Chomper turned Longneck.

Littlefoot would be proud. This carnivore hasn't had meat in a whole week. Why, you ask? I wanted to see if it was possible. I wouldn't say I was very good at being a vegetarian, but I did it.

You see, like Buddy the Elf whose food groups are candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup, I have my own food groups defined by the big C's: Carbs, Cheese and Chocolate. Obviously, my diet is more varied than this, but these are my weaknesses. I am not a steak-lover, devastated by the absence of a hunk of cow on my plate. I didn't really miss meat. The difficulty was breaking my habits and thinking of things to eat.

Usually, I have a turkey sandwich from a campus dining facility every day for either lunch or dinner. I've perfected that sandwich: roasted turkey, cheddar or pepper-jack cheese (depending on the amount of BAM I'm in the mood for) toasted with lettuce, onion, tomatoes and chipotle mayo. YUM. The vegetarian option at the deli is get double cheese and no meat. Plus you can have humus on your sandwich. I love humus, but the lovely lunch ladies put way too much on my first campus veggie sandwich. Nevertheless, the chipotle mayo was enough to keep me eating and I'm sure I could perfect a veggie-version of my sandwich as well.

As far as other meals, JMU has a lot a to offer for vegetarians and vegans. As it should be for the school ranked No. 3 for Best Campus Food in the nation. I had some sort of delicious stuffed pepper dish involving lintels. Another meal, I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich topped with honey and raisins. I also had falafel wraps (already one of my favorites) for lunch one day and some vegetable soup on my way out of town.

When I arrived home after exams, I thought vegetarianism would be more difficult. However, I seemed to luck out with dinner menu for the week. Wednesday, we had grilled cheese sandwiches. Last night, we cooked frozen pizzas. (The meat lovers was kind of tempting I'll admit, but the cheese pizza was good too.) Tonight, I went to an area favorite Mexican restaurant, Casa Grande, with the family (minus Jamie). I was a little bit worried about finding something san carne, but I didn't miss anything with my order off the vegetarian column.

Like I said, I achieved my goal of eliminating meat for the week, but I wasn't necessarily good at it. I'm not sure if I ate enough protein or just upped the carbs to compensate. I didn't read any special books or cook any vegetarian recipes. If I were to continue to be a vegetarian, I'd have to read up on it and get better at it. So, why, you may ask am I considering becoming a vegetarian permanently?

I'm not.. not right now. But I do want to change. I want to become a weekday vegetarian. I first came across this concept through treehugger (an excellent blog, but they post so frequently that I have difficulty keeping up). I encourage you to watch the video, because Graham Hill argues the point more concisely and effectively than I can. The main points? Eating less meat is healthier for your body and for the planet. There are a lot of jokes surrounding vegetarians, but I think they're the strong ones. Whether they sacrifice meat for religion, their bodies or the animals, vegetarians also reduce energy wasted and fossil fuels burned. If you don't have the strength to be a vegetarian, you don't have to give up cheeseburgers for good. Allow yourself to indulge on weekends. But don't mock the leaf eaters.

I'm going be trying this out for a while, reading up on what to eat instead during the week and I'll let you know how it goes. For now, share your thoughts about why you do or don't eat meat, and what you think of this compromise system. If you do eat meat, do you demand free range meat? I learned about free range from Ian and Curt from their documentary, King Corn, and their movement to bring people back to the land and think about what they eat. While the majority of my food sources are currently chosen for me by dining services, I hope to hold myself to these higher standards when I begin grocery shopping and cooking for myself.

This nation has serious problems with wastefulness and obesity. We need to learn that with great freedom comes great responsibility (sorry, Uncle Ben-the butchering was necessary). We have the responsibility to take care of future generations by handling both our bodies and the earth with care. So think about what you eat- watch King Corn, read about what you eat, visit your local farmer's market.. maybe even try a week without meat. You might be surprised.

Treasure Hunting

thrift- noun \'thrift'\: careful management especially of money.

