Wordless Wednesday

To honour my Bubby... 

she was so sweet & made the yummiest Matzo Ball's for Passover. 

She's turning 87 this year! 

She's a  Holocaust survivor and pretty much the strongest woman I know. 

More on that in a later post.... this one's already too wordy!

Please comment - hearing from you makes me happy!

My last Passover as a neice - and a quick country drive.

I'm not sure what to write.
I'm not even sure I know what I'm thinking about anymore.
The past weekend has been a whirlwind - it's almost Tuesday and I can hardly remember Friday - Sunday. 

But I'll try to recap it. It's the only thing I can think to do to try to keep my brain from whirling out of control and winding up in a dark place.

Friday - was s'posed to leave early to go and visit D's sister up north but when I called my Mom she said that my uncle was doing really badly.  We decided to go to the hospital and decide for ourselves if we should go anyways.  Things had not changed substantially since we had been there on Sunday, however they were not good.  I decided that I needed to go and get @sarahnryan ready for phone calling because when he does pass away I'm not going to have any time or inclination to do any work requiring me speaking to people. The show must go on, so it's better if she is ready ahead of time.  We are getting her to take over most of the customer calling for work so that I can focus more attention on bookkeeping and records management.

And I also wanted to get really really sloshed on a Friday night for a change. It's been a loooooong time since I've partied and really let loose.  D doesn't really drink and I don't want to drink alone, but when we go up North we sometimes partake. I didn't get totally wasted, but was drunk enough to think that sleeping on the floor was a good idea once we realized that we didn't have the plug for our air mattress with us.  But not drunk enough to sleep through the night on an un-inflated mattress.   BOO. 

Saturday - LAZY day, LOVELY day, burning movies, chatting, went for a walk to the 'downtown' core of Thornbury (two streets, lovely little clothing & art shops, little deli's and restaurants and bakeries).  We picked up some yummy homemade sandwiches and returned back to @sarahnryan's for the rest of the afternoon of laziness.  Set out to go home at around 5pm.... took the route bypassing Barrie again, driving along Airport Rd. to 89, then 89 to 400 and 400 to 401.   Took some scenic pics, but not many came out...

Sunday - polished silver with my Dad, set the table for Passover Sedar, then to hospital for a few hours.  Really draining.  Came home and slept for like a zillion hours - aka. 'till 11am on Monday morning.  Gotta love the self-employed life!  Really needed it, D even saw it, and stayed super quiet, keeping the animals out in the living room with him so I could sleep. Still feel like I could sleep and sleep and sleep...

Monday - groceries, cooking, then to Mom's house to finish cooking, get ready and do the Sedar.  It was good to be together, but there's a cloud over our family.  Our close family friend always comes to our sedar and this year her  presence was even more needed, welcomed, appreciated and cherished as it allowed for a sense of 'normalcy' to return to our lives, even if just for the night.  

My poor parents.  They are completely worn out.  I wish I was better at handling death, I wish I could take over for my mother at caring for my uncle, but I just can not.  It took so much out of me just being there for so long on Sunday, watching him suffer.  I do not know how she's been doing that for 9 months straight - day in and day out.

And that's that - Oh.... I think there's something wrong with my iPhone, it doesn't seem to be charging properly, and we got 'lost' several times 'cuz the GPS kept losing us on the way up to Thornbury, and it keeps getting really really hot.... really hoping it doesn't crash on me now, 'cuz it's my lifeline to you all! (thus, sanity)  <3

the ABC's of ME

 
I'm having a slow start this morning.  

Stuff's fuzzy, foggy & slow,thus...

I'm borrowing a post idea from Liberal Granola Girl's Blog  

who got it from  Type A’s Nightmare.

