Project: Simplify presents: My Wardrobe

First of all, let me just say: wow. This so needed to happen. Inspired by Simple Mom's first "hot spot" I went through every single piece of clothing I own. I mean it. Every shoe, every pair of pants, jacket, sock, and scarf was touched. Winter wear, summer wear, fancy clothes, yoga pants - all were assessed. Pre-baby clothes and post-baby clothes - all examined and classified. In total I went through 8 drawers, 7 shelves, 2 closet racks and 1 closet floor. I was merciless. I was honest. I was decisive. I was... surprised.

My bedroom closet is so very tiny that it is hard, even for me, to keep it in check. My before:

I am by nature a very organized person, so while this might not look too bad, for me, this was really a pain. I had lost any sense of order whatsoever in this closet, and since it is so very small, that really made it hard to find anything. In addition, making the switch into maternity clothes caused a real organizational avalanche. I would move clothes in (but not out) as I needed new ones, and just put them anywhere. Plus, I had lots of stuff that I would just shove back in the closet or dresser in frustration, because it didn't fit that day and I wasn't in the mood to deal with it.

Post baby, when winter came, I brought out sweaters and boots and things, but didn't clean out anything, just moved it aside because - hey! - I had a brand new baby and things like being able to find my clothes were pretty far down on the list. No pre-baby clothes fit yet anyway, so what did it matter?

I was excited to have the motivation of the Simple Mom blog to get my going on doing the much-needed wardrobe overhaul. But in the end, I was actually shocked at how much I truly needed to remove. Here is a rough calculation:

• 2 boxes of clothes + 3 pr shoes to consign
• 2 boxes of clothes + 3 pr shoes to give away to charity
• 2 bags of clothes + 4 pr shoes so janky they had nowhere to go but the trash
• 1 under-bed storage bag of clothes that were out-of-season
• 1 under-bed storage bag of clothes that don't fit (but for baby reasons I'm keeping)

Ok, the last two bullets actually represent items that were stored, rather than removed from our home, but still. I got rid of things that I had no business still having, like a black suit that I have had since I was 18, and that hasn't fit me for at least 6 years. Or the fun halter top I wore to Mexico 5 years ago that didn't really fit then. And the orange sherbet colored sweater that I wore on my honeymoon that got an entire can of hairspray emptied onto it in the suitcase, and thus picked up a lot of weird colors in transit. The color on that sweater never was really right after that.

I also decided that now that I am a mom, I really should follow the advice of all the pros (you know, and act like the adult I'm supposed to be): I finally removed every last wire [dry cleaners] hanger from my closet. I took my heavy sweaters off of hangers and folded them. I organized my closet by item, then color. I actually removed every item that didn't fit RIGHT NOW or wasn't in the right shape to wear, for whatever reason. The result?

See the cute containers? I splurged and spent $30 to buy 5 containers (that would actually match!) to make things easier to keep tidy and organized. I moved all shoes out of boxes and off the floor. I removed all the crummy hangers. I sorted everything first by type, then color (dark to light, left to right). I swept and dusted inside the closet, and put everything in appropriately sized containers to make it easy to put away again. And I LOVE IT!

I've already gotten rid of half of the items that need to be given away or sold, and the other half will be going this week. Despite the snow on the ground, spring cleaning is under way here!

Next: the home library/office (or, the-place-all-pieces-of-paper-go-to-and-never-leave).

Spring Cleaning

Now that I am at home full time, taking care of my beautiful son, I have a lot more time to observe all the things in the house that don't "work" for us. Like the endlessly growing piles of paper junk that accumulates in the living room, dining room, and library. Or the never-ending stream of baby toys, clothes, shoes, hats, blankets and other debris that can be found in every room in the house. Or the closet and dresser that are never empty, even when all the laundry baskets are full. We are being taken over by stuff! In addition to feeling a bit overrun by stuff, and longing for open spaces, filled with light, fresh air, fresh flowers (you know - the stuff of magazine spreads, not real houses) we have had a bout of illness that has hit the whole family one at a time, and I am just coming back to some health myself. Therefore I feel that it is high time for some wall-to-wall cleaning to get any lingering germs out. So, without further ado... I am embarking (albeit 3 weeks late...) on the Simple Mom: Project Simplify. Five weeks to a more orderly, tidy, simplified home. Sounds like heaven to me. Stay tuned for progress...

