hello 2009, goodbye meat and China

I have decided to journaml my journey through 2009 without meat (cow, chicken, pig) and without China. I have no real reason for not eating meat, except to just wanting to try. What do I mean in saying "without China?" Well, I saw this book called A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy. Sounded interesting and VERY difficult. How can we survive in America without purchasing products made in China? It has only been 8 days and already I am feeling like I'm going to cave in before the year is over. I think this will make me very conscious of my spending habits.

Honestly, I already broke it...
I was in need of hair ties and I bought a pack without checking where it was made. Thankfully, I realized in time and I returned it about an hour later.

I took a trip to Target yesterday because I ran out of some necessities at home. It took a little longer to purchase items since i was checking every tag and package, but thankfully, most of what I needed was made in the USA. The toughest was looking for razors...

What I bought:

Charmin toilet paper
Target brand paper towel
2 small Itso plastic bins
BIC razors (made in Greece)
Silk Soy Milk
Special K cereal
Simply Orange Juice (no pulp)

Walking around the mall was the toughest. My favorite sneakers made from Converse are made in China. Actually, most shoes were made in China. Jeans and other clothing were mostly made in China. Even the expensive brands. The sneaky part was that some brands hid their "made in..." tag in strange spots. Make-up (minus, the brushes and applicators) were USA made or European made.

In the end of the forward to the book, the author said she was asked if she would be able to do it again. Her response? "Not a chance."

well, here it goes...