What the world needs is MacGyver...

Been MIA for a bit for a good reason - we were gone on a cruise.  Ahh I love vacation.  But I'm back in action.

I've thought about this several times over the past year or so for whatever reason.  Whatever happened to MacGyver?  Remember that show?  I think I see reruns of every other show from my childhood on TV but no MacGyver?!  I watch Stargate SG1 and get a good dose of Richard Dean Anderson, but seriously, MacGyver was awesome and inspiring.  I miss it and think kids today need a show like MacGyver to inspire creative thinking and problem solving.  Plus - it was just damn cool what he could do with random stuff he found laying around.

And to tie in my focus on 'green living', how much more green could MacGyver have gotten by reusing stuff from his surroundings for other purposes?!  Genius!  Simply genius!

Ironically, after bringing up this discussion with the other couple we went on vacation with, literally that same night I was in the cabin watching G sleep and low and behold what was on tv?  Oh, a MacGyver movie!  Holy cow man!  Now that I'm back home, I'm wondering if I can find an easy way to watch MacGyver again to get back in the swing of things.  Hopefully it's on youtube or available via instant streaming on Netflix (LOVE THEM!).

Any fond memories of MacGyver or other shows you can't seem to find reruns of?

~A

Green living for a green day - Happy St. Patrick's day!

Been a few days since I've posted - needed to go off-duty for a few days and relax a bit, but now I'm feeling better.

So it's St. Patrick's day and all around me I see green - as in the color.  As I've been continuing to read my Happy Baby book that I mentioned in my last post I'm realizing more and more small things I can do to be "a darker shade of green" as the book refers to levels of eco-consciousness.

My focus of late has been on the reducing and reusing part of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  We recycle a lot, so I thought that reducing would be a great next step - if I'm using less to begin with, less to recycle, and less to end up in the trash. 

Some of the things I've been doing more and more lately:
- Storing/microwaving leftovers in glass containers vs. plastic.  It's taken me a bit to get used to using glass containers (stupid, stupid, stupid me!) - they are more expensive, heavier, breakable, and get hot with the food as you heat it up.  I'm trying to increase my usage of glass over plastic more and more but I'm getting better and better.

- Drinking beverages out of reusable containers.  I have a water bottle at work - it's more the other stuff I drink at work that I'm bad about (COFFEE), but the way I see it - every time I use my thermal cup it's one less cup used.  So I'm still working on this, but getting better. 

Speaking of which - I HATE when I go to a coffee shop and order an iced beverage and they put a styrofoam cup around my plastic cup (I should be bringing my own cup here too - I know, I know! - Work in progress).

- Buying goods in bulk and then breaking them up at home - meat is a great example here.  I love the "big buy" packs - they tend to be cheaper and I can come home and freeze them in the portion size that works for me.

- Storing food appropriately so we discard less.  I've really been working on this a lot lately - I HATE HATE HATE throwing away food.  Luckily we have a dog, so stuff we don't eat, I tend to give him as a treat/reward to go in his crate.  (Note here so alarm bells aren't going off - I am careful what I give him, so no onions, grapes, animal bones, etc. that are potentially toxic/hazardous to his health)

I've also been making sure to store boxed goods with zip ties or clips to keep the air out of the bag so they don't get stale.



I'm sure there's a lot more things I'm doing, but for now, those are just a few items that I can think of.  What types of things do you do to be more eco-friendly and to live more sustainably?  Let me know, I'm always looking for more options (besides the standard using energy star appliances, CFL or LED bulbs, turning off lights, cleaners, cosmetics, etc.).  I'm trying to look at the things we do frequently, but tend to take for granted or overlook.

So on this wonderful day of green celebration, hopefully you'll take a moment to decide to take one more step to become a darker shade of green.

~A

My Green Baby

So my baby girl is almost 1 year old...I'm hoping not to lose it in a couple weeks when she turns one, but I make no promises!  It's so hard to believe that a year ago at this time I was wondering when she would get here and what she would be like.  Time sure flies!  It seems like every day she has new accomplishments or goals.  I wish I could just record her every minute up into my memory.

Ok, enough emotional droning by this Mama!