Time keeps on slippin' into the future.

I find myself being disappointed too often. And from my readings in yogic and other Eastern texts, I have come to the conclusion that it is because I set too many expectations out. However, I don't think that is quite right. I need to set more expectations for myself, and less for other people. Or to borrow another yogic practice - I need to dwell less on expectations and more on intentions.
Let's use a very current example. It is noon, and I'm still in my pajamas, haven't really eaten much (but am hungry) and haven't done a single thing on my to-do list. I haven't addressed the laundry in the washer, the empty coffee cup next to me, the baby who needs a bath (not that he cares about that), the stack of tax crap I have to sift through, or the mending pile that really needs work. So as the day goes like this (many of my days seem to) I come to the end of it feeling like I didn't really get to much of what I would have liked and I don't even really know why not. Sometimes I think that I should just "let be" and "go with the flow" and all that. And then other times I think, perhaps, I need to be a little more actively managing my time rather than frittering it away.
I didn't have much in the way of expectations today, but I didn't have any intentions either. So you might think that no matter what happened, I should be content. But my general and evergreen expectation is that I should do something with my day. Be productive! Be clever! Make, fix, clean, organize... something. Have a brilliant thought and immortalize it in words.
But I'm a stay at home mom now. Full time. My life revolves mostly around one 5 month old little boy. And I love my time with him. I am ecstatic to have this chance to be home with him. So, why do I get so disappointed?? I think it is time to clean the ol' slate, as they say, of the expectations I had for my pre-mom, paid-work, post-college me. Maybe if I can leave the slate clean... now that would be something.

Hearts

KT Tunstall says in her song "Big Black Horse and a Cherry Tree:"

My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm going to let it do all the talking.

I have been feeling lately that my brain and my heart (or gut, or whatever you want to call the feeling-part instead of the thinking-part) are not working together very well. I think my brain is trying to tell my heart to stop telling my brain the wrong things. Sound confusing? It is. Who I want to be and who I feel like I am do not match. My time slips away and I have not spent it on the things I want, but I can't seem to figure out where the time goes or get a hold on it. Time and purpose are like slippery, shiny bubbles. I see them floating all around. I chase them, but as soon as I try to grab on - pop! - they disappear out of reach forever. I have begun to try to dig in to myself, gently, to try and figure out where all this dissonance is coming from and how to stop it. I want my inner me and my outer me to be in sync again, and for myself and my shadow to be back in step. Remember how Peter Pan's shadow gets away from him? Well, I need to find mine, sew it back on, and get back into one piece. Then perhaps I'll feel better.

Nice Girls Don't Bitch

I am pissed off. I mean, just damn mad. I am furious with everything. I'm mad at asshole drivers that run red lights because they feel like it is their turn; thereby making my turn not my turn and fucking everything up for the rest of everyone because THEY are so important. I am pissed off that nothing ever fits me right. Ever. Bra straps fall down, shirts ride up. Buttons strain over my breasts while the rest of the shirt is baggy. Pants have to be rolled up, pulled up, and shifted all the time. My underwear either rides up my ass or slides down it. Oh how I would love to put an outfit on in the morning and be done with putting it in place! I hate that everything is messy all the time. Life feels like one long cleaning session. Cleaning myself, my counters, my clothes, my closet, my dishes, my drain, my baby's diapers, spit up, piss, and otherwise. I am pissed off that as a race we are killing our planet and pretending that we aren't. I am mad that there is such a gap between the wealthy and the poor. I am pissed off that Republicans have control of the house again. I am fucking furious about the state of health care and that I have to go to fifteen different places and pay way too much for too little help and a lot of blank looks. And that the Republicans want to repeal the first health care law that is trying to fix that. I am pissed off that I was born with a body that constantly betrays and pains me, in addition to being apparently the wrong size for any and all clothing. I am angry that I got a shitty deal in the parent department (50% of it, anyway) and that I have to sort out all the problems that caused. Nice girls don't complain. Nice girls forgive, are patient, understanding, and generous. I don't think being nice is really working for me anymore. So I'm going to try being angry for a while and see where that goes.

