Thursday's Ten: i don't get it

this week, in the category of things i don't understand...

1. appetizers for cats. really, fancy feast?

2. twilight teeth. for real, y'all?

3. people freaking out about facebook privacy settings again. most of them i understand, but worrying that your phone number is being published to your friends list? um...you put your phone number up. if you don't want your friends to see it, remove it. easy fix...

4. why no one in tennessee seems to use cages when growing tomatoes. they produce a much sturdier plant than staking them...just sayin'

5. disposable hand towels being marketed for everyday use. i definitely think they can be used in place of paper towels in some situations. but the marketing ploy is basically that your regular hand towels are filthy and this is the solution.

ok, i'm not sure about you, but i'm drying my CLEAN hands on my hand towel...so i don't buy it.

talk about NOT being eco-friendly!

6. little girls who say they deserve to continue on in competition because "we've just been working SO hard for SO long". um, even if you've been working 10 years (your whole life) and are immensely talented, i can point you to some adults who would laugh at that. a lot.

(thank you, america's got talent, for that particular gem)

7. why on earth it's taken me over 24 hours and two restore operations to try to update my iphone to OS.4. omgoodness.

8. why i haven't heard more about hot in cleveland. i mean, it's betty white for crying out loud--and it cracks.me.up.

9. why all the infomercials after midnight seem to be targeted to the older set. i mean, do they really think 60+ year olds are up at 1 or 2 am watching tv?!

10. mashed potatoes from a box. the real deal is the only way to go. end of story.

join me, won't you?

Thursday's Ten: lora is

something i like to do once in awhile -- and i thought, hey why not? this way you all can play if you want.

simply google (or blackle -- it's the 'green' google!) your first name and the word "is"...it's funny to see what comes up. i always thought i'd get nothing since my first name isn't the common spelling, but guess what? here 10 i got...

1. Lora is one of the 51 union councils of Abbottabad District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan

(who knew?!)

2. LORA is a great place to get away from all the worries of every day life

(i don't know about a place, but i'm willing to look for a place with you!)

3. Watch LORA IS BIG and hundreds of other videos about gym, biceps, buff, amazon, women, muscular, bodybuilder, female, tall, sports.

(ummm...)

4. Lora is a seasoned trial lawyer

(where's that seasoned trial lawyer salary?)

5. LORA is available at all hours

(yeah, pretty much)

6. Lora is a solo handbell performing artist

(funny, i've actually played handbells several times in my life but have no aspirations of going solo!)

7. lora is dead

(not last time i checked, which is now)

8. lora is eagerly awaiting lunch because

(generally speaking this is true)

9. Lora is known online

(by you guys at least!)

10. Lora is a certified world-class shmoozer

(hmmm)

and your bonus:

LORA is one of my top 100 of 100% Hot Chick!!!

(well, duh)

so? you KNOW you want to play. join in!

black and white...or gray?

seems like a lot of my favorite things are black and/or white

newspapers

which carry my weekly coupons

white house, black market

which carries clothing that i love

the little black dress

my macbook

but so many things are just not.

and i find myself frustrated with those who try to make gray (or orange...or purple) things black and white.

like women's roles in the church

which i don't even think should be a discussion

like handing out condoms in schools

which i may not like, but i still support--as long as proper education is there as well

like whether alcohol is evil

i don't think it is...but i understand for some people it is, and i do respect that

(i sense longer blog posts for every one of those little categories in my near future!)

there are so many things in life that fall into that gray area

i like gray

what i don't like is people trying to explain away the gray

trying to dilute it into white or darken it to black

not all things are purely good

or purely evil

and i wonder

why we seem to find ourselves focusing on gray so often

here's what i know to be black and white

God loves me

He sent his Son

to save the world

john 3:16

my job now

is to help out however i can

...go into all the world...

to show people that love

to take care of the earth

not to be eco-chic, but to truly care about God's creation

to make my divine appointments

(or rather, to make my appointments divine)

that looks different for everyone

sometimes i'm not sure what it looks like for me

but that's what matters.

why focus on the gray?

Thursday's Ten: promises

i feel like it's important (for me at least) to do this every once in awhile. so here are the promises i'm making myself as of right now, in this moment.

1. i will not worry about money and where this or that payment will come from. thus far, God has provided my every NEED...why would i think that would change?

