't even know how to use the free bin the township hands out to be used for recyclables, an episode about the little blue bin could be riveting for them!

Or, maybe I am just tired and a little grouchy? After all day packing drinks in reusable water bottles, washing out returnable glass milk containers and running my errands using my canvas tote bags the last thing I want to do tonight is watch a show about freakin' oil - American or otherwise!

Go Team!

It's official. We're still playing baseball.

Like pretty much all the other mothers, we have seen the end of the school year along with it's field trips, class parties and graduations. School related sports, band and special talent shows are long gone. But, the mothers of our Little League just can't get into summer relaxation mode just yet. Why? Apparently because my kids are good at baseball. It's playoff time and my darn kids keep winning! If you keep winning, you keep playing. Until you lose. Twice. Want to know a secret? As much as I love winning. As much as I love my kids. As much as I love watching them. I am ready to lose.

I am tired. Making batch after batch after batch of organic lemonade in glass pitchers, only to pour the entire pitcher into open and thirsty reusable bottles on the counter gets old, quickly. Last year it was just a matter of grabbing plastic bottles out of the fridge and throwing them into bags. Now, when I am making all of the drinks I realize how much they actually DRINK! They don't just need one bottle for a game in this heat, they need two. Don't forget the bottle I need to pack for the youngest, the dad and myself. That's 9 bottles a game or practice, per night, six days a week.

Then of course, there is the business of dinner before we can leave for the game, which has to be made after I get home from work. Let's just say the all-local pancakes I made and then froze one weekend when I had some extra time, have been qualifying as dinner. Does that count?

We only take one car to the games these days, cutting down on both carbon emissions and fuel consumption. That means the youngest has to stay for the entire game. An added green feature to this, is that we are saving tremendous amounts of water at bath time. He just doesn't take one. I am actually not even sure what day he took his last bath. And, that's pretty yucky considering at baseball games he is petting random dogs, digging holes in the dirt with other random kids and eats candy handed out by other random mothers.

And, we're not done yet! After all this is said and done, there is the business of washing the uniforms that smell. Really bad. I have to tell you, the socks can smell so badly, I am tempted to make the wearers ride on top of the van on the way home from games. I have been resisting the temptations to use warm water or bleach or traditional laundry soap. It's the end of the season, the uniforms are looking pretty dingy. I can't exactly remember if they looked this way last year too, when I was still spraying, pretreating and bleaching? Did that do any good, or really is one uniform worn 3-5 times a week to play in the dirt and eat ice cream and pizza in, just going to be dingy no matter what?

So, while being green is good, sometimes it's really tiring. We have another couple of weeks to go before the championship game and I hope I can hold out. If so, by my estimates, we will have saved over 220 plastic bottles from the recycling bin, washed 35 loads of uniforms in the cold cycle with natural detergents and saved 320 miles of driving by taking one car. Now, I need a break. Being green is hard. Now, I just need to find a green way to clean my van...

Is anything "Real Simple"?

By that, I mean the magazine. I subscribe, as part of a fundraiser for the middle school. As a rule, I avoid all fundraisers for unnecessary items (wrapping paper, candy, popcorn etc.) but I do like to read so I usually sign up for two magazines during that event. Real Simple was one choice and Frommer's Budget Travel as my second. Now, finding ways to green your child's school fundraiser is a WHOLE different post. The paper, the plastic, the unnecessary junk! I will tackle this issue at the beginning of next school year, I need the summer off.

So, I finally got around to reading the June issue of Real Simple. Not that I usually find much to be very simple about the magazine. Most of the solutions require buying lots of "stuff", the clothing is outrageously priced and the meals a little complicated and surely not very local. So, why do I read it? There can be helpful hints, some recipes I might tackle, but mostly because I really do desire the zen of a well organized life. However, I am rethinking my magazine selections for next year. Budget Travel will stay, thank you very much. Real Simple... might just have to go.

This month's letter from the editor? The excitement over getting a dumpster for the editor to clean her garage and basement in a "scorched-earth" plan. Yep. Throwing whatever she could from her kitchen remodel, along with junk from the garage and basement, right into the dumpster. Not a single mention of Craigslist, Freecycle or a garage sale either. And her exact word to describe the feeling? "Thrilling." There was one short remark about trying to recycle what they could from the kitchen, but if you need a dumpster to clean a garage and basement... That doesn't seem very simple to me. Besides, I had always had this picture in my mind of the editors at Real Simple having a pretty darn organized and well kept basement with all the product freebies I am sure they receive and all.... Maybe the magazine could be renamed "Taking the Easy Way Out"?

Have I just outgrown the magazine? Isn't living lighter supposed to be Real Simple? Or, maybe appreciating the chaos, simplicity and zen of my own life is better than the magazine? Either way, I could use some suggestions for the new school year's fundraiser. Real Simple has become Real Recycled!

Dos and Don'ts of Recycling?

We are a family of six. All my kids are boys. Boys eat A LOT. Boys drink A LOT. So, we used to have A LOT of trash. Now, we are down to about 1 bag a week and our recycling is looking pretty sparse as well. With milk bottles going back to the dairy, bulk buying and eliminating all of our bottled tea, water and kids drinks our neighbors probably think we are on vacation or maybe starving our kids... What happened to our trash?

And, then there' s the issue of paper. For the longest time we put all of our junk mail in the recycling bin. You know, the oil change specials from the dealership where we bought the van, teeth cleaning reminders from the dentist, special offers from the local banks, stores and charities. Didn't think too much of it, we shred all of the important stuff so we thought we were fine.