Holiday Haze

I always have mixed feelings about the holidays. I love Christmas and always have. I love the potential for wonder, joy, magic, love, and all the warm-fuzzies that come with those things. I enjoy the anticipation of parties and family and presents and goodies (cookies!). I like thinking of things to give people, creating items, first with my mind, then my hands. Like this year, I made all my Christmas cards from pieces of cards I've gotten in years past. It was fun to piece them together in different ways and personalize them all for the recipients.

Yet mixed in with all this happiness and joy is frustration, disappointment and irritation. I get frustrated with all the "buy! buy! buy!" messaging we see everywhere. I get frustrated with the incessant faux-holiday spirit we are bombarded with in every retail outlet we go to, every radio station, every website ad. I get irritated by the sheer madness of trying to do everything, see everyone (and please everyone) and get done all that I want to in the period of one month. I am inevitably disappointed by the things that do not live up to my expectations, especially those that I had hoped for the most.

Every year I long for something simpler, more honest, more pure. I hope for less frenzy and more friends. Less commerce and more conversation. Less expectation and more surprise. This year I am doing some of what I can to make that happen. I made my own Christmas cards. I visited friends to make Christmas cookies, and then shared them with my neighbors. I am giving nearly all recycled/reused gifts, and of course everything is wrapped in reused packaging and tissue paper. I have spent less time out (actually, none) desperately trying to find something to give to someone because of an obligation, and more time thinking about what I love and cherish about this time of year.

I am trying to release my frustration that others may not do this. That our family and friends will have limited time, energy and focus. That we will get cookie-cutter-Christmas cards instead of phone calls. That we will get presents that were well-meaning, but not really about us, but about giving "something." That we will go to several parties where everyone is already worn out and sits around the TV instead of around the fire.

I am also trying to remember that I can only do what I can do, and that I have to give my best to the ones I love without expectation. That is what a gift is. Not an exchange, or a trade, but something freely given without strings, conditions, or requirements. So perhaps the best gift I can give this year is my own patience, non-judgment, and love to all those I encounter. In that way perhaps I could create more of the Christmas spirit I so long to see.

What I like to call Food

I just finished reading my quarterly newsletter from the Organic Consumers Association, and learned that they are still trying to convince the USDA not to allow GMO (genetically modified organisms) salmon to be marketed without being labeled as GMO.

I really find it irksome in the extreme that we have to cajole, connive, and convince the powers that be that we deserve to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about what we are eating.

There should not be any need to explain the importance of knowing what you are eating, but there is. In today's world (or at least in this country) people have come to accept a lot of "food products" as food without asking any questions. Considering that we truly are what we eat (since there is no other input, save for air and H2O, other than the calories we ingest) I think it should be a given that we have access to full information about what it is we are eating.

I want to know if the food I'm being sold has been cross-bred with another species, dosed up with antibiotics or growth hormones, fed recycled animal parts, or sprayed with lethal insecticides or herbacides. I want to know what food is being fed to the animals I eat because they are what they eat, too. I want to know how many additives (and where they came from) are going into my food, and why. Yet, again and again the USDA and FDA are convinced by -- get this -- the corporations who make money on food modifications and additives, to keep much of the process from seed (or birth, in the case of an animal) to plate in the dark.

I'm tired of having to defend my right to know what it is I'm putting into my body. I'm tired of being asked to accept on pure faith that everything served to me on a plate, in a bag, from a bin, is healthy for me and the planet. I want to see less useless, public- relations focused, obscure snippets: "all natural!," "good-for-you-grains," "heart-healthy." I want to see more information about what is in our food, how it was made/grown, and what the source of all ingredients are.

I will continue to stand up and demand that the basic building block of our health and our lives is pure, safe, and, further, labeled so that we can determine whether it is or is not worth our money and our calories. I hope, however, that I don't have to do it for much longer.

A Mortal Girl in a Denial World

I heard on the news today that a vast percentage of worldwide deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, liver failure, cancer, and the chronic pulmonary disease. The term being bandied about was "premature death." What does this term really mean anyway? I have heard that premature death refers to anyone dying earlier that the statistical average for their demographic group (they have different numbers for men, women, Hispanic, etc). This concept seems ludicrous to me. Life and death are very complex and personal matters. What will be fatal for one person will not be for the next. People with very similar lifestyles and genetics may have decades between their last days. Under what foolishness is it that we pretend we will know when we are "supposed" to die? Now don't get me wrong - I am in no hurry to die and I appreciate that medicine is working to help keep us all alive longer, I really do. Because I'm sure if I was told I was dying at this age I would surely and absolutely see it as premature. But I wonder if we are all sort of participating in a epic farce. We are all mortal. We are all doing to die. Something, someday, will cause us to breathe our last breath. This is inevitable. How much of what we call medicine is really trying to escape this inevitable fate?

