Update and thinking about a challenge to myself and anyone who reads my blog

Again, it's been a few months since I last blog. Not much has changed. My foot is still very sore/problematic, and I've not been able to do much exercising of any kind. Bicycling is out, swimming is out. I have used the rec center for weight lifting a few times since school started, but the demands of my school work don't afford me enough free time to do that with any sort of regularity. I'm making an appointment with my Family Physician today to see if we can do another x-ray and discuss what other options I have for figuring this pain out.

On other fronts, I have been thinking lately about undertaking a challenge for 2010. I've recently seen stories regarding the demise of various manufacturing industries in the U.S. over the past several decades. I believe this has played a major part in our current economic/financial crisis. We've become such a service society that we just don't make anything anymore! With recent technological advances in internet and cell phone usage, many of those services are no longer needed. And really, couldn't we actually do those things for ourselves all along?
So, I think I am going to undertake a "Made in the U.S.A" challenge for 2010. I'm going to attempt to only purchase items made in this country. And I'm not going to stock up on items, and then just not buy anything in 2010 - that doesn't serve my underlying purpose which is to create a demand for U.S.A made manufactured items. This would akin to those useless campaigns going around when gas prices were so high, advising people to not buy gas on such-and-such date. Instead people filled up the day before, or just bought gas a day later. It doesn't work because the overall demand was still the same. Now, if people had not driven, or driven less, on such-and-such a date, and created a lower demand overall, that would make a difference (which it did in the summer of 2008, when demand dropped just 2% I believe).
So I'm on the hunt currently, to find products that are made in the USA. This includes food too! So much of our food is actually imported (fruits and veggies for example).

Did you know that in 1963, when Kennedy was elected, more than 96% of all clothes sold in the US were made in the US?
By 1985, that number had dropped to 80%.
By 1995, that number had dropped to 50%.
Now, in 2009, only 5% of clothing sold in the US is made here.
Seems we all want jobs back in the US, but we're not willing to pay the fair price for the items to be manufactured here. I think it's time to invest in my country.

Maybe you'd like to join me in this challenge??