Who am I?

Hi!

Maddie is the yellow one, Oliver is black

I am a new mom to a darling little girl, Claire.  We live in San Diego with my husband, Paul, 2 dogs; Madeline and Oliver, our Cat, Coal, and our fish, Elmer.  I have found, in life, that it is one thing to have a good set of values and standards, but it is another thing to implement those values in your daily lives.  I buy organic milk and don't eat mammals, as I don't agree with and am afraid of the way that these animals are fed and raised, yet I continue to eat chicken and fish.  I buy seventh generation laundry detergent yet can't bring myself to spend the extra money to buy organic produce.  I am using cloth diapers yet am using disposable wipes.  I try to buy local yet end up at target buying giant bags of twizzlers.  I use reusable grocery bags yet still use the produce bags in the produce section and still use aluminum foil to cover pies...  It is hard to take your best intentions all the way.  I would like to use this blog to motivate myself to explore simple steps to make my life and my wallet a little greener.  I hope that what I learn along the way will be helpful to other, too. 

Coal

I was born and raised primarily in New England, and proudly claim to be from Vermont.  My parents used cloth diapers and breast fed, which was not exactly the norm in the late 70's early 80's.  My father was always an avid gardener and I have fond memories of learning about new plants in his garden.  My mother inspired the animal lover in me, and the artist, with our constant feline companions and her willingness to let me independently explore my own creativity. 

I moved to San Diego about 8 years ago and would regret the decision if it weren't for the fact that I met my wonderful husband here.  I desperately miss New England; the seasons, the values, the scenery and my family. 

I am finishing my masters degree in Biology and earned my bachelors in Biology and Environmental Studies from Tufts in 2001.  I have been working as a middle school science teacher for the past 6 years, and have always tried to bring environmental awareness and natural living into my classroom through running the garden club, organizing the earth day fair, and designing lessons to deal with topics such as recycling.    I want to instil these values in my daughter from a young age, and I want to do a better job of living the value system that I believe.