Saturday, May 31, 2008

What Happens at Goodwill?

Today I dropped off 2 huge bags of stuff at Goodwill. The donation area was totally flooded with stuff -- piles and piles, almost reaching out into the street. The donation attendant said that he was overwhelmed and had never seen anything like it. I think that a lot of it is probably because at the end of May, a lot of students are graduating and moving out. This Goodwill is the closest one to the student housing. Maybe there is more to it, but I think it's pretty much graduation.

So, what happens to the things we donate at Goodwill? When I was younger, I thought that only poor people shopped at Goodwill -- that we were donating so that they would have something to wear, that they got the things for free or maybe at a really reduced price. I was wrong, but I'm still not totally sure how Goodwill works, so I decided to do a little research.

Where does the money go?
  • The money that Goodwill earns from selling donated stuff is used to fund education/work programs. According to Wikipedia, 84% of revenue is used to fund these programs. Goodwill is based on the philosophy of "a hand up, not a hand out".
  • According to the Goodwill web site, 1.1 million people benefited from Goodwill programs last year. Goodwill provides job training (from actually learning skills to learning how to write a resume, etc.) and employs people at the stores or in temporary jobs while they are being trained, so that they can begin receiving a regular paycheck. They also provide follow-up support. In addition, they offer on-line classes that can help people learn to use computer programs.
What happens to the stuff?
  • Things that can not be sold at a regular Goodwill are sent to a Goodwill outlet.
  • C volunteered a few hours at a Goodwill and found out that things that have been at the store for more than 2 weeks or so (apparently this information is on the tag) are sent to the outlet.
  • Some outlets sell stuff by the pound (wow). The outlet in Austin sells stuff at a fixed price. They rope off part of the store, trucks arrive and fill huge bins, and then they allow people in to attack the bins. It is a real frenzy (C has gone and says that I would freak out -- I don't like crowds). Many of the reviews on Yelp said that you should wear gloves to prevent exposure to germs/mystery fluids, but that it's fun and the prices are worth it.
  • Some things are sold at auction. Our Goodwill has an auction every Saturday at 1:00 pm. There is an auction book to bid on something if you can't be there live, but the only way that you'll win is if nobody at the auction wants to pay even $1 more than the last bid -- usually this is unlikely. The auction is really fun and low-stress.
  • Unsold clothes are "salvaged". They are baled and sold to recyclers, who turn them into carpet fibers, rags, etc. They may be exported to other countries.
Other Facts
  • Goodwill does accept returns. Leave the tag on and keep the receipt. I have returned a couple of items that I bought for the kids that did not fit. They were really nice about it.
  • Do not donate broken electronics to Goodwill. They test them. They can't sell broken stuff. Don't waste their time.
All in all, I think that Goodwill is a pretty cool company. The employees at my local store are all very friendly and I am glad to know that the company is giving people a helping hand. I am also happy that Goodwill keeps stuff out of landfills. I am able to find inexpensive clothing for myself and my family and also find an easy place to donate things I no longer need.

Do I always send my stuff to Goodwill? No. If I know someone who can use what I have (for example, toddler pajamas), I give them to that person directly. They'll probably eventually end up at Goodwill anyway :)

Do I donate to other thrift stores? No. But that is only because Goodwill is the closest store to me. I also love the Salvation Army, and they will come to your house and pick up stuff. They are also willing to accept used mattresses.

Right now, one of the dumpsters in my apartment complex is completely SURROUNDED by furniture. If someone doesn't pick it up, it will be thrown in the trash by management. It would be far more responsible to list stuff like that on freecycle or Craig's List, or if it's decent, to donate it to a thrift store.

So there it is. Goodwill -- not so mysterious -- and pretty green.

Speaking of green....
I saw a woman wearing a shirt that said "This white t-shirt is green" Hmmm... I assume that the shirt is organic or that funds were donated to some green cause. But the greenest fashion is used fashion. Check out Arduous' awesome green fashion tips.

The June Food Challenge starts tomorrow. Are you ready? Stop spending so much money on random food. Go as organic as possible (or at least think why you are not doing it), plan meals, and track expenses. I can't wait :)

Friday, May 30, 2008

June Food Challenge

The last time I filled up my car, it cost over $50. Ouch! Gas prices have been all over the news, and it seems that people are finally starting to change the way/how much they drive. Unfortunately, with the heat, house hunting, and 2 out-of-town vacations over the last couple of weeks, we have been driving more than ever... so much, in fact, that I have not been keeping track.