2. i will enjoy each moment instead of focusing on what's "wrong" with my life/finances. in the grand scheme of things, i'm so incredibly blessed...and it's only when people outside of myself start wondering aloud how i'm handling things or what's going on that i start questioning. i need to remember something my dad always quoted: "there's nothing that will happen today that God and i can't handle together"

(erm, i may have gotten a huge hospital bill last night since my insurance is crappy and been doing a bit of concerned thinking...)

3. i will enjoy time spent with children...even if they are whiney and argumentative with each other. it's tennessee, it's summer, and it's hot...we're all whiney.

4. i will continue getting active, continue my routine with WiiFit, and finally get up the nerve to go for a walk/run even though i'm afraid of an asthma flare-up. guess what? that's what my inhalor is FOR!

5. i will learn to can foods, specifically tomatoes. i read not too long ago that eating canned tomatoes from the store is awful for you and that if you must buy them you should look for glass jars instead. i figure if i preserve the ones i grow myself in glass jars i'll be one step better :)

(and yay for money saved...i use a LOT of canned tomatoes when i cook italian foods!)

6. i will take a hard look at composting. now that i live in a neighborhood where curbside recycling is available, it's much easier to be green in that regard...next steps would be compost and rain barrel...perhaps not this summer, but soon.

7. i will take a few moments each day to be intentionally grateful

8. i will continue 'settling in' at a reasonable pace

9. i will take emi to the vet for a check up

10. i will spend more time with those i love

Thursday's Ten: product recommendations

i've been wanting to do this for awhile...why not now?

ten products or items that i would highly recommend for your own use. most of these are VERY cheap :)

(PLEASE play along even if you don't have a full 10 list!)

1. my stacking recycling bins from ikea

2. my can opener. it was a gift from my parents one Christmas, and it's a.m.a.z.i.n.g

(mine is red, but i couldn't find an online image of it. it's the 'one touch' brand and i think you can even buy it at target or walgreens now)

3. my creative memories all purpose scissors. coupon clipping, scrapbooking, photo trimming...fantastic

4. pampered chef kitchen shears (ok, similar to the above, but they are AWESOME on their own and i use them for *everything* around the kitchen)

5. avacado slicer. it makes it so easy to have fresh avacado when i don't have to get so stinkin' messy cutting it up!

(you can buy it wherever you buy kitchen tools)

6. starbucks insulated cup. you knew i'd bring it up again eventually!

7. and on that note, the sigg water bottle. um, i don't know where mine is...someone besides me packed it. must.find.soon!

8. (for pet owners) the mouse laser light. best purchase under $5 i have possibly *ever* made. emi loves it! (i bought mine at target)

9. cfl's (compact fluorescent lamp). not only are they SO much better for the environment, they also last forever and drive down your energy costs!

10. in that whole "green" vibe--reusable grocery bags. trader joe's are quite stylish, and i'm forever taking a reusable bag with me on trips, or to carry stuff back and forth from jobs...so they're quite versatile for me!

i KNOW you have a similar list. please share!

Welcome, WOW Women! (and men, but women added the alliteration you see...)

Hello all! I'm being featured today at a new favorite site of mine--I discovered it about a month ago and have been so grateful to find a little niche of the blogging world that I can wholeheartedly support and love!

The site is called WOW (Words of Wisdom) and I'm today's featured BON (which sounds like a delicious candy but is actually the abbreviation for Blogger of Note). I'm so incredibly honored to be chosen for this!

I'm supposed to introduce myself. The first post I'm linking to should do a rather good job of that, but here's a quick peek!

I'm Lora, recently turned 29, living in Nashville, Tennessee. I'm a Jesus-lovin, wonderful man dating, liberal, slightly crunchy, healthful (kinda) cooking, recycling wanna-be guru, yogi, clotheshorse, fun loving, just plain loving, living in the moment, eclectic gal. I embrace my ancestry wholeheartedly and try to remember my roots--midwestern (known as a yankee down here in the south though!), German and Irish. Sláinte!

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I truly believe life is all about the journey and those you choose to share it with. And what an incredible ride I'm having! If you've been around the last couple of weeks you'll understand why I'm keeping this intro kind of short (yup, this is short for me! :0) If not, I invite you to read the posts starting March 31 or so on to now. I firmly believe that this is part of my story to share with people at large because GOD deserves the glory for the amazing things that are going on in the midst of a situation most would deem hopeless. A.m.a.z.i.n.g. things girls and guys!

