Aaron and Marcy Holmes

Dinner tonight

2011-01-04T18:08:00.000-08:00

So, the other day (on the weekend) I had planned to make a double batch of Mel's Favorite Chili so I could freeze some and have lunches for the week plus a back-up dinner in case we didn't have time to cook. However, Aaron only defrosted enough meat for a half batch so we made that instead.

So I'm making chili again today, but I have ribs in the oven for dinner tonight.

I feel like I'm finally getting into a groove of starting the next night's meal, or at least planning it out, while tonight's meal is getting re-heated or finished. Tonight the beef for the chili was still pretty frozen (our fridge doesn't really defrost anything) and if it had been for dinner tonight, I would have been stressed out.

Not only does having the meal started reduce the time to get it on the table, but I can think ahead if I am going to need something extra quick - like on nights I have a class to get to.

Kauai is awesome

2010-04-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

We saw a giant Hyster in action (also some little ones like we design at CBDC).

We went on two zip lines. I screamed my head off on both.

We also did some kayaking. We are not so awesome at the cooperative stuff, but we figured it out eventually.

Food for a month

2010-04-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

I love cooking. And I love eating. But making dinner gets really old.

For a long time now, my strategy has been to make a big "pot'o'something" on the weekend which would provide lunches for the week and fill in gaps of nights when I didn't feel like cooking. That has worked out pretty well. We rotate between chili, Mediterranean stew, tortilla soup, and Moroccan chicken.

I am still tired of cooking dinner. Somehow Mel of "The Clothes Make the Girl" feels the same way.

So I decided to do some batch cooking. Last time I tried once a month cooking, I picked out way too many things and almost all new recipes. It was exhausting and didn't end up feeding us for as long as I'd hoped. This time I'm making double batches of a few big, easy meals. Like the pot'o'somethings we've been happily rotating already. Plus a few new ones for variety.

My wonderful man chopped up almost all of the veggies (for some reason the cauliflower is my responsibility). That meant 11 onions, 17 carrots, 8 bell peppers, 11 stalks celery, and 16 zucchini. It was a lot of chopping. It also made me think there must not be that much variety to our meals.

We made spaghetti meat sauce and paleo lasagna (from Everyday Paleo) after doing the shopping and chopping on Saturday.

Leftover zucchini became a smiley face. It makes me smile when I open the freezer.

Aaron added some mozzarella to his half

Today we made primal chili (from Mark's Daily Apple), mediterranean stew (from Mediterrasian.com), and chicken. We also ground a bunch of grass-fed beef into hamburger since we don't tend to eat a lot of roasts, let alone 4-pounders. We still have a moroccan casserole, a shepherd's pie, and tortilla soup to make, but we should have about a month's worth of food, not counting the nachos we eat 3 nights a week, lol.

nacho toppings: cheddar, guacamole, tomatoes, onions, olives, and salsa

Assuming I can remember to get stuff out of the freezer the night before.

Pictures of Kristy

2010-03-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

In November my older sister and I drove up to Seattle to see my younger sister who had a layover there on her way to Hawaii with friends. This post has been languishing in edit mode since then.

We left early to have some time to hang around before she arrived, but we spent a lot of time sitting in traffic so instead of getting a head start on shopping, we visited Gas Works Park. It's pretty cool. My dad lent me some of his lenses, his flash, and his tripod for the trip. His lenses won't auto focus with my camera, and I have absolutely no manual focus skill even with the little circle focus-assist thing, which my camera doesn't even have, so I quickly switched back to my own lens.

Kristy was a good subject, until our fingers felt like they were going to freeze off and we ran back to the car.

I didn't wait for her to finish her sentence

This one would have been good if her hair hadn't been in her eyes. I still need to get in the habit of taking as many shots as I can instead of taking just one and thinking I got it.

I obviously think she's beautiful.

Why I love Dax Moy

2010-03-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

Dax Moy is awesome. He sends me motivational emails about once a week, maybe less. It's good to have a little kick in the pants every so often to remind me to keep working toward my goals.

