Green Tip

And the tip of the week is.....

Check the ingredients in your laundry detergent. (which may not be on the container)

Why?

Because most liquid detergents are petroleum based instead of vegetable oil based. Which means that we use over 200,000 barrels of oil a year on laundry detergent alone!

And what could we do with that much oil instead?

Heat and cool over 11,000 homes a year.

You're getting charged an outrageous amount of money per year for laundry detergent that isn't eco-friendly.

A few brands that make great eco-friendly detergents are Seventh Generation and Mrs. Meyer's

I've used both brands cleaning products before I began making my own and they are both really great.

I enjoy making my own laundry soap for a few reasons.....

1) I know everything that goes in it.
2) It's much cheaper in the long run.
3) I can make my own scent.

If you are up for it, here's the recipe :)

2 cups washing soda (found on the detergent isle at grocery store)
2 cups of scented baking soda (add in your favorite essential oil (5-8 drops) I love lavender!)
1 bar of grated Ivory soap
1 cup of Borax
Container/Jar

I use 1/4 cup per each large load of laundry

I normally double this recipe and it lasts me a really long time.

I also bought a really adorable HUGE Mason jar at Michael's, it's perfect to store the detergent in :)

Seasons Of Life

World Lit.

It's awful. I hate this class. I cringe at the thought of having to go.

I literally have to pump myself up and tell myself it's crucial to stay awake before I enter this classroom.

So imagine my surprise when I learned something in it.

Well, I had something brought to my attention that I found very interesting.

Something that I knew all along and hadn't taken the time to stand back and take it all in.

Seasons of life...

I love the thought of this. I love seeing your life through different seasons.


Spring

Birth. When life begins. When you are brought into this world and you're young, fragile, innocent, clueless and ready to learn. You have your whole life ahead of you and the thought of it being over is far from your mind. After all, life has just began. Everything is new to you. Everything is exciting. Full of life. And you can't possibly wait for what tomorrow might bring.

Summer

Perfection. You are now old enough to know right from wrong. Old enough to make your own choices. It's just you. It's your time. Your time to learn about yourself and what you want out of life. You begin to realize what you stand for. And you get to have some fun along the way while doing it. You're life is still full of learning and still quite carefree. And you enjoy it as much as you can, you soak it all up. Because soon you know fall will be coming.

Fall

Fall. It's the middle. It's not cold. It's not hot. It's right there in the middle, just like life. There's now a family. There's quite a few more worries. You're not old, but you're sure not as young as you once were.

Winter

It's closer to the end of the year. Closer to the end of your life. And as you look back and reflect you begin to see what life has offered you. What opportunities you took. Which ones you should have. You wonder if there's anything else you would have done different. But you know, that you can't get that time back because winter will be over soon...


Summer, I believe that's where I am. I'm in a place where it's warm and it's fun and it's always something new. But as the days and years pass I feel more and more ready for Fall. Ready for what else life has to offer. More depth. More meaning.

There are two seasons I look forward to each year. Spring and Fall. When I look at it closer it makes sense that I wait and wait for these two seasons.

I love new life. I love children. I love the innocence and the way they are so enthusiastic about the small things, about everything. I love their need to learn new things each and everyday. Spring, I adore it.

I also love the thought of the next chapter in my life. I love dreaming and thinking about how my life will soon be. The next chapter is full of love. The next chapter is making a life with someone I deeply care for. The next chapter is children of my own. And though this will not be happening today or tomorrow or next year, it's the next big thing around the corner and I long for the day that My Fall is knocking on my front door.

How Can Love Survive?

I recently came across a singer. Her name is India Arie.

For all of you who don't know, I'm a music junkie. In my spare time I love finding new music.

Anyway, back to India Arie.

She's phenomenal.

There are a few lines in her song "The Heart of the Matter" that has kept me thinking for days now.

Let me sing you a few lines from the song....

These time are so uncertain, there's a yearning undefined

And people filled with rage

We all need a little tenderness, how can love survive

In such a graceless age?

And there it was.

The truth.

And what do you do about it?

We have become so graceless, faithless and hopeless as a whole.

And without all of these things how can you make the greatest thing of all work?

How can you help love to survive?

What do you do to make sure you don't make so many of the same mistakes that are so common in dating, love and marriage these days? Or in any relationship for that matter.

How do you find someone that is equally concerned?

The truth is, I'm not completely sure.

I mean I have a few ideas but nothing concrete.