Ok...so I'm literally sitting in a McDonald's parking lot for the wifi signal...and it's 11:42 pm. And my wonderful amazing boyfriend is worried sick that I'm crazy enough to do this, and I promised him I'd leave at midnight. Soooo I'm going to link you to a few posts that will give you a glimpse into who I am...and I will visit you all very soon! (I should have my internet up and running by 4pm today thank GOODNESS! I'm an addict y'all!)

"i'm just me" --all about being real
"today" --again, being real
"the one with..."--memories and laughing
"chicken fajita burgers"--recipes and other home life tips

I look forward to meeting all of you and discovering--or rediscovering--your amazing blogs!

Love to you all,

earth day at least deserves a mention...

although i feel kinda awful because i've spent the majority of it filling up trash bags to go to the dump or trash bins.
ah well.
i DID make a recycling run too. and i'll make another one tomorrow. and likely another one saturday.

ah well. once i get moved i'll go back to my normal good-girl cloth napkin, cfl, recycling bin ways. and maybe even come up with a few more ways to help out this earth God has put us in charge of :)

Can of Worms: Explode!

I know they say never to talk about religion or politics over dinner.

So no snacking as you read this, ok? And certainly don't dig into a big meal. This is gonna go south pretty quickly if you do, because I'm talking about BOTH.

I often avoid standing on soapboxes on this blog, especially political ones. Because I'm very aware that there are so many sides to every issue...and selfishly because I'm afraid I'll lose followers.

But dangit, it's MY blog and I can soapbox if I want to. I will still try to not offend anyone. :)

I'm sure if you've read closely you realize that I lean more toward the liberal side politically. In most parts of the country I'm fairly certain I'd be considered more middle of the road, slightly leaning left...but here in this red, red state I am WAY out there in most people's eyes. Like, so far left of the line I can't even SEE the line anymore. The line is a dot to me.
(bonus points for you if you get the reference!)

It's ok. I've always marched to my own beat, and I've gotten used to being the different one. (someday I'll tell you about my childhood...)

And please don't read this to mean that I'm ALWAYS liberal. That I ALWAYS vote for one party over another. I don't. I don't believe in straight ticket voting. I believe in researching the candidates and selecting the one that I truly think will do the best job, regardless if they line up on my little check box chart of things I look for in a candidate. This means I also don't choose one issue and vote based on it. A variety of issues and views are considered. Thankfully, I like politics enough to do the research...I know a lot of you are yawning right now...

Also, I think it's important to note that my close friends and loved ones are all over the political spectrum. I prefer it that way--when we discuss politics (which we do) I get a much more well-rounded discussion, and am able to truly think about what I believe and hold to be truths...and they are too. We learn, grow, and change our minds once in awhile.

Anyway...a couple of things that are bothering me.

Remember all those email groups and other wonderful (and I truly mean it) avenues that were all over the place when President Bush was in office? You know, the people who committed to pray daily, weekly, whatever...together or alone...and followed through.

I was never a part of them, and it had nothing to do with my political leanings...I just choose to pray for our nation and leaders in my own way, on my own time.

However, I never see groups like that now.
Have they disbanded now that the Presidency has changed hands?
Do they still meet and pray as fervently for our current President?
And if not, why?

I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that question...

I wrote all of the above before google searching it.
Thankfully, there seems to still be an active presidential prayer site.
And thank goodness for Max Lucado.
However, not all may have the best intentions in their prayers...
and this article was frightening.

All of that aside...the real reason for this blog rant is this article from Fox News. If you don't want to read the whole thing (it's rather...odd, actually. Kind of a conglomeration of a conversation between senators. i think. i'm not familiar with the guy who wrote it, so this may be his normal article style...but it's odd to me.) the basic story is this: in a joking manner--I think--, a Senator has publicly stated that Al Gore has a free place to stay in DC now...courtesy of global warming!

Ha.
Ha.
Ha.

And while I've heard people joke like that quite a bit, and it's sorta funny...it's also misguided.