For me, "thrift" is a verb and it means a lot more than saving money. I didn't really do a lot of thrift shopping before college. I loved exploring neighborhood garage sales, but never realized there are permanent stores dedicated to the same retail. Harrisonburg is a little town, but it has a high density of thrift stores. So, when I began walking around town last year, I fell in love with thrift stores. Maybe it's a fascination with what other people throw away, with items that have already had other lives. Maybe it's the excitement of 75 cent paperbacks.

I have many favorite purchases from thrift stores. The giant green men's sweater I'm currently wearing was five bucks at Granny Longlegs, a small homey thrift store in historic Harrisonburg. I think I bought my blue men's flannel the same day. I also have a wicker umbrella hanging basket on my wall for headbands that I probably got for a dollar there. One of my favorite purchases is a painting of a goose with a teal background in a gorgeous frame that looks like distressed drift wood. It was eight dollars at the Thrift for Life (proceeds to Massey Cancer Center) in Richmond. In fact, Mr. Goose probably needs a name, so if you have any ideas, please comment! Keep in mind that "Albert" is already taken for my bonsai tree. (That was your number one pick, wasn't it?)

While I have bought many cozy sweaters for studying and sleeping, I rarely buy clothing items from thrift stores that I would actually wear in public. I have several friends that build large portions of their wardrobes from thrift stores. I don't know whether they know better stores than me, have a better eye or can just pull off funky stuff way better than me, but I'm jealous. Their clothes are always so original. I imagine a good find is much more rewarding from a thrift store than some mainstream store. I'm determined to learn the ways of these thrift-savvy friends.

Still, clothes or no clothes, I love thrifting. Often, I don't buy anything, or just a 75 cent Dan Brown book. But I can spend some serious time in a good thrift store. Today, I plugged in a whole list of area stores that I hadn't tried into Google maps and organized them by location. I printed out my treasure map and spent the afternoon exploring. I had to tell myself "no" a lot: "No Sarah, you already have enough cozy men's sweaters," "No Sarah you have no way to transfer that couch let alone a place to put it"...let's just say it's a good thing I don't have a truck.

The best thrift stores look like a storage unit. There should be pathways to navigate through the chaos, and it must be organized, but it should be crammed pack. One "New, Used and Antique" store I like to frequent literally looks like someone's basement constantly added to over many decades. And I assume that's basically what it is since the owners seem to be so old. Though I didn't visit Hess Furniture today, there were many other well organized and crammed thrift stores. My treasure chests, to further my cheesy metaphor.

I suppose thrift shopping, garage sale shopping or any kind of used shopping is also environmentally friendly. Reusing baskets and cookie tins, furniture and decorations, clothes and books is better than using new materials, right? Less raw materials, less old stuff in landfills. Also, it's usually local, so there is no burning of fossil fuels across seas and countries to deliver your items. After this occurred to me, I did a quick search and found bloggers that agree. Apparently, according to treehugger.com, this is a popular trend for college students like myself. While I thought I was being unique and eccentric, it appears that I'm a walking stereotype, following the trends of my generation without even realizing it. Oh well, I found the treasure map first! ARRR!!

Anyways, I can't wait until I become captain of my own ship to fill with booty. (I know, I know, too far.) But in all seriousness, I used to draw pictures of my dream home when I was kid (I even created my own tradmark logo-see pictures). I went through a phase of "and the giant jungle tree will grow through my floor right here." Then I went through the modern phase, printing out pictures of sleek stainless steel and glass furnishings to paste on my sketchbook room. Now, I drool over funky couches, ornate intricate wooden dressers and thickly painted renderings of jolly geese. I can't wait to furnish my own abode with my finds. (I guess I should start looking for a friend with a truck and some time on their hands!)

Revolt against Hallmark

We like to think we are smart. The "chosen" species. Much to the disappointment (I'm sure) of my brother and dad, I haven't read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. However, I have seen the movie which suggests that humans are the third-most intelligent creature on earth. Third to to the singing narrator dophins (watch the video) and to mice. I'd believe it. We may have language on our side, but human beings can be pretty stupid.