I went to an elementary school picnic today and many of the parents were talking about the high price of gas and food. One person mentioned that food had gotten so expensive that she had given up on organics. I think that many other people are probably making the same kind of calculations at the grocery store. Organic or conventional? Local or who cares? Meat or veggie? How much veggie? Packaged foods or make your own? So many times, there's a trade-off in taste, time involved, healthiness, price.... it's hard to get everything that we want. For example, I'd love local organic strawberries at a reasonable price, but that just doesn't seem to be happening (4 dollars for a small basket is not what I consider reasonable). My kids want to schnarf down corn dogs, which are certainly convenient, but lacking in the healthy/decent price area (even though I buy veggie corn dogs).

The grocery store price problem and gas prices coincide when I start making too many trips to the store, or when I decide that gas actually costs so much that I might as well go to Expensive Mart, since I can walk.

With a quick look back at recent food bills, I've noticed they've gone up... way up. I actually spent 150 at the store a couple of weeks ago, which has never happened before. Some of this is due to higher prices, but I know that some of it is avoidable. It is very hard for me to cut back spending in the area of food, but I do think that we could be wiser in the way that we purchase food, so I am going to have a special June Food Challenge. Here are the rules:
1. Make a weekly menu and a grocery list.
2. Stick to the grocery list.
3. Limit grocery shopping to one weekly trip plus one smaller trip for fresh foods (such as milk and lettuce) only.
4. Eat as much food from the garden as possible (so, pretty much... tomatoes)
5. Choose organic when possible and financially feasible. Blog when it is not.
6. Record weekly cost of groceries.
7. At end of June, compare to May cost.

Join me in the challenge! Make a comment if you'd like to join.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Lean & Green


I promised to report on any weight gain after switching from Splenda to sugar. I'm sorry to report that I have been chubbing out, but I don't really blame it on the 1 teaspoon of sugar per morning in my coffee. Instead, I blame my recent habit of inhaling pastries and drinking beer. So sad....

In the past, I was a very successful member of Weight Watchers (I guess I could have a picture with "results not typical" written underneath). I think that WW has a really good program, and if you follow it, I don't see how you couldn't lose weight. If you follow it....

One thing that makes WW really work (I believe) is the meetings. Every week you have to go weigh in and attend a meeting that lasts an hour or less. It's not that bad, and it IS motivating. You don't want to go and find out that you've gained weight, and it's not very fun to have not lost weight. When you do lose weight, everybody claps and sometimes you get a little prize.

The problem with WW is that you have to go to the meetings. Ideally, you would walk/bus/ride bike. But I like to go first thing in the morning, before I've eaten anything, and there are no meetings close by at that time. Instead, I have decided to get on the scale every Monday morning and record my progress on the calendar.

How is weight loss green?
  • You consume fewer resources. Less food. Don't have to buy new clothes. Are in better shape to walk/ride instead of drive.
  • If you can motivate yourself to lose weight at home, you can save money from driving to meetings/buying funny diet foods.
  • You save money (especially if you can do it at home) which you can use for other green activities (perhaps to buy all the organic veggies that you now crave)
  • You will eat fewer packaged foods, thus reducing the amount of trash that you produce. (Of course, this is only true if you don't rely on packaged diet foods.)
Ah.... motivation. That's the tough part. My motivation has been the desire to look cute in shorts (I know... so shallow). I've also told all my friends and my husband that I'm trying to lose weight, so that I'll be embarrassed to inhale pastries in front of them. So far, so good. I've lost 4 pounds :)

Funny diet foods
WW can be kind of tough because all foods have points, and you only are allowed to eat a certain number of points per day. A way to reduce the points in sweet things is to eat things that are artificially sweetened (for example, you can eat 1/2 cup of ice cream for 4 points or a gigantic Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich for 2 points.... the problem is that the sandwich doesn't really taste like ice cream). I have always thought that it's better to just eat real food, so I'm trying to do that. After a few days of hard core pastry cravings, I've been able to feel (pretty) satisfied with toast with jam on it. Homemade bread with organic strawberry jam.... :) Yum.

Portion control
Portion control is a big deal in WW. Before I did WW, I thought that 3 chocolate chip cookies was a normal, controlled, portion. Hah! I would drink 16 oz. of orange juice at breakfast. No more. So, I could go out and buy portion-controlled food, such as the 100 calorie packages of crackers, tiny tubs of yogurt, etc. But that's not green, and besides, I'm an adult. I have an advanced degree. I can count. If the portion is 12 pretzels, I count to 12 and put the bag away. If I don't want to count, I eat carrots, which don't have points. I don't want to use a lot of extra packaging because I'm too lazy to count or measure. So, I dip a 1/2 cup measure into the yogurt or rice or beans, or whatever.