Self improvement or self acceptance?

How do you know where to draw the line between accepting yourself as you are, flaws, strengths, good and bad - and striving to be something better, something more, something dynamic instead of static, something you can be proud of? How do you stop thinking about all the parts of you that you wish were different? If I changed all those things, would I be substantially different? Would I still like me, would others? If I changed all those things but wasn't substantially different, what would be the point? One of my favorite merry-go-rounds is the whole accomplishment thing. I sometimes thing that I should know more - learn something new. How to speak another language perhaps (most educated people around the globe speak at least two if not more, and most Americans speak just the one), or at least re-learn all the Spanish I knew in high school. Or perhaps I should pick up the violin again and really commit myself to the community orchestra so I could learn new music, and refresh my skills. Or what about something completely new - like German? Or knitting? Soccer? But then I think about all the things I already know, the things I already do, which inevitably leads to all the things I used to know but don't anymore. And I wonder, "should I just accept this? Is this just a normal part of getting older?" If I’m not learning anything, or really accomplishing anything (but just maintaining the status quo) am I really living? Or then am I just existing? And then there are all the parts of my less-tangible nature: I'm opinionated, emotional, melodramatic, and so on. For example I like that I am sensitive, but I don’t like how I get so easily upset. If I change one, does it change the other? If so, is it worth that price?

Ecology vs. Economy

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. And unforunately, I'm not coming up with a satisfactory resolution. You hear on the news all the time that we need to buy, buy, buy! We are being told that it is our patriotic duty to go out and buy things to bolster our flagging economy.

Yet, in general this contradicts what we need to be doing to be practicing sound ecology. We, the United States, already use a vastly disproportionate percentage of the world's resources, energy, water, raw material and then turn around and produce more waste and refuse than any other country on our planet. In fact the old Earth-loving mantra states: "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle." Note, it starts with reduce.

So, you see the dilemma. We are told we must consume more to support our economy, but we know we must consume less to support our planet. I know that there are now all kinds of products that are more Earth-friendly that boast recycled content, fair-trade, sustainably harvested, hand-made, carbon offset and much, much more. And of course, when I can I prefer to buy these things. I prefer even more to buy things that are used; that not only keeps said thing out of the landfills, but requires no new resources to produce and is thus, the most ecologically friendly purchase I can make.

But still the question remains: is it really ecologically sound to purchase things you do not need? Does it not still increase the resource burden? Do we not still have to use dwindling resources to source, produce, ship, and store all these eco-friendly options? Does it not commit one more thing to eventual landfill space, that we don't really have?

I don't want to see our economy fail (or get worse) as that impacts hundreds of thousands of people's ability to feed their families, have jobs, and get adequate health care - among other things. I get that. However, this has really underscored in a very concrete way- a fact I've known for a long time - our way of life is unsustainable. It is not acceptable to have a whole economy predicated on more, more, more consumption all the time. What if we had a way of life focused on better instead of more?

Will we look back at this time in 10 years and see a turning point where we, as a nation, realize that in order to move forward we have to build a whole new economic model based on conservation, innovation, and efficiency? I hope so.

