68/101 Cheer a Friend on at a Race

This is #68/101 for my 1001 Things in 101 Days.

This is not the first time I have gone to cheer on a friend at a race....but it is the most recent that falls within my timeline for this project!

On Sunday, October 9th this year, Tommy and I took the train down to Chicago for the marathon. We ended up meeting up with the Libertyville Running Club at mile 23. They have been doing this for a few years, and I'm glad that we had the opportunity to finally go!

We took the train down from Union, and then had to take the L (The Red Line I think?) to get over to the mile marker. Alllll with my bombtastic poster.

When we got there, a lot of people were already cheering. The club set up a center for donuts to be given to runners :D and other snacks. It was a little chilly in the shade, but super manageable, It was mostly a day of "wahoo"ing and "Go runners" and what not. It was a super fun day!

Yay Spectating!

A note about climate change

Anyone else feeling left out on the conversation of climate change? Well, I was. So, like many other precious things in life, I invited myself into the conversation.

Ok. This is a big topic. You probably have more knowledge on it than I.
If you're thinking...

- It is bad.
- We need to make a change.
- If only people would start biking to work.
- "We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it." (because you heard this on the news/Snapchat/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram from President Obama)

...or any other spoon fed opinion on this topic, I'm here to add a few more ideas because you clearly don't have enough to worry about already ;) The biggest thing I've learned so far is that if we are going to actually try to do anything about climate change, we need to start the conversation with farming and food practices. It will take more than walking to work and using reusable grocery bags y'all. 

Here is what I have learned about general animal farming practices from watching various videos online, and reading multiple articles. I needed something new to watch after coming out of my Gossip Girl showhole on Netflix- cue the documentaries. 

{Click Here}

Food, INC. 2008 taught me the following things:
- The meat industry is not farmer owned (or even necessarily operated)
- Four major meat packing companies own about 85% of the industry- Tyson, Smithfield, Cargill, and JBS (A Brazilian company with a huge base in America)
- These four companies have been raising the price of meat because they CAN.
- Many farmers go bankrupt trying to keep up with codes set by these big businesses. They aren't paid much to cover costs of keeping up to code (which are set because these businesses want a product that is uniform and able to be processed in the same way all over the country)
- Farmers and processing workers are basically treated like shit by these big businesses because they are trained assembly line style (which is more efficient) and can be replaced easily, for cheaper, when needed. Also, these big companies recruited illegal immigrants to come work for them (in corn fields and meat packing houses) and the government is arresting these immigrants because they are illegal- but not handing out consequences to the big four companies that are hiring them.
- Monsanto is the DEVIL. This chemical company basically made a genetically modified soybean that resists weed killer. They sold this seed to farmers and now most use it. Monsanto sues farmers that don't use their Monsanto modified seed, and that "clean their own seed" every year to collect their best seed from their stock to use the following year because Monsanto claims those farmers are infringing on their creative patent. The whole thing is incredibly confusing, and I have yet to find an article that explains it fully. If you do, share it please!
- Monsanto also has a hand in the pockets of government officials that regulate food and farming practices in America. Surprise, surprise. 
-The last five minutes of this documentary are worth the watch (I mean, the whole thing is, but I get that you have things to do...kids, sleep, etc.)

Now, I've watched Food, INC. three times to get a handle on the situation. It had a lot of great things to say to me as a consumer. It's from 2008 though, and as much as I hate to think about the 2000s as being out of date, they are. So I continued my research with a documentary called...

{Click Here}

Cowspiracy, 2014
(If you're giggling at the name of this documentary like my husband did, don't. It's a legit thing...and very scary!)
No, it's not chalk full of slaughterhouse video clips, though there are a few scenes that are real AF.
Here are a few take aways:
- It takes a looooooot of water to farm animals.
- This is because these animals we eat are fed corn.
- Corn and soybeans are cheap to grow and process, but require a lot of water and space to cultivate. This means that forests are being cut down in other countries to make room for crops to feed the animals to feed us. 
- The world cannot be fed with meat that is only grass fed. It's just not possible feed the whole world on grass fed beef alone. We have too many people that eat too much meat. (Do you see where this movie might be going here?)
- We are killing our forests, oceans, etc. through animal farming practices. Basically, certain meat eaters are killing the WORLD. I'm working on not being one of them a few times a week. (Hey, it's a start)
- All dairy cows are eventually sold off to beef raising farms. They become hamburgers eventually :/
- Wildlife is impacted by livestock farming too. The government partakes in the killing of wildlife to make way for livestock.
- Cowspiracy is a term used by the producers of the movie to describe the strangeness that no one is talking about the number one reason for climate change and water usage: animal agriculture.
Ok, this was a good documentary. The main guy in this film is trying to make a change, and he is eloquently doing so. Watch it. It's worth it. Some of the citations are from 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2013. These facts probably haven't changed too much in the past few years, but just fyi.

Soooooo global warming. 

- Global warming is a thing that everyone is talking about right now. It's a hot topic, if you will. But one thing we aren't talking about is animal farming and it's impact of greenhouse gasses. This is the deforestation to make room for growing crops to feed the animals, make room for the animals, and waste production of animals (the methane gasses)
- Livestock produced methane gasses cause more damage to the ozone layer than transportation, which is where the big push for change is centered, not on animal agriculture.
- Whatever cause you can think of that is hurting the earth in some way, animal agriculture is hurting the earth a billion times more than that (I don't have an actual figure for you, but I am also not being dramatic here...)
- Some of the most well known environmental organizations are not as forthcoming with information as they should be. They are businesses too you guys. Keep that in mind.
It's a COWSPIRACY.



