14 Frugal Gift Ideas!

‘tis the season for busyness and stress. Many people are buying gifts for Christmas, Hanukah, etc. They are stressing out about what to give their loved ones and people they care about and appreciate.

I have written a blog about my thoughts on gift giving: http://ericawollman.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-thoughts-on-gift-giving.html.

This is my first year not celebrating Christmas and that means I don’t have to stress over giving gifts. I am not celebrating because I am an atheist and do not believe in consumerism. However, if I were giving gifts I would give meaningful frugal gifts. We do not need to buy new material gifts because that will just add to the landfill. Stuff doesn’t make people happy; it’s the time shared with people.

There are many gifts you can give people to show that you appreciate them. During these hard economic times, many people are on a budget and can’t spend a lot of money on gifts. This is a list of affordable gifts.

Frugal Gift Ideas:

1.       Frame a picture of you with them. (Look for a picture frame at a thrift store.)

2.       Homemade cookies, breads, jam, etc.

3.       Gift certificate

4.       Create a scrapbook or photo album.

5.       A burned CD with all the person’s favorite songs.

6.       IOU booklets with services you are willing to perform.

7.       Knit or crochet something for someone.

8.       Create your own art. (sketch, painting, poem, short story, photography)

9.       If you have a garden, pot a plant.

10.   Used books that look brand-new.

11.   Give a re-gifted item.

12.   Make a handmade necklace or bracelet.

13.   Plan a day full of inexpensive but meaningful time together.

14.   A home-cooked meal

Living the life you want

I always wanted something more. I still want something more. In college, many of my friends would go back home during summer vacation and work. But, I wanted to go on an adventure. For two summers during college I went to work at summer camps in Arizona and Washington. I loved my experiences and I am so happy that I decided to do this. I graduated from the University of Wyoming with my Elementary Education degree. I looked around. Many of my peers were trying to find teaching jobs in their hometown or near their hometown. Was this going to be my life? Was I supposed to do this too? During school, you tend to follow what your peers do. We do this because we don’t want to seem weird. I knew in my heart that this wasn’t supposed to be my path. I felt like I needed to learn more and to explore new places. I didn’t want to settle down and be a teacher for the rest of my life. I know that this is definitely suitable for some people and the life that some people want but it was not for me.

I want people to know that it is okay to break tradition. If you don’t want to settle down and start a career, it’s okay. If you don’t want to get married and have kids, it’s okay. Think about what you want to accomplish in your life. You can make it happen!

I went to Alaska with Kyle (my now husbandJ) after my senior year of college. Many people told us, “I wish I could go there. Maybe someday I will.” Make someday, today! Making dreams come true is easier than you think.

1.       Don’t let fear hold you back. You miss out on a lot if you don’t do things because you are scared. I was scared to take a solo road trip to Washington, but I did it!

2.       Don’t let your busy life get in the way. You are probably busy with your job and life. But, take 10 minutes to reflect. Ask yourself if you are truly happy. No one is forcing you to stay at your job. I have quit two jobs in the past year because they haven’t worked for me.

3.       Write down your life goals/dreams. Once you have done this, figure out what you need to do in order to make your dreams come true! You can also set a time period for each of your goals. It is one thing to write them down, but now you need to take action.

Some dreams that I have made come true are: being a hiking guide in Alaska, working as a challenge course facilitator at a summer camp in Washington, becoming a ski instructor, and going to Hawaii.

My future goals:

1.       Teach English Abroad and travel

2.       Learn more about photography and get a new camera

3.       Learn more about holistic nutrition and eat more raw foods

4.       Learn more about simple and green living

The Life of Kyle and Erica

We moved to Stowe, Vermont in mid-October. We moved here without jobs. Many people would think this is risky. But, we love adventure. We loved not knowing where we were going to live or what we were going to do. The reason why we packed everything out of our Fort Collins apartment and drove across the country is because I wanted to be a ski instructor at the resort. I could have had a phone interview but I would have a better chance of getting a job if I went to the interview day. We both wanted to explore and live in the East Coast.