Those controlled portions are also very expensive.
Wasteful and expensive.... why, God, why?

Monday, May 26, 2008

Vacationing with Kids

We have 3 children -- currently aged 6, 4 and 2. This summer, they'll all turn 1 year older :)
I LOVE to go on vacation. It's basically the only thing that I'm really willing to spend money on. I'm not really a luxury vacation kind of person, but I have to get away several times a year, or I go crazy. That's why I have a job with lots of vacation built in :)

Before I had children, I used to rent out my apartment every summer, take my giant summer pay check and go to South America for the summer. Things become more complicated with kids, especially when there are 3 of 'em.

Four years ago, we took the two oldest (at the time almost 3 and almost 1 -- I can't believe we did this, looking back) to Spain. We had a great time, but we spent a LOT of money... and this is before the Euro was where it is now. We also realized that because of the fact that we were traveling with kids, we couldn't really do the things that we used to do when we traveled on our own. That's frustrating at times, but can also be good because the nice thing about kids is....

You're "allowed" to do things with kids that you might not normally do as an adult.

For example:
  • inhale marshmallows straight out of the package if there's a burn ban and you can't make a fire.
  • float down the river on a giant sea horse raft.
  • Dance in a circle, twirling a girl on each arm.
  • Play mommy cat and baby cat.
  • Lay under the stars, trying to figure out what that moving star is... (aliens?)
  • Swim "in place" in a river current, with a cheering crowd
I did all these things just this past weekend. Sure, I could have done them on my own, but it doesn't feel goofy at all with kids... it just feels normal.

After our trip to Spain, C and I decided that we needed to focus more on vacationing close to home. It's less expensive (and also creates fewer emissions b/c of no flying!) and is just more realistic for us. When we took the kids to Spain, we spent almost all of our time at the playground or at the beach. When we went to the Prado, my kids kept trying to touch the paintings. They also had a super short attention span. We had a great time eating at bakeries in the mornings. We had fun meeting other families (guess where? beach and playground). To me, it didn't really make sense to travel so far to go to places that we have close to home. (Don't get me wrong... I LOVE Spain... and I know that the beaches and playgrounds are different... but still...)

This weekend, we went to one of the many Texas State Parks. I LOVE the state parks, but had not really spent any time in them until I had kids. Then I decided that they needed a dose of nature and we needed a cheap vacation. We spent 3 nights and 2 days for a total cost of 30 dollars in lodging, 10 dollars in popsicles, and 15 dollars in floats (plus groceries we brought from home). Totally worth it.

Ah... but is it a green vacation?
Yes and no.

Yes:
outdoor, off the grid (no electricity)
give kids and parents appreciation of nature
much better than flying somewhere
picked up some cans and bottles thrown around and brought them home to recycle
State park recycles aluminum :)
Saved shower water & heating of water by bathing in river for 3 days
Saved washing lots of clothes by wearing almost nothing but a bathing suit for 3 days
No:
drove there (I just can't escape this problem it seems... Texas is too darned big)
bought giant plastic sea horse float (I'm sorry! But I swear I'll use it again! And I have a patch kit in case it gets a flat!)
massive use of sunscreen ( but this is really unavoidable in the summertime in Texas unless we stay inside all the time. Of
course not the perfectly green kind...)

Friday, May 23, 2008

How Expensive are Kids-- Part IV -- Driving

We did something very strange when we had our 3rd child -- we downsized our car. We had been driving an Oldsmobile. We sold it and bought a Hyundai. I like the Hyundai. It gets great mileage (on our recent South Padre trip we got about 400 miles to a tank) and the price was right. It doesn't seem to cause any serious problems (knock wood). BUT it is very uncomfortable and 3 car seats barely fit in the back.

3 car seats
When the 3rd child was on her way, I spent a LOT of time searching the internet for cars that would fit 3 car seats because not all of them do. Even then, I searched the dimensions of the car seats and did some crazy shopping with a measuring tape to find the perfect combination that would fit in the back of our car. It works -- barely. What helps is to have a car seat that fastens in front of the child (harness) rather than a booster for as long as possible. We tried to move our 4 yo into a booster seat but found it impossible to fasten the seatbelt.

