It's not impossible, unhealthy, or weird! - Stepahanie S on turning vegetarian (top-voted action)

Challenge: Share your boldest moment of 2010
Sponsor: Bolder
Action: Becoming a vegetarian and actively explaining to others that's it not impossible, unhealthy, or weird. It's an everyday moment!

My husband and I had been making little changes to our diets for about 2 years. We were trying to get into shape and learn healthier habits. We made small, gradual changes, one at a time. First we cut down our portion sizes, then cut out fast food. Our decision to become vegetarians was an understated moment. About 6 months ago, we were talking about food and meat manufacturing and basically just asked out loud why weren't we vegetarians yet? Initially, we were both concerned about health issues. There's a lot of rumors that you can't survive without the meat, and you can't get enough protein and fat. Some simple research debunked those theories pretty quickly and we decided to take the plunge.

We took about a month to transition, which was very helpful. When we started, we were already eating 1-2 meatless meals a week. I rarely ate meat for breakfast or lunch, so it wasn't that difficult of a switch. We did have some leftover meat that we didn't want to go to waste, so we finished what we had. Then we began buying meatless entrées at restaurants and for home-cooked meals. It actually got to the point where I didn't feel like eating meat anymore and I was forcing myself to finish it not to waste money.

As we switched, the hardest part was comparing meals. I would make a recipe that was excellent with meat and it would be terrible without meat. Don't get me wrong, there are so many great foods that you can enjoy as vegetarians! But as a former meat eater, vegetarian meat replacements aren't the same. They are tasty, and in some cases, better tasting. But, comparison to their meat counterparts will just lead to disappointment.

I think the best tip I could give any future vegetarians is know what you're doing it for. I switched for ethical reasons as well as health reasons. Once you tell people you are a vegetarian, they will question each and every reason you have. You have to be solid on them and not waver. Be informed!! When I can give actual studies and solid information to back up my reasons, people are amazed! This is also how I have overcome the perceptions that people have. I have had people tell me it's weird that I'm vegetarian. I think people just don't understand the vegetarian culture, and so they think it's weird. This isn't helped when vegetarians don't bother explaining themselves or worse, get defensive.

When people ask me questions (even the dreaded "what can you eat?"), even though they can get old, I'm excited to explain that it's not weird. We eat pizza, we eat burritos, we eat normal food, just without the meat. Lastly, try to be understanding with your friends and family. It can be frustrating when your family isn't willing to go one meal without meat. Most of this is because of a lack of knowledge. They think they need the protein or that anything vegetarian is just weird. So just be polite and with time, maybe they'll come around. But always remember that this was your decision, not theirs. 

Top-Voted Action: Mema harvests her water directly from the sky

Category: Education
Challenge: Share how you get your clean water
Sponsor: MiiR Bottles
Action: All of our water comes from rain water, straight from the sky!!! W/conservation we don't have to purchase any water for our home at all

Everyone that lives in rural areas with no municipal water get their water directly from the sky! The sky is our water source and here's how it works: first it has to rain and the rain comes right off the roof and into our gutters (which have gutter screens over them to keep the big particles out). The water runs down spouts to underground pipes that take it to our cement cistern (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistern). From there, the water is pumped up to a pressurized holding tank in the house. Finally, the water travels through a house filter and is split off to hot water streams and cold water streams. Psshweew! Still with me? We use this natural, rain water just like any other water, with the exceptions of drinking and cooking. For that, we buy water in bulk at the store each week, which we keep in a water cooler system in our kitchen.

When I was growing up and used this cistern system, we drank the water out of the tap just as you would in the city, with no worries. But now that I am grown, and more info is out there, I choose to drink the filtered water that has been sanitized. We also never cleaned out the cistern when I was a child. I suppose it stayed clean by natural bacteria doing their job. In some of the new construction they are using plastic holding tanks and a sanitation system that puts chlorine into the water. I prefer no chlorine.

So what happens if the water gets low? Great question. We haul it in. We only have to get water hauled in once in a great while. This last summer, we had very little rain from June until late October, so we had to have rain hauled in twice. Because of that reality from mother nature, we utilize all the water saving devices out there! Low flow, oxygenated shower heads. Low flow faucets. Low flow toilets (with the toilets our saying is, "if it is yellow let it mellow, if it brown, flush it down"). The list goes on.

One thing I would love to add to the house is a gray water system that kept the gray water (water generated from activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing) separate from the black water (water from toilets) so that we could use it for watering flowers and trees. However, our state does not allow for that because they stipulate gray water be treated before it is released back into the environment.

This is my water story. I hope you have enjoyed getting a peak into rural living and our connection to the most natural source of water… rain itself.

Boldest Action of the Challenge: "Be a role model to someone younger" with Ben C.

Ben's action:

I'm a role model for good grooming. Last week my students crushed some practice tests and got to shave my beard.

Ben's thoughts:

My students work hard all year learning to read and smash fractions and decimals. I try to keep things light by offering a reward to everyone who works hard to get smart, be nice, and have fun. This year my whole class earned it - wow! They passed around the razer and all got to take swipes at my beard. The creative vision of 26 ten year olds ended up being the crookedest chinstrap I have ever seen. I think I'm a role model for working hard, having fun, and putting your trust in people. I trust my students to have fun and be careful, even if they aren't old enough see a PG-13 movie on their own!

Supporting his local business with Benny C.

Bolder Action:
Met with Bret B. (a local business owner) to design some sweet SLAC hoodies.

What led you to do this action?
My school decided to partner with SLAC- Study Like a Champion to make some "study ready" hoodies. Being college-oriented is a big part of our school cutlure, and lime green hoodies with a multiplication table printed on the sleeve are going to help us crush our mutiplication tests.

Are you still doing this action?
Yes! We'll be styling it in our hoodies for a long time!

Foreign language spelunking with Katie H.

Bolder Action:
refreshing my knowledge of foreign languages

What led you to this action?
I really dig the creative expansion that my mind goes through when I try to translate a word, phrase, or better yet, a concept into foreign language. The direct corollary of what I think I want to find out how to say in another language isn't always what I mean, and in the co-process of circumnavigation and circumlocution, often times new ideas are born in to my head, shining some provocative light on different ways to express myself. Alors, avec ça, amusez-vous!

Are you still doing this action?
Yes I spelunk through wordreference.com on a daily basis, and I highly suggest giving it a whirl when you get the chance.

Climbing the mountain stairs with Tucker C.

Bolder Action (BA):
1100 foot bootpack to the heart chute on donner peak . . . Hop turns over exposed cliffs get my heart racing and make me feel bolder.

What led me to this?
Exploring in the mountains has become my favorite thing to do because there are so many aspects required to be safe and successful. Athletic ability is important, both having the physical endurance to move under my own power in rugged terrain, as
well as knowing that I have the strength and technique to move smoothly and avoid being caught off guard. Mental agility is just as important as physical athleticism, though. This encompasses everything from knowing how to correctly use equipment to stay safe, constantly evaluating and anticipating changing conditions, and measuring risk and fear. Having to deal with all of these factors makes the mountains challenging in a very holistic way, and it makes every day different and exciting.

Am I still doing this action?
Absolutely, continuing to find new challenges and improve my ability keeps me coming back.