Then a few weeks ago our local eleven o'clock news ran one of their "special segments" in which a news anchor ran around town grabbing stuff out of recycling bins to see just how much information he could get with a quick stop and grab. Identity theft, bank accounts, pant size, brand of milk?? Great, this news anchor (who probably got this crap assignment because he or she is the newbie or is on some kind of probationary period) now has scared the 10 or 12 people who actually recycle into rethinking putting anything into the blue bin and putting it by the street.

So, now my husband is paranoid. He doesn't want anything to go into the bin that even has our name on it. (I still sneak some stuff in between a pizza box or magazine or two - just in case any thieves are reading, woo whoo, our bin is ripe for the stealin'!) He would prefer to either a) shred it all - but then where to we store it all until township recycling day that only happens twice a year? b) put anything with our name on it into the trash - because opening gooey bags is yuckier and harder for thieves I guess? or c) when we have a fire in our fire pit (summer) or fireplace (winter) use these items for starter - cause we all know burning stuff is so eco-cool!

What is the correct rule of thumb for the recycling bin? We finally slimmed down our waste can, I certainly don't want to fatten it up again with useless trash!

One Local Summer - Week 2

I thought this week was going to be a total bust... We were without power for half the week, thanks to some wicked storms. I had a business trip to Chicago - during that power outage - and add to that my kids home from school for their first week of summer break. Meh... who had time to cook or even think about shopping?!? Not I! So, today after baseball games and errands to run, I finally had a moment to think about creating a completely local meal. Most of our day to day ingredients are local - peanut butter, eggs, milk and so on. However, really thinking about each and every ingredient can be challenging!

So, I present to you, after getting really hungry looking at the Green Bean's local graduation platter of sandwiches.... drumroll... Egg salad sandwich on pita with a local brewery beer. Hey, don't knock the beer folks! It's local, less than 30 miles from here and I have 4 boys and it's their playoff season in baseball - some things just go without saying!

My ingredients:

Eggs - East River Organic, Snover, MI

Mustard - Cherry Republic Cherry Mustard, Traverse City, MI

Relish - McClure's Pickles, Royal Oak, MI

Salt - Sea Salt - ???

Lettuce - Local farmer's market, Walled Lake, MI

Pita - Steve's Backroom, Harper Woods, MI

Pilsner - Atwater Brewery, Detroit, MI

Views from my windows...

After our storm, some of my plants are a little better (thanks to the rain!) or a little worse for the wear (thanks to the wind!). Here are some views on what's growing around our soggy, wind-blown yard.

Our favorite this time of year is our steep hill that leads to the lake, which is filled with thousands and thousands of daisies - the pride of the eco 'burban dad. All the neighborhood kids love the "Wizard of Oz" zig-zag path we keep cut through the mob of white petals and sunny yellow centers:

The littlest eco 'burban boy's bean plants, carrots and cherry tomatoes - he found some teeny, tiny green tomatoes and wants to pick them already. Patience is a virtue!

The oldest eco 'burban boy's pea plant - the only one in his science class who got his seeds to sprout, I might add! A hanging basket that apparently loves the humidity!

My herb pot - growing nicely now. And, it looks like there is plenty of sage for some yummy potatoes on the grill for Father's Day!

And, last, but certainly not least... Sunset on our lake. The perfect end to a stormy summer day!

Rethinking Summer

My kids are out of school - for a whole four days now. They are already climbing the walls looking for things to do or places to go. The changes we have been making over the last six months or so are kind of putting a cramp in their carefree summer style.

What?!? No more Gatorade? No more Chips Ahoy cookies in the individually wrapped blue pouches? Why is the air conditioning off? (I say, just ask Chile and they wander away making the coo-coo motion around their ears. They have no idea who Chile is...) Can I turn the fan on? Will you drive me to the store? Can I download more iTunes? Where's my book / PSP / Gameboy / gum / basketball / squirtgun - fill in the blank here. Yeesh, I say - When does school start?!?

Oh, I thought I was prepared for summer all right. I bought a bulk amount of organic lemonade that I mix in the glass pitcher in the fridge. Yes, boys, you have to pour that into the shiny new SIGG I bought for you. And, yes, you MUST remember to bring it home from the park. That thing cost me $18. Oh, you're hungry too. Well, then make a sandwich. No, there aren't any premade frozen PBJs in the freezer. You need to get out a knife, find the peanut butter, stir it and spread it on a pita.

Doing all of this used to feel like more effort and work for me in the beginning. Now, I have adjusted and it actually feels simpler to me. There is less to shop for, less to worry about, less to store and organize. However, this is all new for my boys now they are home for the summer. Apparently, they didn't notice the changes throughout the school year. They are middle school students after all. As long as they have lunch money and a ride, they say nothing, see nothing and hear nothing.

This is the part where I realize that the changes I choose to make, affect everyone around me. It's not a bad change, it's actually good for them, but they now are forced to adjust how they go to the park, what they carry with them, how to plan to make their lunch and so on. I tell my husband, it's a good thing. They will grow up to be men who shop at Farmer's Markets and plant tomatoes on the balcony of their first apartment. I hope. Oh, I'm sure there will be fast food and beer and *shudder* girls. But, I hope along with that, the appreciation for farmers, food and family that they wouldn't have gotten from me without going through this change together.

The first week has been a learning curve so far. I am betting though, in another week, filling up the SIGG, tucking it into the handy new bottle holder their Dad installed on each bike, and heading off to the park will just be part of the daily routine!