Sharing IS caring. :D   

The ABCs of me:

A – Age: 29
B – Bed size: King
C – Chore you hate: cleaning the litter box (which D pretty much does every time now even though they are "my" cats.  I hold the bag sometimes while looking away and gagging.)
D – Dog/Pet’s name: You guys have met 4 already, Bronx, Atilla (dogs) Topper & Sess (cats).  Then there's the rest of the zoo who are yet to be introduced: Freddy, Frank, Shovelhead, Green eyed bandit, Spot, Food.  And 6 unnamed little creatures who we also love. More to come on them later, but if you want to read bout some of my animals check this out.
E – Essential start to your day item(s): really not proud to say this but... my green best friend. those who know me well know what I'm talking bout.  Those who don't... well, use your imagination, or read some of my older posts. You'll figure it out.
F – Favorite color: Used to be indigo blue, now I'm starting to lean more towards turquoise-y blues/ greens.  My glasses are turquoise on the inside.
And I <3 anything forest-y, as you can tell! :D
G – Gold or Silver: white gold or PLATINUM :D
H – Height: 5′ 2″ (and D is 6'2".  I often wonder if we look funny to other people)
I – Instruments you play(ed): piano, viola, cello, guitar, flute, recorder. but am not v.good.
J – Job title: Home Office Manager. Wifey. Pet Mama.
K – Kisses or hugs: why do I have to choose?
L – Living arrangements: renting :( stupid apartment.  We can't wait to live in Utopia.
M – Mood: restless. ready for a change. anxious for summer.
N – Nicknames: Nat, NaVe (Nah-vey.  It's what I use if I perform & online. obviously)Babe, Baby, Natalushka (thanks Mom) zabinka(again, Mom. It means little frog in Slovak. I dunno why she calls me this,sounds cuter out loud.)
O – Overnight hospital stays other than birth: a bunch.  I went nuts about 10 yrs ago and got sent to the looney bin a few times. I'm better now.  MOSTLY :P
P – Pet Peeves: Adults not cleaning up after themselves (I've had people stay on my couch a lot in the last few years. Mostly men, but even the women... like, you're staying here RENT FREE. Pick up your coffee cup and put it in the sink! Or, *GASP* wash it yourself!)  AND people who have lived in Canada for more that 5 years and still don't speak a word of English. And they run a store. In Toronto.
Q – Quote from a movie: I dunno if this is really my fave, but it's all I could think of...
"Hurumph! Hurumph! Hurumph! Hey! I didn't get a Hurumph outta that guy!
R – Right or left handed: Right
S – Siblings: none - that I know of.... but I'm adopted, so WHO KNOWS?
T – Time you wake up: It depends, but almost always before 8am.
U- Underwear: um, like, do I wear it?? most of the time.... :p
V – Vegetable you dislike: Radish, Beets.
W – Ways you run late: I always run late. I run late when there’s no way to run late. I will most certainly be late for my funeral. <—-ME TOO <-----------ME THREE!!!!
X – X-rays you've had: like, every part of my body.  I'm a huge clutz.
Y – Yummy food you make: Turkey with all the trimmings, stuffing from scratch! anything sweet/baked... cheese& spinach omelets, pad thai.
Z – Zoo favorite: marmosets!  I could spend HOURS at their cage! And at the Toronto Zoo they are in an actually cage, not behind plexi, so they come right up to you and you can touch their toes through the wire!  Not that you're supposed to or anything... geee, I hope the zoo police don't come to my door now....

Your turn =)

Wordless Wednesday - First sign of Spring!

Thanks to my sister-in-law @sarahnryan for this pic!

Follow her on Twitter!  She's FABULOUS!

<3

Oh, Happy Day!

 Yesterday was a terrific day - despite the cold and clouds that drifted back in Toronto after a few days of glorious sunny spring (summer!) weather.

D and I used to frequent the beaches of Toronto quite regularly, more in the winter actually, to walk the dogs.  We would go more in the winter because of our dogs inability to get along well with other dogs, as you may or may not have read in my fur-baby posting.

Thus, the cooler weather yesterday was perfect.
We had the whole beach to ourselves...or so we thought!
As we walked down the beach on a side that we haven't actually ever walked on before, we came upon this interesting structure:

We walked to the end of the beach and discussed what it could be.  In the end, our curiosity got the best of us.  We had to go and find out what was going on over there!
Was it an extremely impressive beaver dam?  A beaver dam with seating?
So we meandered over.....
And met the friendly beach dude!

