The Eco Dad

Well, that didn't take long. I already near pooched up my Dry February with an afterwork celebratory pint. Luckily my efforts were salvaged by my friend Lindsay, who was also there for a celebratory pint. She generously anted up $25 for a golden ticket - a hall pass, of sorts, to allow me to drink for a day. Lindsay to the rescue! Way Better Than a Wonka Golden Ticket! My efforts continue for the month of February in order to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. If you'd like to donate or purchase a Golden Ticket, you can do so  here . I've managed to raise 25% of my $500 goal. For the month of March I've found some pretty interesting vegan recipes a la Pinterest. I may have to plan out the entire month of eating because I'm not very creative in the kitchen and even less so when generally unfamiliar with what I'd be cooking with - nothing but plants. 😕  Vegetarian I could probably do. A good 80% of my diet is meatless. On the flip side my diet...

Jumping right into things, I've decided to use January as a prep month for February and March. I figure I was a week in when I finally came up with the idea of doing monthly challenges and there's nothing wrong with maintaining my momentum of 2017 for the first month of 2018. That said, I've gone and purchased a used heavy punching bag to help me out with my 2018 goals. See what I did there? It's like 2017 all over again. For February I've decided to tackle two (2) challenges. The first challenge is called "Dry February," and it's going booze-free for the month to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Want to contribute to fighting cancer? Feel free to click  here . That's February challenge #1. The second challenge will be an eight (8) week contest of sorts with supplement company 1st Phorm. Technically it starts January 22, 2018, but it'll run all through February and most of March. I said I was going to do it last year, and while I...

We're one week into 2018 and I'm mulling over the direction to go after 2017. I proudly managed to not buy new stuff for an entire year. I learned a lot, picked up some good habits and greatly improved my mindset. Did I accomplish all I wanted to? No, not really. I still have stuff/clutter, but that's okay. The weight I put on personal belongings has greatly diminished and to me, that's a great thing. I don't feel the need to buy new, but having learned about 'slow fashion,' I'm not opposed to buying some new clothes, so long as they are well made and not drawn from some fashion fad that will soon fade away. The same can be said for other items - no more 'disposables.' I'm only buying things that I will absolutely love and want to repair should things start to give way. Learned a lot in 2017, like how to consistently give thumbs up in photos. I'm still left with what to blog about in 2018 and beyond. I've greatly enjoyed inco...

With all the cost cutting and selling stuff around the house, I've mentioned before about supporting a friend who has undertaken a charitable endeavour. The cause I've chosen to support is the World Wildlife Foundation, and the friend I'm supporting is Lindsay. She climbs the CN Tower every year to support this worthwhile initiative. And really, why wouldn't I support her? I like animals. I like Lindsay. It seems a no brainer. That said, I'm going to post the link to her fundraising efforts right here ,  Who knows, maybe I can push a couple extra bucks in her (WWF's) direction. I feel this shark would totally high five me for donating to Lindsay and the WWF! I once read that no one has ever gone poor by giving to charity. I believe it. Now, I'm not saying to throw all your money at a charitable cause, but try giving a bit if you haven't already. You'll feel better for it. If you do give, you know it's true. Know who else feels good? The fr...

I've sorta fallen off the blogging wagon, but I've had a pretty sweet weekend in terms of family, decluttering and continuing the 'not buying anything new' streak. The problem with the blogging wagon is that Blogger won't let me post pictures from my phone and if I try it just fails to post. I couldn't use my Chromebook either because, well, I left it at home while the family and I spent the weekend at the mountains. Decluttering, however, was pretty profitable. I just sold my old snowboard for $100 and used a gift card for booze. Scratch that, I used two gift cards for booze.  Now, I hadn't planned on buying any liquor until I drank what I have (and I have a small collection), but most of it wasn't even for me. I grabbed myself a couple ciders and a seasonal beer. Not exactly partying it up, but I suppose parenthood puts a bit of a damper on drinking like a freshman at a frat house. I'm surprised sometimes how many gift cards people carry a...

Not only have I refrained from purchasing stuff since I gave up stuff, I also sold my old Kobo eReader. That's $50 in my pocket and one more electronic device out of the house. I can comfortably sell my Kobo because all my Android devices (all two of them) have the Kobo app on them. I don't need a dedicated device when I have a Nexus 7" tablet (albeit, old and on it's last legs) that does the same thing, minus the amazing battery life. Looking around the house it's easy to start identifying duplicates. That little point and click camera? Easily replaced by my phone. My four spatulas? Who needs four spatulas? No really, I have four and each one seems to be specialized. I have one for eggs in the little pan, one for pancakes on the griddle ... I wish I was kidding. Sad as my spatula situation is, the point is that duplication exists and only adds to clutter. Perhaps it'd make a good starting point for someone who wants to start minimizing. I imagine it'd b...

I said I wasn't going to do second hand food, but I suppose if it's my second hand food, that's okay. Just before I started to try batch cooking / meal prepping I had some amazing (and healthy) taco bowls. The benefit of making taco bowls is the inevitable taco meat leftovers. Seriously, that shit is amazing! I thought I had a problem when I ran out of wraps and was low on toppings, but you know what doesn't require wraps and toppings? Scrambled eggs infused with leftover taco meat. Sweet Jesus they were delicious. I think I even threw in the last of the sliced jalapenos, you know the ones, the butts no one wants to eat. Diced those bad boys up and tossed them in too. Know what else I saw in the fridge? Half a sausage that no one was going to eat. Guess what happened to that? Diced, pan friend and added to my eggs-trodinary creation. What? You thought there'd be no lame ass dad puns? I'm a dad ... of two ... I'm surprised it's taken this long. I as...