So what does this have to do with being green?

Having 3 young children really affects car choice. You can't buy a really small car because all the car seats won't fit. I guess you could buy a hybrid SUV, but it's probably better just to have a regular car (and certainly easier on the wallet). Our budget for a car was around 5000, so we got as green as we could given our needs -- we could NOT fit in a car any smaller -- even 1 inch smaller in the back seat would not work.

It also affects the need for driving. For example, yesterday I took my kids to a really awesome park with spurting fountains (it's 95 degrees... we needed water). It is 3 miles away. Here were my options:

a. Bike to park with girls in trailer. J (6 yo) rides his own bike.
PRO: totally green
CON: OMG it's SO hot. J would cry and probably refuse to ride home. His limit is about 1.5 miles at a time.

b. Take the bus.
PRO: pretty darn green.
CON: have to walk .5 miles to bus stop and then bus does not go directly to park. Probably need to walk .75 miles at other end = crying and heat. Would take at least 1 hour to get there (and then another hour back)

c. Drive
PRO: fast, no crying, go directly to park
CON: car is really hot
drove 6 miles

These are not great choices. What did I do?

I drove

I guess there's also:

d. Don't go.

But I do that a lot. This was a special treat.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Turtles and Tomatoes

I'm back from vacation -- my family and I went to South Padre Island for 5 days -- we had a great time, but I won't count the mileage because it's just too painful. While we were gone a horrible storm hit Austin, taking out some crucial parts of my garden. The squash may not make a comeback... the pole beans.... well, let's just say it's not pretty. They got completely knocked over. About 1/2 did not get up-rooted. We'll see how it goes.

What did survive without any problems were the tomatoes. Thanks to the giant cages, they didn't get hurt when the beans fell over. They are covered with fruit and on my first day back from vacation I was able to harvest 2 little tomatoes, 1 patty pan squash (hopefully this is not the only one I get) and some lettuce.

My youngest was delighted with the tomatoes and carried the harvest around the house in a little bowl. When I wanted to make a salad for lunch today, I couldn't find them, so I had to look in her room. Sure enough, she had put them in her backpack. That explains why when we left this morning she had called out "Adios tomates!"

I only wish that she would actually eat them....

Turtles
One of the days that we were in South Padre, we saw a sea turtle on the beach laying eggs. It was amazing! She was surrounded by tourists and volunteers from Sea Turtle Inc. I did not really understand why so many people were crowded around (and the volunteers were calling other people, including us, over to watch) because there were signs all over the place telling people not to disturb the sea turtles.

The next day, I took the kids to Sea Turtle Inc. for a very interesting presentation and a chance to feed the turtles in their hospital (they like romaine lettuce, apparently). The volunteer explained that the turtle is in a "trance" while she is laying eggs. The volunteers were gathering the eggs as she laid them in order to bring them to a safe place.

They also explained to the kids about the problems with plastic bags and sea turtles. When a plastic bag gets into the water, it looks an awful lot like a jelly fish, which sea turtles like to eat (probably before the lettuce?). I had heard this before, but when the volunteer held up the bag, it really did look like a jelly fish, and it finally made sense to me. The kids remembered too.

Monday, May 12, 2008

How Expensive are Kids? -- Part III

Lately the price of food has been getting me down. It seems that every time that I go to the grocery store, the bill is higher. Meanwhile, we are eating much less meat than we used to, rarely buy canned beans, make our own bread and soy milk... What is going on?

The higher price of food is all over the news. Milk is higher, which has made all milk products more expensive. The price of wheat is higher, which has made pizza places and bakeries raise their prices. I have not really noticed a higher price on flour, but the high price of milk really hurts. I have 3 young children, and the youngest can really put away some milk. We decided to switch to organic milk, and the price of organic milk (not the happy stuff in glass bottles, mind you, but just regular factory organic milk) is from 4.99 to 5.49 a gallon, depending on where I buy it. That's at LEAST 40 dollars a month in milk. Then there's cheese. About $5 a pound, and lots more if I buy organic.

This week's Newsweek has an article about people changing back from organic because of the rising cost of food. There are certain things that I am consistent about with organic -- I like the organic milk, but can't bring myself to pay for the cheese. I buy organic yogurt (2.99 for a big container) but not ice cream (don't buy much of that because I would just eat it all). I can't afford organic green peppers, so I usually just leave them out. I'm waiting for them to grow in my garden. I only buy grass-fed beef, so I buy really small quantities. Depending on what I'm making, sometimes I mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with veggie crumbles.

