​For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. The list of everyone participating in this round is here.

AFTER ACTION REVIEW:
So far so good! Actually in the middle of watching 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' right now and really enjoying it! (I stopped it to laugh and got sidetracked.) The outlining isn't completed yet, because I know that when I sit down to do it it's all getting done. Sometimes that makes an activity more intimidating because I know that I have to section off a large chunk of time to work on it. Luckily this has a deadline to it of tomorrow, so it's going to get done in the next 24 hours. 

I've been getting major progress on the weeding this week, after less so last week. I think I was overwhelmed with all of the vines that have been detangled from my trees and are now taking over a chunk of my yard. I've decided that I need to ignore them a while longer, and just got back to taking down the rest. Right now they're quite fresh so, after another week of detangling, I'll start cutting the vines into pieces to get them ready for some kind of disposal. (Fire or otherwise) 

The reading has also been going on the up and up! I finished one book and got a good chunk through another, plus looking forward to getting back to the third. In keeping with the reading goals one of those is horror. The other is for fun, and I have the intention of reading another self-improvement book that I eborrowed from the library. 

The new recipe was a super bonus accomplishment! I made mustard, which I was running out of after not going to the grocery store for two months now. (Keeping to my farm pickup options!) I used the recipe from one of the cookbooks that's been on my shelf but I've never used before, and I had all of the ingredients in the house!!! Win/win/win! 

MINIGOALS
Finish that outline
Read
Do budget review this weekend; see if I can reward myself with a new blender and mixer

Corporate responsibility and sustainability reports, shorted to CRS, are produced every year particularly by bigger, corporations ​to help guide their environmental and ethical goals for the year. It is not a mandatory practice in the US, though EU directive 2014/95 does state that large companies much reveal information such as how they operate and run their social and environmental challenges. Those who report generally keep to standards such as ISO 260000.

​Why does this matter to me? The report shows the path that a company is taking in the future. This is how one can know if a company is really fixing their issues, or not.

For example many years ago Nike had major backlash because their shoes were made in sweatshops. Since then their CRS includes a report on audits made at all factories that work for their brand. Any that weren't up to the listed standards go through a remedial process to improve worker conditions. This report shows that they are dedicated to change, and that they're taking corrective actions to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Where can I find these reports? Google the company name and CRS and it should bring you straight to their page, where you can download the report. 

What should I look for in these reports? Look for what matters to you and are relevant to the company! As a chemist who cares about the environment I often look for reduction of fluoronated compound emissions (PFCs) which primarily come from factories or fridges. I also look for greenhouse gas reductions as well as sourcing of products and supplier responsibility. That means they know that they aren't purchasing metals that might finance armed conflict, or paper that came from taking down a whole forest. 

What should I do if I find something I do or don't like? Let them know! Often corporations don't expect much PR out of their CRS. The fact that they could get an email or letter about it lets them know early that the public does or doesn't care about the same objectives, and they have the time to adjust their goals accordingly! 

Homework: Go skim one CSR report for a company that you shop for right now! Do you agree with what their goals for the year are? Let me know in the comments! 

​For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. The list of everyone participating in this round is here.

AFTER ACTION REVIEW
I skipped the last checkin. This week in particular it felt like every time I logged into FB or the internet as a whole I head about someone else who had COVID or had a loved one die from it. It was a lot to handle so I huddled down and played Animal Crossing. It was what I needed at the time, and am generally feeling better now and ready to soldier on! 

The weeding didn't get done as much primarily due to the weather. It was cold, there was even some snow on the ground for a couple days there. Even today it was raining a lot so the weeding was about three quick grabs while bringing in the dog. (But it did get done, so it's green!) The book also didn't get finished, I simply haven't been focusing on it as much. As before I'm not worried about it since I'm well ahead in that goal anyways. 

I did get the composter and installed it! It took an afternoon to dig the hole. My dog helped a bit, which he enjoyed! So far it hasn't attracted any pests nor created an odor with the two loads of food scraps I put in it after emptying the fridge. That's a good start. We'll see how well the food disappears after a month or two! The  composter is designed for a four person household, so it should be able to keep up with ours without a problem. 

On a similar food related note, the CSA meat I ordered two weeks ago arrived! Just had the chicken today, which was reasonable. Not as good as another local farm, however I didn't realize how quickly it would cook and ended up leaving it in the oven a little too long. Next up, sausages in the morning! 

MINIGOALS
Respond to 2 emails that need responding to
Progress on basement project 2
​Read more

I'm not vegan or vegetarian. If I had to choose a title I'd label myself a foodie. I also like experimenting, and I don't like oil-based nacho cheese. So when I saw a vegan recipe for a healthy looking nacho cheese that I had all the ingredients I had to try it!