Look at the English language for example. I'm sure you've seen those lists of contradictions in the English language. One of my Spanish teachers read some out loud to point out that if we understood English, surely we could learn this new language. I never get tired of reading those- they really amuse me. But honestly, maybe dolphins could have devised a language that makes more sense.

Obviously, our species has overseen more destruction than any other earth-dweller. This destruction occurs because we are intelligent. Intelligent enough to create monetary systems and utilize earth's resources. But these reap greed and destruction. So we're smart, just not smart enough.

Each generation has gullibly believed the propaganda lies of their respective times. Whether it's the superstitious red scare, the belief that if a cartoon camel smokes cigarette they're cool or that the magic bullet will really do any kitchen task in just one-two-three, the majority of us will listen. See, we're stupid. You may say you've never ordered anything from an infomercial, that you don't fit this profile, but come on, we've all believed a scam at some time.

Well, here's one of the longest running scams people: wrapping paper. In 1917, one of the Halls brothers invented modern paper. Today, according to the CleanAir Council, the U.S. generates an additional four million tons of waste due to wrapping paper and shopping bags during the holidays.

When I was a kid, there was one family I knew whose kids always brought presents to birthday parties wrapped in the funny pages. I always enjoyed reading them, but I never thought about the pages beyond the laughs they brought. A couple years ago, after a lovely Christmas morning of opening presents, I looked around at the battle zone and I understood. Why on earth do we go out and buy special paper (that often cannot be recycled) to wrap up our gifts just to be torn off days later. It is one of the most senseless concepts when you think about it. It seems so natural to us, but why not just reuse paper you already have? It seems so natural to us, but didn't buying the magic bullet seem smart too? Look where that got you.

Your gifts don't have to be ugly to be earth-friendly (and pocket-friendly!) either. With a little creativity, it's easy to decorate your own wrapping paper. Or, you can leave the creativity to other people and buy handmade reusable cloth wrapping paper. For the past couple years, I've been wrapping in this fashion. In addition to saving money and reducing my waste, I really enjoy the challenge of making my presents prettier than the Hallmark-wrapped gifts. And usually, I think I succeed. You may say, "Newspaper wrapping paper is fine and dandy for your parents, Sarah, but imagine taking that to a fancy dinner party." Yes, maybe your home-wrapped earthy gift will look a little out of place among the shining gold sparkling gifts (like my soiled hiking boots in the sea of Uggs on campus), but it's a conversation starter. And this is a conversation that needs to begin. Because it's all about what we're used to- let's make newspaper and brown paper bags the new normal.

Visit the website I created on this topic for a class project, check out other people's green wrapping ideas and start thinking about the trees. And the landfills that are replacing them. Join the revolt against Hallmark. Dolphins would.

..And to Live By the Girl Scout Law

It's something we've been told since middle school. Get involved. Then, it was important for applying for honors societies and specialty high schools. When we were in high school, we packed our résumés with extracurricular activities and leadership positions for college applications.

As college students and adults, our reasons for involvement change. Some of my classmates may be looking to beef up their applications for grad school, but I don't think I'll be taking that route. And sure, an employer may like to see those extracurriculars on my résumé -especially in today's job market where you'd eat dog food if it would set you apart. But, I think there's a point in adulthood when either your root cause of involvement changes, or you just stop getting involved.

For me, it's the former. If I have nothing to do, I'll go crazy. I thrive on a filled schedule, on organizing my planner. (I already bought my 2011 salmon franklin covey!) My Macbook Pro desktop is filled with Stickies of organized lists and notes.

What becomes difficult it deciding what to get involved in and stay involved in. Most people tell you "don't spread yourself too thin," (I always picture cream cheese- way better thick!) but we also hear "get out there, get involved" and my personal favorite, "you'll never know if you don't try." My band director believes that if you are passionate about something, you can always make time to fit it in to your schedule. Obviously, you have to figure out how much is right for you, but you're probably not going to be able to motivate yourself to make it to all the meetings if you sign up for a book club if you don't like reading. Duh.

Sometimes an organization sounds awesome on paper and doesn't live up to your expectations wrong. I've tried to get involved in many groups that have extremely poor communication systems and I get so frustrated that i give up. "Oh you didn't know about the meeting? How did you miss the e-mail? I sent it five whole minutes before the meeting started!"