I'd like to buy more organic produce, but I just can't afford it. The grocery bill keeps going up... not just because of higher prices, but because my children eat more as they grow. So I pick and choose. I experimented with CSA, but it just wasn't worth it for me. It cost $30 a week for vegetables that for the most part were not things that my family would normally eat, and that my kids generally didn't touch. The last week I had to toss a few things because they rotted before we could eat them. We NEVER throw away food, so that was the breaking point for me.

My kids eat lots of fruit, so I spend a good deal of money on that. Sometimes organic -- usually not. Who am I kidding? I can't spend $5 on a pound of strawberries that will be gone in 5 minutes. At the same time, I know that conventional berries are sprayed with a lot of pesticides, so I try to emphasize fruits with peels and/or fruits that are not on the "dirty dozen" list. So we eat lots of bananas, oranges, grapefruits, organic apples and mangoes. My kids also LOVE canned peaches and pineapple, which are quite affordable, but lately I've been wondering if I'm slowly poisoning them with the plastic can lining.

What about you? Have you noticed higher prices? Have they changed the decisions that you make at the grocery store?

Sunday, May 11, 2008

How Expensive are Children -- Part II

I love it when the green choice and the frugal choice are the same. One example of this is in clothing. Judging from the marketing, it seems like the green choice is clothing made out of bamboo or organic cotton, died with soy-based inks, definitely not bleached, etc.... Nope -- the greenest choice is to buy used clothing. No new resources are used, we are keeping the clothes out of the landfill, and any leftover money can be used to do green things that might cost a little extra.

When the clothes are a little destroyed (shirts with a minor stain, but still really comfy, pants with a tear), they can live a new life as play clothes (or gardening clothes), pajamas, rags, quilts, stuffing.... the possibilities go on and on. Just a few days ago, I taught my son to sew. He made a little pillow, and since we didn't have any stuffing, we cut up a piece of an old t-shirt to use as stuffing. The project cost nothing, and he now has a pillow for his bear.

We gave up paper towels a long time ago, and now we use rags for wiping the floor and for groddy spills. If it's something really gross, I sometimes throw the rag away because I just can't face washing it, but there's really not a shortage of rags. I Goodwill or pass on any useful clothes, but if the clothes are destroyed, I just pop them straight in the rag basket. I have a separate basket for dirty rags so that they don't contaminate our regular clothes.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

How Expensive are Children?

Before I had kids, I didn't really believe that they could cost a lot of money. After I had my son, I still didn't really believe it. After all, our grocery bill barely changed (because he was nursing). I used diapers, but I didn't buy the expensive ones, so that was the only major expense we had -- maybe 40 dollars a month. We were given just about everything else that we needed (or didn't need) at baby showers (yes... we had more than one... people were very excited).

Now that I have three children, and they are a little older, I see that they actually DO cost a lot of money. How much money, though, depends a lot on decisions that you make. For babies, you really don't need to buy anything. People give you just about everything you need (for clothes) at baby showers. If no one gives you a baby shower, baby clothes are dirt cheap at garage sales and there is an awesome selection at Goodwill. Babies will poop on or spit up on whatever they wear, so there's no need to spend money on new clothes. If you have a bassinet, it's handy, but otherwise just spring for a crib. The baby will only sleep in the bassinet for a few months.

Most importantly, nurse the baby. Formula is insanely expensive. The first month or so of nursing can be hard, but then it gets easy. It has the added benefit of helping the mom lose weight. (I think it's interesting that no one told me how hard nursing was before I had a baby. It was a total mystery to me. I had a baby, they handed it to me, and somehow I was supposed to figure out what to do. I understood the theory -- nipple goes in baby's mouth -- but putting that into practice took a little figuring out.)

Once kids get to school age, they get more expensive. They eat a lot more and they tend to be a little pickier about what they eat. My son won't touch stuff that he loved as a baby. I have pictures of him covered with lasagna, but now it freaks him out and he has to re-realize that he likes it every time I serve it. He used to scarf down beans and baby peas. Now? Ha!

Clothes are also a problem. The pickings are slim at Goodwill, and there are no 6-year old showers. Kids get toys for their birthdays and Christmas, which is the absolute last thing they need. School age clothes also are more expensive than baby clothes and tend to get really worn out (that's why I think there's not as much selection at thrift stores, particularly with boy's clothes.)