I believe that in order to have grace, faith and hope in something as big as love you must first have it in yourself.

That seems to make sense to me. That these traits are present in you before you can have them present in your relationships.

So, I'll be thinking about grace and if it's shown by me through good will and my actions.

I'll be thinking about faith in every sense of the word. Having faith in oneself and in others. And being faithful to family and friends.

I'll be thinking about hope and how even though it seems like the least important of the three it's where it all starts.

You have hope for wonderful things. You have faith that they just might happen. And you're given them through grace.

So these are things I will be working hard to exude in myself because I.... want love to survive inspite of this graceless age.

And So It Starts...

Spring Break is officially here and I'm currently packin' up and headin' home.

I'm in need of a break and if I had to attend school for just one more day without one I just know that I would have dropped out.

This is probably why Spring Break was invented. Otherwise, there would be to many people in this world that had flunked out back in kindergarten.

So, to Athens it is for a day.

Then Austin, Tx for three.

Jenanabelle and I will be spending time relaxing and getting pampered in the milk & honey spa all Saturday. I'm expecting it to be the highlight of my year so far. That doesn't say much for my year but it does say how badly I need to lay around and do nothing.

So my Spring Break this year consists of lots of pampering, shopping, and of course some partying/night life in Austin.

This will in no way be like my Freshman/Sophomore years of college where it was a week long party in South Padre.

No no, I've gotten too old for that.

Not like I've gotten too old that it's no longer appropriate.

More like I've gotten too old and my body can't handle a week long drunken party on the beach anymore.

Which is just as well I guess. At least I won't need a vacation from my vacation, which was always the case.

So I hope everyone has a wonderful Spring Break '09! I will try to keep you updated with fun tales along the way.

Also, if you're sad because you have a big girl/big boy job and Spring Break no longer exists for you then I'd like to say I know my day is coming soon, but luckily not as soon as yours. ;)

Favorite Find

I know. I know. This is probably not the picture you thought you were going to see when you saw the title, "Favorite Find."

Then again if you REALLY know me, it doesn't surprise you at all.

We all know that I'm always looking for ways to 'green up' my life.

Last week I was on my weekly grocery store excursion and I knew that I was going to have to break down and buy trash bags this week.

You need to know that I hate buying trash bags. I see no reason why I should have to spend over $7 a box on something that my trash goes in. What a waste, literally.

But being the coupon cutter that I am I had a $1 off coupon so I decided I couldn't complain as much this time.

I mean really what are my other options?

So mentally, I told myself that I needed to go ahead and make the journey down aisle 9 and pick up my grocery item as fast as possible and be on my way.

My buggy never travels down aisle 9 EXCEPT when this item is needed. After all, it's the 'evil' aisle when you're working your hardest to become more green.

Examples of bad green choices down aisle 9: paper towels, paper cups, styrofoam, plastic bags, etc.

Anyway, I turned the corner and as I was picking up my usual trash bags I saw a green box out of the corner of my eye. (As you may already know the color green is pretty popular for "green" products)

The picture above is what I saw.

I'm not gonna lie the first thing that caught my eye was that this box contained 5 more bags than my current trash bag company and it was the same price.

But then, I saw 'Renew' and '65% Recycled Plastic'.

I was sold.

Yes, it's a very small way to take advantage of recycled products... but every little bit counts. :)

Also, as requested by Ms. Katie I will be giving "Green Tips" each week.

I've already sent these to Katie, but this weeks tip are:

1) Try to buy produce from a local grocer. It costs much more to ship food miles/states in order to be at your local Wal-Mart, Kroger and so on. So check out your town and see if there is a local market somewhere close. Not only are you helping the environment, your produce is much more fresh and you are more likely to have a wider range of organic produce to choose from.

2) Cut down on your use of dry cleaners. There is a chemical called perc in dry cleaning that can cause lung and kidney problems. Perc also lingers in the air and has been found in our food due to this. There are green dry cleaners you just have to look them up in your area online.

I'm An Aunt!

It's official, I'm an aunt. He's an adorable little puppy named Oliver (Ollie) Sierra Tsukahara.

I was so excited to meet him this past Saturday when I went to go visit Princess Mitzi.

He's the absolute sweetest thing you can imagine. I think I want one. I got bit by the 'puppy-bug'.

I'm so proud of the new edition to this little family :)

Congrats Mommy Mitzi and Daddy Danny! :)