Two Perils of Sub-urban Life

There are a number of things about the way our suburban areas have developed here in the Midwest that irk me. Far too many to list in a blog. So I will simply mention two. 1. The world is not a trashcan! I took a walk today from my office to a nearby coffee shop for an espresso. The weather was unusually nice and so I thought I'd get out there. I should have counted, because I think it would have been astonishing to post how many pieces of trash I passed on the way there and back. I did take note during one portion and saw: a beer can, a soda cup, a cigarette lighter, two product manuals of some sort, a couple of straws, and about 20 cigarette butts. What is up with that? The way I was raised, it was bad to litter. Unless it was biodegradable (an apple core was ok) out my car window was not an option. When did it ever become ok to consider anywhere external (i.e., not my house or my car or my yard) an appropriate place for my junk? Was anyone really raised that way? "Sure, honey, we throw our trash in the parking lot. They have maids that will come get it; go ahead." Oh wait, no of course no one was ever told that because we all know better. Yet, I still see it all the time. I could launch into the problems with our throw-away society, but I'll save that for another blog. 2. Abruptly ending sidewalks. This drives me batty. It is just further evidence that most Midwestern areas are designed for cars, not people. I had to walk in the street or grass 3 times in one mile because the sidewalk would just suddenly end in grass. I could see where the sidewalk picked up again. Why do they do this?? Why would you omit several sections of the sidewalk only to pick it up again in 50 feet? Is this some kind of forced pedestrian off-roading? Was it poor planning in the amount of concrete mix? Or maybe they are now using some complex algorithm that shows that sidewalks last longer if you keep them non-contiguous. I do not feel like it is a particularly novel concept to have a sidewalk that goes from street to street, without stopping halfway there to force you into the scraggly new-sod grass. Or muddy puddle with three straws and a McDonalds wrapper in it. If that is the case, why have sidewalks at all? Why not just have folks walk in the street in the first place? I suppose this is why I've never been asked to be a City Planner. Clearly, I just don't get it. Ok, I feel better now.

The "meltdown" - is it really so bad?

You can't possibly listen to/watch/read/discuss the news without hearing about the ongoing economic meltdown we, and seemingly, the entire world is in. To hear tell, we are in a downward-spiral that is set to trump the Great Depression if we don't act quickly and cleverly.
I have really mixed emotions about this all.
I find it frightening that we have already pumped billions into the economy. This money being used to prop up banks, car manufacturers, and other institutions "too big to fail" as well as sending $300 checks to tax payers all over the country. Yet, we are now discussing another $150 Billion "infusion" into the economy. That on top of loan forgiveness, additional government insurance and backing, and interest rates so low that they are practically paying us. Oh wait, they are paying us. With our own money.
Now, I am not a "small government" type, exactly. I approve of social programs, government oversight, regulations, etc. And the upcoming Chief is the one I voted for, and with enthusiasm. But that said, I think that part of the problem is a lack of confidence in the government itself, not just a lack of confidence in the money.
The Government has become so diffuse, so nebulous, so largely opaque, that who really knows what "the government" is involved in? I mean, sure, we know about the FDA, and Congress, and the Supreme Court. We know a lot about the Secretary of the Treasury these days, and everyone knows about the CIA and FBI. But how many of us know about the Office of Health Informatics? Or about the Office of Telehealth Technology? What about the Bureau of Labor Statistics? There are hundreds, and I guess likely thousands of government entities, organizations, contractors, offices, bureaus and programs that are running all the time. Have you ever worked with a government employee? If you have, and they are not the Secret Service, you may have noticed their sense of urgency or even success is perhaps, well, different then ours.
There is certainly a lot of room for improvement in the way our government is run, but with an economic situation such as ours, somehow it seems simpler to infuse the economy with hundreds of billions (of borrowed and returned at high-interest-rates) money than to deal with the hundreds of millions of duplications, inefficiencies and leaking productivities (or even objectives?) that make up our government.
But even with all that, I think our own economic situation is perhaps being viewed just a little askew. Because the truth is this: even with all this, we still have it pretty good. Now let me just put the caveat in here RIGHT NOW that I know there are people in the US literally starving, homeless, and facing horrific times. I know that. I know that there are literally families that are being evicted with no where to go, and families that have to choose between food and shelter. That sucks and for those people, my heart goes out.
But for the rest of us: we have it pretty good. We have houses, many of us have our very own dwelling. Not an apartment, or a duplex, but a whole house. With plumbing that is reliable and provides us with clean water every time we turn it on. We have reliable electricity and likely reliable comforts, like air conditioning and heating, that we can count on. We have more clothes than we really need (literally - no one NEEDS a closet full of clothes. We just like it, and that is all there is to it), more food than we strictly need to survive, and more comforts. We have soft sheets and beds, TVs and computers, cell phones and MP3 players, lots of meat and milk and bread, and even often cookies and chips and beer, to boot.
Look at places around the world - and there are so many - where people literally live in shacks, eat only what they can grow or trade with what their neighbors can grow, wear the same clothes every single day, and walk several miles to get water to drink or bathe in. These places are still all over the world. It is not just a few villages here and there. Even in other countries of relative wealth, the average person could not dream of owning a home, or a car. Those are truly luxuries reserved for only the very wealthy.
Yes, it scares me to think that I could be out of a job, or lose all the money in my 401k. It scares me. But it scares me more to think that we have become so desensitized to the plight of our fellow humans that losing my 401k scares me more than the thousands of people who die every day from lack of clean drinking water. In 2009, that is a fate that should face no person. When you really think about it, doesn't that seem worse?

