a continual log of my arguments with neocons…this one is about the war….enjoy!

Andrea

yeah so as u can tell im not coming to talk

id rather not waste my time

9:00pm-Norm

lol whatever

9:00pmAndrea

just one ?… what did u mean by the “friends’ thing

9:00pm-Norm

totally up to you if u want to keep ur head in the sand or not

9:01pmAndrea

no how idd u mean

it

9:01pm-Norm

ur more worried about that than ur incorrect stance on the war…god

9:02pmAndrea

no b/c if u mean it how u said it the other night

it will piss me off

and i didnt even care what you all were talking about all i said about ur status since u posted about how many soilders died ONE OF THEM WAS MY FRIEND MIKE

do u know how that feels??? when i read that i cried

do u know his wife is graduating high school this year and now that im student teaching i have to look at her every day! ?!?! do you know how hard that is!?!?

she talks about it.. to me… b/c how many FRIENDS i do have in the military… she tells me EVERYTHING …in DETAIL.. bc how upset and hurt she is…

do u know.. i cant get the picture out of my mind.. that his legs were blown off my an ied bomb… HE WAS BLEEDING..THATS HOW HE DIED… do you know ..he was over 6 feet tall.. when he came home.. he wasnt even 3 feet long… NO YOU DONT YOU HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA

thats why i said lets support our troops.. and RIP mike.. and i told YOU about my friend mike going in may…

9:06pm-Norm

omg ur just going off about bullshit now, seriously…it would suck, absolutely…the only way to support these guys is to bring them home…telling me i don’t have any fucking idea how it feels to lose someone is bullshit tho andrea

9:08pmAndrea

i didnt say u have no idea how it feels to lose someone! i said u have no idea.. what its like.. to read a status like that… say something NICE and be slapped by people saying that my friends are shit b/c they want to fight b/c they are protecting us… that they would do anything.. so that you can post that status…

9:08pm-Norm

they’re not protecting us

9:08pmAndrea

and i didnt say i want them to go over there but i sure as hell cant bring them home… so YES I DO SUPPORT THEM

9:08pm-Norm

thatz what u doin’t get

they are dying in vain

they are getting shit on by their own government

there is no reason for this war

it was made up

9:08pmAndrea

i just said.. the WOULD od anything.. and i knew i shouldve said… that after

9:10pmAndrea

talk about me listening to what i hear and what i see… i dont read SHIT about the war.. and to be honest.. I DONT CARE! … but … i do support our troops and my friends.. and that IS ALL i said in that comment lastnight and u and ur friend were assholes to me

9:14pm-Norm

i can’t control them and what they say to…so really don’t yell at me about it…but honestly a lot of ppl who are very well read believe our troops to be cold blooded killers…and a lot of our troops are just that

9:15pmAndrea

THEY DO KILL …im not saying they dont… i NEVER said that… and mike and mike (both) and david were/are in the infantry… THAT MEANS THEY ARE KILLING… i know that! but there is NO WAY i am going to sit here and not be there for them b/c of that

no way… people every day kill people

2nd hand smoke

guns…drugs…

doesnt make them any better then the guys in the military..and guys..b/c women are not allowed on the front lines

9:16pm-Norm

lol ppl kill ppl everyday with second hand smoke, roflmao

these ppl are mowing down civilians with machine guns

pretty big fucking difference

9:18pmAndrea

i have never smoked a cig… and my doctors think i have b/c of all the 2nd hand smoke ive been around THANK YOU VERY MUCH DO NOT LAUGH AT ME

anyways

this convo is over

9:19pm-Norm

you are comparing someone in a helicopter fire bombing a village to someone smoking a cigarette

and i’m not supposed to laugh

roflmao!

