way back wednesday

jackie made me do it. okay, er, um, I wanted to be cool like jackie...

y'all remember when wednesday was art day? yeah, I want THAT to come back. oh, to find time (and space) to paint. anyone wanna come clean my house for me? I'll pay you good money. I am SO not kidding.

anyhoo.

so, picture number one: we'll go in age. this is a picture of my when I was 17. I was alice in wonderland. And I rocked it. My mom made me this costume (and I still have it!) and sterling gave me that cheshire cat. Or did I get one for both of us. I can't recall.

But anyway, I took Harvey (who must've been 7?) out trick or treating in the brookside/zink park area near our house. Everyone thought I was Dorothy. People should learn to be more cultured. ;) And no one told me I was too old to be trick-or-treating--I clearly don't look 17 here.

picture number two: here with whitney, melissa and amber before prom. I wanted a pale yellow prom dress SO BAD. my granny actually sewed it for me. It was the tiniest bit uneven, but it was BEAUTIFUL and I loved it. And no one else had it. When we all went shopping together I saw a cute one at Saks (where they treated us like we were rif-raf since we were young--totally upsetting, why bother selling prom dressed if you are going to be rude to the people who will wear them?) and there was this amazing yellow one that I loved--but mine ended up being so much better. I am sure it's in my mom's house somewhere. Or my granny's? Whatever, I love it no matter what. :)

picture number three: ah, graduation. with sterling, melissa, courtney and amber. oh, EHS. my ten year reunion is this year, folks. yowza. I was SO excited to be graduating, to go off to college and then save the world. If you'd asked me that day I would've said I would never join a sorority, I'd always live in Oklahoma and by the time I was 28 I'd have at least two kids. I'm really happy that my life didn't pan out that way. :D

eh2ed #11

COOL IT.

no, really. this is an answer to the question posed by the loverly leanne--how do I "green" my fridge?

these nice people have some suggestions you can read too, but here are the quick-and-easy suggestions

1. check your settings. your fridge should be ~36-39 degrees (food begins to spoil above 40) and your freezer should be at 0-5. (Fahrenheit, folks) Anything cooler and your fridge is working too hard. this may require buying a fridge thermometer, and you may need to check the settings if you ever lose power. manufacturer's settings are often quite a bit lower.

2. unless you absolutely must, DON'T stand in front of the fridge with the door open. Know what you want, go in, get it, shut the door. You waste oodles of energy standing there perusing. [you are SO right, Christal. :) ]

3. keep your fridge and freezer reasonably full. think: 2/3-3/4 full, not packed in like sardines. having cool items filling the space means the fridge doesn't have to work as hard. I mean, think about when you buy your beer cold and stick it in a cooler--the ice lasts longer, right? Same diff.

4. make sure your fridge isn't in front of a "hot spot." if it sits in the sunshine all day, close the shades in front of it--the cooler it is the easier it stays cool. if it's near an oven or dishwasher, try to direct the heat from those appliances away from your fridge if you can. and keep the coils clean, too.

5. and while you're at it, think about what you're actually putting in your fridge. use eco-friendly cleaners inside of it (bleach residue in your food? EW!) and remember that all those non-organic bits of produce are adding some serious chemical residue to it too.

eh2ed #10

soap soap soap.

my boyfriend matt thinks hotel soap is like the best thing ever. because, well, you're already paying for it, right? and you're not having to bring your big shampoo bottle or whatever, you know?

but there are problems with it. such as: smaller volume bottles have more wasteful packaging per unit. and then there's that part where you're taking it home with you--and the weight of a bottle or two isn't a lot, but eventually it'll add up.

so...

there's a balance. don't take things you don't need, or ones you won't use. and while you're at it--that bar of soap you opened up to actually use? make sure you take that home with you too--otherwise you're putting perfectly good soap to waste. be mindful of what you use, and that's a lesson for, y'know, everything. :)

