NJ needs to take the plastic ban a bit further...

New Jersey is the only state to now ban not just plastic bags but also paper bags. The paper bag ban is mostly in effect for supermarkets, it does not apply to all businesses and the paper bags allowed must also meet certain criteria. I studied a 5-page document to make sure we were bag compliant in case anyone decided to call the Bag Snitch Line. First offense is a written warning, next is a $1000 fine. 

New Jersey has also banned plastic straws. This is all great and good BUT we need to take this plastic ban a bit further and eliminate the use of a few other things. Packaging is the biggest culprit and some packaging occurs where it can be cut-back quite a bit and that solution is easy as just going back to how it was done just a few years ago. I am talking about the individual creamers which come in those PLASTIC mini-containers. Sure, most are shelf-stable, but one can only imagine what is needed as far as preservatives go to make them shelf-stable thus another reason to slow your roll on their use.

Yes, it has made it easier in places which deal with a lot of to-go but do you really need to use these when sitting down to dine? Go back to the glass, stoneware and/or stainless-steel bottles and dispensers for the cream and milk. I just found this one in a quick search for just $2.00:

I love when I am eating out in a small cafe and they actually use the half-pint-sized glass milk bottles. Another easy solution that saves money in the long run, is reusable, easy-to-clean AND looks darling on the table. I found these on Amazon - 20 for $22.00:

Now we are entering your home and work kitchens etc. Let's talk about Keurig pods - generic and name-brand. Another blight in the dumps...I used to use a Keurig and when I did, I used the reusable pods. They are inexpensive and last a long, long time. In fact, they outlasted my use of a Keurig. Convenient, yes, but the brew just never tasted the same as a good old-fashioned coffee machine. Be it French Press, percolator or just a Mr. Coffee, a longer brew time vs. hot water dashing through a pod tastes so much better. But if you love your Keurig, get your favorite coffee and not only are you helping eliminate garbage, you are saving yourself quite a bit of money. Just $10.00 for 6 on Amazon. The great thing with buying a few is you can always have a bunch of pods ready-to-go.

The opinions expressed in this blog are exactly that, my opinion. I am sure many will disagree with this but if this reaches one restaurant which agrees and decides to change then that is a step towards change. Change can be small but it can have a large impact. 

Count your blessings, big and small

In order to go forth and continue with life and be in a good place mentally, I do my daily blessings when I awake. This helps, it truly does. 

First and most obvious is my family, all of them including our furbabies. 

I am grateful for a roof over my head which we finally got the leaking to stop when we were able to get the roof fixed. I am grateful that despite the rising costs of everything, we can afford to keep our house comfortable. We always have food on the table and even have leftovers. 

Blessings do not have to be grandiose, they just have to be what makes you grateful, what makes you happy. Do not let people tell you what your blessings are, these are YOURS, you define them. Yes, they can be things, why not? I always tell customers in our antique shop when they say they do not need something but they like it. Honestly, who needs anything in our shop? BUT we need to smile and if something makes you smile, then yes, yes you do need it! I tell the customers just that. You are blessed if you recognize that magpie in yourself, the need to collect. Stop listening to the naysayers who define THEIR beliefs, what they believe are true blessings.

I looked up the definition of blessings and of course there is the religious aspect of the definition but there is another part of the word's definition which I thoroughly embraced:

a beneficial thing for which one is grateful; something that brings well-being - (well-being is the joy in the little things IMO.)

Blessings come in the physical, the senses - make sure you do not take for granted sight and sound. Mobility, even if it has decreased or changed dramatically. When I went to physical therapy for my walking issues, the therapist said I had such a good outlook on it all. I said, I was blessed most of my life to be in very good physical shape and could participate in so many sports, jog, hike, whatever I wanted to without issue. I never took that for granted knowing how many never will know what it is like to walk and play without a wheelchair, braces, assistance. 

Being able to read I always saw as a blessing, access to public libraries. WOW a world of my own. My mother used to drop me off at the Cyrenius Booth library and leave me there for hours and I loved it. That library is huge and old, the smell of old books ensconces you as soon as you walk in the door. What I loved about that library was how they never seemed to get rid of any of the books, the shelves were packed with books that were decades old as well as the newest. I would sit for hours on the floors going through so many books. I used to be able to read and retain so much quickly. I was a voracious reader, not so much now. Maybe when we officially retire. I will be like my grandmother and get those books with the large text that you can read from space. BUT the most important thing is still being able to see and read. 

I have so much to be grateful for, it is wonderful because when you do, the complaining seems to almost cease. Sure, there are some things I do want, a clean house, no bats in the attic keeping our son awake but in the grand scheme of things, these are things I can and will change and fix.

(and now I see it has been a year exactly since my last post, maybe this year I will actually post more...we shall see)

Almost a full year....

 I made it under the wire! What wire? That one year mark since I last posted.

I am exhausted. I am blessed. I am burnt-out. I am lucky.