He also has some great resources at his personal training site, like an elimination diet, a 9-day look great naked challenge, and workout videos. In addition to being a personal trainer, he has the magic hundred goal achievement program that I will buy once I figure out what it is that I want to achieve.

This is a message I got from Dax almost 2 months ago, but I've kept it in my inbox to keep reading and re-reading it until I absorb the message all the way:

When you think about it, there's nothing you have to be, nothing you have to do and nothing you have to have except what you're being, doing or having right now.

Everything else is a choice.

Everything else is something you WANT.

If you want it then why all the stress, frustration and unhappiness?

Go ahead, read it again. And then chill out and quit being so hard on yourself!

Encouragement

2010-03-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

So, last night I was tired. This is not unusual. Yet I decided I was going to get all the way through my workout in a positive mood, so we could make dinner and go to the grocery store without it all feeling like endless chores. I try to make an effort to be in a good mood in the evenings since sometimes I feel like all I do is work and prepare for work.

It's amazing what a difference attitude makes, but I had help. And I don't mean Aaron's always-chipper attitude, or his actual help with the chin-ups*... I finally saw a little muscle in my arms while doing the chin-ups.

our chin-up bar

I've been whining and complaining about my lack of progress, despite the push-ups getting noticeably easier and despite our progress through the levels of our workouts. I want visual, physical results. I want to be hotter.

Since I'm still not sure how to appease my digestive system, I was extra focused on getting some definition in my arms. I "used to" have muscular arms**. After (6?) weeks of workouts, when I flex, there's the tiniest hint of a muscle, but when I was supporting myself on the chin-up bar yesterday, I happened to glance at my arm and there was some serious muscle showing! And that enabled me to get through the rest of the night in a great mood. Vanity has its upsides.

3 weeks left to Hawaii. I'm getting ready.

ready for hawaii

*Aaron lifts me up and I lower myself very slowly for each rep. That way I can do 3 sets of 6 reps. He thinks I could probably now do a bunch unassisted, but I feel he is hopelessly optimistic.

**I have been trying to eliminate the phrase "used to", i.e., I used to be able to do 30 -real- push-ups, I used to fit into these pants. What I "used to" do or have is irrelevant and also counter-productive.

The bacon chip

2010-03-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

In the process of making bacon guacamole cheeseburgers, we discovered something wonderful: crispy bacon makes a great chip. I can now dive in to Girl Gone Primal's Dip-de-dip-dips.

A 365 photo project

2010-01-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today's photo on Shuttercal:

I wanted to start a 365 project for the new year, but for some reason I didn't. Well, I've started one now. I am going to attempt to take pictures every day. Sometimes I am less than inspired when I get home from work. So my project is going to be modified to have a picture for each day, but not necessarily taken on that day.

To see the whole calendar, click on the photo or click here.

Why Didn't I Think of This?

2009-10-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite books on food is Nina Planck's Real Food: What to Eat and Why. Nina was raised by a mother who had studied and taken to heart the work of Adelle Davis. Adelle Davis showed that if you provide children healthy options and let them eat as much or as little as they want, they will be properly nourished. The key there is healthy options - she wasn't providing any refined grains or sugars, just real, whole, unprocessed foods.

One of the best things I learned from the book is that Nina often eats multiple vegetable sides at a meal. Why this was a revelation for me, I don't know, but it was. I love vegetables yet I had never considered making more than one at a meal. Having two different vegetables makes it really easy to fill 3/4 of your plate with veggies. Add a small pile of peas to a pile of broccoli and you're there.

This also relates back to getting your children, or reluctant spouses, to eat their vegetables. Aaron has a lot of favorites, and since I want him to get enough vegetables every night, it would be tempting to only make those. But if I make a new vegetable (or a new method of preparation) along with a favorite, he is sure to get enough veggies even if he only takes a little bit of the "weird" one. Plus, his exposure to the new vegetable or dish will make it less "new" over time. It can take 8 times of serving something before your family accepts it enough to objectively evaluate it. Having an alternative gives you the freedom to keep introducing things without making a whole dinner your kids or partner won't eat.

