hmm...

You know, a year without China is not too difficult. Why? Because I just don't buy much these days.

A year without meat on the other hand is a little more challenging. Not that I was a meat lover to begin with, but a whiff of a hamburger or a glimpse of steak gets me salivating.



BUT, I am loving all the non meat dishes that I do eat : )
Portabella Mushroom sandwiches are delicious. Grilled veggie sandwiches or paninis are excellent. The only taste I can't get used to? Boca patties. Bleh.



I'm giving up one more thing until Easter...CHOCOLATE. Good bye chocolate.

This does not have to do with China, or maybe it does, but did you know that donating old clothes might not be the best alternative to getting rid of your old clothes?

I was cleaning out one of the rooms in my house and decided it's finally time to get rid of the clothes I will never wear because 1. I don't fit into them, 2. I don't know what I was thinking back then when I actually wore some of the clothes around, 3. I have to let go... I looked up online "How to donate clothes" and came across this article about how even though we donate clothes, most of it probably won't even be opened up, but just automatically shipped over to a 3rd world country.

That's great, right?

But is it great when clothing manufacturers within that country have to shut down. Is it great when the people begin selling these free clothes to their neighbors? Is it great knowing that your old t-shirt, one you would never wear again or let anyone you know, wear the t-shirt, is worn by a little boy in Africa? Yes, it is great that we can give them at least something to wear, but it takes away from helping a country rebuild its own economy and to rely on the work that they themselves can produce.

I was really convicted by reading this.

fail #2

I was ironing a tshirt I bought the other day from Gap and noticed the small typing that said "Made in China." I was shocked since I had been VERY careful about reading the labels at Gap. Then I realized that it was not the same colored tshirt that I had actually tried on. After much debate in my head, I chose a different color than the one I had tried on. Who knew that the same tshirt in a different color would make the difference in where it was made. I must be more careful.

Atleast I have not eaten any meat products yet.

Shoes

DSW Shoe Warehouse has a plethora of shoes. Guess what, they are all, at least 300 pairs of shoes, are made in China. How do I know this? Well, I actually looked at every shoe. I was curious... and I had a bit of free time over the course of last week because of Jury Duty.

***Ok, I have to put a bit of a plug in to what I learned during the trial I was a juror for. DO NOT go into a business with a friend WITHOUT a WRITTEN contract. Actually, I would say avoid going into a business with a friend, period. Also, please keep a good record of your money if you do decide to go into a business. It saves people (jurors!) a lot of time in case you need to take your records to court.***

Back to shoes....

It is very difficult for me to find shoes because of my wide feet, so usually, if a shoe fits, I buy a pair because who knows when I will be able to find another black heel that fits.

Aldo, another shoe store, had shoes made all from China. Macy's shoe department was made up of China made shoes.

Now, the tricky thing is that some of the shoes do not have a mark, or it is very difficult to find the "Made in..." stamp. I had to search through the entire shoe, the shoe box, and the other shoes made from the same company to determine whether or not a shoe was made in China. Designer shoes, no brand shoes, mediocre brands...does not matter. All were made in China.

Looks like I'll be wearing my Chucks till next year.

another thing...

I added another component to this blog- a discussion about going without meat (except seafood) for an entire year. I touched upon this in my first post, but I decided that I wanted to talk about it, especially since I have been having some weird dreams...

In order to kick off my year without meat, my mom made Kalbi Jjim, my favorite Korean red meat dish, as my one last meat dish (I'm drooling just a little thinking about it). I have not given in yet, but I have been having some "guilty" dreams. One of my dreams a few weeks back made me laugh when I woke up. I was out at a restaurant looking at the menu. I told the waiter I could not eat chicken, but the next thing I knew, I was cutting into a piece of chicken, eating it up, and then yelling that I wasn't supposed to be eating it! Ok, it was much more interesting in my dream...

Last week though, I had a dream about a Chili Dog. One of my guilty pleasure foods has always been hot dogs. I know, sausages are pretty gross, but I can't help but liking them. I can say that I prefer hot dogs over hamburgers. The Chili Dog looked amazing and I took a nice big bite out of it... yummy.

Have I been tempted to eat meat? OF COURSE! Good think I love fish over meat...but when you know you can't have something, it makes you desire it more. In my case... Chinese goods and Meat are calling my name.