Blog Round-Up

There's been a lot going on this week:

Letter to Bush from a mom on mainstreet, thanks, Siren's Chronicles, for that. Friend speaks my mind.

Civil Disobedience for Climate Change?! I'm on it! P.S. That's Sir Bono and Al Gorgeous together!

What's the fastest way to become a US citizen? From TextMex

From a recent meeting at my girls' nursery school. This quote just reinforces my whole belief that nothing has changed over time. Yes the players and tools do, but not the feelings.

'The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in lace of
exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties
at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.'

Bob Blogs about my favorite superhero!

The "Forêt/Forest" Exhibit in Montreal looks awesome. I wish I could get up there to see it. Thanks bldgblog for the link.

Chicago has a climate plan. Yay! Maybe Philly will be next...?

Aerophant always blows my mind (in a good way) - it IS a beautiful world.

Apparently, my guy George Michael was busted again for drugs. Thanks to JoeMyGod for the news.... but maybe it's not really news anymore.


Cupcakes Take the Cake pointed out that people search for cupcakes in a financial crisis. So I tried seeing how often people search for religious art. It was pretty much the same until this week. Check the spike. [I wonder how many of those points over the years have been ME!?!] And, 5 Reasons why this Depression really IS Going to be Fun! From Gawker.

This week on the fashion front, we see BOTH plaids AND argyle on the Fug Report.

Idle Speculations posted a beautiful image of St Anthony the Abbott in the Wilderness. Wow. It feels appropriate for this week. Thanks, Terry.

And who knows whether the debate will actually happen tonight. I can't watch. Just like the Eagles in the Superbowl - I get too nervous to sit still. So, I'll be sending all my positive energy to Obama tonight. But in the spirit of the thing - I hope he lands some good "body checks". "Keep your stick on the ice" tonight, Barack!

More Green News

Philadelphia's Greensgrow gardens were just written up in the New York Times.

Our little "Green Thumbs" community garden's land has been bought, so we are searching for a new home. There are a couple of options afloat, but right now I'm thinking this might be the year to focus on gardening in the back (shady) yard. And maybe put in a "rain garden" in front. We'll see how ambitious I am.

In the meantime I'll work on completing this meme I found at Gardenpunks (originally found on Scream to be Green).

Bold - Our family is doing
Italics - My comments

1. Get an Energy Audit (Josiah “knows a guy”)

2. Donate Used Computers

3. Use Cloth Napkins

4. Switch to energy-savings bulbs (Though Josiah frequently does not appreciate the quality of light emitted from them.)

5. Hang dry your clothes

6. Make your next outfit vintage

7. Ride the Bus (Train) (I walk to work)

8. Pay your bills online

9. Say no to Plastic Bags

10. Plant some Bamboo (just might do it)

11. Unplug appliances when off (where possible)

12. Taste test a local wine (we live in PA – blech)

13. Say Bye to your leaf blower (never had one)

14. Rediscover your library

15. Switch off your computer

16. Plant a Garden

17. Buy rechargeable batteries

18. Start a compost heap (I’ll have to tell you all the story sometime about how Angie brought her frozen green scraps down to my compost pile from her apartment in Brooklyn!)

19. Put back unused napkins

20. Bring you own coffee cup (I don’t drink coffee anymore, and rarely drink tea out, but this is a good and do-able idea)

21. Learn to love weeds (I could love them so much I could EAT them, like dandelions!)

22. Read about green weddings

23. Carpool (when possible)

24. Keep car tires inflated (is there an EASY way to tell when there’s not enough air?)

25. Support Local Farmers

26. Use both sides of paper

27. Turn Heating down 1 degree (I’ll see your one and raise you 5 – or would that be LOWER???!)

28. Return old Cell phones (to where?)

29. Drive smart-Plan your trip

30. Wrap water heater in blanket

31. Install low-flow showerheads

32. Wash clothes in Cold or Warm

33. Lights off when you exit a room (I’m a child of the 70’s. President Carter asked us to do this back then, and now it’s a habit. Remember those bright orange stickers on every light switch in the classroom??)

34. Use a lunch box, no paper lunch sacks (I use my daughters’ old ones. Princesses and all.)

35. Give cloth diapers a chance (too much all at one time. But I passed them along)

36. Pick up litter and recycle it

37. Take shorter showers

38. Choose Green-E products

39. Buy the largest size practical

40. Tune up your cars engine

41. Donate used books

42. Seal drafts around windows

43. Leave your car at home for a day

44. Don't idle car more then 10 seconds

45. Think before you print

46. Look for EnergyStar Appliances

47. Unload your car of excess weight

48. Don't buy veggies in trays

49. Choose an energy-efficent vehicle

50. Fix leaking faucets

51. Wipe spills w/ reusable towels

52. Install low-flow toilets

53. Make your own Cleaning Solutions

54. Hold your own "buy nothing" day

55. Reuse Jars & Containers

56. Clean windows w/ old newspapers

57. Build w/ Salvaged wood

58. Share magazines

59. Wrap presents in old calendar pages (or the funny pages from the newspaper)

60. Make Rags from old t-shirts (or old boxer shorts)

61. Send e-cards (yeah, ok. But I’m still old-school with hand-written note thing.)

62. Buy spices in bulk

63. Capture rain water for gardens (working on it!)

64. Return unused sugar packets

65. Drive the speed limit

66. Make note pads from used paper

67. Don't accept plastic utensils

68. Take a break from TV (I don’t watch much anyways)

69. Give a donation instead of a present

70. Buy a bike-Use it.

71. Buy organic cotton

72. When buying clothes, say no to tissue wrap

73. Start a green team @ work

74. Don't boil more then a teacups worth (Well, I make a whole pot of tea at once and then take cups from it throughout the morning. I leave the teabags in so by the end of the pot it’s like Dragon’s Blood. My mam-gu would be proud!)

