Shit Biscuits.... start paying attention.

Holy Cow, where do I even start?

This summer has been a li-ttle bit nutty to say the least...

Home with kids full time, took a job as the camp RN (again), and been sick. Like sick sick. (Oh yeah, it sucks too).

So in this course of being sick, I actually had to force myself to take a little time and relax... so I watched this documentary:

Wow. Blew my F'n mind.

Sure, this guy is a little wacko in my honest opinion BUT, wacko enough to make me say that what he says is frighteningly REALISTIC.

I am officially going on record stating that I am now obsessed with Peak Oil, the Energy Crisis, Climate Change, and Economics. (John actually teases me and calls me Johnny 5 because as soon as I discover something that peaks my interest, I crave knowledge... In 3 days, I have read 3 books now on these scenarios and I'm still plugging away! "Innnnnnn-puuuuut" Lol)

SO my ass is kicked. And kicked hard. This little clip put my little brain into a whirlwind of activity to say the least. Sure, there are plenty of extremist out there and there are also just as many nay-sayers as well. I'm still reading and learning so I haven't decided which side of that fence I will land on yet. Not saying I'm going to turn into the ultimate survivalist and start hoarding materials and goods, but it is time. It's time for me and my family to understand this phenomena and to act accordingly.

When I first started blogging a few years ago (my old blog) I was very excited about turning our lives into a form of sustainable living. John and I worked very hard at educating ourselves in very small steps: recycling our goods, eliminating waste, recycling rain water, becoming better gardeners, sewing, knitting, etc. etc. etc.

But as I sat down and watched this video, and all the research I have been doing since watching this video, has made me realize we have SUCKED lately at maintaining this lifestyle! It's not that we've fallen lazy per say, because we are actually running ourselves more thin then ever. We are both working more and our calendar for some reason keeps staying FULL.

And it sucks.

It's time to reinvest my mind and activities into the pattern of sustainable living that we were struggling to achieve before. It's time for us to get off the "oh-the-world-makes-it-so-easy" band wagon and get back to the more focused and hard working "persons" I know we can be.

So I'm back.

I'm back to blogging. I've said it before but I need to at this point. I feel it necessary to start this process again because if I try to keep all the material I'm learning about in my head, it has no outlet and hence becomes stagnant.

And I also aim to spread this news, like so many other bloggers out there who try, to anyone who reads my blog. As silly as this sounds to some, our lives HAVE to change. Watch this clip and read a few scientifically, fact based books on these topics and see if it not only peaks your interest or at least scares the shit out of you. It scared the shit out of me. When I look into my children's eyes and think that this scenario could come into play in my and their life time, it scares me.

So honey? Johnnie? Lover tits? Are YOU ready to start living this way again with me? (yes, my husband and I often communicate through the internet :)

Time to get my shit together!

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(I also want to start a little education bit here for myself)

Books I read/am reading:

1. "The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century" by James Howard Kunstler

(I will be honest, I skimmed some of this book. As I was reading it, I found it followed the documentary pretty well. I also think that it takes A LOT of mental power to digest this book in entirety. Meaning, I will probably come back to this book and re-read parts of it more slowly when my brain is ready to wrap itself around every aspect this book presents to the reader.)

2. "World Made By Hand" by James Howard Kunstler (This book was pretty good! It started out really well and gives a great sense to how the world may come to be if one certain path of the Peak Oil Crisis scenario plays out. It did get a little far fetched, in my opinion, towards the end but over all it is good. The focus of this book for me was on the breakdown of our lives, thoughts, morals, and feelings, and how a new hand made world can help to rebuild these morals and turn us into better human beings. Read it with an open mind if you do.)

3. "Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front" by Sharon Astyk (I am in the process of reading this book right now.... opinion coming soon)

Things I have done, or will do, today to reduce my oil dependence/live more sustainable lifestyle:

1. Am going outside to harvest lettuce from my garden so we can have salads tonight for dinner.

2. Compost my daily kitchen scraps.

3. Turned my AC up to a minimally functioning level (no, I'm not giving the AC up yet in entirety.)

4. Keep taking kiddos to swim lessons. Everyone needs to know how to swim :)