I'm tired of people who refuse to do environmentally responsible things because it's "liberal". It's not liberal. It's responsible. I truly, TRULY believe that we as Christians have a calling to take care of our planet. And recycling, doing other green things...those are all a part of it. I don't care if you're a Libertarian, Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Polkafish. It's just what you DO.

And I'm also tired of people who refuse to believe in global warming because a Democrat who was in an administration that a lot of conservatives would like to forget ever happened is at the forefront of the awareness campaign.

Please do me a favor, blogland. If you're going to choose to believe that global warming doesn't exist, or isn't a bad thing, or isn't as severe as "they" are telling us (whoever they are)...at least research it.

I'm going to be completely honest here. I haven't researched it enough to come up with my own thoughts on how severe I really think it is. *I* need to do my research too. I'm not blindly following anything because Al Gore tells me to. I actually think he'd be the first to tell us to research it on our own anyway! But please don't blindly ignore things because you don't agree with the person on a political level either.

Here's a well-written article, in which the author freely admits her biases, from a "eh, I don't know if it's really an issue" perspective.
PBS article explaining global warning in bare-bones form (because if you're like me you get a little overwhelmed with facts and figures)

Here's the thing though, regarding the senator who invited Mr. Gore to the igloo his family fashioned "for him". IF we are to believe that global warming exists then we have to accept that certain aspects of it will lead to the crazy snowfalls we've seen in most areas of the country this winter. The term "global warming" leads people to believe that we should have hot summers and mild winters. I used to think that too...but the simple fact is that global warming doesn't really mean that at all. It means the temperature and humidity rise. And what do we need for snowfall? Temperatures under freezing (which easily happen in most of the areas of the country affected) and...um...humidity. Moisture already in the air. Which IF we believe in global warming means...we've got plenty of the humidity.

(we certainly have enough humidity to spare here in TN. year round. global warming or not.)

So, Mr Senator-who-I-will-not-name-you'll-just-have-to-read-the-article:

If you're going to flippantly say things like this? At least check the premise of the thing you're attacking. It just might make you look a bit foolish to those who know anything about the issue at all.

That is all.

Oh, but one other thing? Just to make you smile. Since I've put it all out there anyway:

Camp 2009

Here's the (long) low-down:

Sunday

the kiddos boarded a bus and I thankfully got to ride down with another adult (I got seriously green on last year's bus ride so I was grateful!)
We arrived WAY earlier than normal, fed the kids pizza, had a short orientation and then headed to our cabins.
I got 7th grade girls again :)
I was with 2 other counselors, but I was alone with the 18 girls for about 2 hours before either of them showed up. No biggie...I just gave them the "expectations" talk and watched them interact. They are amazing girls!
We were treated to the "Potty Rangers", courtesy of one of the girls having adorable underwear that 3 of them for some unknown reason decided should go on their heads...

(I have video evidence too...)

Monday

the first day of camp is always filled with questions from the 7th grade girls. "what do we need?" "do I HAVE to leave my shoes on the porch when I come in?" "Do I REALLY need my water bottle?" "what's the devo about?" "what's free time?" "what do we DO during free time?" "you mean I can do whatever I WANT during free time?"
Sigh.
Our group played sports (basketball and kickball) and won both games...no thanks to me, really. Since our group was larger than either of the other teams, Pat and I stood on the sidelines and cheered them on.
Hailey and I saw each other twice (she's A's little sister, who had told me she was going to hang out with me at camp as much as she could since neither sibling of hers was there...but since she's in high school now and I'm with middle school that proved to be somewhat impossible)
We mined for gemstones and I got some HUGE rocks.

(the small one? apparently a ruby. we'll see.)

Oh. OH.
And I got hurt. Playing duck, duck, goose.
Yup.
I'm not as young as I once was...and I have further to fall.
In all fairness, I saw that all the kids were slipping and falling on the semi-wet grass. And neither Pat nor LaJuana (the other adults in our lifegroup for the week) were playing. For good reason. And really, I thought to myself that I would probably fall but "no big deal"...after all, the kids were getting right back up!Mistake.
I bounced. Starting with my knees and ending with my chest. And both were sore for quite awhile. And my knees? Still sore. According to my massage therapist (who, bless her, gave me a "love gift" yesterday of an absolutely free, no-strings-attached 90 minute massage) they're still very swollen and tender. I am STILL taking Ibuprofen.