So put the Brussels sprouts puree on the table, and let your kids decide if they want to try it without any word of encouragement or discouragement from you, and you may be surprised at how many vegetables your kids really like.

Gary Taubes

2009-10-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Gary Taubes gave a lecture entitled "Truth and Lies About Fats and Obesity" at Berkely and then repeated the lecture at a few other venues. Food Renegade embedded the video from Severins in this post:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/truth-and-lies-about-fats-and-obesity-with-gary-taubes/

His book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, is excellent, but some people don't have the inclination to read a 400 page book with 200 pages of references and footnotes. I admit, it's intimidating.

It's also THOROUGH. When you are trying to reverse a nation-wide dogma 50 years in the making, it's good to have basically all the evidence on your side. But most people who read this book already have an open mind about it, or they'd put it down after the introduction, so sometimes there is such a thing as TOO MUCH evidence.

So for those intimidated or uninterested in a 640 page tome, he's managed to condense most of it into an hour long presentation (with pictures!). He addresses the diet-cholesterol-heart hypothesis which is the subject of his book, and he also addresses the energy balance (calories in, calories out) hypothesis. It's a great lecture, but then again, I'm a sucker for a well-presented, clear, logical argument.

Set aside some time to watch it and let me know what you think.

Our favorite meals

2009-10-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Our favorite dishes, most of them are entire meals. We use dinners, lunches, and breakfasts interchangeably. Vegetable soup makes a nice warm breakfast.

Honestly, many nights we simply cook up a meat and a vegetable and make enough extra for lunch the next day. Obviously there is no recipe for this.

When I write out our meal plan and grocery list, I try to include one beef meal, one chicken meal, one fish meal, one veggie meal, and at least one stew / chili. This is good for variety / balance, but also just makes thinking of things easier. We tend to need four or five meals for seven days. We always have nachos at least once a week. We usually eat out once a week. And some meals will have enough leftovers for a couple days.

It's always best to portion out the night's dishes and the next days at the same time.

For more labor intensive recipes, we try to double them and freeze half to eat when we'll be busy later.

When we can, we like to chop up anything necessary for the next night's meals while dinner is cooking or while we are cleaning up, because we like to be able to eat dinner as soon as we get home.

The hyperlinked items have recipes. The starred (*) recipes are links to another site.

Great for leftovers:
Tortilla soup (more accurately chicken vegetable soup with mexican spices)
Mega Salad
Slow cooked roast or chicken with Barbecue Sauce
Pesto Chicken
*Chicken curry Scroll down for the recipe - we use coconut milk instead of yogurt and cayenne pepper instead of chile de arbol
*Caveman Chili - We like 1 lb stew meat or steak and 1 lb ground, also we use canned chipotles en adobo (sp?) sauce instead of dried and we add a cup of homemade stock
Steak
Turkey Enchiladas
Meatloaf (we use almond flour in place of bread crumbs)
Sloppy Joes (serve on Oopsie rolls or just eat like a casserole, we add finely diced carrots and bell peppers), very good cold.
Moroccan Chicken & Lentils (one of Aaron's absolute favorites for leftovers)
*Chicken Tikka Masala (another of his favorites, I almost always double this)
Tuna cakes (the only fish dish I am willing to take as leftovers)
*Low carb california rolls
Roasted turkey (if brined, delicious plain, otherwise I like mustard on it)
Falafel
*Huevos rancheros
Frittata
Minestrone

Also good but only if reheated:
Brussel sprout puree
Cauliflower couscous / faux rice

Delicious but not good for leftovers:
Almond flour pancakes
Breakfast sandwiches

***************************

Tortilla Soup
Adapted from VO2Maxxed

2 cans diced tomatoes or 4-5 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 can enchilada sauce (or 2-3 C homemade)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 zucchini, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
1 can (~4 oz) chopped green jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
4 C chicken stock or broth
1 lb shredded, cooked chicken
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro (for garnish)

Place all the vegetables and spices in a large pot and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Add stock and cook until tender, add the cooked chicken and serve when warmed through.
Garnish with cilantro. Traditionally served over fried tortilla strips (hence the name). Aaron puts tortilla chips in his and sometimes grates cheese on top. We both like to garnish with avocado slices and sour cream.