Before Baby G was here, I was determined to Raise Baby Green.  I think we've done a pretty good job almost a year into things.  Recently, my favorite baby food company, Happy Baby Food (http://www.happybabyfood.com/) published an awesome book.  I got it off half.com and have been diving into reading it.  And I'm in love.  I loved this company before due to their awesome philosophies and principles - organic food, probiotics, prebiotics, eco-friendly packaging, etc. etc., but I'm really digging the book so far.  I thought I was pretty green and had a good understanding, but this book is pretty enlightening to me in a non-preachy way and I love it.  Check it out if you are interested in becoming more eco-friendly.

Some of the ways we've been raising baby green:

1. Breastfeeding - Baby G has never had formula.  I was really determined to try and nurse her for at least her first year for several reasons.  Mainly the health reason in hopes that she wouldn't have allergies and would be healthier - seems so far to be working.  It's definitely helped us really bond, which is wonderful.  Another awesome benefit - no buying formula.  Significant savings - I've seen estimates between $900 and $2000 the first year.  That means no formula containers and subsequent carbon footprint.  Yay!  I'm so happy this worked out for us, but it's definitely been work and a challenge.  She's worth it though! (Note: Don't want to in anyway make anyone think I'm meaning anything negative to those who do not or could not breastfeed - it's a very personal choice - do what's best for you and your baby - this is what was best for us).

2. Cloth Diapering - I could have gone 100% cloth, but we didn't - I was scared in the beginning and didn't start CDing until G was 2 months old.  Since then, she's in cloth the majority of the time - except when she had a yeast infection or when people watch her who aren't comfortable with the cloth diapers or we're on vacation without a washer.  I love cloth diapering and I'm mad at myself for being scared at first.  Her fluffy bum is adorable to me and I love that we aren't contributing to all the extra waste in landfills.  I honestly don't mind doing the diaper laundry every 2 - 3 days.  Plus, I can't even begin to imagine how much money we've saved.  Plus, I'm going this weekend to try and sell some of my stash - stuff I don't use or isn't my style.  You can't resell a disposable diaper now can you?  Total investment I might have $400 in diapers, if that.  I fully expect I could sell what I have now for between $300 and $400.  Plus, what I have now could be reused if we have another and I won't need to buy any more diapers - unless I see more cute covers that I must have.  My favorite prefold covers are Thirsties & Blueberry.

Dammit if that Blueberry cow print diaper isn't the most adorable thing ever - I love it so much I have two of those.  I own the Thirsties cover in purple, orange, and pink.  I also have a few other covers, but these are for sure my favorite go to choices.  I've seen varying amounts of estimates, but the range seems to be that cloth diapering saves people about $800 - $3000 in the first year.  Yay!

3) Baby Food - I have made a lot of G's baby food vs. buying it.  However, there's a lot of stuff I wanted her to taste and eat that we don't eat or it wasn't economical to buy, so I bought baby food.  I made sure to go with organic as I didn't want her exposed to the extra chemicals and preservatives.  My favorites were Earth's Best, Plum Organics, and lately Happy Baby Food.  I've also given her a lot of our foods over time so she gets used to eating what I eat (which is a lot of veggies) and I have a lot of frozen stuff from our garden.  I can't wait for this summer for her to get the fresh stuff from the garden.  So exciting!  I really want her to value local and organic produce.

So that's a few of the ways we're trying to raise our baby green.  There's definitely quite a bit more, but I'm kind of tired for the night and I'm really wanting to watch more of "The Pelican Brief".  So with that, I'll bid you adieu!

~A

So close, I can taste it...

That time of year is here again.

I don't care what the calendar says, Spring is upon us people.  You can smell it, you can hear it - it's so close we can taste it.  Have you been paying attention?  The signs are every where!

First, you can see it.  Up here where we got a billion inches of snow in the Snowpocalypse of Winter 2010-2011, the snow is finally starting to melt - We can see a light at the end of the tunnel.  And, in my garden beds the daffodils and tulips are peaking through.  yay!

You can smell it - you know how snow has that crisp, fresh smell in winter.  Spring air is filled with much more anticipation and freshness because lets face it - that crisp, fresh air is now stale - so it gets replaced with new, fresher air - Spring air!

You can hear it - walk outside in the morning and Mother Nature is screaming Spring is here - birds are chirping, squirrels are running around playing, and all other types of animals are coming out to greet the world.

It's so close I can almost taste it.  Which means - in a few weeks the local ice cream places will open (Yay, I love me so locally made ice cream) and then after that comes the planting of the garden and the reaping of the garden.

Can't wait!

~A