Camp Coker Creek has gone green! Not only were there eco friendly disposable (compostible) plates and utensils, they also had "corn cups" instead of the normal styrofoam. I also noticed a significant healthy change in the menu. Whole wheat pastas, and whole wheat wraps available at every lunchtime, plus an amazing salad bar, and for the first time ever...skim milk!

Worship was led by some visiting band. The kids loved them. I listened from the front porch. Believe me, it was loud enough there :0)

Tuesday

Solo time with middle schoolers is always interesting. Trying to keep them quiet for 2 hours? Impossibility.
It was ok this year. Better than usual.
Doug gave me a ride up the mountain since my knees were REALLY killing me this day.
I sat and wrote letters to all the girls in my cabin. And a few extras to older girls in the lifegroup who had showed real leadership the night before.
Somehow Judy, LaJuana and I missed the lunch call...
We walked down the mountain...alone...about 20 minutes after everyone else had left.
We were talking about things going on in our church family that has the potential to tear it apart...or make it stronger. We're hoping for the latter.
(my awesome group of girls. They learned both the "zoo" game and the cup game on the same day. Headaches for Anna, LaJuana and I. I finally just joined them! Notice skunk rub-on tatoo on my arm. Abigail, our youth ministers 3 year old daughter called it a "sunk". And on the day it started rubbing off she told me my sunk broke)

Wednesday

Sports again. Ultimate Frisbee and Dodgeball. Pat and I played both of these. Anihalation was in order--we dominated in both games. And I got a couple of interceptions in ultimate! I've already told Anthony that we need to play sometime. He loves the game. I don't think it'll take too much convincing.

(We had just been scored on...I was not thrilled. And my shirt says "I heart/love boys who recycle. I can wear it...A recyles!)

Unfortunately I paid for playing the rest of the day by limping my way through activities.
And for the first day of camp I took a nap. Which was heavenly. And Hailey came and visited my cabin twice...bearing mini Butterfingers. Love that girl!
When I woke up, I ended up french braiding the hair of 4 of the girls in the cabin. Cute.
Worship, led by our student praise band, was amazing.
Quote number one from yesterday's post came in here. The girl was putting her towel on the porch and wanted to know if the bug was bigger than her fist or not, so she would know whether or not she could scream.
I told her it wasn't.
It may have been.

Thursday

Our traditional day to go whitewater rafting, this year we spent it doing a service for the camp we've been attending for 9 years. We moved rocks from one side of camp to another to prevent erosion. The group I was with (all of the middle schoolers and about 50 high schoolers) was loading them into the truck. I was shocked--and proud--when instructions were being given and none of the 7th and 8th grade girls in our group screamed when the words "spiders, snakes, scorpions" were mentioned simultaneously.
By the way, we found 2 out of the 3. Snakes were hiding, but we had plenty of the other 2. Didn't even know Tennessee HAD scorpions. But we do. And they're poisonous!
We finished in less than 2 hours what it would have taken the camp staff over 3 weeks to do...and that's if they had no other groups coming in over those weeks.
The kids were pumped about it, and I didn't hear a single complaint about not rafting.

Of course this quote happened during that time:

Does anyone have a Tide to go pen? I got mud on my white tank top.
Why did you wear white on a work day?
I thought we would be doing easy stuff

We also had the hoedown in the afternoon, where we danced to our hearts content (and apparently I had NOT learned my lesson from Ultimate, so I danced anyway)

(Hailey and our favorite horse, Trouble. She's the one I rode last year. She can no longer be ridden--arthritis :()

I missed worship, because a girl in my cabin started her period. For the first time ever. And didn't want to be alone. Bless her heart. So I stayed with her, rubbed her back, and made a hot compress with a washcloth and ziploc bag.
I was glad there was only one.
Doug has to stop putting me with the 7th graders. I'm a first-timer magnet.
One year I had 3. First timers. In less than 2 days.
*Shudder*
I ALWAYS come prepared (ha. Pun not intended, but now that it's out there I'm kinda giggling)
We packed and cleaned the cabin and spent some more time laughing and enjoying each other.

Friday

As we were stepping off the front porch to head down to the busses, massive downpour.
It only lasted 5 minutes. We were told to "hold" them for at least 30.
So we were late leaving out. And no cabin pictures (I realized this on the way home)
I had to ride the bus, since my ride had left earlier in the week. But leaving is much better than arriving--all the twists and turns at the beginning rather than the end, and my stomach has 4 hours of interstate to calm down again.