Mega salad

lettuce
hard boiled eggs
shredded chicken or turkey
bacon
tomato
shredded carrots
toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds
dijon mustard vinaigrette (2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp vinegar (any kind, but we like apple cider), 1 Tbsp dijon mustard, salt & pepper)

Get out two bowls and two lunch containers and fill all four as you chop. Sometimes we add avocado but it will turn brown overnight, so we just add it to the ones we're having for dinner.

Primal Barbecue Sauce
Adapted from Son of Grok

1 6oz can tomato paste (go for the organic brands; they really do taste better - especially Muir Glen)
1 to 1.5 C stock (preferably homemade beef stock)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 an onion
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp chili powder

Dice onion and garlic as fine as possible. The finer the dice, the more distributed the flavor.
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Add stock to preferred thickness of sauce.
Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

This is great on everything, but I usually use it on a slow cooked roast, like brisket, or pulled pork. Dad had some leftovers at our house, got the recipe from me, gathered the ingredients, and ate so much roast he had a stomach ache, lol. That's how good it is. When we have people over we serve it like a sandwich but it's good by itself. I'm sure it would be awesome on crock pot chicken also. The inventor of the sauce, Son of Grok, suggests using it on a bacon explosion - google that, lol.

Pesto Chicken
Our pesto recipe:

1 C fresh basil, packed down
1/3 C mixed nuts, pine nuts + walnuts is our standby, but pistachio and cashew are awesome too
1/3 C parmesan cheese
1/3 C olive oil
1 clove garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

We blend the garlic and nuts with 3 Tbsp water until smooth, then add the basil, cheese, spices, and olive oil.
You can use less olive oil to make a thicker pesto. Mixed with shredded, cooked chicken, this is one of the most addictive foods we make. We either have to limit the quantity made or put it away immediately because we'll eat it all.

We eat this as a main now. The first time we made it as a pizza topping, it goes great with a greek style pizza: feta, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, minced garlic, red onions.

We use a lot of different crusts. The most delicious ever was a shredded zucchini crust with eggs & buckwheat flour, but you couldn't pick it up, so it was the least handy. Just add eggs & buckwheat flour until it makes a thick batter, then allow it to spread on a greased cookie sheet with a rim and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes before topping and baking again.

Google a meatza crust also. That one can be picked up. We haven't made one yet but we probably will soon.

Steak
It's too bad we don't use cast iron anymore because it rules at making steak. Important when cooking steak:

Allow it to come to room temperature before cooking.
Don't salt it before cooking but pepper and other spices maybe pressed/rubbed into the surface.
The pan should be very hot, but don't heat an empty non-cast-iron pan, so put some sort of fat in the pan with a high smoke point.
Sear first side for about 3 minutes without moving before turning over, then cover and cook on medium low to desired doneness.
Do not pierce.
You can learn to judge a steak's doneness with a nudge. When you prod the steak, if it's as soft as your nostril, it's rare, if it's as soft as your cheek, it's medium / medium rare, and when it's as hard as the end of your nose, it's well done. Steaks with bones in them will be less done. We love to top them with carmelized onions and serve them with a puree to soak up the juices. If you are more worried about doneness than juiciness, a medium rare steak is 134 degrees in the center, but it will rise a couple degrees after being removed from heat.
Let steak rest a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Turkey Enchiladas

turkey meat, cut or ground, dark or light per your preference
cooked pinto, black, or kidney beans
chopped bell pepper
chopped onion
diced tomatoes

Cook desired vegetables in oil until tender, add meat and cook through.
Add 1/2 your enchilada sauce & 1/2 your cheese.
Layer 1/2 meat mixture in 8x8 pan, cover with a layer of tortillas, then remaining meat and another layer of tortillas.
Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes @ 350.

The reason we layer it instead of roll it is that it uses fewer tortillas - meaning fewer grains & fewer carbs. We like Carmen's tortillas because they only have the necessary ingredients: corn, water, & lime. Salt wouldn't hurt though.