9:19pmAndrea

dude

id so do that job

9:19pm-Norm

you’d firebomb a village

ok

9:19pmAndrea

yes

9:19pm-Norm

then you’re a sick twisted kid who needs help

seriously

9:19pmAndrea

do you know how much stress that would relieve? idc about other ppl

9:20pm-Norm

seriously

http://collateralmurder.com/

9:20pmAndrea

i am FAR from needing help that way hahahahahahha

9:20pm-Norm

u just said you want to kill civilians

innocent people

ok

ya…

ur totally fine

normal ppl would love to firebomb a village

9:21pmAndrea

actually id want to take them out one by one lol

9:21pm-Norm

in fact sometimes i just wake up in the morning and think…wow, i feel like firebombing some brown people today

9:21pmAndrea

BAHAHAH yeahhhh

9:21pm-Norm

ya, fucking sick

9:21pmAndrea

i never said brown people

or any color or race or religion

i just said ppl

now….

you beleved what you read

but hardly any of it was true

9:21pm-Norm

what are you talking about?

9:21pmAndrea

do i sometimes say GOD I WANT TO KILL SOMEONE … suree.e.. everyone does

you told me earlier that i know pretty much nothing

and lastnight u guys say how i believe what i read and hear

9:22pm-Norm

i told u to take ur head out of the sand and read about this shit

9:22pmAndrea

funny how u just did too…

thats all im sayigng

and then u said ‘friends”

9:22pm-Norm

seriously, research watch that link i just sent you

9:22pmAndrea

no

b/c half the shit you read ISNT TRUe

9:23pm-Norm

then you make a conscious decision to keep ur head in the sand

9:23pmAndrea

believe NOTHING of what you hear …and only HALF of what you see

9:23pm-Norm

and who are u to tell me what i read isn’t true when you have no idea what i read

9:23pmAndrea

no youre WRONG

9:23pm-Norm

i’m wrong about what exactly?

9:23pmAndrea

b/c

whos to say its true? the guy who wrote it an you?!?! Lol

and your wrong that i “made a decision to keep my headin the sand”

9:24pm-Norm

what exactly are u referring to?

9:24pmAndrea

i know more then i want to know… about a lot of things at that

and

on the topic that you and i were talking about.. .ACTUALLY THE COMMENT ILEFT SAYING SUPPORT OUR TROOPS…

thats not keeping my head in the sand

9:25pm-Norm

i’m telling you that the collateralmurder link i sent you is right on andrea, it’s our troops killing civilians and it’s right there in front of you, when you decide to not watch it you are making a conscious decision to stay blind

9:25pmAndrea

i suppor them… i would support my frined here at home.. if he wanted to sell drugs or kill people or whatever they wanted to do.. if thats what they REALLY want to do.. do it

9:25pm-Norm

and i’m telling you i support our troops too…i support bringing them home and de-radicalizing them and getting them help from the brainwashing our gov’t has given them

9:25pmAndrea

okay nj youre right is that what you want to hear? i could careless what you believe or think…

and i want them home too!!

9:26pm-Norm

no, i want you to wake up and start thinking on your own

9:26pmAndrea

i think on my own just fine

9:26pm-Norm

rather than just believe what you’ve been told to believe all your life

9:26pmAndrea

i know what goes on in the military

9:26pm-Norm

and you’re fine with all of the innocent ppl dying daily?

i don’t understand

9:27pmAndrea

if thats why my friends need to do to come home yes i am okay iwth it.. those ppl over there.. arent helping me any

i have seen what hte war has done to some of my BEST friends

9:27pm-Norm

oh wow…the more killing we do the more we stay, don’t u see that?

9:27pmAndrea

mentally and physically

9:28pm-Norm

then you should be all for ending the wars and bringing our brothers and sisters home!

we are over there for no reason andrea, NO REASON! do you understand that…iraq and afghanistan are not threats to us and never were!