 

I'm going to keep the details about the friendly beach dude pretty sketchy, he requested specifically that I maintain his anonymity and keep his location under wraps. I was so impressed by his positive attitude, his eco-friendly lifestyle and his down-to-earth sensibilities so I asked him if he minded if I took some pictures of his creation for my blog.  He said, with a smile, that his door is always open to friendly strangers.  

We could all learn a lot from the friendly beach dude.

 

Friendly Beach Dude's Welcome Sign

Friendly Beach Dude's Welcome Mascot

The Nice Chilling Spot - aka Beach Hut

*you can't tell, but the bottom left corner of the hut was rebuilt because a few years back  the local coastguard/fire dept. boat came by and had to put out a fire that was started by  a couple who were found in a compromising situation in the nice chilling spot! 

  Being sprayed by 450psi musta been a rude awakening to say the least!!!*

We stood and talked with the FBD for about an hour.  He was so intriguing! He built the beach hut from wood that had fallen down the cliffs from the top of the hills that you can see behind the hut.  There are huge piles of debris all over the beach showing evidence that the cliffs are really tumbling down.  

 

Here's an example of a pile of trees that started at the top of the hill..... 

See the trees at the top that are awaiting the same fate??

After talking for a while (and essentially losing most of the sensation in my legs 'cuz the wind got BITTERLY cold) we started the walk back.  Here's some pictures that I really liked from the day...

 Friendly Beach Dude told us that he frequently sees Coyote's quite often.... 

These prints were HUGE compared to Bronx's!

LOVE the bits of red that show up every so often.

And, just as we were leaving, and I thought the day couldn't have POSSIBLY been any more perfect, we ran into another lovely creature while walking back to the car...

Can you spot him?

I couldn't believe how close he let me get!

And that was the happy day - we had such a good time, re-connecting and being outside... I just can't wait for summer and our next trip into the wilderness!

The NaVe&D Zoo - Part One

It's amazing how a blog face-lift can inspire!

All I've been doing all morning is thinking up blog posts - and the one that won out for today? Part one of the zoo post I've been promising since the beginning of my little adventure here in the blogisphere! I'm going to do it in two parts to make it not so long.  We have a lot of critters!

Today, ladies and gents, you will be introduced to the furry members of our little (mostly) harmonious zoo.

First stop? The cat fur babies.

This is Sess, Sessie, Sesscabob... you get the point. I'm not quite sure how old she is. She's my first cat EVER, and the reason I am now only one step away from being a crazy-cat-lady. (D keeps me balanced precariously on the ledge of that particular pitfall) I got here as a rescue from an Animal Hospital I worked at in 2004/2005.  She was kept in a cage above where I kept my stuff and kept playing with my ponytail every morning.  It was pretty much love at first sight.   She has a broken K-9 which I am going to have to sell my first non-fur baby to get fixed (joking - OBVIOUSLY I WOULD NEVER DO THAT. But that's about how much it's gonna cost).  She also pukes pretty much daily, not quite sure why, but she's a happy girl, eating and pleasantly plump, so I'm just gonna keep loving her!

This funny guy is Topper.   He can be found in most cases laying on his back twitching like he's seizing 'cuz he's purring so hard.  There is a YouTube video of that coming soon! He's my baby - we rescued him as a tiny kitten from a friend who took him from a crack-head's house, half his whiskers had been burnt off and I'm pretty sure he has ingested some hard drugs at some point in his life. He was once really skinny - which you can see here is a faint memory at best.  He's as happy-go-lucky as can be now... and I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a dog.  YouTube evidence of that coming as well. He's completely fearless (or slightly stupid, we aren't sure) and won't back down from either one of our big dogs.  Our female dog raised him as her puppy.

This picture pretty much summarizes the story.  Can you see how Sess recoils at the mere sight of her adopted brother Topper? Poor girl - she really loved being an only child.   She hates him and the only time she ever grooms him, or tolerates him at all, is when I "force" her to by holding him in front of her face so she can groom him.  It's pretty funny. I had to do this at first to teach Topper to groom 'cuz he was a nasty little shit-stained kitten who never had a chance to learn to groom from his mommy.

