Welcome to Steffstainability!

So this is my first post! First posts are always awkward because you never know where to start, and you usually spend at least an hour staring at the computer screen before coming up with some lame "hook" (as we used to call it in the teaching credential program) to get people to care about what you have to say. So I thought I would start by introducing myself, and then talk a little bit about the things I will be writing in here.

My name is Steffani, I'm currently 23 years old, originally from California, and I'm married to the most amazing man on the planet (although, don't we all say that?). My husband Ryan is a Marine and we've spent most of our marriage thus far moving all around the country. Currently, we are stationed in Lawton, Oklahoma at the Ft. Sill Army base for Ryan to train to be an Artillery officer. Ryan and I met in college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where we were both acquiring our BA in History. I continued my education and got my teaching credential for middle and high school, but I haven't been able to teach since we have been moving all around. We have two dogs, Toby, a 3-year-old terrier/minpin/maybe dauschund mix, and Jackson, an 8-month-old chocolate lab.

I'm not very witty when it comes to blogging; in fact, I'm very blunt and to the point. I'm very active and many of my interests are physical activities such as snowboarding, dancing, and working out (obviously). I'm also obsessed with Harry Potter but I really don't like Twilight (Edward is a tool and Bella is a whore). I try my very best to stay positive and look at the brighter side of things, but on days when Jackson wakes me up at 6 AM, I can't find what I need at the grocery store because I live in the middle of freaking NOWHERE, my POS dishwasher doesn't clean my dishes, and I don't know why the military paid us X amount of dollars and nobody can tell me, I tend to lose my cool and have a bitch fest. I'm only human, I make mistakes, but I try and learn from them!

Oh, I also have a very foul vocabulary. I'll try to keep it to a minimum on here, but I'm not making any promises!

Now let's get into what I'll be writing about in this blog. For the most part, it will be about these three things: eating healthy, working out, and being environmentally conscious. There might be other random topics in here, but those three mostly cover it.

So where did the idea for this blog come from? Well, first, I am a stay-at-home wife for the time being and much of my day revolves around cooking. Being a military wife, cooking is one of the few things I can take with me everywhere I go. Whether I'm in a single family home in San Diego (SOON!!), or a tiny apartment in the middle of nowhere, I can pour my heart and soul into my dishes. It's also one of the few things in my life I can actually control (the government orders us to do everything else!). A few of my friends who share my love of cooking also blog, and I love sharing recipes. Second, working out is a huge part of my life. Dealing with my frustrations is so much easier in a great spin cycle session or when I'm lifting the same amount of weight as the soldier next to me at the gym. =) Since moving to Lawton, I've lost the advantage of the amazing classes I had at my old gym in Quantico, so I've been forced to take my fitness into my own hands. I thought it would be fun to track my progress and reflect on what worked and what didn't, and share my workouts with you!

The third and probably most important factor in creating this blog was a series of depressing events that are out of my control. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the fact that the politics of our great country are spinning out of control and nothing is getting done, and the horrible things people in this country do to each other just to make a few extra dollars. Ryan and I watched a few documentaries the other weekend: Food, Inc. and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. They both opened my eyes to the many wrongdoings of the people we trust to create our food and control our economy. Food, Inc. was exceptionally disturbing to me because I learned about how impure and unhealthy our food really is, and how the means of food production are negatively effecting our economy, our environment, and our health. Being someone who takes a lot of pride and care into what I eat, I felt like I had to do something. Sure, I can personally buy organic products and local foods, but I'm just one person. I need to get more people on the bandwagon. So my ultimate goal with this blog is to inspire other people to make small changes in their lives to be healthier and more environmentally conscious without, as I said in my tagline, being a total hippie.

Eating Healthy

There are a few aspects of eating healthy I will be blogging about. I will be focusing on foods that include fresh produce that is in season. Foods that are in season are more likely to be organic, fresh, and travelled a short distance to get into your kitchen. Most of these things can be purchased at your local farmer's market. I will also be sharing recipes with modifications for healthy choices. Sometimes I'm feeling indulgent and add a tablespoon of butter to whatever recipe I'm cooking (because butter makes everything taste better), but it's not absolutely necessary for the dish to taste good. I'll be denoting these indulgent but unnecessary steps/ingredients in my recipes by highlighting them in a different color.

My main goal with my cooking is to make foods that taste good and make you feel good. But the "taste good" part is VERY important. Which means to be healthy, you don't need do just eat lettuce, cut carbs out of your diet, or abstain from eating chocolate. But everything needs to be in moderation, and when there's a healthier choice, take it (for the most part)!

Being Fit

Naturally, I'm not a fit person. I've always been petite, but I've also always been a slow runner, had weak arms, and been low on endurance. Having asthma doesn't help much either. But I don't let that stop me from setting goals for myself, trying new ways to be fit, and having fun doing it. Exercise is imperative to our livelihood, and any exercise is good. But some (and lately, too many) people mistake what they call "exercise" for an excuse to indulge. "Oh, I walked my dog today, so I can eat half of this ice cream container." Ok, I'm being hyperbolic, but you get the idea. I'm not educated in kinesiology or nutrition, but I'm fairly gifted at doing research. So my goal for sharing fitness with you is to explore different methods of working out and educate myself and my readers on the most efficient and fun ways to be fit.

IMPORTANT: Losing weight does not equal being fit. I've been trying for 6 months to lose 5 pounds and be the weight I was when I started college, but in vain. BUT I can tell my body is leaner and stronger, my endurance has improved, and I'm in the best shape of my life. Being fit, to me, means setting goals for yourself, reaching them, and then setting more goals. It's a recipe for feeling really good about yourself.

Sustainable Living

This massive category will basically be my attempts to be more environmentally conscious. Just like with eating healthy, it means making smarter choices, but it doesn't mean walking everywhere (especially when you live in the middle of nowhere in 95 degree heat!) and sewing my own hemp clothes. I don't know how to sew.

WOW this was a long first post! Congratulations for making it this far! Tomorrow, my good friend Kara and I will be trying a new high intensity cardio workout, so look out for that soon!