9:28pmAndrea

so we cant kill them but they can kill us …ME…hell no… want to know why i cant be a firefighter… (b/c i thought it would be cool) till i said to myself.. HELL NO IM NOT RISKING MY LIFE FOR SOMEONE ELSE… call me selfish… but oh well

9:29pm-Norm

ya, you’re beyond hope…why don’t u just enlist so u can go kill ppl andrea, that seems like the perfect job for you…

9:30pmAndrea

b/c women arent allowed to do the killing

told ya that

9:30pm-Norm

the only reason they are killing us is b/c we’re over there….were our troops not there and we weren’t invading their country they would be doing their own thing and leaving us alone

9:30pmAndrea

and i wouldnt enlist b/c i already said i know what it does to the ppl

9:30pm-Norm

the CIA even admits that in their blowback report

9:31pmAndrea

and i already told you… that i think you were rude lastnite… and i know excatly what you meant by “friends” bc u said it the other night to me

9:31pm-Norm

but it’s so much easier to hate a whole nation of ppl and just kill them than it is to look at and realize our own ignorance as a country

9:31pmAndrea

and i dont care what you think or feel (just like u dont care what i think or feel obviously)

ahhh nope never said that silly

9:31pm-Norm

omg the “friends” comment is the least important of this conversation

i do care what you think or feel b/c u are part of the human race that i’m a part of and i’m trying to wake as many people up as possible here

9:32pmAndrea

i dont need to wake up

if thats how youre going to say it…

9:32pm-Norm

and actually i remember when you used to be such a sweet little girl and to hear u talk about killing ppl like it’s nothing is well…kinda hard to take

well at least do me a favour?

9:33pmAndrea

and the friends thing.. PISSED ME OFF ..it does bother me

9:33pm-Norm

read one article a day that i send you?

can you do that?

9:33pmAndrea

no i have more important things lol

9:33pm-Norm

i apologize for the “friends” comment…i shouldn’t have said that

see…u don’t even care about what’s important

9:33pmAndrea

and if u really think I ANDREA MICHELLE RHONE … would kill people.. .you dont know me at all

9:33pm-Norm

u said it, i didn’t

9:33pmAndrea

u read it

9:34pm-Norm

quite honestly if u really cared about your friends

9:34pmAndrea

POINT PROVEN thank you check that off the list

9:34pm-Norm

u would be out there with me trying to end the wars

and bring them home

9:34pmAndrea

ID SUPPORT THEM IN WHATEVER THEY WERE DOING

9:34pm-Norm

u can support them by fighting to bring them home

that’s how i support the troops

if you haven’t noticed the yellow ribbon i put in front of the house 8 years ago is STILL there

9:35pmAndrea

i suppor them in doing what they want to do

and for the record

i always say

come home soon

to all my friend

s

especially the ones that deploy

9:35pm-Norm

but you don’t support ending the wars

9:35pmAndrea

even if they just are in the navy and not going into war zone

9:35pm-Norm

you support the continual killing of our troops and iraqis

9:35pmAndrea

wrong

u think that

u think what u want

9:35pm-Norm

it’s what you said!

9:35pmAndrea

and ill think what i want

9:36pm-Norm

wow, i’m done

9:36pmAndrea

its what u read lol

9:36pm-Norm

seriously

9:36pmAndrea

good… and ill let u know when mikes at the house so u can talk to him and when you realize what its like on the other side of the door… (in the military today …) then maybe ill talk to you

9:37pm-Norm

lol…wow…g’nite andrea…i’ll talk to ya later =]

First, they came for the low income. Providing them with welfare, healthcare and getting them addicted to government. I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t on welfare.

Then they came for the children. Indoctrinating them in the public schools, poisoning them with fluoride and I didn’t speak up, because I didn’t have children.

Then they came for the guns, and I didn’t speak up, because guns scare me anyway.

Then they came for our military. Poisoning their bodies with mandatory vaccinations and poisoning their minds with war propaganda and a false sense of patriotism. And I didn’t speak up, because they were keeping me “safe”.

Then they came for our right to free speech, and our right to peacefully assemble and I didn’t speak up because all those protesters do is cause problems for me.

Then they came for our personal liberties, aided by those who want to stop others from living their lives and pursuing happiness and I didn’t speak up because I still lived my life the way I wanted to.

Then they came for private citizens, concerned for their liberties and speaking out against government control, detaining them indefinitely on charges of domestic terrorism and I didn’t speak up, because I didn’t want to be a domestic terrorist.

