I have alot of things I love to do and share, like crafting, but there is one thing that I am ultra passionate about. Animals and conservation of their habitats. I don't talk about it alot, because it is the root of the one thing I would have tried to change in my past. I always had planned to be a veterinarian. But somewhere along the way I didn't take that path. Maybe it was the paralyzing pressure from my parents to go to college, maybe I was lazy, maybe it was my boyfriend, maybe it was not my destiny. I know in my heart that the path to that dream would not have lead me to where I am now. I know I was meant to be the mother to these two daughters of mine. I definitely feel the hole in my life where this particular passion is not being fulfilled. I try to remember that I have alot of life ahead of me to realize my dream. No I'm probably not going to ever finish vet school, but here is what I do currently. First and foremost I foster Kylah's mutual love of animals. This is a daily duty, she devours any information about animals. She watches Animal planet constantly. She must have 200 plastic and stuffed animals and she acts out all the behaviors she studies on TV. She will watch a bug for hours. Every week she checks out books like; How to live with a Beagle, Your Guinea Pig and You, Siamese Cats, My first Horse, and this weeks selection Warthogs, and the list goes on. We go to Petco more than the grocery store "just to look". Her favorite weekend trip is to the pound. I hope someday nothing stands in her way of her dream, which happens to be the same as mine, to be a vet. And honestly I had nothing to do with it. We also have a Gold membership to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. I randomly will donate to different causes but one always on my list is the National Wildlife Federation. And I ALMOST never get plastic sacks from the store, I love my canvas bags!
Did you see the title of my post? Thats why I am on this little rant. It's Earth Day. I'm not a scientist and I really do not know if the planet is warming or not. But I do know that as humans we are leaving a devastating effect on our environment. I am just as guilty as the rest, I drive a huge SUV, a decision I should have thought harder about. I watched a special on 20/20 on Friday night and was shocked by a story about a bird in the rain forest that now imitates the sounds of the chainsaws cutting down its habitat. I heard it myself, it sounded exactly like a chainsaw.
Here is a site where you can go to get some more information on what you can do to lessen your impact. Some of the smallest changes will make a huge difference, and many of them you will not even notice. I picked some new things, here is my list...
Become a flexitarian - because Kylah doesn't want to eat meat anymore
Swap out one meat dish a week for a veggie plate. Why? Because raising produce is "cheaper," in terms of energy, than raising animals. Log on to vegweb.com to find tasty, meatless recipes (our favorite: the lentil burgers).
Get the organic habit- Because Kids don't need more hormones in their food
Switch to organic for at least one product that you buy every week.
Lighten up with energy savings -We'll replace 3 bulbs this week
Consider using compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). They cost a bit more than regular bulbs, but you'll lower your electric bill and pay less in the long run-CFLs last up to ten times longer than traditional ones
So HAPPY EARTH DAY! What can you do? Send me a comment and let me know.
And tomorrow when I finish reading about my new scanner I will post some pictures of the cards I did this weekend. Have a good one!