Around Knoxville I heard someone behind me say:

Hey! We're in Tennessee! We're almost home!

(we had been in Tennessee...all...week.)

Arrival at the church, hugs and "see you Sunday"s all around
I took Hailey home
And then I headed home for my post-camp routine:
drag luggage in house
greet cat
throw load of laundry in
shower
throw load in dryer
nap
(that last one didn't happen because I was afraid I would miss getting to Anthony's on time. His family, bless them, pushed back the departure time for family vaca so that we could have a meal together. He treated me to an amazing Italian meal, we went to Target, we kissed goodbye, and I sent him off to San Antonio. Where hopefully he's having an amazing time :)

Thursday's Ten and then some

I may have a slight confession to make.

Those of you in real life know that I have a little addiction. However, I think I've kept it pretty well hidden from my bloggy friends.

Sure, you know that I'm in love with Joe (of Trader Joe's). Of course you are aware that I prefer the bubbles of San Pelligrino over tap water. I'm fairly certain that you have noticed that I have an affinity for the recipes of Rachael Ray and Giada (and going hand-in-hand with that, it is painfully obvious that I am a carb lover).

So what addiction is left, you ask?

I may have hidden it (among other reasons) because coffee isn't always that interesting of a topic to blog about. And also, because Starbucks isn't the greenest thing I could do. But that is (slowly) changing. For the last few months I've noticed that if you bring a travel mug into Starbucks you get 10 cents off your morning/afternoon/midnight coffee. Which is great--I own a ton of them. However, when I stop by Starbucks I normally get an iced coffee with a shot or 2 of flavoring. This is because (a) it's cheaper. Think half price and (b) it makes me feel like I'm getting something special without all the calories and stuff of say a white chocolate mocha.

Putting iced coffee in a travel mug is just not that practical. There's the issue of the ice coming up to meet your mouth as you tip your head back to drink. Among other things. So I really didn't see myself ever getting to take advantage of this new green thing Starbucks is doing.

And then yesterday I stopped at Target. And this Target houses a Starbucks. And I gave in to temptation, mainly because I hadn't had time to make my coffee at home that morning. And when I saw the display at the register angels sang.

Or at least I did.


Look closely. That's right--it's a reusable copycat of the plastic cup I've had to recycle a gazillion times. AND it's double insulated, so it doesn't sweat all over those papers on your desk that your boss needs today. Bonus!

I was thrilled. THRILLED I say. And I can now feel just a little bit better about ordering an iced coffee in MY new to-go cup! (and while I realize that I will have to visit approximately 100 times to get my "money back" at $.10 a fill-up, I don't care)

And now moving onto the Thursday's Ten. Coffee themed of course.

10 Things I have Learned about Coffee

1. If you don't set the coffee maker the night before, it will not have the coffee nice and ready for you when you crawl bound down the stairs to fill up your mug
2. If you are wearing white and carrying coffee, all of nature is against you
3. People who don't necessarily like the taste of coffee often enjoy the smell of it brewing. I don't understand that at all, but hey.
4. Grinding your own beans really does make all the difference.
5. As much as I love my Starbucks, and mostly use their beans at my house...if you have a good coffee maker and know what you're doing you can make cheap coffee taste great.
6. Flavored creamers are AMAZING. Especially the pumpkin spice that comes out (conincidentally I'm sure) right at the same time every year as the pumpkin spice latte at S-buck's.
7. People who don't like the taste of coffee will probably not want to kiss you right after you've drank a cup. :0)
8. Who wants to bet that my wordle this week will have STARBUCKS really big on it. Or not at all.
9. Somehow buying coffee from a coffee shop makes it taste just a little better. I think it's the "not making it myself" factor. Much like eating out.
10. Babies/toddlers will always want a sip of your coffee. If you give in, watch out. You'll have a little me on your hands (I drank coffee from the high chair. No lie).

By the way, in all seriousness, Starbucks is really trying to better the planet and be more green. Since that's something near and dear to my heart, I'm including a link. Click or don't, but it's kinda cool.
http://www.starbucks.com/sharedplanet/index.aspx#mugPledge

Earth Day of the Extravagant Sort

Earth Day...