And then they came for me - and since I stood by and allowed them to detain the true patriots, allowed them to indoctrinate and dumb down my children and allowed them to control other people’s lives - there was no one left to speak up.

Being truly free is not having to depend on anyone for anything. If you aren’t working towards being self-sustainable then you’re reliant on a broken system. What happens if the house of cards collapses and the system comes crashing down? Well then you’ll find out just how truly self sufficient you aren’t. I don’t want to get to into the politics of it too much because we all know the direction this country is heading. So now that my rants out of the way let’s get started…

I’ve been planning a somewhat mobile ‘bug out’ plan in case of a zombie apocalypse type scenario. Much of this plan centers around a guerrilla gardening expedition I’ve embarked on. I do not care about city beautification or urban renewal, this is all about edibles. Here are some things I’ve learned in my travels.

1. Perennials, Perennials, Perennials
Plant things that once established will come back year after year without you having to do anything. Think trees, shrubs and certain root crops. Your typical tomato and pepper plants are NOT good choices for guerrilla plantings, sure in the garden they may come back via volunteers next years, but on random plots of land where they will compete with other plants you need something hardier.

2. Go native
Search out native edibles that you enjoy. There are more than you might think. Native plants will suffer far fewer disease and pest problems, on a guerrilla plot you may not have the time to come back to constantly monitor for or treat these issues. A few examples include, blueberry, persimmons & hazelnut.

3. Plant in areas you frequent
One strategy I’ve employed is to plant near some of my secret fishing holes. This way I’m assured that I will be in the area of my plantings at least a few times a year to check up on them. If you have to travel far to your area you’ll be less likely to tend to any issues that may come up.

4. Avoid Seed Balls
There’s a lot of hype on the internet behind seed balls or seed bombs. Well that’s all it is. If you have to create a seed ball for an area that is so off limits and hard to access that you must drop a ball of seeds and run, what in the world makes you think you’ll ever have to time to tend or harvest those crops. These things are great if your trying to teach kids to be eco friendly, or want to spread some flower seeds in an urban setting. But for growing food their fun factor is much bigger than their true utility.

5. Learn the local wildlife
In my area deer will decimate any shrub level crops in most forest settings. You probably have deer or other wildlife that may do the same. If you must plant in these areas you are going to want to cage things up or protect them in some manner until they are established.

6. Be involved
A few of my plantings I had permission to plant there just because I’m involved with local nature preserves and land trusts. At one I was told to “experiment”. So that gives me hundreds of acres of land on which I can plant whatever. Volunteer at a local land trust or park. You will quickly find like minded people or if nothing else, niche areas where you can plant your crops. The only downside to these types of locations is they usually get high traffic from people hiking/dog walking/horseback riding etc. So your crops will not be only your own.

7. Make a Guerrilla Gardening bag
You will need supplies when you plant crops, think of things that will enable you to plant and then be out of the area as quickly as possible. You may have to clear brush, dig holes, cut/saw things etc etc. I have a list at the end of this post of some of the things in my bag.

8. Plant near water
This one can be a double edged sword, near water you will generally have more people and wildlife around however, having to carry in water for plants during a dry spell is no fun. This is another reason I stress perennials, once a tree or shrub get’s past its first year, it will be MUCH more forgiving about a lack of watering than a cucumber or tomato plant would be. Nonetheless if there is drought you will want to make sure your valuable crops make it, planting near water helps to make this easier.

9. Use a map
Everyone’s situation or locale is a little different but one thing I did was took a map and drew a circle around where I live. I looked for locations at the edge of the circle all around me to plant my little gardens of eden. Now no matter what direction I head in I am not far from food. If you use something like google maps you can use it to search for nearby bodies of water or parks.

10. Know your plants
Different plants require different growing conditions. Learn which ones require full sun to fruit and which ones will fruit in the shade. There are many that will grow in the shade but won’t set fruit in it. Some can’t stand constantly wet soil. Do some research before just putting seeds into the ground. Don’t be afraid to experiment however, it’s the best way to learn.