First off the main ingredients are potatoes and carrots. The most unusual ingredient is nutritional yeast. I replaced the lemon juice with lime juice, as the important part was having an acid in there, it shouldn't affect the taste. You could probably use apple cider vinegar as well. The biggest change from the recipe is that I don't have a traditional blender. I have a ninja master prep instead. It takes up less table space, but also doesn't make mixture as smooth as a blender would.

Impressions:
1) The texture was perfect. I started as a texture eater and have slowly moved away from it as I grew, I still eat certain things for their texture and this fits that niech for me perfectly.

2) Taste wise It's not quite cheese. It was as deliriously salty as cheese, which is honestly what I look for in my nacho cheese anyways. I mean there isn't much other nutrition one can get out of it. But if you're looking for a melted cheddar this is not that. 

3) It's super filling. I only made half the recipe and then ate a 1/4th and that filled me for the whole night. 

In all I intend to make this again and hope you'll consider trying it too! If you'd like to try the recipe for yourself here's the link!

​For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. The list of everyone participating in this round is here.

Friday and Saturday were pretty bad mental health wise. Nothing in particular caused it, other than the world being as it is at the moment. I took the evening and Saturday to mostly game. Saturday afternoon I forced myself to go do some of the things on this list and it helped to get away from the computer and physically do something where I could see the difference. 

For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. The list of everyone participating in this round is here.

AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Slow and steady week. I sat down and got all of the Amazon reviews done at once. Wednesday was particularly slow, but with some dedication I was able to get almost everything done that was supposed to get done that day as well. Tuesday's exercise was an extra lot of weeding, which made me not interested in going on a walk, so I counted it as half done. 

I did listen to some of the Masterclass. I've been treating myself to the Neil Gaiman class, one of the main reasons I signed up for Masterclass in the first place. I had been saving it for a special occasion and this is definitely the right time for the pick-me-up! The material hasn't been anything earthshaking in terms of writing, but the way it's presented is both soothing and beautiful.

​Lastly are the 2 days without me writing outlines. Mostly I simply didn't sit down to write. I've been playing a bit of Final Fantasy 7 and went to do that instead. If I'm on top of it I'll catch up this weekend. If I don't catch up by next check in then I'll forgive myself and start next week fresh. These are trying times and maybe I need the distraction of a fun game to get the creative juices flowing!

Oh, and I had scheduled a reminder to myself to submit to a quarterly magazine, so I did that too! Far ahead of the plan for that one! 


MINIGOALS
Progress on Masterclass
Next step for basement project
1 Activism Activity
1 Scheduled Blog Post 
Finish current book
Start horror book

​For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. The list of everyone participating in this round is here.

My anxiety was pretty high by the end of the week due to having high expectations and not succeeding in those results, particularly at work. Also getting pulled in many different directions while trying to get some new routine stuff off the ground, again at work. Saturday was supposed to be completely off time to relax, but I ended up getting everything done expect for the weeding anyways. I think that's a side effect of my anxiety being high. Sometimes it seems like the natural thing to take a break, but the brain only sees the end of the light as getting stuff done.


AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Other than my anxiety being high I got a lot done including all of my minigoals. The basement project got the next step done, and if I keep at it will certainly be done by the end of the month. I read three books about writing and advertising. It felt like Goldilocks with the first book being not worthwhile, the second being ok, and the third being excellent and full of useful information. Next up is a physical TBR pile book. 

Lastly, some might notice that at home composting is yellow. I've been coming to a standstill on recycling research/actions. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I can't leave my house to take actions, so it's all research and there isn't a ton that has new information after researching twice a week for three months. (Short of me looking at recycling research papers or some of the more advanced work.) So I decided to research on composting, and that ended up with me purchasing a specific composing item that specializes in taking all food waste and degrading it into nothing. This seemed ideal since I don't have a place to put soil (I'm simply not a farmer, I've tried.) and it doesn't take any maintenance. I just put things in they disappear. The order will take a while to arrive, but it'll certainly get installed by May, so no rush.


MINIGOALS
First off is keep up with Masterclass listening and basement project work. I don't want to add it to the weekly schedule, but at least one session of each before the next checkin.

Second, I'd like to get all of the Amazon reviews done this week. I haven't bought anything new from them lately, but I certainly have a backlog that I'm willing to workthrough.

Lastly, keep up the reading momentum! ​

For those tuning into this round my master goals list is here. The list of everyone participating in this round is here.

Hello everyone, what are you doing to adapt to the many life changes that have been affecting us lately?