Anthony thinks I'm a little nuts (yes, I know you're reading this honey).
My parents don't get it.
The guy at Chik-Fil-A wrote me off as a crazy greenie.
Nancy, the woman I'm acting as caregiver for says I'm "conscientious" but says it in a way that I'm not sure it's a compliment.

But I don't care.

I'm unashamedly trying to be green.

I recycle. And I'm somewhat militant about it, I'll admit it. Nancy now just leaves her plastic juice bottles in my car because she knows that if she starts to throw them away I'll just grab them out of her hand and throw them in the backseat anyway. And she and I went to Chik-Fil-A the other day and I was quite excited that the sandwich I ordered came in a recyclable plastic box. It was even a #1, so that's really easy to recycle! However, after eating the sandwich I realized that there was NO RECYCLING BIN in the store. I even asked the guy behind the counter "So, you have a recyclable container but no recycling bin...is that the deal?" and he was like "yeah..."

Sigh.

(I took it home to recycle.)

Now I'll admit I'm not the world's best recycler. I forget pretty often about paper. But glass, plastic, tin, aluminum, cardboard...my kitchen is taken over with the recycling bags for each of them.

I also use CFL's which pretty much everyone does now...I have a SIGG which you all know if you've read my blog :0) I try to buy natural and organic products, although I'll admit I don't do it exclusively. It's expensive. And I like my mint chocolate oreos :0)

And I use reusable bags. Most of the time I go through the self-checkout if I'm in Kroger/Publix so as to not have to deal with the checkout process. Trader Joe's kind of expects you to bring your own bag (good for them), but the people in Target look at you oddly--even if you're using a Target reusable! Not only are the reusable bags great for the environment, they're also a whole heck of a lot easier to wrangle from the car to the house. Believe me, that's a great benefit.

Am I perfect? Nope. I use more heat in the winter (but it balances with my low air conditioning useage), I forget to turn off lights when I leave the room, I leave lights on for the cat when I'm gone, and I forget to unplug things. But the point is...I try. I'm not trying to save the world, but I AM trying to be a good steward of what God has given us. I don't think that being green is just a human initiative. I think we're called to take care of the earth.

So maybe today instead of throwing away that Diet Coke can you can toss it in a recycling bin. Perhaps you can pour yourself a glass of water instead of paying for a plastic water bottle. And possibly you can bump the temperature on your air conditioner a couple of degrees higher or unplug an appliance you rarely use.

Or maybe you can just dismiss this all as the ramblings of a liberal. ;-)

Either way...you have a choice. Isn't that a beautiful thing?

Thursday's Ten -- The G Spot

Not THAT kind. Come on guys. :-P Was challenged over at Fine Family to do this, so I decided to make it my Top Ten list for the week!

I was given the letter "g", and instructed to come up with 10 things I love that begin with that letter!

1. grass clippings -- the smell of them, at least
2. the color green -- while it's not my favorite, I do seem to use it in my decorating a lot!
3. giada on Food Network -- her recipes are amazing and I have about 3 saved to try very soon!
4. the state of being green -- NOT the same as the color. I love recycling, using my shopping bags and CFL's, drinking from my SIGG instead of plastic water bottles and generally caring around the environment. I truly feel that's a God-given initiative, even if it is trendy these days!
5. green tea -- ok, I need to make a pact that no more of the ten will include the word "green". so in the interest of making this number all about food, here's more things I like: gargonzola cheese, garlic, greek meatloaf, greek anything, gooseberries, ginger, gingerbread, gravy...and grand marnier alcohol!
6. no more of the ten will include the word "green" except for this one...the greenway by my house. Walk, run, jog, bike, walk your dog...it goes all over Nashville and I love it!
7. games -- whether board, card, computer, video or simply word-sparring, I love them all. Anthony is quite pleased with himself for getting me hooked on Halo...
8. german food and culture -- I tend to pay more attention to the irish side of me, but oh I love my german side.
9. grace -- it's saved my life. literally and spiritually.
10. gifts -- giving them is just as good as receiving them. and gift cards are awesome. :0)

Now for the fun -- if you're reading this and your first or last name begins with a C, J, H, A, or K...you're tagged! And your letter is... B.
(please do comment and let me know if you're playing so I can come read your blog!)