Now, to the dog fur-babies.

This is Bronx.  He weighs 100 lbs. He is going on 11 years old - wouldn't think so would ya?  He's got a bit of grey under his chin though, and he's starting to appreciate my fibromyalgia gait when I walk him, gives him a chance to meander along with me and smell the roses.   He's a HUGE suckie baby... until he sees a dog on the street.  Then it's ON!  He was attacked by a pit bull as a puppy and D has never been able to get the aggressive reflex to relax in him.  Callin' Cesar Millan!  We need his help!  We love our pups to death, but their aggression towards other dogs creates a barrier between us and all our fellow dog-walkers/lovers.  And it sucks for the dogs too because it means that they NEVER go off leash.  Ever.  And we don't have a yard, so that sucks even more.  But we do our best, and aside from some recent issues Bronx is a happy and healthy boy!

This is Atilla.  She weighs 75lbs. She's going on 10 years old.  As you can tell in this picture she loves to be comfy.   This dog HATES going camping.  Can you believe that?  She whines and cries when she has to sleep on the ground outside.  We literally have to bring couch cushions for her to sleep on.  She's a princess.   And a lean mean fighting machine.  She learned Bronx's hatred for other dogs and sounds like a wild jackal when she's see's one... "mommy, mommy pleeeaaasseee let me rip up that little fifi dog!" It's sad.   We try and try to teach them to love other dogs, but it's just not happening.  Our friends just got a little puppy - we're hoping to introduce our dogs to it with strong cage muzzles on.  We are thinking that perhaps the puppy smell will lessen the aggressive instinct.

 When we first moved in to this apartment (date is wrong, it was actually in 2007) we gave the big sucks our old mattress.  Check out Bronx, maximizing comfort by using a pillow.  They both steal pillows from our bed at night if we aren't careful.

And here are a few more of my fave pics of the furry babies.

Oh man, I have a billion pics I could put up here..... I'll put up two more... just two more..

Ok! Thaaaaaat's All Folks!  If you wanna see some more - leave a comment! Leave a comment even if you're sick to death of seeing pics of my fur-babies.  Moral of the story? LEAVE A COMMENT!................................................................please!

A Spring Clean for NaVe's Nutshell!

I want to thank my dear friend Plaidy over at PlaiduhPus

Not only for her invaluable friendship, support, humour and all-round great camaraderie, but also for designing this ÜBER-COOL new blog layout for me! (oh, and please accept this as my form of Follow Friday today! I was slightly lazy this week but I still <3 you all!)

I was thinking that I needed a little spring spruce and I think it did just the trick! 

I've been feeling lack-luster lately in terms of my blog, but now....

I love it! I think it's gorgeous! It makes me feel like I'm camping!

What do y'all think?

The Shift - Week One

At long last I'm sitting down to take the time to write my "vegan post".

Only - it's not so vegan.

I tried to go gun-ho on the whole vegan thing after my doctor's appointment on Monday - only to discover that I have NOT THE FIRST CLUE about how to eat vegan.  And thus I just kinda stopped eating - which was very very dumb of me, I know, I know.

Had a couple days of being a total and complete BITCH  (and feeling like a dirty and wet dishrag) and then decided that going vegetarian before going fully vegan was probably a smarter way to go. I thought that since I had quit smoking ciggarettes cold turkey I could do the same with food.  Turns out my junk food addiction is much more powerful! Who'd have thunk it.

I'm gonna digress for a minute to give you a better view of my (more recent) diet.
My mom was a big time cook so I grew up on home cooked foods.  But lots and lots of it.  I have always been a well-rounded girl!

In 2000 I decided to go veggie.  I did so (very successfully - I <3 vegetarian food!) for 3 years at which point I was forced to not be one anymore due to financial reasons (was barely eating at all - though I still managed to be kinda overweight because when I did eat it was cheap, easy, and usually from the food bank, thus not very nutritious)
Lived that way until 2005 when I moved into my "girl pad" and became veggie again for a year and a few months.  I was thin, I was happy, I was healthy, I was fit... it was great. 
Then me and D moved in together, November of 2006, and out the door went my blissful vegetable, fruit & fish market diet.  For the last four years up until last Monday I have been a total junk-food-aholic.   Not a care in the world.  Well, not entirely.  I always had that voice in the back of my head telling me to STOP NOW... but I ignored it... and now? I am suffering GREATLY from it.