Guerrilla Gardening Bag
• Hori HoriEveryone who gardens NEEDS this tool, it’s awesome.
• Zip Ties
• Jute/Twine
• Hand Saw
• Heavy Duty Scissors
• A multitool/leatherman
• Gloves
• Seeds
• Water container
• Small Rubber Mallet
• The backpack itself

I think that about sums it up. It’s winter now so my bag is taken apart for other uses but if I remember other things I will add them.

There’s this crazy story over at TPM about Afghan children being handcuffed, taken into custody, and finally shot by their captors.

Karzai, not acting like the puppet he’s supposed to at all, sent a delegation to investigate. Their report is extremely disturbing:

“The delegation concluded that a unit of international forces descended from a plane Sunday night into Ghazi Khan village in Narang district of the eastern province of Kunar and took ten people from three homes, eight of them school students in grades six, nine and ten, one of them a guest, the rest from the same family, and shot them dead,” a statement on President Karzai’s website said.

I encourage you to read the entire post, however, I will quote some of the more grotesque parts because some of you are actually defending this:

“First the foreign troops entered the guest room and shot two of them. Then they entered another room and handcuffed the seven students. Then they killed them.”

And directly from Karzai’s official website:

The findings by the delegation concluded that a unit of international forces descended from a plane Sunday night into Ghazi Khan Village in Narang district of the eastern province of Kunar and took 10 people from three homes, eight of them school students in grades six, nine and 10, one of them a guest, the rest from the same family, and shot them dead.

Eight of those shot dead were confirmed as school students by the village school principle.

Even the NY Times is reporting this as an American action:

The governor of Kunar, Fazullah Wahidi, said that “the coalition claimed they were enemy fighters,” but that elders in the district and a delegation sent to the remote area had found that “10 people were killed and all of them were civilians.”

Those of you who pay taxes helped in funding this. Get off the grid and fuck the system. Seriously, how direct and disgusting are they gonna get before we stand up and say enough is enough?

Oh…and one more thing…here’s an asshole on facebook defending this action.

Robert Easter
Looking at this and one more site, it seems the “children” may not have been so tender, innocent, or all that young. In other words, whatever did happen, maybe an op-ed on a far-Left blogsite might not be the most objective source

yes, i left his name there…

I went to the Federal Reserve buildings in Pittsburgh and Washington DC in November to protest with my brothers and sisters of Liberty. I was amazed by how many people shook their heads or took pictures of us as if it were some sort of entertainment then walked away. I know what people think of protesters… You think we’re just a bunch of political whack jobs with nothing better to do. You think we can’t make a difference and that nothing we protest actually matters. You never stop to ask what or why we’re protesting, because you think it doesn’t affect you.

Let me start off by saying we are people, human beings, just like you. Most of us have jobs, hobbies and families. We’re truly concerned citizens of this great nation and we care about ALL Americans. THAT is why we protest. Wars are not fought for your Constitutional freedoms. Wars enslave you and enslave other nations. Dissent, civil disobedience and exercising ALL of our rights is what keeps us free, and not enough of us do it. We’re too busy, we have more important things to do, it’s too complicated, it’s too much work…

It is OUR duty as American citizens to ensure that our government is upholding our Constitution. It should not take the loss of our Constitutional freedoms to get people to take action. If we would ALL take the time to call, write and fax our reprsentatives; if we would take the time to educate ourselves on government, policy and what is going on around the world; if we would vote OUT the morons, in BOTH parties, who continually spit in the face of our rights… We would not have to protest.

We have lost our way as Americans. We have become so caught up in shopping, watching television, sports, partying and working that we neglected our duty to ourselves. It DOES affect you. You can only choose to ignore it for so long. You can sit there and say, “there’s nothing I can do about it” and it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We all must stand together to defeat the monster before it defeats us. Will it take you and your family being forcefully dragged out of your homes to FEMA camps before you wake up? Do you think I am crazy for thinking that’s going to happen? Why? I have done a lot of research, have you? Is the television your only source of news? Do you truly believe it’s not regulated? Do you believe everything your government tells you? Or do you just not want to admit the truth because it is too difficult?