I've also found groups with great concepts that just feel wrong. There's often a set clique of people that you can't infiltrate. Even if you can and you can fake it well enough, you're not yourself. You're using a type of humor that you barely understand and certainly don't enjoy. "Hahaha yes I totally caught that reference to What'sHisName! Hilarious!" ...Who?

The most upsetting is when your favorite activity goes changing on you. I loved girl scouts. My troop in Oregon was fantastic. I remember crafts, field trips, camping trips... and this was all before third grade, so if I remember it, you know it was good. Maybe I was more easily entertained at that age. Maybe the brown and blue brownie outfit better suited me better than the nauseating green junior uniform, but I think it was that troop. I still have the pillow they made and signed for when I left for the east coast. In Virginia, I joined a new troop, but it didn't last. We went to D.C., slept over at Port Discovery in Baltimore -those were cool trips. And I always enjoyed the crafts. But it lost the outdoor aspect- understandably since one of our troop leaders had had at least two boob jobs. She wasn't exactly the type of mom that was going to take us tent camping. So I quit.

There are so many opportunities, that if you're not happy, it's worth moving on. You're not being flaky. You're exploring. I can picture myself as a certain type of person with interests and passions, but it's not who I am until I fulfill that image through actions. Once I'm actively taking part in environmental efforts, then I am a true treehugger. And being a treehugger in your theory doesn't will the sea level down.

Now just to confuse myself a little more, there are other times when I'm about to step down from a position and realize its potential. I was kind of guilted into being the environmental representative for my resident hall at the beginning of the semester. A couple of weeks ago, I planned to step down at the end of the semester. At community activities board meeting, I helped plan dorm programs which, except for perhaps the lure of free food, I probably wouldn't have attended freely. I volunteered to do a walmart run for our Halloween Party and I asked myself when I got home, is this really something I'm interested in? Granted blowing one hundred of someone else's dollars on decorations and candy was fun, and I spent an afternoon getting to know a girl from my hall. But how was this building my portfolio or spiritually fulfilling? I was ready to make cuts, and eco-repping was out.

But then, a series of events occurred that changed my mind. First, I became more interested in what we were doing environmentally. At meetings with other reps from other halls, we made plans to provide reusable dishware for resident hall programs to cut down on waste. I designed a logo that may appear on said dish ware (actually answering my 'how is this building my portfolio' question although that's not the point). I became invested.

Next, I was offered a spot in a practicum class evaluating resident behavior in dorms and how to communicate to students to influence their actions toward sustainability. What do you know, this EPA grant project is going to work with CAB eco-reps as well. Hmm, I thought, maybe I should keep that connection.

Then, I started having fun. We became a little more comfortable with each other and started laughing and cracking jokes at Sunday night meetings. We had a Thanksgiving craft night with pumpkin pie and hot chocolate and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I held my mandatory eco-friendly event last night and, although the turnout lacked in numbers, the ten people who came enjoyed themselves. And so did I. I got an opportunity to do more crafts and share my thoughts about sustainable gift wrapping. (See next post!)

I could go on and on about how many sports I tried as a kid (gymnastics, soccer, basketball, swimming, diving, dance- just to name a few). I could tell you how my friends and I tried to join basketball intramurals this year (FAIL!) or my un-fulfilling mandatory service hours with Boys and Girls Club last Spring, but I think you get the point. Maybe I just discovered "Involvement Attention Deficit Disorder" (heck if Facebook Addiction Disorder exists, surely IADD can). Maybe, it's the exact opposite of a disorder- maybe curiosity and exploration is healthy. Hmm.. what a thought!

In the end, you can't just make a list of organizations that fit your personality, sign up for e-mails from all of them (like I tried to do freshman year) and then voila you are perfectly, happily involved. (Side note, did you know "voilà" is French for "look here"? ) There are still groups I am interested in looking into. I want to be a Big Sister, join our chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and I'm sure other things will come up in the future. But it's trial and error and right now my trials are looking successful.