When we arrived in Stowe, Vermont it was down pouring. We had spent the last couple of nights in the car and we wanted to sleep in a tent. We are very frugal! We spent the night at a state park near the resort. It rained the entire night. I went to the interview day and got a job as a full time ski instructor! Luckily, we were able to find a furnished basement that we could rent right away. Kyle worked a couple of weeks clearing trails for the cross country ski center. He is now working as a pumps and compressors operator for the resort. He is able to run the snow machines by computer. I was also able to get a part-time job working in catering. We are both going to be volunteering as ushers at the Performing Arts Center so that we can see performances for free. They are hoping to get James Taylor for New Years!

Waterfalls, near where we live

I have not been working the past month. Training doesn’t start until November 28^th. I have enjoyed setting up 4 different blogs and blogging regularly. I have also started to get into running. I am ready to start working though. In our free time we have explored Stowe and the surrounding areas. We went to Montpelier. We explored the Capitol building and went to a maple syrup farm. We also went to Burlington. We explored Church Street, saw Lake Champlain, toured a winery and toured Magic Hat Brewery. We have also toured an apple cider mill and have seen glass blowers.

Church Street in Burlington

Stowe is a great town! There are no street lights or fast food restaurants! There are about 5,000 people living here. We live in Lower Village which is a mile from the historic district. We live on the other side of the river on a dirt road. The old Tubb’s mill is down the road. (Tubb’s is a popular type of snowshoe). The Trapp family, from Sound of Music settled in this area. There is a Trapp Family Lodge. There is a great library in town. An art gallery is right above the gallery. There is a great recreation path that is 5.5 miles long. People cross country ski on it in the winter. The resort is 7 miles from town but during the winter there is a free shuttle that goes to the resort. We have enjoyed looking at art galleries, listening to live music and hiking to waterfalls around Stowe.

Glen Moss Falls

This is our life. I am excited for the resort to open so that I can start skiing! I am also excited to teach kids how to ski. Soon enough, the winter season will be over and we will figure out what our new adventure will be!

Stowe Mountain Resort without snow...yet!

Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?

I believe you have the right to have a planned and peaceful death. If you are in pain because of a terminal illness or because of old age, you should be allowed to be euthanized. If you can plan your death, you can enjoy the time you have left and be able to say bye to relatives and family.

This topic is very controversial because it is hard to know where to draw the line. There are no answers and there are many unique cases. I am writing my opinion and of course you have the right to disagree. I don’t want to offend anyone especially if they have had a personal experience. Also, I know I have a lot more research to do. I want to know what you think about the topic!

Important definitions:

Euthanasia: the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering

Voluntary euthanasia: the practice of ending a life in a painless manner

Non-voluntary euthanasia: euthanasia conducted where the explicit consent of the individual concerned is unavailable

Passive euthanasia: treatment withheld or withdrawn, do not resuscitate order, disconnecting life support equipment, stopping any life-sustaining medical procedures

Active euthanasia: lethal dose of medication with patient’s consent

Assisted suicide: Physician-assisted suicide is only executed if the patient has a sound mind when requesting assisted suicide, and the patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness. It is assisted suicide if the person who dies performs the last act such as swallowing pills or if they push a switch to trigger a fatal injection.

Murder: unlawfully ending the life of a person who wished to be alive

●As of 2011, active euthanasia is only legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Washington, Oregon, and Montana.

●In the United States, patients retain the rights to refuse medical treatment and to receive appropriate management of pain at their request, even if the patient’s choices hasten their deaths.

●Active non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries in the world, although it is practiced in the Netherlands under an agreement between physicians and district attorneys

●Kevorkian assisted over 40 people in committing suicide. He crossed the line from assisting the patient to actively killing the patient himself. He was found guilty of second-degree murder and served 8 years.

The first step is to legalize assisted suicide in all states! The next step is to legalize active euthanasia. The reason why I believe active euthanasia should be legal is that not all patients have the ability to swallow medication or push a switch. People should not be forced to stay alive. Unbearable suffering of either a physical or mental nature should qualify for induced death. There are cases in which diseases and disabilities become so severe that life holds no promise of pleasure. Isn’t it compassionate to end suffering? Should people be forced to live like a vegetable on life support? How many people need to die degrading deaths before society learns a little humanity? Suicide is legal in many areas, however some people may be unable to physically carry out their choice because of their disability.