Do your duty, become involved. Other people can’t do it for you. You, as an individual, must band together with your fellow Americans to take a stand. You know something is terribly wrong here, are you going to sit back and watch it happen or are you going to fight against it? Are you going to enslave your children in debt and poverty in a Police State or are you going to reclaim the nation that your fathers shed their blood for? Do you want freedom or is it easier if the government runs your lives? You don’t know where to start and I do understand that. Talk to someone who is involved, they will show you the way. They will tell you how you can exercise you rights and help to restore our republic. Please do not remain silent, for “all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

“…true Conservatives are in fact Libertarians, being said that the central tenet of Libertarianism is the principle of individual liberty, furthermore true Conservatives are Constitutionalists, being said that the central tenet of Constitutionalism is to uphold and respect the rule of law set forth in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and thirdly, however, most important in my opinion, is the fact that true Conservatives, in following the tenets of Libertarianism and Constitutionalism, uphold and respect one another’s rights strictly adhering to the strong values of respecting life, liberty, and property, as well as following a firm code of personal responsibility and morality in their own life.”

I am writing now to raise several questions, among them are: Is the current Republican party living up to these values?  If so, what is their reasoning, is it simply to oppose the Obama Regime?  And, if so, does it really matter, as long as it brings us back to the core values of Conservatism?

The Ron Paul Revolution began awoke a sleeping giant in this country.  It brought forth old ideas of freedom, liberty, and Constitutional Conservatism that had largely been forgotten.  Swept under the rug by our then current Republican Administration.  Indeed, after a Ron Paul speech I’m sure there were many people googling the terms Habeas Corpus and Posse Comitatus.  I offer that the Revolution re-awakened the vast majority of Reaganite and Bushite Republicans up to what they really were.  Reminded them of the ideas of limited government and sound monetary policy.  The Global Economic Disaster of 2009 helped immensely as well.

Obama is black, some of you are racist, and even if you are not, you can’t stand to see a Liberal in the White House even to the degree that you will not support him even if he is continuing Bush’s failed policies that you agreed with so much during Bush’s two miserable terms.

Ok, so I’m not going to do another long post with pictures and an eating log about the past week. I have it if your interested. But here’s how the last week has gone. Potatoes are awesome. I can now see why the potato famine killed so many people. They are hearty food when all else you have is green veggies. Onions and garlic are a great crop. Fry them up with just about anything and it tastes better. Bartering seems to work easier with people who AREN’T farmers. The reasoning being that farmers already have all the stuff you want to trade them.

This really has been the week of bartering. Here is everything I traded for this week. Each trade was from a different person.

1 head of gourmet garlic <-> 1 dozen eggs
1 Portion of green beans, 2 heads of garlic, 1 onion <-> 1 5lb bag of flour and 3 packets of yeast
1 Portion of green beans, 1 zuchinni, 1 head of garlic <-> 2 sticks of butter
1 Cucumber, 2 heads of garlic and 3 onions <-> 1lb of ground beef
2 Cucumbers, 2 heads of garlic and 3 onions <-> about a pint of olive oil
1 Portion of green beans <-> small block of cheese

With all these ingredients on hand you would hardly be able to tell I’m on a garden/barter diet. It’s been a very successful week.

Weight at the end of week 2: 176.8 LBS

That means in two weeks I’ve lost 18 pounds eating from my garden. Amazing. I feel healthy and energetic as well. I walk into stores and see all these miracle diets advertised in whatever the tabloid of the week is..and I laugh. I’ve got them all beat!