If I'm going to be totally honest I believe that my fibromyalgia and endometriosis are both bi-products of the junk life I have been leading. 

But it ends NOW.
And I'm going to stop beating my head with a stick every time I give in and have some yogurt.  Or cream cheese. I am realizing that baby steps are the ONLY way that this is going to happen.   
And if we are going to eat out, we will eat at Subway or at a decent restaurant where I can get a nice salad or "health-wise" meal.
NO MORE MCDONALDS!
NO MORE WENDY'S!
NO MORE BINGING ON JUNK FROM THE DOLLAR STORE.
and... this one is HARD but...
NO MORE $0.99 ARIZONA GREEN TEA in a CAN.

I'm using these books to help me along:

I don't have these ones yet, but I'm hoping to get em in the coming weeks:























I'll keep you all posted on how things are going, and if you have ANY tips they are ALWAYS greatly appreciated!  I'm kinda obsessive really... with the checking of the comments.... :P

Wordy Wordless Wednesday

Please comment - hearing from you makes me happy!

Spinning, whilrling, unfocused &foggy

I've been struggling in the last few days. I have a million posts in mind and can't seem to focus long enough to write them.

If you follow me on Twitter and read my blog regularly, you'll know that I tend to have these "waves" of dark&light days in my life.

Despite the fact that I'm embarking on a new & important journey in my life (vegan-ish lifestyle changes being implemented daily- which will be in a post coming up as soon as I can shake the fog) I'm faltering.

Failing to find within myself the drive to strive forward and find the success I know I can find if I really put my mind to it.

I have several (more obvious) obstacles.

1. Every time I find myself optimistic or hopeful about something, I inevitably seek support and encouragement from others and usually get shut down (Referring to my non-Twitter friends/family)
Really, my own excitement and cheer-leading should be enough for me and I hope one day soon to not seek so much outside approval.

2. Other people's negativity is completely contagious. It's like I'm a sponge and their negative fluids fill me and sink me. I hope that one day soon my positivity can outshine the darkness I see in people around me.

3. My physical ailments make me depressed. My brain knows that 'motion is lotion' as my mom preached to me through out my life. Meaning, I know that shedding some pounds and getting off my ass would help my conditions a lot. It's just that my body won't listen to my brain most of the time. It's not even that I'm lazy. It just hurts too damn much most of the time. And I'm a big wimp. When I do feel go however, just TRY to stop me.

And because of those things I haven't been feeling great in the last day or two (post-appointment on Monday I felt great but that feeling deflated rather quickly once faced with the reality of what it really means to change one's lifestyle)

That, added to the nasty comment I got is making for an icky stomach pit. Despite my best efforts I seem to be having a hard time getting over it. I have had dreams on both Sunday and Monday nights about the miscarriage comment. Hate to admit when I'm shaken but I sure am now. It's taking some real effort for me to keep my heart on my sleeve and doors to my mind wide open.

But I made a vow when I started this blog. I think it's important for there to be a sense of utter and complete honesty here in order for me to effectively reach out.

I also want to express how THANKFUL and GRATEFUL I am to the ladies who stood behind my retort to the anonymous chicken(head) commenter.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- I have found truer friends in you all than I have had in a very long time. Y'all are the reason I still have enough sanity to realize that I'll feel better if I blog it all out.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Grow a set...

I think my blog is (unintentionally)touching on some nerves  because 
I got a couple of hate comments on my last post. I'm not going to dwell on this for too long, but some of my tweeps were asking me what the hate comments were regarding. I kinda wish I hadn't been so rash in emotion this morning and had left 'em on here, they would be good for a laugh now that I'm in a happier, more zen, more secure state of mind.

The jist of it was this:
One commenter mentions that D and I should take some time to sort out our problems before having a child.  This is something we are currently doing, and what I mention in a couple of posts in the past are that I have doubts which I need to quench before going forward with IUI #1. (and that there are financial issues which also need to get resolved.)