I would LOVE to tell you about my vacay

except I need to do some picture-looking-through, and I just don't have the time rightthissecond. I am WIPED OUT from this dang root canal. It's funny how such a teeny part of you can make you hurt all over. Perhaps you do not have an appreciation for the wonder that is a root canal, and if not, do thank your lucky stars.

but I will tell you this: the vacation was fantastic. :)


also, yesterday? was ROUGH. I mean, I had a very fun evening (met my good friend nick at a new sushi place and managed to ever-so-carefully eat some of it, which I now realize was only possible because the soreness had not yet set in), but that root canal--hoo buddy. I cried in the dentist's office. He had made me feel like I was "electing" to have a root canal, which was SO not cool. we talked it out, and it ended up being fine and a miscommunication--he thought I wanted him to know with 100% certainty that that's what I needed--and I just wanted to know that given the sitch and circumstance that was his recommendation! yeesh.

but it WAS kind of a relief when he had drilled into the tooth and exposed the nerve and said "yeah, so your nerves are HIGHLY inflamed." and through my latex dam o' fun I said "so does that mean I needed the root canal?" and he said "very much so." weird thing to be happy about, particularly when it involves filing a tooth. icks.

but on a happier note, I think the dental hygenist just might be booking me for some photo shoots. :) AND she said my front teeth were so perfectly straight she thought I had had braces. :)

and also, I have decided to keep the lens. now I just need to decide when I'm buying the camera!! more soon, I swear. tonight I will be taking a nap, hanging out on the couch and eating some soup 'cause that's about all I can handle. so I'll put them in order then!

eh2ed #9

soooo...saved this to drafts last night, yikes!

today's eco-friendly-lesson is stick-to-it-iveness. part of that is not trying to do everything, all at once. it takes 21 days to form a habit, right? but you don't need to try to form eleventeen habits. building them one at a time is PLENTY. anyone who tells you differently is selling something.

and on that note--you don't have to be perfect, living a car-free life wearing only shoes made of recycled trash bags and organic cotton homemade clothes and eating food out of your organic garden and never having waste 'cause you reuse...or whatever. but every little thing adds up, and together? together we can make a HUGE difference.

PS: root canal=ow. I do not envy the mouth-ache with which I will wake up.

anxiety.

I am anxious. I will be having a root canal today. And I have to finish this report thingie, and it's almost done but not quite, and it's making me nervous. And I slept poorly. :(

So, more thinks soon. But for now I would like to share these FABULOUS pieces of fabric for my little project. The one in the middle I bought with Audrey a long time ago--I just WANTED it and had no use for it, but heck if I was walking away without it. :) And the other two I found at a craft store--AND I happened to notice their little advertisement and the 40% off coupon applied to cuts of fabric, too. Plus the girl gave me another 20% off! WOW! It's kind of like I got the brown piece for free.

More soon. including some individual shots. Er, um, images of them individually. I'm getting nervous enough about "shots." :(

vacay was fun, the new lens rocks, etc. more later. when the bottom left side of my mouth is numb. :)

eh2ed #8

you know how you have multiple bottles o' stuff in your bathroom? shampoo, maybe lotion, body wash, face stuff, whatever?

well a biiiiiiiig part of being eco-friendly is using what you need. I will try and find the illustration real simple magazine put out, but the important thing to know is that likely the amount of shampoo, shave cream, toothpaste etc that you're using is probably quite a bit more than necessary. (though don't skimp on the sunblock--you need A LOT of that when you use it) but that toothpaste? you need as little as is reasonable. your shampoo amount should be the diameter of a quarter. and you can stretch that shave cream if you use it (I don't, usually, but if I do it's a teeeensy amount)

so: use what you need, k?

eh2ed #7

It is almost always better to bring your own...

That's true for bags and to-go containers and so much else! In life we waste and waste and waste. Do something about it! Refuse to accept disposables. Or refuse to accept containers that can't be reused of recycled.

Every single piece counts and is TOTALLY worth the effort!