I survived my first week.  The first few days were the hardest as my body adjusted to the lesser amount of food intake.  I lost more than 12 lbs in one week(that’s pretty damn fast considering my starting weight).  Most of that all being in the first 3 days.  I’ve hit a plateau now where the weight is falling off a lot slower the last few days.  My body has adapted to smaller amount of food I’m eating. Here is what I ate…

Day 1

Breakfast - nothing
Lunch - 1 large cucumber, 2 banana Hot Peppers
Dinner - swiss chard steamed with onions, garlic scapes, hot pepper and snap peas, side of green beans

Here is the first dinner of my diet. Let’s see how it compares to the last…

Day 2

Lunch: 1 half of a stuffed zucchini filled with garlic, onions, zucchini insides, hot pepper and basil
Dinner - more stuffed zucchini
Desert - small side of blueberries

I made a bunch of these stuffed zucchini’s, probably too much as I started to not look forward to eating them..

Day 3

Breakfast - blueberries and a side of broccoli
Lunch - 1 carrot
Dinner - recooked the stuffed zucchini another way and ate some raspberries

Picked a few handfuls of blueberries that were delicious..this was half my breakfast today..

Day 4

Breakfast - 1 carrot and the rest of leftover zucchini mix - thank god
bartered for 3 loaves of bread at a local farmers market!!! - Traded 2 zuchinni, 3 cucumbers, 5 heads of garlic and 7 onions for 3 loaves of bread(challah, cheese stuffed zucchini and sliced white).
Lunch - snacked on some cheese stuffed zucchini bread.
Dinner - Treated myself to a good july 4th dinner
Potatoes with rosemary, onions and garlic in foil on the grill
snap peas and green beans in foil on the grill with garlic and onions
salad with lettuce, raspberries, radish and carrots.

Today was a great day for my diet not only did I barter for 3 loaves of bread(seen in the first picture below) which is making the diet SO much easier but I also treated myself to a pretty hearty dinner since it was the 4th and all. The potatoes were seriously amazing. Wow I could eat them every night.

Day 5

snacked throughout the day
carrot, radishes, snaps peas and raspberries
Dinner - 1/4 loaf of zucchini bread stuffed with cheese(SOO good)

Day 6

Breakfast and Lunch - remaining 1/4 of zuchinni bread
Dinner - 1 carrot, 2 small potatoes, one hot pepper, 2 slices of bread with raspberry puree

Day 7

Breakfast and Lunch - Chunk of bread(challah)
Dinner - Swiss chard stir fry with onions, garlic and snap peas
baked potato and a chuck of challah bread
desert - a lot of challah bread

All in all it has gotten a lot easier in the last few days. The only problem I’ve come into is variety. zucchini and swiss chard can get boring after awhile so I will have to find other ways to cook what I have. There were a couple times the first few days when I was VERY hungry. But this is a diet after all.

Weight at the end of week 1: 182.1 LBS

A few months ago I was thinking to myself.  “What if I HAD to survive off of just the food that I grow?”.  Would I really be able to?  Well this month I’m going to attempt to answer this question.  I’ve come up with a diet to test my ability to be self sustainable.  I call it “The Freedom Diet”.  After all if you depend on no one for your food, then you truly are free.

The rules are simple:

1. Only drink water
2. ONLY consume food that I’ve grown, had a hand in growing or can find growing in the wild.
3. Bartering is allowed.  Food grown or foraged for can be traded for other goods/services.
4. NO food/cooking additives unless they were bartered for(e.g. salt, olive oil, hot sauce).
5. Hunting/fishing/trapping for game is allowed(though I don’t expect much of this).

Here are the gardens I have at my disposal…

1. 3 raised beds in my backyard(totaling about 100 square feet)
2. a half acre community garden that I volunteer at
3. a 800 square foot family garden I helped to start and weed at on the weekends

The 2 larger gardens have other people who pick from the crops as well, adding to the challenge.  Some people say I’m crazy and going to starve.  I would be lying to say that this wasn’t a diet.  I am trying to lose weight and this is just a different way to do that.

Every week I will come back and post what I ate, how much weight I’ve lost and whatever challenges I have come across.  Today is Day 1.  Check back soon to see if I’ve perished..haha

Starting weight: 194.8 lbs