BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Oprah today

Oprah is really great today. It's about doing an intervention if you hate your job, but you can relate it to being childfree. They are talking about how women got lost b/c they did a job they didn't really like for a while, and thought they would get back into what they really wanted to do later. And they got lost along the way.

These women are miserable and crying, and finding their way back to living their own lives. They talk about how crazy it is to do something you don't want to do every day. I know, because I've done this. I am going to scream at the next person that encourages me to have kids. One size does not fit all! And, I think it's really weird that people openly admit that certain people are cut out for certain kinds of work, but then argue that everyone should have kids. This still seems to be the dominant line of thought.

They talked about finding your strengths, and that everyone has something unique to contribute. The stats show that like 80% of people hate their jobs, and it make me wonder how many parents hate their jobs as parents. You can learn more about the episode on her site:BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

I thought yesterday's show was good too, it showed two American families and just how much they WASTED every day! I couldn't believe it! I know most families don't earn as much as they did, but I'm pretty sure they waste about as much anyway. The kids would leave lights and television on when they weren't in the room, the families used plastic cups and tossed them out instead of real cups, the kids would eat a couple of chips from one bag, leave it, and want a new bag of the same exact chips. It was nauseating! Oh and my favorite, the teenaged girl wearing scanty clothing and cranking the heat to 80. I sometimes crank the heat that high, but I'm actually freezing when I do!

That sounds like a good one, too. You know, I can't waste food like that. I have to say I was raised not to do that. The flip side of that is, I always feel like I have to "clean my plate." But then you think, is it better to waste food, or to gain weight b/c you are eating more than you need? I'm pretty crazy about turning off lights, and I feel bad if I take too long of a shower. Can you imagine how much water each person uses when they take a shower? It's staggering. I've tried to teach my nephew not to do that, and to explain that resources like water are limited. I wonder how many people are teaching their kids that stuff?

My parents certainly taught me to clean my plate and not waste food, but you're right, Happy. Sometimes I think that's what contributes to my tendency to gain weight unless I concentrate on portion size. I'm exercising and making better food choices, so I have lost weight, but the rest of my family is obese or close to it.

My parents didn't teach me about conservation and environmental impact, though. I learned that in school. I'm a furious recycler, conserve water and energy with a passion, and purposely walk to work and take public water transport - leaving my car in my driveway. Two miles each day. I hope teachers are still igniting the passion in schoolchildren in my district to be careful with our planet, because I can't help but wonder myself if parents are teaching the next generation to do the same.

Wow Trish, you walk to work? You are my hero! My Dad works for the electric company, and he has always bugged us to conserve electricity. So I'm pretty particular about that. I've been bad about recycling lately, but I need to improve upon that.

I guess my Dad taught me to save money, too. I don't think everyone learns that either. The thought of there ever being a water shortage really freaks me out... enough to make me want to take less showers, but I live in Florida now. Ugh!

Well, it's 10 miles from my house to work if you drive, sometimes taking a half hour depending on the traffic. Instead, I walk to the ferry dock and take a 10-minute boat trip (part of our local public transportation - it costs me $1.25 each trip), and then walk from the dock to my workplace. I just started doing it this year and I bought a pedometer to find out how far it was - less than a mile each way. I love it! I don't have to deal with traffic, I get more exercise just going to and from work, I meet new people or get a chance to read, and I have more time to really think. Leaving my car at home was one of the best decisions I ever made. The funny thing is, I thought it would feel like more of a sacrifice, which is why it took me so long to do it!

By the way, you can see the foot ferry I take every day here:BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

We always had leftovers, so I was always used to having the main course on a platter/bowls, taking off what I'd eat, and sticking the rest in the fridge. I actually eat leftovers too, unlike both of the families that were shown! One husband even said that 3 days out of the week he threw out the lunch his wife made him and would go out to eat! I found that pretty horrible, I'd NEVER throw out a meal that my guy has made me, it would be wasteful and disrespectful.

I was raised in a family where wasting food was a BIG no-no, likewise for my fiance. Thanks in large part to our mothers' training, we make good use of leftovers. They get toted to work for lunches, or become lunches on lazy weekend days.

I've apparently been cooking more food than usual lately (or we're eating less) because in the last two weeks, even with distributing much of the leftover food into lunches, we've had "Leftover Night" dinners to clean out the fridge three times. On the plus side, having leftover night on a busy weeknight has its upsides.This evening was a great example: I had significant quantities of 2 main dishes and modest quantities of a few sides. I steamed some veggies (we were a bit short on those), set out the containers of leftover food near the microwave, and was done. Quick, simple, and painless.

Now why in the world would anyone pass up such wonderful opportunities to save time and money?

We left some of our leftovers in the fridge a few days too long a few months ago and had to throw them out. I felt really guilty about it. It still bugs me that we were that negligent. When I threw that food away, I threw away the money spent buying the food, the time and effort spent preparing it initially, and the time and money it would have saved me if I'd remembered to take those containers to work for my lunch hour.

WTF are people thinking when they throw away food unnecessarily?

OK, it's late, and I just went on an insane leftover tirade. I think I need to go to bed...

Myra,

I couldn't agree more! I never throw food away. I purposely cook two to three night's of food so I won't have to cook for another night or two. Usually, once a week I'll combine a couple of different entrees and sides and use everything up & we always have a green salad every night because we both really like it. I absolutely hate waste, especially wasting food and water.

I hate wasting food...and try to avoid it...
I've found however, that fruit and vegetables go "off" so quickly these days - usually we lose a few pieces before we get to them...
I also, miss the smell of fresh fruit & vegetables - fruit and vegetables often have no taste or smell these days because they're kept in cold storage for so long...
My aunt used to grow strawberries - the aroma of her strawberry patch was fantastic...also, her apples just picked...or her tomatoes.
I really miss FRESH fruit and vegetables.
We often end up eating-out at short notice so sadly, some food hits the bin (if the cats don't fancy it)
We have tried using the freezer - but have given up - we're just hopeless - the only thing that comes out of our freezer is ice-cream.
So, I buy food in small quantities - as we need it...
Water is a big problem in Australia - we have strict water restrictions in place and will do so for a long time to come - we're putting a couple of water tanks into the yard to keep our garden alive...
I always turn off lights - a habit my parents started...