Moroccan Chicken & Lentils
Adapted from The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno

4 C water
2 tsp sea salt, divided
1/2 lb dried lentils, rinsed, drained, and picked over

1 C plus 2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 C red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp ground cumin, divided
2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp chili powder
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 lg onion, peeled and chopped
2 lbs chicken or turkey, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
chopped parsley or cilantro for garnish.

Cover lentils with plenty of water, add 1 tsp sea salt, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until tender. Rinse under cold water to stop cooking and drain well. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
While lentils are cooking, combine 1 C olive oil, vinegar, 2 Tbsp cumin, 2 Tbsp chili powder, garlic, and 1 tsp sea salt. Pour over lentils and toss gently.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onion and saute until slightly browned. Add 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder, and cinnamon. Allow to cook until aromatic. Add chicken or turkey and saute until cooked through.
Serve chicken over lentils and pour remaining dressing over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro.

Brussels sprouts puree

(The best way to wash Brussels sprouts is to soak in a large bowl of water for 10 minutes or so)

Remove the outer leaves.
Cut off the tough end and cut a criss cross in the end.
Boil in fresh water for 6-8 minutes, just until tender.
Puree in blender or food processor.
Add cream cheese or heavy cream, butter, and salt to taste.

This is only good hot. We also like to add garlic powder or roasted garlic.

Cauliflower puree works exactly the same, but has a creamier end result. It can also be eaten cold.

Mixing Brussels sprouts with cauliflower is also REALLY good.

Cauliflower couscous / faux rice
Using a food processor or determination, chop cauliflower until it is the size of rice grains.

For couscous, sautee chopped onion in garlic in butter or coconut oil, add chopped cauliflower, and cook until browned. Season with salt or parmesan cheese. SUPER delicious.

For faux rice, heat in small saucepan with a little water until tender. Add butter and salt. Make sure all the water is cooked off. This works really well to soak up curry.

Almond Flour Pancakes

eggs, about one per person
almond flour, or coconut flour
baking powder, optional
salt

Break eggs into a dish and beat lightly.
Add enough almond flour or coconut flour to make a batter. A thin batter will make crepe-like pancakes. A thick batter will make denser, chewier pancakes. Water may be added to thin the batter.
Optionally, add 1/4 tsp of baking powder to make the pancakes fluffier and more like traditional pancakes. Add salt to taste.
Cook these smaller than usual pancakes, in a hot, buttered pan, just a couple at a time until you are satisfied with the thickness.
Top with butter, raw honey, cashew butter, fruit syrup, or whatever you like.

Breakfast sandwiches
We like to use a thick pancake for the buns on a breakfast sandwich.
We generally start the bacon first - in the oven, about 20 minutes at 400 degrees on a grill over a baking pan.
The eggs should be started second, then the pancakes. I personally don't like to beat the eggs first, but I do break the yolk and add Spike seasoning.
We add a slice of cheese too.

We also like to make thin pancakes for use in primal enchiladas.

Vegetables

2009-10-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Mmm, vegetables. I mentioned that many nights we cook up a meat and a vegetable with enough for lunch leftovers. I plan ahead on the meats but only kind of plan ahead on the veggies. I think of what kind of side would go well with a particular main, then when we're at the store we get whatever looks good. My meal plan is usually on the back of my grocery list so I can consult it while we're shopping.

Aaron also stops at the produce market once or twice during the week on his way home for fresh produce. When I'm really on my game, I plan ahead for several weeks and buy all the non-perishable stuff at once, which saves us a lot of money because fewer trips to the grocery store means fewer impulse buys.

I do keep a list of vegetables with our favorite ways to prepare them so we don't get stuck in a veggie rut. It's a spreadsheet in google docs with all the veggies we eat in a column, and different ways to prepare them going across.

In this same document, I keep lists of recipes we want to try, our favorite recipes (grouped by type; main, side, baked goods), and meal plans. When we have a week that goes smoothly, I try to record it so we could repeat it again next year. Eventually, I could have a whole years' worth of seasonal meal plans to consult.