-post from my iphone!

eh2ed #6

again, posting out of my time zone...

when you are going out of town...

-pack as little as you can, there's an eco-toll for distance travelled per pound (I need to improve upon this!)
-reduce, reuse, recycle. less waste, less disposable, and recycle those beerand wine bottles :)
-have fun!

-post from my iphone!

eh2ed#2

time zone slack since I am on vacay? I think so.

Today: carpool, carpool, carpool. Today we fit all eight of usin a van. Though that van's emissions were WAY higher due to the presence of eight people's worth of weight, we would have emitted SO much more by taking two cars. so share and share alike and don't forget to thank your driver! :)


-post from my iphone!

eh2ed #5

vote with your pocketbook.

choose products that are 'green' over conventional ones. you'll be supporting those who grew or manufactured the item, and you're creating a market for eco-friendly, local and/or sustainable goods.

a couple of buck now will be well worth it- for you, your family AND our future!


-post from my iphone!

eh2ed #4

to everything turn, turn, turn....

there is a season. you know what will be in season soon? asparagus. did you know it's only in season for a few weeks? I didn't until I read a fabulous book by Barbara Kingsolver...but not the point i'm going for.

So. Know when your fruits and vegetables are in season, when they grow and how they grow. And when you want those strawberries in January when it's freezing outside, or tomatoes in November, you'll be more likely to realize that they aren't in season and purchasing them would be supporting the pollution from tranportation.

so, buy in season, okay? and think twice before buying out of it :)

-post from my iphone!

eh2ed #3

hi. it's day three, dontcha know?

so this tip is about three, you ready? know that saying "reduce, reuse, recycle?" well...first of all, follow it. but second of all, follow it to the "T"--having a bin full of recyclables is only sort of an accomplishment. first, use less. if you can't then reuse it. and if you can't do that, THEN recycle. :)

so much inspiration, so little time

~my rental-to-possibly-own lens arrives today. eeks!

~I found some DAMN COOL blogs today. email me and I will share them. well, possibly. :) I want a chance to use the inspiration before I broadcast the source, dontchaknow? tiny hint though: this is something that I found inspirational. now to buy the supplies and implement. :D I have like eleventeen projects now--painting, sewing, decorating, etc. so much!

~I miiiiight have spent like $30 on some kick-ass music today. Shazam on the iphone makes me happy. I got Chairlift, The Wombats and Matt Nathanson.

~I am still waffling on getting a camera bag from her. They are totally cute and totally on sale (found a coupon online!), but I just don't know yet. I like how they are cute and all, and the look very functional, but I wish I could, like, look at one in person before I decided to purchase. Plus, I'm not sure there's a fabric in the one I want that is {me} enough. these are my faves: opinions? I'm wanting a bad that a) doesn't scream "steal me!" (my equipment cost an alarming amount of money) and b)will look nice when I'm out and about or shooting a wedding or whatever.

~my emissions testing for class is O.V.E.R. thank goodness. here's what the lovely matilda tallulah looked like yesterday. it felt like a HUGE waste to spend such a beautiful day driving around in my car, but that's okay.

~ps: it's especially okay since next saturday I arrive at 1 and I have two bachelorette parties to attend and then I think I have a houseguest, so I think I'm going to need Sunday to RECOVER! if I hadn't done the emissions testing yesterday I would have had to do it next Sunday.

~and, here's a picture of my friend gurdas. :) clearly, he is also taking pictures of my car.

~later I'll show you what Hazel looks like when she decides she's a present. It's pretty damn adorable. but it's also in my camera right now, and that camera is patiently waiting for me to use it for an engagement shoot this evening!

~oh and. went to a fun baby shower this weekend. and had a splendid double date. we talked about things like last names and owning slaves and sports and the like. it was crazy and fantastic. :D

~and that same night I had SUSHI! (nick, seriously, let's figure it out. not this week but next?) it kiiiiinda meant I had dinner twice, 'cause they had burgers at the shower, but I ate just enough and then it was EARTH HOUR! yay. I want to check out the tallies. I'll let you know.