So.... what to do about the clothes? I almost never buy my kids new clothes. Not because I'm mean, but because I do this:
  • Let people know you're open to used clothes. Then they will pass on their stuff to you.
  • Pass on your old stuff to other people. Used clothes karma really pays off.
  • If I see jeans in my son's size at Goodwill, I buy them. I have trouble finding jeans that fit (he's slim, so he needs slim jeans... try finding these that don't look like throwbacks from the 80s and have no holes.)
  • Keep an eye out at garage sales and other thrift stores -- I won't go to a garage sale looking for kid clothes (because it's usually the wrong size), but if I pass by, I'll always take a look.
  • I'm willing to buy used shoes. They have to look nice and they can't be too used. Kids DESTROY shoes, so I feel like this is alright. We went to a wedding and my son needed dress shoes, so I bought a pair for $3. They had probably been worn one other time.

I could make everything work even better if I made the kids change clothes when they come home from school. That way they would not need as many outfits, because the clothes really get destroyed from playing outside. I've been trying to do this, but need to work on it.

I think the main key is to be open to used clothes. There are a lot of kids' clothes getting passed around -- if you build up karma and are happy to receive, it's not too hard to clothe the kids economically.

Food, on the other hand..... can be a serious problem. These little people just KEEP eating! :)

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Second Time's the Charm!

Today we went to my brother's house for a BBQ. We had a great time. Thanks Gato Negro! (that's what he wants his alias to be :) )

Last time we went to Gato Negro's house, which is 15 miles round trip, we had a park and ride disaster. We missed the bus on the way home, and we ended up getting a ride home in 2 different cars. Today we valiently tried the same trip, but with success!

Here's what we did:

We parked on the street near a bus stop (total driving: 2 miles). We took the bus across town and then walked 2 blocks to my brother's house. My kids like the bus, it was on time, and the weather was very pleasant, so it was quite enjoyable. The trip there took about 40 minutes and included 3 types of transportation (driving, riding the bus, walking). On the way, my kids tickled each other and my son pointed to someone asking for money on the street -- "Look! He's poor." Luckily, he did not point to anyone on the bus and say the same thing, because that would have been awkward.

We had to time our departure a little bit. We could either leave immediately after my dad, or wait another hour. We left right after him because the little one was getting pretty cranky. We had some trouble finding the bus stop on the other side of the street, but we had allotted some extra time, so it was not a problem. We walked four blocks on the way back. The bus was right on time, and dropped us off across the street from our car. In all, the return trip took about 45 minutes, about 10 of it spent waiting for the bus.

I think the key to something like this working is to not be in a hurry. I like riding the bus with my kids better than driving with them in the car. It takes longer, but it feels like time we are actually together. In the car, I can't really see them and often can't really hear them. We have 3 car seats in the back of a compact car, so everybody's squished and often poking each other. The bus is roomier, more interesting (?) and we can actually talk to each other. My son also points out all the poor people* that he sees. I'm not really sure what to think about that.

*Austin has a pretty large homeless population (Austin Health and Human Services estimates 3625). Every day my children see people on the streets with signs asking for money/work. They also see people sleeping and living under bridges. I have talked about this with my kids to some extent, but I'm not sure how deep to get into the problem. My kids think of all these people as "poor people" and always want to give them money. Obviously, they are not just poor, but my children are pretty young, so I haven't gone really in-depth.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Easy Green Happy Hour

How to have an easy green happy hour:

This worked really well because at our Whole Foods, you can buy wine, they will open it for you, and there is a really nice deck/patio thingy.

1. Invite people. Everybody picks a buddy.
2. One buddy buys drink, one buddy buys snacks. This way, you don't end up with 10 bottles of wine and no food.
3. One person brings picnic cups for everybody. (I have lots of plastic dinosaur cups -- they are a good size for a glass of wine, and it's not too hard to bring 10. Glass would be nicer, but more complicated.)
4. Compost all the food waste/paper after HH.
5. Recycle the (many!) bottles.

We did this last night, and it was really fun. It was also extremely stress-free and relaxing :)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Wed. Driving Update

Yes, I know that today is not Wednesday. But I am swamped with grading. I have also apparently lost my mind.

The mileage on the car (I checked twice) is 97304.
Last Wednesday it was 96933.

That means that this week we have driven 371 miles. Have I gone crazy? Did I go joy-riding in my sleep? I don't see how that's possible. So, I have no idea what that means, and I will have to be more careful with the math next week.