Sock Monkey

Seen above the record shop on Lexington.

Eating Low

I have been a non-meat eater for 13 years now. I haven't had pork or beef in 20 years. I have difficulty defining it as vegetarian because I occasionally, 3 or 4 times a year, eat fish. I have had several meat eaters point out that I'm "not really a vegetarian" since I eat fish. You have to love meat eaters, educating the public on the finer points of being a vegetarian!

My diet choice is born from a summer I spent as a counselor at Camp Rockfish in Eastern NC, after my Freshman year in college. The Director of the camp, was passionate but not pushy about eating "low on the food chain" to preserve the environment. Pigs and Cows are "high" on the food chain, requiring a disproportionate amount of natural resources for the small amount of food it produces. Turkey and Chicken are lower on the chain, requiring less resources.

In late 2006, The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization reported that Livestock production is responsible for more climate change gasses than all the motor vehicles in the world. In total, it is responsible for 18 percent of human induced greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.

In addition, PETA reports that growing all the crops to feed farmed animals requires massive amounts of water and land—in fact, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the United States are used to raise animals for food. Our taste for meat is also taking a toll on our supply of fuel and other nonrenewable resources—about one-third of the used in America each year is consumed by the farmed animal industry.

Stopping meat consumption seems like one of the most affordable ways folks can impact and slow global warming. I wonder why more folks don't do it?

Light Days

New uses for panty liners. I wonder how this kid felt after his Mom peeled them off. I bet this is his last close encounter with femine products.

Enjoy the Ride

Here are my boys just before heading off to school for Wacky Hair Day. Things are pretty steady at my parenting gig, so I'm just enjoying the ride, as I know there will eventually be a bump in the road ahead. I just don't know when and where, so I try to live in the moment. Trite, I know, but it's a good place to be.

I recently realized I have stopped expecting the school to call and ask me to come and get my wild child. It's evident he's getting more sleep- he's cooperative instead of combative, he's grown since his surgery, the growth hormone must have kicked in, and he's really accelerated his reading. Big Exhale!

Now if I could only get the dopey dog to cooperate.

HOW BOUT THEM HEELS?

ACC Champs

You have to love NC State and Sidney Lowe. Wow, I really thought they would be out of gas today. They showed some real spirit. Costner is a great player - just a freshman. I think Lowe did an excellent job coaching them. My DH thinks that the way the team plays is a result of the previous coach's, Sendek recruiting. Certainly, that's how it was with Matt Doherty, the previous Tarheel coach. Time will tell.

ACC Hoops

I am little bleary eyed today. I stayed up until 1:30 this morning watching ACC hoops. (And no, I didn't have any sauce, though it sure goes good with basketball). I was able to catch a part of each of the four games yesterday. In each one, the underdog won. Love it - as long as it isn't my Heels getting showed up. The last game was unbelievable, won in double overtime. I haven't read the stats on the gig but both teams (Wake Forest and GA Tech) were shooting the lights out. It was really fun to watch. My husband and our friend Blake nodded off in the second overtime and i had to remain composed every time someone threw down another three. I didn't want to wake them, after all they had to work (for pay)today.

Even though that last game was thrilling, the Duke loss to NC State earlier in the evening was a guilty pleasure to embrace. During the game, the camera kept panning to Duke's Henderson, sitting in the stands because of his suspension for clocking UNC's Hansbrough with his elbow during their match on Sunday. Can't say I felt bad for him - he got what he deserved. Now I don't think he meant to break Hansbrough nose, but I think he intentionally lost control and this was the result. But Henderson's a kid and kids make stupid decisions, after all his frontal lobe isn't done cooking yet. I'm sure he'll learn from it.

I hear a lot of folks talking about Coach K's "class" (uh, how he has so much of it) so I just don't understand his comment after it was all said and done. Instead of blaming Henderson for a stupid decision, he implied that it was Coach Williams' fault for leaving Hansbrough in the game with a 12 point lead and 14 seconds left (Hello, coach Kommercial, you can't come out of the game when you're on the foul line. And where were your starters, sans the ones who hadn't fouled out? Yeah, that's what I thought. When it's Duke V UNC, nobody stops playing until the buzzer sounds, not even you). Yeah, real class, Coach K. See you in the commercials.