I also now know the following things from these movies (and I hope you take them with you when you leave this blog too):
Grocery store labels are created entirely to impress you, the consumer. The picture of the farm with the sun and the grass is appealing, but don't be fooled.

Basically, the McDonald's brothers ruined the meat packing industry with their idea of fast food and bringing the assembly line to meat production. If they didn't think of it though, I'm sure someone would have...

Driving less, recycling, and using less water is not going to cut it when it comes to climate change or saving water and oceans. We, as consumers, have to make the difference by choosing where we buy our food, and buying locally and organically. 

So here is a final seed of thought for you before you donate to causes this holiday season, and purchase food products for the same reason: Be smart, do your research, make conscious and conscientious choices when giving your hard earned dollars away in exchange for meat.

Easier said than done right? Well, at the very least, try to bring up the word Cowspiracy at least once this holiday season when visiting family. It's a good controversial conversation starter. And a good option if you're still mourning November 8th and "just can't" with your family.

Feel free to drop me a comment or a message if you want to share your thoughts. I'm by no means an expert but would love to learn more if you have more to give. :D  Happy Learning

#30/101 Host a Dinner Party for Friends + Friendsgiving 2016

So every year, Kelsey has a Friendsgiving for the people in her life.

It is always fun, always delicious, and everyone brings a dish to share. Tommy and I brought appetizers and wine. I tried a new recipe that was gluten free and people liked it so that was good! It was for a cheesy chip dip that I also got GF crackers to dip in :)

When it was time for dinner, we some how all were able to squeeze in at the table.....which blows my mind every year, lol. {See amazing picture below}

{Amazing Picture}

This year we had: two different kinds of rolls, mashed potatoes, corn cassarole, sweet potatoes, turkey, stuffing, green bean cassarole, and probably a few other mouth watering dishes that I'm forgetting some how.

We also had desserts that were, as my mother would say, to die for.

Per usual, we had a great time :D :D :D

So this year, as I am wanting to host a dinner party for some friends, I decided to host a Friendsgiving myself. Also, I wanted to try my hand at cooking a turkey for real this time, lol. So this post is also part of my 101 in 1001 Days- #30/101 Host a Dinner Party for Friends

I have to tell you, I don't actually love Thanksgiving food. I mean, turkey is probably my #5 meat, and I generally dislike the other traditional side dishes- green bean casserole, cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie....I do, however, love rolls and mashed potatoes and there's always plenty of those so yay.

Anyway, what I do love about Thanksgiving is the tradition. I love the getting together of family and friends, the all day cooking experience, and the Fall themed decor. Warm colors are my jam. So it felt right to make a dinner party around this time a Friendsgiving one, especially since turkey was on sale after Thanksgiving and I had school off for break ;)

I sent out feelers to see who would be available, and many people were seeing family or not going to be in the area past Thanksgiving, but Liz and Lauren said they could come and we set the date for November 26th.

I ended up buying a frozen turkey from Jewel on Thanksgiving day for super cheap. It was a 15 pounder too! It thawed just in time, with a little help from my kitchen sink and a running water bath. The process of actually getting the turkey ready was semi gross, but way manageable you guys.

To prepare the inside- I cut up half a stick of butter into thin square sections. After separating the skin from the breast, I set the squares of butter on the breast and sprinkled some herbs.

To prepare the outside- I mixed sage and rosemary together with olive oil in a small bowl. Then I used a brush to spread it on the skin. My mother says you can use basically whatever herbs you want, but she recommended those together. I also sprinkled the skin with a bit of salt and pepper.

Then I stuffed some carrots, onion, potatoes, celery, and herbs inside of the bird and then tied the legs together a bit with some cooking string. I also trussed the turkey prior to dressing it, but the website that I followed for cooking the turkey recommended leaving it untrussed so that it would cook more evenly. I didn't have any issues with this though so I would probably do it again next year! The website also called for adding chicken broth to the pan, which I did....and ended up adding more as the bird cooked because it kept drying up and I needed it to baste the turkey whilst cooking. I think maybe they recommended doing this with the broth if the bird was sitting directly on the roasting pan...but I'm not sure. My turkey was on a rack in the roasting pan so maybe that made a difference?

{Turkey humor}

I set the oven to 350 degrees, and once it was ready, I put the bird in and played the waiting game! The website said that you should schedule 13 minutes per pound, but cooking time can vary based on how you prepped the turkey and if you stuffed the bird. I was able to keep an eye on it though, and about every 45 minutes, I pulled that large lady out of the oven and went to basting. In the final 45 minutes of the cooking time, I used pan juices and melted butter to baste the turkey. It helped crisp up the skin a bit.

At about half way into her cooking time, I started checking the temperature of the turkey in the three places that are recommended: the breast, the outer thigh, and the inside thigh. It took a total of about 3 hours for it to fully cook and reach a temperature in all three places above 165 degrees. I did have to put a foil tent over the pan for the last 20 minutes or so because the inner thigh was almost to 165 when the rest of the places I checked were already there and I didn't want the outside to overcook. In the last bit of turkey cooking, I also put the green bean casserole in the oven, and warmed the mashed potatoes that Liz brought. We also mixed Lauren's salad. When it was time to take out the turkey, I also put in the rolls to heat them through.

The prepping and cooking parts of the meal were cake compared to the actual carving of the turkey...lol. Thankfully the boys were there to, um, distract themselves with football and polite conversation in the family room while the three of us tried to carve the thing.

 Lauren did the actual carving because she's brave, and I had my doubts....but she did it!

{Liz did a great job holding the platter...lol!}

Anyway, it was fun to host them and dinner turned out great! After eating, we played some cards in the family room, took waaaaaay too many Snaps, and then had dessert. It was a super fun night and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to cook with friends and hang! Can't wait for next year!

See last year's November Happenings here.