Pink Slime

Slime, I can remember the first time I saw someone get slimed. I was watching Nickelodeon’s You Can’t Do That on Television and as the green goop dumped on the heads of the contestants I gasped and cringed saying oooh gross! Ever since then I have always associated the word slime with Nickelodeon.

Enter Pink Slime.

So, is it a new kind of slime (in the color pink) for Nickelodeon’s next Kids’ Choice Awards? Nope. Pink Slime, or as the USDA refers to it, Lean Finely Textured Beef, is something we are purchasing at the grocery stores and our kid’s are eating in their school lunches. Now whether you are an omnivore (like me) or a vegetarian (like Kellie) the Pink Slime issue effects us all. It raises questions about the USDA, how our food is being labeled in grocery stores, and what types of food are being allowed in our school systems.

Park Far

Here at the Sustainable Shoppe we’re all about simple lifestyle choices that you can make toward big goals. In this month we’re focusing on exercise. ‘Promote and get people excited about exercise.’ We’ve thought of some simple phrases that can result in the action of exercise. The first one is ‘Park Far.’ Walk a little extra to appointments, stores, or restaurants. If you can’t walk to where you’re going, at least take away the stress of finding a close spot.

Feel free to print this out and put it in your back car window. Let’s start a walking revolution!

Being Green on St. Patty’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of our readers! In honor of this green filled day we wanted to share with you some Green Toys. We don’t mean green in color, or even just green in reference to the environment (but they are!) we mean Green Toys the innovative children’s toy company – producing a great line of classic children’s toys.

Constructed from recycled milk cartons and get this made in the USA, Green Toys are BPA, Phthalates, and PVC.  To date, they have recycled over 10,000,000+ milk cartons!

Most Challenging Half Marathon?

Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic

I have run this race as a 20K, and last year as a half marathon. Recently, I wanted to find out how this race compares to other tough races. I mean, look at the grade! But what else constitutes a tough race? The running conditions in West Virginia in May are near perfect, and there are enough volunteers along the race course to cheer you on while providing something to take care of your thirst.

I found Dennis Dilbert’s interview on RunPals.com where he states

Which are the most famous or popular local races?

I would have to say the most popular races would be The Parkersburg Half Marathon and the Ogden Half Marathon in Wheeling for the longer races.

The Ogden used to be known as the Elby’s Big Boy 20k Classic. It was a mainstay for runners like Bill Rodgers and Jon Sinclair back in the 1980’s. Recently we have had the emergence of the Debbie Green Memorial 5k run in downtown Wheeling.

The Northern Panhandle of West Virginia has a plethora of great small town local races. Most of the runners and walkers know each other, which makes for a great social environment.

What’s the one race a visitor should run?

My call on races that would be a must would be the Ogden Half Marathon. Back when it was the 20k, it was hyped as the toughest 20k anywhere by running legend Bill Rodgers. This course shows off our hilly terrain and sometimes strikes fear into even the most seasoned runner.

So, I had to find out more about Bill Rodgers! Then, I found an article about Mark Simala, photographed beside Bill Rodgers, that talks about the Ogden 20k being the toughest road race in America. But who is saying this? What poll? Well, Bill Rodgers has quite the track record via Wiki, so I’ll take his word for it, for now.

I’ll keep looking. In the mean time, check out the Ogden race course, and begin running 1 mile stretches this week to begin training for it!

Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic Race Course

About.Com’s West Virginia Half Marathons

Ohio Valley’s Runners and Walkers Club

The Leap List

What do you want to do before taking your next BIG leap in life.

In honor of Leap Day we have decided to create our own leap lists AND are asking our readers to share their leap lists with us in the leave a reply section below this post. Whether you have ten items or one, we want to hear what would make your list.

During the SuperBowl Honda shared these videos asking people to create a leap list with 10 things (and they would be entered for their new CR-V). Kel and I quickly realized that making a list that long could be a bit daunting. So we rethought this idea, trying to decide what would be on our list that we could accomplish in the next couple of months rather than years.

My next big leap in life – moving from Santiago, Chile to Denver, Colorado. By the end of May we will be packing up our things and headed stateside for our next adventure in a brand new city. Many items on my list are places I would like to see or do before leaving our home of four years.

Take one last roadtrip either to the north or to the south
Climb Cerro Manquehue
Visit the Picasso Exhibit
Ride my bicycle (it has been nearly a year since I stopped riding because I was pregnant)
Learn to play another song on the guitar
Finish the paintings for the baby’s room
Take photos of my favorite places in the city

Sustainable Shoppe wants to hear from you, share with us, even if you only want to think of one item, what would you put on your leap list. And you can help keep us accountable with our lists too. Be sure to keep us updated when you have accomplished an item on your leap list!

Chilean Culture: Architecture

Here is a glimpse of some of Chile’s architecture featured in it’s capitol city of Santiago. Architects names are prominently displayed on the exterior of buildings, right near the entrances. Differing styles, the collision of old and new architecture, green space and concrete apartment buildings makes for an interesting discussion.

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Italian Culture: Architecture

 For our goal #4 we chose the months of January and February 2012 to study:

Language & International Culture

One Kel would study Spanish, while the other Kel would study Italian.

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Our ideas to secure this goal were:  Take a class once per week, listen to language CD’s, Review Notes once per day,  Review books and tapes three times a week and explore conversation with a partner.

After discussing what we were accomplishing so far, we determined that daily tasks sometimes take too much as they take away from our daily routines. Focusing only on learning Italian or Spanish seems viable, while trying to add in ‘draw daily’ takes too much, for example. We’ve discussed our daily routines and incorporating in something new in viable terms. Other things on our plate include family, healthy eating and exercise, work and necessary free time.

I thought I’d share some photos that I have taken in Italy through the two times I have visited. The first time, in 2002, and more recently on my honeymoon in 2010.

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