Busy w/ the Fizzy

I've been a vegetarian for nearly 22 years -- my vegeversary is coming up in December! Gave up meat at a young age without a backwards glance. People would always ask how I could do without meat. (I grew up in the deep South where everything is fried in meat juice.) I told them that meat wasn't essential to my daily bread. My favorite foods are fruits and vegetables, in that order. 

I could easily add soda to that list. Giving up meat didn't bother me at all, but if someone asked me to give up soda, I might be driven to violence. Soda is my weakness in the food chain. It's seemingly hereditary; my father drank so much soda -- I don't recall ever seeing him drink water -- that we used to joke the man had Coke® running through his veins in place of  blood. In other words, I love soda!


Some people say they drink soda for the caffeine. I don't notice caffeine; I have a very high tolerance for it. I don't even drink soda because I'm thirsty. I seldom feel thirst. Random, I know, but there it is. No, I drink soda because it tastes good. I know I'm supposed to drink water, but soda tastes better. It's got flavor.

Lately, I've been trying to cut down on my soda consumption. It's not going so well. So I thought perhaps, I could do the next best thing. If I can't give up soda then at least I can choose healthier options -- and one of the best things one can do when going healthy is to go the homemade route. To that end, I got the book, Homemade Soda: 200 Recipes for Making and Using... fruit sodas and fizzy juices, sparkling waters, root beers and cola brews, herbal and healing waters, sparkling teas and coffees, shrubs and switchels, cream sodas and floats, and other carbonated concoctions by Andrew Schloss.

On the back of the book, this jumped out at me:

You'll love the benefits of Homemade Soda. 

>> Control the sugar and calories your family drinks. Use sweeteners you like in quantities you want. 

>> Say goodbye to recycling bins filled with empty commercial soda bottles.

This book was speaking to me. I'm eco-minded, I'm big on DIY and green tech -- add to this my desire to make my soda habit healthier and this cottage industry is right up my alley.

Now, what I'd really love is to join the Sodastream BzzCampaign, so I can "get busy with the fizzy" (the old Sodastream slogan). Did you know that a Sodastream machine doesn't need electricity? Green!

Disclosure: I'm a BzzAgent and BzzAgent.com, a word-of-mouth marketing company, is launching a Sodastream campaign. As part of a new selection process, BzzAgents can now express direct interest in specific campaigns and enter for a chance to join them by posting pictures, videos, or blogs. This post serves as my entry, however; this doesn't lessen what is stated, all of which remains true.

DIY Chair Project

I should mention I love DIY stuff. I was born a handyman. (I mean "man" in the generic every human sense.) I'm always tinkering; making stuff, taking stuff apart, fixing things, breaking things... I was a DIY fanatic long before such a thing had a catchy name.

So this morning as I was returning from my first walk with the dogs -- my sister had joined us as well today -- I happened to notice a chair at a curbside dump. Except for the ripped brown leather upholstery on its seat pad, this is a lovely, solid-wood-frame chair with nicely turned front legs. The kind of chair they don't make any longer -- it's all particle wood-chip junk nowadays in most stores. And I thought to myself, why would someone throw this out, it would take like 5-minutes to re-upholster?

As an aside, I should also mention that one of my favorite uncles is a master upholsterer. Learned the trade as a young man and has his own private shop out back of his house. Being fascinated by all craftsmanship, I spend time chatting with him about his "hobby" every time I visit. I've picked up a few tips here and there. Plus, there's always my uncle as a source, if need be.