This comment was not the issue.

When I read on my heart did a pitter patter.
I'm not one for confrontations.
And the comment started with the B word.

My temper flared right away. I read on.

It continued to say that the above commenter was right,  I am not fit to be a mother (which was not what she said at all), D and I should separate immediately and that I am a pathetic loser because I'm obviously in an abusive relationship and refuse to leave.  And that people like me deserve to be shot.

...
...

That's me, sitting on my couch at 7:30am on a Sunday morning with my jaw hanging off it's hinge.

Why would anyone say these things to me???

I read on.

Next comment, also anonymous:

'Oh Yah, I hope that when you get pregnant you have a miscarriage right at the end of your pregnancy.'

I SHIT YOU NOT.

So I deleted them, like the good little pacifist that I am.... and sulked off to vent on twitter.  But then I thought, "THIS IS MY BLOG!" and my friends re-in-forced.... "THAT'S NA-VE'S BLOG!" and so I retorted.

To myself.

Because the stupid anonymous commenter is a Mrs. Scaredy-Pants who comments mean things anonymously.  And I say "Mrs." because to make a statement like the last comment she left is very distinctly female.  Like - she would want said miscarriage to be as painful as it could possibly be by making it so that I carried almost to term before losing my miracle baby. Men can be cruel, but not that viciously cruel. 

I wish I knew who the commenter was - I'd send her a vat of testosterone so that she could physically grow a set and actually have the kahunas that it takes to throw those kinds of comments into cyberspace and back them up when the person defends themselves.

After all, insulting someone who can't even defend them self is like Arnold Schwarzenegger beating up a little old lady.

BAHHHHH!!!

I don't know what's wrong with me.
I was so calm,
so level headed, so EFFECTIVE last night.
I started a conversation with D in the car that I've been meaning to have for MONTHS. 

And I did it well. I did myself proud. 
All the way through the evening. 

And I had some difficult things to say.  Namely:

1. His tone of voice is a total kill joy.  I get cranky just hearing that tone sometimes. It really sucks because it puts my mood instantly into pissy-ville and then things just escalate from there.

And at times it can be a total turn off.  The second part of that was the hardest to say because it involves our sex life, and it's really really really difficult for me to be completely honest with him about that aspect of our relationship. He's very sensitive and I struggle with how to talk to him about some of the issues I'm having. This feels so taboo even to write in my blog. But I vowed that when I started writing this I would be open, honest and totally exposed.  I've struggled with this notion in the last little while and am amending it slightly because of some tweets I've seen lately.  Am starting to feel a bit insecure about how open I am, but I don't want to lose that part of my blog so I'm making an effort here.  A big one.  But baby steps.... more about this in another post.

and...

2. He is a horrible boss. Let me explain.
I am so afraid of the spring in a sense.  I know my tweets often express a desperate need for spring to return and work to start again.  I was really looking forward to this spring in particular though because we were planning on having me not work for him anymore.  But those plans are quickly unraveling before my eyes, so now I'm kind of afraid of spring because he's such a bad boss. He's rude, ignorant, places blame without hearing both sides, and he's completely ungrateful. I've had some bad bosses, but at least I didn't have to sleep with them!!! We've been driving each other crazy this winter being together 24/7 but if I have to work for him again this spring I don't know if we'll survive the season and still love each other.  This scares the shit out of me because as you saw in my Utopia Rules post from last night, we really have a vision together for our future. I don't know what I'd do without that plan.


But despite how difficult and touchy the subjects were, I did well, WE did well... went off without a hitch (and actually resulted in a little bit of BD, which has been really sporadic and infrequent lately! Ya ya!) 

And then... this morning.   I seriously don't know what's wrong with me, I'm up and down all over the place lately.  All he did was say he had a head ache.  I was about to wake and vape cuz my fibro is still bitching and he said he couldn't (well, he was kinda nasty about it I guess, in retrospect...but still, didn't warrant my reaction and my cold shoulder which he fully told me really really bothered him last night) and now he's at his mom's house and I'm feeling shitty cuz I really just want things to be good.