I keep this in google docs so I can access it from home or work, and I have it 'shared' with Aaron so he can look it up too. He's made a couple meal plans for me when I've gotten too stressed out about making them 100% healthy, 100% favorites, 100% frugal, and started losing my sanity. Now I try to focus on making them easy, reasonably healthy, and appealing enough so Aaron isn't tempted to go out instead. When we are both working full time, 'good enough' is 100% perfect.

Here is my veggie list from A-Z:

artichoke
arugula
asparagus
beans
beet
bell pepper
broccoli
Brussels sprouts
cabbage
carrot
cauliflower
celery
chicory
cucumber
eggplant
endive
fava bean
fennel
green beans
jicama
kale
kohlrabi
leek
lentils
lettuce
okra
onion
parsnip
peas
pumpkin
radish
rhubarb
romaine
rutabaga
salsify
savoy
scallion
shallot
spinach
squash
squash, acorn
squash, butternut
sweet potato
swiss chard
tomato
turnip
wax beans
zucchini

Gluten

2009-10-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have given up eating gluten.

I had previously suspected myself of gluten intolerance based on many symptoms and also having an aunt who is celiac.

I ordered a lab test from Enterolab which came back negative.

I tried a diet challenge at the same time, but removing gluten for two weeks did not relieve my symptoms and adding it back in gave me no noticeable change either.

That's the problem with gluten sensitivities - there is no such thing as a true negative. By the time your body is producing antibodies, which are what the test I took looks for, a lot of damage has already been done.

The traditional intestinal biopsy requires even more damage and it must be extensive. Once you have enough intestinal damage you can get diagnosed as celiac.

The diet challenge was partly my fault. For a true diet challenge, one goes on an elimination diet until all symptoms are resolved, then challenges the suspected allergen.

I only gave up gluten and only for two weeks. This was obviously not enough for my digestion to recover.

So how is one supposed to know whether or not to eat gluten?

From what I've learned, the best test to get is actually the genetic marker test (Enterolab offers this also). If you do research, you'll read that not everyone who has the marker will develop gluten intolerance. This is true, and our environments do affect our gene expression, but if you have the genetic marker and you have any of the symptoms, it's a pretty safe bet. The types of things that can trigger gluten intolerance in those with the genetic marker include stress, antibiotics, chlorinated tap water, and other prescription medications. I don't know anyone personally who would be able to avoid all the triggers. Gluten is also one of the most difficult proteins to digest, so in reality everyone is gluten intolerant to a certain degree.

I personally prefer to avoid grains anyway, so I would rather eat gluten free grains when I do indulge rather than risk the consequences of thyroid disorders, celiac, and colon cancer down the road.

This is easier said than done, and I have been rather lazy in the past about completely avoiding gluten. But I had a blood test recently which showed some markers consistent with gluten sensitivity. That was enough to convince me to completely avoid gluten from now on. If I am sensitive, and I keep eating it, I could develop serious health problems.

This blood test was invaluable in motivating me to stick to the diet that I know is best for me and I have been feeling much better. It was exactly the kick in the pants I needed.

On mistakes

2009-10-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

Whenever I learn something new through an error, I start wishing I could help other people avoid making the same mistake I did. The bigger the error, the more strongly I feel this way.

In addition, I've learned a lot in my life through the mistakes of others. (Sometimes when I think about all the dumb things I've done, I think I must be better at learning objectively than I am subjectively).

So, when I learn something new, something that feels important to me, I am going to do my best to pass it on to as many people as I think will listen or benefit.

Unfortunately, to learn anything, you first have to care about it. It's not possible, and I don't have the desire, to force anyone else to change. Hopefully this blog will give me a place to share what I've learned without people feeling like they're being told what to do.

I respect everyone's ability to make their own decisions, even if sometimes I'm driven to distraction attempting to understand them.

It is definitely not my goal to force my opinions on others. No matter how sure I think I am, I know there is always room to grow and learn more, so I really, truly value the views of others.

I hope to keep learning new things my entire life, and that means always being open to ideas that contradict my own.

This blog is also an opportunity to attempt to connect with bloggers who share my interests and passions. Their blogs have helped me feel more sane for caring about the things I care about.