There are people that have diseases and disabilities that want to live. We should always listen to the person and if they want to live we should respect their wishes. Euthanasia should only be allowed if the person asks for it. I know that there are cases in which people are severely depressed because of an injury and may want to die. I don’t think euthanasia should be used in these cases because the patients can get better in a short amount of time.

The following are real cases. What would you do if the person was your husband, wife, sister, brother, mother, father, etc.? In certain cases, the person survived if they weren’t euthanized. Find out at the bottom what happened.

Case #1

Kate was in a vegetative state after suffering a stroke. For almost 70 days, she was totally unresponsive. Would you pull out her feeding tube?

This is an interesting case because she seemed like she was unconscious. There are some cases where people have come out of comas and have been fine. It’s hard to know what to do…I think that it is important to talk to family members and ask them what they would want you to do if this ever happened to them.

Case #2

Dax was very badly burnt after a gas explosion engulfed his car. He became blind and was not able to use his hands. He was in a lot of pain and asked doctors, family and friends to help him end his suffering.

I understand why he would want to die. The doctors knew he would get better, but they forcibly put him through 10 years of painful treatment. I would have helped him commit suicide. 10 years is too long to be in pain. I could understand not wanting to euthanize him if the treatment was a lot shorter.

Case #3

Annie was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. She was worried that her last days would be very painful. Her greatest fear was the prospect of suffocating or choking to death when breathing and swallowing became difficult. She also knew that she would not be able to speak.

This is an interesting case because she wasn’t currently in pain. She was dreading it. She was definitely going to suffer and I would have helped her end her life. She had lived a great life and to end your life in pain is horrific. You should have the right to choose to end your life before suffering occurs.

Case #1

Doctors pulled her feeding tube. Then Kate began responding on her own. She recovered and today she is back to normal! She was never in a vegetative state. She could hear and see what was going on around her. Having the feeding tube pulled out was a very painful process. Her full name is Kate Adamson.

Case #2

No one helped him commit suicide. He currently works as an attorney and is healthy even though he is still blind and cannot use his hands. He still believes it was wrong for doctors to deny his request for euthanasia. His full name is Dax Cowart.

Case #3

Doctors could legally administer life-shortening drugs for the relief of mental as well as physical distress. Before she died she was unable to stand and use her arms. She died without recourse to the treatment plan. Her name was Annie Lindsell.

I would like there to be a specific outline as to when to euthanize and not. I know that this is hard and may never be accepted. But, I will try anyway. Again, I want to say that I care about people and want to do the best thing for them. I think that it is very nice to put someone out of their misery. They would be extremely thankful as were Kevorkian’s patients to him.

1.       No one should ever be deprived of food and starved to death. The feeding tube should never be pulled. If it is, a lethal injection should be given.

2.       When someone is in a vegetative state or in a coma, the family will decide. Hopefully, they talked about it and know what to do. Families should decide on a timeline. For example, I would tell my husband that if I am in a vegetative state for more than 3 months and there is no progress, you can allow for a lethal injection.

3.       If someone has been depressed for more than 10 years and has tried to commit suicide more than 4 times, they should be able to be euthanized.

4.       Never euthanize someone who doesn’t give their consent!!!

5.       If someone has been injured and has to go through painful treatment lasting longer than a year, they should be able to receive a lethal injection.

6.       If someone has a terminal disease and knows what they will suffer through before death, they should be able to receive a lethal injection. These may include Lou Gehrig’s disease, pancreatic cancer, ebola hemorrhagic fever, lesch-nyhan syndrome, cancer, stroke, dementia, AIDS, acute cerebrovascular accident, Alzheimer’s, cardiac disease, heart disease, and so many more!

7.       Blind people should not be euthanized if they say that being blind is the only thing that is not allowing them to have a quality life.

8.       If there are two or more things that are hindering quality of life, they may receive a lethal injection. They must be without these two abilities for at least 1 year. These include deafness, blindness, unable to walk, unable to use hands and arms, inability to speak, severe memory loss, inability to clean themselves, and inability to go to the bathroom by themselves.

The Duggar Family: 19 and Counting...my thoughts

Michelle and Jim Bob with Josie

You’ve heard of the television show on TLC, 19 and Counting…, right? If you haven’t, it is about a family living in Arkansas. The married couple has had 19 kids in 20 years of marriage! In fact, the mother, Michelle just found out that she is pregnant with her 20^th child. They see children as God’s gift.