My goals are similar to last rounds with a couple canceled due to lack of interest, and others were canceled due to lack of ability to do them with the current circumstance. I decided to limit my predictions of what monthly goals 'should' be done this quarter since there's new life changing information every week, if not every day. I'm keeping it loose and giving myself as much flexibility as I can, while still getting things done!

Over the break I played a lot of Animal Crossing and watched Tiger King with the SO. Both were fun in completely different ways. I also made major progress already on the weeding and other hometending fronts that I don't normally list here. (Such as my yearly washing of the windows half of which are already done for the year months earlier than usual.) 


AFTER ACTION REVIEW
You'll notice that exercise is all green. I lowered my goal for quarantine to 4k a day which is the same as one long dog walk. I was trying for two walks a day, but going out an extra time per day was stressing me out, which is exactly what I don't need right now. So I listened to myself and changed it. I think getting out of the house and getting some exercise is important for both me and the puppers so I have been making it more of a priority than I sometimes do. 

Weeding and outlining are my monthly goals. I decided that I would pace them out by making them daily goals. For the weeding I'm being flexible, what gets done depends on the weather or what makes sense for me to do next. I took the chainsaw to some bushes yesterday until the chain became unseated. Tomorrow will be rain, so my 'weeding' might be fixing the chainsaw instead. That's ok, it's progress on that front which is the point! 

Posting FB posts is a lot easier and faster now that I have a backlog of about 100 pictures ready to post. I've considered posting/scheduling more of them, but I don't want to extend the goalpost just because I found a better way to do something. Particularly when it's not something I enjoy doing.

Lastly I had put the CSA on here as a longer term goal that I've been considering for a while. But I looked in our freezer this weekend and there's finally enough room (I haven't been grocery shopping in over a month now) so I made the decision and put in an order for a local farm that has completely grass fed everything, and it's delivered! For now it's a one time order, but if we like what we get then do a monthly subscription. Veggie wise I know a local farm that's doing preorder with pickup close by (ok the farm is also close by, I could probably go straight there!) so I'm going to do that. We aren't the best at finding new recipes for untried veg, so going with mostly stuff we know and trying one new item a week is best, and less wasteful, for us. 


MINIGOALS
First is finishing any of the books that I've been in the middle of for a while now. I've been enjoying all of them but have been playing more Animal Crossing or simply don't want to sit more when I'm doing so much sitting while working from home. 

Second is finishing editing a piece of flash fiction and send it out. It's due Friday and I already have a draft written. Considering how short the piece is this should be doable. 

Third is working on the basement projects. I have two what I would consider full projects brought upstairs to the crafting table to work on for now. I also have two half projects which are things that are either almost done, or don't have an item when completed. (For example I found a bag of old paperwork that needs to get gone through in the basement. That's not a crafting project, but it's something that should get done.) 

Lastly, I have two blog posts that I have outlined in my head but haven't written out yet which I'd like to work on soon. They've been in my queue for months now and they need to go!

There is so much to see, hear, and explore when traveling. Each place has its own culture and history, which gets built into the towns and cities of the area. Yet through all of the differences between where I live and where I've been, there are still similarities. That's where my inspiration lies. 


No matter where you are there are tales of people falling in love, betraying each other, wars that were fought, and all of the human interactions in-between. Even though that group of people lived in a land 100s of miles away, across an ocean, and stayed therefore 100s of years to grow their own culture, we're still fundamentally human. Our emotions, the things that are at the forefront of the books that we write and the art that we create, are universal throughout. A piece of music made here could make someone on the other half of the world cry in sadness, or joy. 


The travel is all about seeing how different other people live and how differently they were influenced by their culture. The inspiration is the fact that despite the fact that they are so different they are also so much the same. We can connect with people at the same level through art no matter how far they are. And that's beautiful. 

I have a German Shepherd whom I give peanut butter as a treat. I have also seen a couple infographics online about checking for a newly added chemical, xylitol, that is in peanut butter. For a while I checked every jar we got, but none had it. Was this a regional change? A chemical addition for a particular country?

I've done the research so you don't have to!

First, what is xylitol? It's a natural sweetener often found in chewing gum. It's find for human consumption and can lead to major issues if dogs ingest too much of it.

Secondly, which common peanut butter's are safe? The usual US brands such as Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan, and Planters are completely fine.

Third, which peanut butter's are dangerous? Many peanut butters that advertise themselves as having more protein, less sugar, and less fat. Many website list five peanut butter brands that have xylitol (most advertising to body builders), but since this became a hot topic many have removed the xylitol or removed the product completely. The only one I could confirm at this time is Nuts'n More.

If you're worried that your dog has digested xylitol please go to this Animal Hospital page to determine the best course of action.