~I'm not sure how much blogging I'll do in florida, but you'll certainly get the eco-tip o' the day, so do keep an eye out!!

eh2ed #2

sunday, sunday...

things that are making me happy:
-the color yellow
-opening my windows in the house
-wearing flip-flops

:)

so, eh2ed tip numero two: keep your freezer full. a full freezer operates more efficiently than a half-full or empty freezer. (think about it--lots of cold things help keep that temperature down) so don't go buy eleventeen things of frozen peas (unless you need 'em!) but don't be afraid to keep that freezer stocked!

however--don't overfill or fill to the brim either. you don't want to restrict airflow!

eh2ed #1

if you didn't take part in today's earth hour for whatever reason, there are still SO many ways you can make a difference! an easy one for today, and one that your parents or grandparents probably did: when you cook dinner on cooler evenings, once you're done and you've turned off the oven, crack open the door instead of letting the oven cool with it shut. You'll save energy by using the already-generated heat to warm up the house, keeping the additional energy expenditure to a minimum. :)

earth hour to earth day

so, there's this neato thing going on with "cool people care." It's called EH2ED--earth hour to earth day. If you don't know, Earth Hour is TOMORROW. All you do is at 830pm tomorrow night, wherever you are, turn off all nonessential lights. edit: 830pm in YOUR time zone! You don't have to sit in darkness or turn off every single thing, just the ones that you don't HAVE to have on (eg: your porch light. your kitchen lights when you're in the next room. etc)

This is a BIG deal. State capitols are doing it (Arkansas, I'm lookin' at you). Celebrities are doing it. Even Broadway is dimming its lights (though not turning them off completely). Wowowowow.

Do it too. It'll take a minute to switch out those lights. Make a statement, show that you, too, are concerned about climate change, and that you want to make a difference.

so, back to the challenge--it's to spread the word about going green, and to do so each day from earth hour to earth day. I never did much of a job deciding what to give up for Lent, so being involved in this is my Lenten Offering of sorts.

Keep an eye out for my suggestions and ideas, and please, make your own! And if you have anything you want to know more about, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Now get ready to turn those lights out SATURDAY, 830PM your local time. For an hour. Take a moment and make a stand. :)

now playing left field in the great big ball park in the sky

a co-worker and teammate of mine passed away at the end of last week. I've been waiting to find out more information before I posted. His name was Jon, and we called him "JB." I also knew him from working with him on a water development team at the beginning of my job. He was a cooooool guy. Very positive, very on-an-even-keel, very mellow. And awesome at softball.

We didn't have a season last year, but I'm a member of Toxic Waste. We are a crazy bunch of people, let me tell you. It started out as engineers and scientists (hence the name) but expanded to include a huge variety of work folk--people in media and computers and safety and econ and our core group of sciency nerds. Our team is now the team that's been around the longest in the league--20+ years at least.

And anyway, he passed away very suddenly. He went into the hospital and within ten days he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. His wife sent out an email telling us about his final days, what happens, about his 10 and almost 12 year old daughters, and about how they'd been married for 20 years and grew up together for 8 before that.

But there is one part of this that just really makes my heart so sad every time I think of it, and it's this part that made me want to share it with y'all, because there is such an AMAZING example and lesson to be learned here.

On the morning of his passing, he was able to coherently speak to his wife and daughters, and told them how much he loves them, and how wonderful they are, and how proud of them he was. I cannot think of anything much more moving than a father, knowing he has hours to live, gifting his children words that they will treasure for the rest of their lives.

I guess it just...it's the embodiment of that now trite saying of "what would Jesus do?" It was the most selfless thing. And it was precisely what his daughters needed. And I can't even fully explain it, but it just blows my mind, and I consider myself lucky to have known a man like that. I think we could all learn a little something from his story. :)

His memorial is tomorrow evening, and I plan on going, and the team also wrote something on his legacy page. And here's a team picture--he's the one in the orange.