I think having 19 kids is outrageous! Is it fair for the older kids to look after the younger ones because the parents don’t have time to look after them? If you cannot give your children proper attention, should you really have 19 kids?

Michelle had preeclampsia in her last pregnancy, resulting in a dangerous very early term delivery of her daughter Josie at just 25 weeks old. If she knows that there are risks for having a child at age 45, why would she continue getting pregnant? There is a high chance that the child is not going to survive or have complications. In my opinion, it will be their fault if the child dies. This is a selfish act of irresponsibility. Josie went through a lot of pain. She was only 1 lb. 6 oz. when she was born. She has had serious breathing issues since her birth. She is also prone to illness. If the Duggars are pro-life, why are they risking Michelle’s life and the unborn baby’s life?

There are 7 billion people in this world. The world is already over-populated. If everyone had 19 kids, what would our world be like? The Scientific American stated that the biggest impact a U.S. citizen can have on the climate change problem is to have fewer children. Every American child born today will add roughly 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere under current conditions. Having one fewer child would reduce a family’s climate burden 20 times more than driving a fuel-efficient car or using energy-saving appliances.

Also, there are a lot of kids who need a loving home. Why should you have a child if there is already one out there that you can help? Why not adopt?

People may say it is not our business. However, since this is a television show, people are being influenced by it. It is our business. People may now think that it is fine to have that many kids. Do we really want to promote that? The Duggar children already think it is okay to have that many kids.

The goal in life is not to necessarily get married and have kids.

11 Reasons Why I Don't Believe in God

I was raised as a Methodist. I went to church with my parents every Sunday. I was even confirmed to the church in 8^th grade. I volunteered at vacation bible school in high school. Honestly, growing up I never really thought about the existence of God or questioned anything. I did what everyone did and went through the motions. I learned the bible stories and sang the songs.

It wasn’t until college that I really started thinking about God, Jesus, religion, etc. I decided to join Navigators at the University of Wyoming. I thought it would be a place to meet people and to learn more about the bible. I felt like an outsider. I found it weird when people started throwing their arms up and closing their eyes. I couldn’t understand why they were so passionate about god. I stuck with it and when I was a Sophomore I went on their annual retreat. One thing I did not agree with was when they told us to love God more than our family. How could I love someone that I could not see? I have never felt God or seen God. I can’t find examples where he has helped me in my life. It was at this time that I decided to no longer be a Christian.

I believe in gay marriage. I believe in women having the right to have an abortion. These things are wrong according to the bible. How could I go to church and follow teachings in the bible if they say these things are not allowed?

I live my life according to what I think is right. I believe I direct my life.

I cannot prove that God doesn’t exist but here are reasons why I don’t believe:

1.       If there were a god, why would evil exist?

2.       There are many religions out there with many gods. They can’t all be right, but they can all be wrong.

3.       The bible is not consistent with history.

4.       I haven’t seen anything supernatural. How can I believe in the supernatural stories in the bible?

5.       I rely on science more than faith. There is no scientific evidence that god exists.

6.       There is no good reason to bother believing.

7.       I believe in evolution. Design does not require a designer.

8.       There is no evidence that stories actually happened from the bible.

9.       I don’t want to believe in a god that sends nice people to hell just because they didn’t devote their lives to god.

10.   It is not helpful for me to know that there is a god who will make everything better and is controlling everything. If something isn’t going right I will try to fix it instead of praying for things to get better.

11.   I have gotten by perfectly fine without believing in god. I found the love of my life (Kyle), I have had many fun and interesting jobs, I am not in debt, I have a loving family, and I am healthy.

The pledge of allegiance in schools

There is a huge controversy over having the pledge of allegiance recited in schools. The pledge was originally composed in 1892 and the words “under god” were added in 1954. Students have the choice of whether to stand and say the pledge of allegiance. There have been cases in which particular students have not participated. Some of these students have been ridiculed and called “unpatriotic”. This is a free country. People don’t have the right to tell people what to do. I applaud the students who stood up for themselves!

