A visit to the landfill

I work for our local county government & had the opportunity today to have a tour, via car, around the local landfill.  It's now a transfer station as the trash is now taken to the next county.

What amazed me was the amount of recycling  and reusing that is happening at this facility.  For instance, the facility would like more land space.  So the answer is to use the concrete, brought by local contractors, to fill in one of the lakes on the property with the concrete pieces.  The piles are already building up.  The shrubbery brought in by the local pickup and the local landscapers is now being bought from a company who is converting it to ethanol.  Very clever.

There is always going to be trash - yucky stuff that is not reusable or recyclable, but it's great to see innovation take place and reduce what is sent to the landfill.

Starting the Compost Pile

For my birthday this year, I asked my husband for a composter.  After searching Home Depot & Lowe's, we couldn't find one that I wanted.  After searching online, reading reviews and viewing videos, we settled on the Compost Wizard by Good Ideas.  They have 2 sizes, but we decided to just buy the big one. 

We actually found it at Tractor Supply in Ft. Pierce, so after his mountain bike ride, DH brought it home.  It was in 2 pieces:  the barrel and the base.  As it was empty, he could pick it up & bring it to the side of the shed, where we thought it might work.  But, the beauty of this composter is you can roll it where you need it once it makes compost.

Today, I threw in some tea bags, an old banana, some peelings from a zucchini & carrot, leftover broccoli, dryer lint, leftover rice, and then I gathered some twigs, leaves and a small cardboard box.  It's a beginning and since it hold alot, I imagine it might take awhile before I get it half full.  I hope that isn't the case.

Stay tuned for more details on how this pans out!

Primal Workout

So I recently discovered a blog called, Mark's Daily Apple.  It's a blog about primal eating & a primal way of life.  It peaked my interest because I know the way we, as Americans, eat is not right.  Primal eating is eliminating anything our caveman ancestors didn't eat - no sugar, wheat, processed foods.  Basically, it's fruits, veggies, meats, nuts, water.  Many people also follow a Paleo diet, which is essentially the same thing.

But I digress.

In his blog, he has something called the Primal Workout.  As a former athlete, Mark feels we are destroying our bodies by these hard core, all out workouts several times a week.  He feels that we should have 1 set of sprints per week and then easier workouts of bike riding, walking, etc.  He also feels that 2 days per week you should do some lifting, but he eases you into it & only focuses on major muscle groups.  After all, our caveman ancestors didn't spend hours in the gym, and neither should you.

I've been tracking my workouts in Evernote, and today was a 'lifting' day.  Since I'm following his Primal Fitness book, I'm not into the weights yet, but I like the exercises because it's a quick workout and very effective.  Today my workout consisted of knee pushups, lat pulldowns (I don't have a way of performing chin ups yet so I do the opposite), squats and plank - straight and side.  I do 2 sets & am done in about 20 minutes.  My arms are shaky right now, so I know I pushed myself.

Good job, Jan!