Just wanted to share.

quick and pretty

which is WAY better than quick and dirty!

so, remember how I blogged about this bag? well, it arrived lickety-split, along with the ring I finally got around to ordering. I emailed about the possibility of Greek letters and she tested it out then and there, but it was right before my aunt passed away, so I forgot to order it until last week.

well, both of the items were here on THURSDAY. two days later. holy smokes!

And, they came in cute packaging. And the ring came in the tin--that's Lilly fabric in my favorite colors, green and pink! I didn't even know about Lilly and her fabric and all until some people I know started talking about it, but it sure is cute. Not always my thing but definitely adorable!

(and speaking of which, she's doing another giveaway--for a Lilly Pulitzer cute pink bag!)


I am tres impressed.

oh yeah and that ring made an appearance on my photography blog yesterday. I had a little poem sitting on my desk, saw the reflection of the word "hearts" and it was a done deal! ps: which do you like better? name or logo in the corner?

Also, yesterday I did not rock climb. :( I was kinda bummed. I hurt my thumb, I guess during tennis. Apparently I grip the racket too tight. It is still sore today, so I'm glad I didn't go. Instead, after stressing out about the red mold that was growing on my sheets--oh wait, I only tweeted about that--I left Matt's anniversary present of eco-friendly sheets in the washer for many a day on accident and they got that icky red mold on them, hence the problem. I washed everything in detergent, vinegar and some oxi clean, and went on a hunt for replacement ones.

The homegoods at Brier Creek didn't have them, and I called around and no one here had them in the color I wanted. The one nearest me had some in other colors though, so I went to pick them up since I couldn't go climbing. And while there, I saw this gem. Which is now in my house, waiting to be hung up. Usually I am not a fan of metally-wrought-iron-ee things. They usually look heavy, and sometimes are heavy, and I think color is superior to solid metal. They look good in other people's houses, but they're not something I was planning on having in mine. HOWEVER, like most rules, there are exceptions. :) and this was one of them. I'll let you see it when it's really, really up!

this is making my head hurt.

so. I am looking at cameras, right? I have very much outgrown my little starter SLR, and I had NO idea I'd do it so quickly. but I've decided el tax-return-o will go a long way toward making that purchase comfy, so I'm biting the bullet.

I'm testing out a 17-55 on a rent-to-see-if-I-like-it-to-buy it basis. I will let you know what I think. If it's half as good as I've been told it is, then I am going to LOVE it.

And I think I'm getting the 50D. I've tried it and I liked it, but then I've heard alllll these raves about the 5 D mark ii, which, of course, costs twice as much. It seems like it is a fantastic camera, and undoubtedly, it is. But I like the price tag of the 50D better. And it's a faster camera. But that 5 D is a dream someday. And anyway...

one thing that makes me crazy: so, everyone is like "oooh, oooh, but it's FULL FRAME!" (which means your lens doesn't have a multiplier, and that's a good thing in camera-speak)

so, my current camera I have now...or the 50D...if I use a 17-55 lens on it it's the actually like it's a 27-88, right? and if I got a full frame camera, it would be what it says on the lens--a 17-55. Got that?

Well, I'm on the phone with a very nice lady, asking her questions about camera-ese, and she's saying about the full frame and actual lenses, blahblah. how a 17 IS a 17, and how it'd be a 27 or whatever on my camera. cool, fine, got it. except the full frame uses a different type of lens, and that type? the widest it goes is a 24. lame-o. so that extra, what, 10 or 7 mm, depending on how you look at it? You couldn't even utilize if you wanted to.

riiiight. so the benefit you're flaunting is one you can't even utilize? well, comparing this lens to existing ones, anyway. once you get into higher mm #s of course you can. but I just found it slightly humorous, math nerd that I am.

the end.