[Time passes]

Time has passed, cuing that scene in the Harry Potter movies where the seasons change from fall to winter to spring with nothing of significance happening in the plot except Hedwig flying across the courtyard. Only in our plot, loads has happened, which accounts for the blog hiatus. I’ve thought about writing many times, but never got around to actually posting. I have a few things I want to write about, but I’ll ease myself in with hit list.
• I wonder how much environmental impact it would have if we started doing little things like not using straws and using mugs instead of paper cups at work.
• Indiana Jones was amusing but definitely not a big-screen must. If you haven’t seen Iron Man, see it. Robert Downey Jr. was made for this.
• I’ve been watching a lot of home design shows. This has two effects: 1. I want a house more than ever and 2. I am increasingly unhappy with how the apartment looks. I can save you hours, days, weeks and even months of watching HGTV by giving you The Secret to all these shows. The Secret is ...ready?... get rid of the clutter. It’s true. Watch any design show. Even if you don’t like the style of the new room, it looks a million times better than the original because there is simply less crud messing it up. Use this knowledge wisely. It may have cost me dearly to divulge it to you. Design on a Dime probably just put a hit out on me.
• Things I love today: photo booth pictures, walks in the woods, birds (especially owls), rainy days at the end of August, grass under my bare feet and mom’s Shredded Wheat bread.

Stuffed

The gifting season is here, gaining speed like Casey Jones and that runaway train, on the wrong track and headed for you. So put down the cocaine and lets have a civilized discussion about this.

JP sent NYM a link to The Story of Stuff. I've sent it out to some people. It is definitely worth the 20+ minutes of your life. But for the time-challenged, here's the gist: We have been trained to consume, almost at all costs. This consumption-to-trash lifestyle is damaging the planet and people, including ourselves. Solution: Buy less, consume less.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

So where does that leave us during this time of giving? Give less? Give nothing? Become Scrooge? This is the quandry I find myself in as I tool through Borders, judging whether items are worthy of the people I love. Do we really need more stuff? And why do we depend on stuff to say "I care about you"? Or to make us feel better? How do we break this hold stuff has on us?

One thing is for sure, we can't do it alone. It has to be a decision supported by those near and dear to us. It has to be OK to say "Let's not consume more stuff." A coworker of mine suggested a step-by-step program, such as starting by giving only handmade gifts. I think this sounds swell and I wish I had thought of it earlier. Oh well. There's always next year!

Until next time, wishing you the gift of joy. And sanity.

Fairly Young Woman In Front of the Milk Cooler in a Big City

So my New Year's resolution this year was to try to live a more environmentally-friendly life. When I started out, it was pretty overwhelming. But the resolution was meant to be empowering, not debilitating. So it was onward toward that far-away goal of green, one small step at a time.

I shopped at Whole Foods and bought as much organic as I could. I reused bags. My carbon footprint was already pretty small compared to non-city folk, thanks to the MTA. As our light bulbs blew, we replaced them with the eco-friendly ones. Instead of throwing things out, I gave them away on craigslist. And I became pretty vigilant about recycling (G has the scars to prove it).

But there are many grey areas to green. Case in point, tonight I found myself in front of the milk cooler pondering whether to buy the new brand of organic fat free milk or stick with the Stonyfield organic, even though I'd have to buy 2% because that is all they had. So what should be my priority here? My arteries, which probably don't need 2% fat? The price? The cuteness of the cows featured on the packaging? Honestly, I don't know. But here is how I made the decision: I rolled the cartons onto their sides to see where they were from. Fat-free was California-based. Stonyfield is New Hampshire-based. So I picked Stonyfield, since it probably didn't travel as far, and therefore produced less carbon. Cholesterol be damned.

Until next time, green like you mean it!