I was faced with an interesting situation when I worked at Primrose School of Fort Collins. They are a private school and they sing a song about god before snack time and meal times. The end of the song states, “Thank you God for everything.” I don’t believe in a God and could not sing this song. I told the director and she told me that I didn’t have to sing the song. I was relieved. However, I still felt awkward being the only one not singing! I received my degree in Elementary Education. If I were to become a teacher, I am sure my school would have the students say the pledge of allegiance. I know we have a right to not say it but I don’t think it should be in the schools at all.

I don’t believe we are a nation with liberty and justice for all.

2011 Headlines

●September 8, 2011: Group wants Pledge of Allegiance pulled from Mass. Town schools: The group says the pledge didn’t have any educational value, and the students who refused to say the pledge are being bullied.

●October 24, 2011: Air force veteran upset daughter’s class recites pledge of allegiance: Mother said she enrolled her daughter at the John Stanford International School because it promoted a multicultural perspective and celebrated diversity. She says the pledge policy retreats from it. Her daughter is half-Jamaican. The school started saying the pledge to comply with the school district’s policy.

●November 8, 2011: Michigan Republicans introduce bill that forces students to recite pledge of allegiance: People against the bill state that children aren’t even old enough to understand a pledge. They also state that many students are not even citizens of this country.

Thoughts on Marriage

Kyle and I got married on August 21, 2011. We were engaged for only a week and told our parents that we were getting married on my birthday which is August 17^th. We got married in an untraditional fashion. Many people may disagree with what we did or think that we were selfish. We did have a wedding celebration a couple of weeks later so that our parents could meet and we could celebrate with them. This is what Kyle had to say:

“Marriage, to me, is a way for two people who are in love to show the rest of the world that they have chosen to commit their lives to each other. It is a decision that the two people involved should make for themselves as something to do if and when they are ready. While a married couple can share their lives with friends and family, the decisions that determine how their relationship to one another will progress should be made by the couple themselves. This is how I see marriage; two people deciding for themselves how to live their lives as individuals and as a couple. I am a non-traditionalist meaning that I rarely do something simply because it’s a tradition. The act of wedding two people in front of a large crowd in an extravagant ceremony is how marriages traditionally begin. Many young girls are said to dream of their wedding day since a young age, but the stress and high cost of today’s weddings would probably be avoided by more than a few couples if they were bold enough to break tradition. Colorado is one of the only states that allows a couple to solemnize, or officiate, their own wedding process. This means that no judge, priest, or captain of a ship is required to make a marriage “official”. The wedding couple is allowed to make their own marriage “official”. For this reason Erica and I hiked into Lake Haiyaha in Rocky Mountain National Park on August 21, 2011 and solemnized our own wedding. We hiked into the lake (possibly the longest bridal march in history) an engaged couple and hiked out as a married couple. We chose to do this to avoid the high cost and stress of planning an extravagant ceremony and to symbolize the fact that the course of marriage will be controlled by us as a couple from the wedding process until death does its part. We don’t wish to criticize or condemn others who wish to have a traditional wedding ceremony, we just wanted to explain what we are doing and why.”

We are both happy that we did not start our marriage in debt. We believe that our money could go to better things like travel rather than decorations and dresses. We also did not want to spend a lot of money. Kyle did not get an engagement ring for me. Instead, we bought wood rings after we got married. Instead of calling them our wedding rings we call them our marriage rings. We decided to get wooden rings for ethical reasons. Many diamonds go through sweat shops. Also, the workers mining diamonds in Africa don’t receive fair wages. We got wood rings because they are unique. We went through a company called touchwoodrings. It is a couple running the business. The husband makes the rings and the wife does the administrative work. They live in British Columbia. The wood they get is from downed trees, bug killed trees or scrap wood.

Vegan French Toast

I was a big french toast fan before becoming vegan. I found out that you can substitute bananas for the eggs. The bananas give the french toast a great flavor!

Ingredients:

2 bananas

3/4 cup soy milk

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

oil (I use olive oil)

bread, any kind is fine!

1. Blend bananas, soy milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a blender.

2. Pour into a wide bowl.

3. Dip bread slices in the mixture, coating both sides.

4. Fry in the oil on medium high heat until golden brown.

5. You can put whatever fruit you would like on top:) I love blueberries and strawberries. Top with maple syrup if desired.