I'm a cranky, always-sick bitchy wifey and I'm pretty tired of it.  The only places my positivity and kindness seems to shine through is online and sometimes sometimes with our friends, or my family. Never with him anymore.

OK. Pity party over.... when he comes home I'm going to make a real effort to be sweet and see what happens.

Input is always welcome (especially on my touchy topics like this).  I believe that our community of women is a powerful source of support and it makes me feel not so alone, as I've said so many times in the past.

Utopia - The way it's all gonna come together...

D and I had a really interesting conversation to do with our life tonight. I'm not going to get into the details in this post (need to gather thoughts and have a early morning blog session for that one!) but....after D and I finshed talking this we  started discussing how we'd  like to formulate the "laws" of Utopia. We both wrote this post together (WHOA! we did something together! for my BLOG! big stuff people!)

Ok here goes....


1. Everyone eats together.  Like at camp. One big happy family, each taking turns cooking for everyone else. 








2 Minimal dish philosophy.   This means everyone has a bowl and plate (made by themselves? during a commune pottery class?   Or just get THAT guy to make yours... I'll bet he makes A LOT of bowls!), a fork, knife and spoon, a cup (etc...etc...) and everyone washes their dish&utensils in a fun fountain (like, remember those fountain sinks that there used to be in elementary school? The ones with the foot pedal? I friggin loved those things) with everyone else after eating :D  Doing dishes ain't so bad if it's fun, and you only have to wash one dish!




3. Zero-footprint law.   This means - well... you all probably know what it means... but for those "non-camping"types, it basically means you aren't to harm, alter or destroy any part of the land/forest/swamp/ WHATEVER you happen to inhabit. That means if you put it there, you take it away when you leave, and leave no evidence of it ever being there.   Or even better - leave it there, but make it organic so that it can one day be one with it's environment.





4.NO NEGATIVE NELLIES!  And D INVENTED THIS ONE!!! HOLY SHIT. Was that a pig?  I'm on the 17th floor and I seriously think a pig just flew by. 
But seriously.  You all know my mantra - positive thinking = positive living.
Anyone that's not down with that?  OUTSKI!





5.Nothing living is to be harmed.  Ok within reason.  Like, you can still eat veggies and fruit and all.  And we can eat meat and all that good stuf..... but like... don't go tramping around on ant hills for fun, or tearing through Charlotte's Web just for a laugh. 



6. Eco-friendly living.  This one is kind of obvious, but we will utilize only renewable sources of energy.  Solar, Wind, Hydro(the good kind, with the things that take energy from waves) etc etc.





7. Limited impact on the surface.   Whoa... Dinny's getting really excited talking about this one....   We can tap into geo-thermal energy easier this way, and uber cool in the summer, nice & cozy in the winter... We'd be good to go if there were a nuclear meltdown, or something...   And it's just all round cool. And we'll have Free Spirit tree-spheres up on the surface so if we want to go above ground for the night, or if a guest shows up and you don't want them to know where exactly  the house is (aka secret laboratory *whispers D*) there's an awesome little pod waiting.

OK I'm babbling.



 8. no CIGARETTE smoking and no ALCOHOLIC drinking.   As in, if the majority sees  a problem with your drinking, there WILL be an intervention.  And if that doesn't work... OUTSKI! 

Oh. we are ganja friendly, but again, if you're a total stoner pot head douchebag mooching off everyone else.... OUTSKI!

9. NO CABLE TV .  We shall still have fast internet.  D and I have been getting by just FINE this way, and limited exposure to the commercial BULLSHIT is excellent.  And I LOVE watching stuff with no commercial breaks.  YAY. 

10. Absolutely NO vehicles that emit emissions.
If that means you gotta ride a f'ing horse, then do it!   Oh.  Good luck pooper scooping that sucker.



And thaaaaaat's all folks!  Well, for now anyways because it's 10pm and we are going to watch a summer camp inspired movie.  Not sure which one yet, but if you know a good one we're always open for suggestions! (movie suggestions OR Utopia suggestions)


Please comment - hearing from you makes me happy!