75. Read about carbon credits

76. Appoint an "office lights" monitor (I’m the un-official lights monitor)

77. Use your legs, not the elevator

78. Stop chasing "the latest"

79. Invigorate your green passion, spend time w/ nature

80. Start a toy-swap w/ friends

81. Ease up on meat products

82. Buy items for durability

83. Buy seasonal produce

84. Take bubble wrap back to packaging stores (I re-use it when sending out packages)

85. Upgrade your furnace (ummmm.)

86. Snip six-pack rings (don't buy 6-packs?)

87. Use low-phosphate detergent

88. Avoid chemical flea collars

89. Choose sustainable flooring

90. Offer art schools your "trash"

91. use a bucket not a hose

92. Learn to mend your socks (This is a good idea. That way I can keep all my pretty argyles in circulation)

93. Eliminate impulse buying (tougher than it sounds)

94. Take extra hangers to dry cleaners (I don't really use the dry cleaner's much)

95. Teach kids thriftiness (I’m trying)

96. Don't sign up for mailing lists

97. Slow down- consume less

98. Fertilize w/ Grass clippings

99. Consider using a solar cooker (how did this tip get in there?)

100. Eat simply, choose whole grains

my current style

The personal style authors* talk about figuring out what physical attributes I want to accentuate and what colors I look good in, and take it from there. They suggest going through the closet and make sure everything fits. Do this at least once a year, and donate anything you haven't worn in 2 years or more. I don't like getting rid of clothes, a trait I've inherited from my mom, but it's a good practice. And I didn't want to do it until I got down to a size, post-delivery, that I felt comfortable about.

I started going through this style process, in earnest, after I got down to my original pre-pregnancy weight. It IS possible! Truly. Before I got there it seemed impossible. And I will give a plug right now for the book that helped me get there: "Healthy Woman" by Rodale Press.** So great! I read it and started going through and doing their suggestions right away. Within 5 months I had lost 10 - 15 lbs, and, more importantly, at least 2 inches around my hips, 3 around my waist, and toned my upper arms and jowls. That kind of change had a huge impact on my outlook, on my self perception. That's how I am more able to talk about my "assets" with apparent ease. I wasn't there a year ago. Who knows if I even would have been blogging. My image and understanding of myself is so different now than it was a year ago!

An additional thing I've learned through this process is that there's no time like the present. In order to be the person you want to be, you have to start somewhere and BE that person. That's true of my physical state of being, my mental health [be present and live in the moment, without the weight of the past or worries of the future seeping in], and my spiritual life. Be the person you want to be now.

I went through the clothes. I knew I owned and loved lots of black, but I went ahead and followed the authors' concept of putting each outfit on and figured out how many "looks" I could get out of each combination that could go together. They call these "capsules". In each capsule you have, let's say, slacks, a skirt, a couple of tops that could match, or jacket, and then accessories: shoes, scarves, jewelry that go along or complement.

I organized about 4 robust capsules in black, brown, green and purple. I had my "colors done" back in high school - sheesh I'm so 80's!!! And I was a "winter" - "with gold highlights". Anyone who has "had their colors done" has as vague an idea of what that means as I do. But basically, I look better in stronger, darker colors than I do in neutrals or pastels, with my skin tone. But then my hair and eye color tend towards the golden. So I need to take that into account when figuring out what looks good on me.

The authors also get into how to withstand fads. If you've taken the time to figure out what hemline works for you, don't cave, just because a fashion trend says that micro-minis are in. They suggest finding a tailor and riding out the fad looking good in what works for you. And even show a graph of the life-cycle of a fashion trend. When to buy as the trend is still going on, and might be on sale, but also how to determine when it will bottom out so you're not stuck w/last season's fashions looking silly.

My "look":

• I like solids. I wear a lot of solids. And mostly dark solids, up by my face.
  
• I've made the switch from regular hose to fishnets - now they come in neutral, skin-tone colors! Ingenious!
• When it comes to patterns, I adore plaids! Skirts or slacks. Maybe it's the British heritage? Or the tweedy academic upbringing?
  
• Texture. I like texture. Anything that looks woolly - but not mohair since I'm allergic.
• Big cowl necks are a fave too. Sweaters in general are good.
• No button shirts - they always gap in the middle. Embarrassing.
• No more mini-skirts. No denim skirts either, just don't like them.
• No crew neck shirts.
  
• A couple of years ago, after a huge sock purge, I made the vow that the only socks I will buy are argyle. So, now I have a bunch of wacky color combos of argyle socks and wear them with whatever color family I choose. It's fun.

I guess this is my homage to punks - fishnets, argyle and tartan - God Save the Queen!




* Looking Good: A Comprehensive Guide to Wardrobe Planning, Color & Personal Style Development (Paperback) by Nancy Nix-Rice (Author), Pati Palmer (Author) "Looking wonderful is less about fashion-designers dictating what's "in" and what's "out"-than about function-what works best for YOU..."

** I've had trouble actually finding the book that I originally bought because it was a supplement to a Prevention magazine edition (hence no ISBN). I've linked to the DVD, above, but I'm more of a 20th Century gal myself, and prefer the book. You can get a sense of the program by using this link to a Rodale article. I bought the "book" at the local grocery store, and recently saw it at Target. So, it's out there. The cover has a pink title with a svelte young woman in white workout shorts and a green jog bra.