Opting-out, pt. 1

So, I just can't stand how many things have become utterly unaffordable, unattainable and downright ridiculous. When it comes to consumer goods, that is. I found (yes, found, really) an abandoned MP3 player that I adopted as my own. After much fiddling with the thing I figured out how to work it. Well, of course to do so, it needs some accessories. So I went over to our local Best Buy and got a power and sync cord- for $35! I really had no choice, of course, as I can not reasonably fashion for myself a power cord of any kind. So, shell out I did do. I have been since that time of acquisition, using the MP3 player (which is a Sansa, not an i-Pod) extensively in my workouts. Which always poses the challenges of: not dropping the player, not choking myself with it, not accidentally turning it off, not yanking the headphones out, etc. So, recently I thought I should probably get one of those sport bands that goes on your arm to securely hold the player while you work out. Upon looking for these at the store I discovered they are $30+ for a small piece of elastic/plastic/velcro!! I could not, under any definition I hold of good conscience and good sense, pay that amount for that pitiful excuse for workmanship. Then and there I decided "I could make one of these!" Ah, how many times I have had that thought and done nothing whatsoever with it. However, this time I did! I just today sat down and fashioned an MP3 holder out of elastic band, velcro strips and a few strips of canvas. It took about an hour and cost perhaps $3 worth of materials to make. Not only do I know have a unique MP3 holder, but I have one that is innocent of many of the faults of modern mass-production: poorly paid labor, pollution, questionable source materials, dangerous plastics usage, long transportation distances, and poor workmanship. I'll be honest, the stiching on mine is less-than-perfect, and one of the seams is definitely crooked. But overall, it meets the need quite well, and makes me proud to have posed a problem and solved it for myself. So I say to the big capitalist profit making gurus: take that! I can make my own and be happy!

The implications of buying a cow

When we decided to buy a cow we had no idea it would require so much work, and be the catalyst for a whole series of changes in the way we view food, food acquisition, the environment and more. This has been a long time coming. My strong position on environmental stewardship and conservation has been influencing me for years to buy organic. But the more I learn about the food chain, the food industry and the planet, the further I get from organic as the focus. But this just makes it more complicated. Now I look for:

• local (to support the local economy and cut down on transportation waste)
• sustainably grown
• humane treatment of animals
• natural pest and weed management practices (to protect water systems)
• non-GMO foods
• as little processing as is truly necessary (i.e. grinding wheat to make it be flour) and no more

So, you can see that shopping for food has become a whole political-environmental-economic experience. I actually think that is how it should be, but that isn't how it generally is in our world, so it has taken some getting used to. Reading In Defense of Food (Pollan) and The Omnivore's Dilemma (Pollan), not to mention Fast Food Nation (Schlosser) all made a big impact on the way I view our food, too. And not in any way that is of benefit to Tyson or ADM.
Ok, back to the cow. So, in our quest for meat that meets all the requirements (see above list) we began to consider buying a whole or half cow, direct from a farmer, specifically seeking a grass fed cow. Well, you can't just find road-stands with a sign, "Buy your fresh beef here!", you know. So began the search. Lucky for me I have found a great website: Eat Wild. Here you can view all the local farmers in your area, so long as they have made themselves public, and find contact information for them. These modern-day farmers even have websites! Oh hallelujah!
But then, I am acquianted with loads of new terms I've never met before: hanging weight, beeves, pounds written as "#" and all sorts of other things that made deciphering these potential transactions very confounding. Thankfully, even modern-day farmers are still very happy to talk to you.
Turns out, when you order a cow directly from the farmer you get a lot of say so in how much meat you get, how it is cut, how it is packaged, how much is in any one package, whether you want it frozen or not and so on. Imagine!! So much input in the product! What an idea.
After calling several farms, we have nearly decided who we want our cow from. I am excited to get it. We are excpecting about 175 lbs of meat. I have NO IDEA what I will do with that much beef, but I bet we'll have more steak than we used to (none). And we'll make lots, and lots of chili. I can't wait.