This week the Daisy scouts in my troop are going to earn the "Use Resources Wisely" petal. We are following up on a hike that we took at a nature preserve. Our guide told us that every 4 months Austin sends enough trash to the landfill to fill the Erwin Center (for you non-Austinites, the Erwin Center is where we have big concerts. It's really big.)
So, we are going to have a kindergarten level discussion of the 3 R's, with an emphasis on "Reduce". I am bringing a big box of trash (I wonder how this will go over. Hopefully okay. The trash is clean.) that we are going to look at and sort. We will also talk about what other choices we could make to reduce the amount of trash. I will make every effort to be cool and not preachy :)
I've been looking around for cool things to tell the girls. About 50% of carpet is made of recycled plastic. Interesting. So is fleece and the filling of sleeping bags. But the tip I'm happiest about is from No Impact Man -- wrap your sandwiches in the liner of cereal boxes. Why did I never think of that?
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Green Daisy Scout Snack
This year I became a girl scout. It's really exciting for me because my mother didn't let me become a girl scout when I was little. She said it was a fascist organization. I think it's a nice way for my daughter to make friends.
Somehow, I ended up being the troop leader. I did not intend to be the troop leader when I went to the sign-up meeting, but now I am, and that's pretty fun too.
At each meeting, the girls have a snack. Usually, we have a designated snack mom. I have discovered that 10 5-year-olds don't pay any attention to the meeting until they have had a snack. Also that chocolate cupcakes are more popular than vanilla cupcakes.
Some of the moms bring little bottles of water. The girls usually like the bottles, but I have noticed that they don't actually DRINK much of the water. One day, we had a field trip and I brought along Capri-Sun juices. I think that they're slightly better than juice boxes because at least the packaging is smaller, and neither one is recyclable. I'm not sure if that's right. Again, however, the girls had a few sips and that was it. A giant waste.
So I bought a bunch of little Dixie cups -- you know -- the size that you have in the bathroom to rinse your mouth after you brush your teeth (although I always just filled my hand with water, but I digress). I told the girls that they could fill a cup with water from the water fountain if they were thirsty. That seems to work fine. (And they can have their water with them at the table instead of being in a big line at the fountain).
I guess it would be better to have permanent cups for each girl, but I'm just not there yet. Maybe when we do the "Use Resources Responsibly" petal.
So, what do you think? Is a dixie cup better than a Capri sun wrapper? Is Capri Sun (the juice, not the juice "drink") better than a juice box (not recyclable in our area)? I assume that a plastic water bottle is the worst, even if recycled. Especially if it doesn't even serve its purpose -- it seems a big waste for 3 or 4 sips of water.
Somehow, I ended up being the troop leader. I did not intend to be the troop leader when I went to the sign-up meeting, but now I am, and that's pretty fun too.
At each meeting, the girls have a snack. Usually, we have a designated snack mom. I have discovered that 10 5-year-olds don't pay any attention to the meeting until they have had a snack. Also that chocolate cupcakes are more popular than vanilla cupcakes.
Some of the moms bring little bottles of water. The girls usually like the bottles, but I have noticed that they don't actually DRINK much of the water. One day, we had a field trip and I brought along Capri-Sun juices. I think that they're slightly better than juice boxes because at least the packaging is smaller, and neither one is recyclable. I'm not sure if that's right. Again, however, the girls had a few sips and that was it. A giant waste.
So I bought a bunch of little Dixie cups -- you know -- the size that you have in the bathroom to rinse your mouth after you brush your teeth (although I always just filled my hand with water, but I digress). I told the girls that they could fill a cup with water from the water fountain if they were thirsty. That seems to work fine. (And they can have their water with them at the table instead of being in a big line at the fountain).
I guess it would be better to have permanent cups for each girl, but I'm just not there yet. Maybe when we do the "Use Resources Responsibly" petal.
So, what do you think? Is a dixie cup better than a Capri sun wrapper? Is Capri Sun (the juice, not the juice "drink") better than a juice box (not recyclable in our area)? I assume that a plastic water bottle is the worst, even if recycled. Especially if it doesn't even serve its purpose -- it seems a big waste for 3 or 4 sips of water.
Jokes and Random Thoughts
I love cheesy jokes. I teach Spanish. The best cheesy joke is a cheesy joke in Spanish (I guess it's really cursi, not cheesy, but anyway...)
Que hace un pez?
Nada.
Primer acto: Una banana que no tiene plata.
Segundo acto: Una banana que no tiene plata.
Tercer acto: Una banana que no tiene plata.
Nombre de la obra: PlataNO
Cual es la mitad de uno?
El ombligo.
Now for some cheesy jokes in English:
What do you call a fish with no eye?
Fsh.
What did the fish say when it hit a wall?
Dam.
Finally, I can't help but wonder:
Why did all of Cinderella's stuff disappear and turn into pumpkins, mice, etc. at the stroke of midnight except for her shoes? It seems there is a hole in this story.
Lately, I haven't been very grad and I haven't been as green as I would like. But I do what I can. Today, that's jokes.
Que hace un pez?
Nada.
Primer acto: Una banana que no tiene plata.
Segundo acto: Una banana que no tiene plata.
Tercer acto: Una banana que no tiene plata.
Nombre de la obra: PlataNO
Cual es la mitad de uno?
El ombligo.
Now for some cheesy jokes in English:
What do you call a fish with no eye?
Fsh.
What did the fish say when it hit a wall?
Dam.
Finally, I can't help but wonder:
Why did all of Cinderella's stuff disappear and turn into pumpkins, mice, etc. at the stroke of midnight except for her shoes? It seems there is a hole in this story.
Lately, I haven't been very grad and I haven't been as green as I would like. But I do what I can. Today, that's jokes.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wii -- have I gone over to the dark side?
When I was growing up, we had Atari. My brother and I played it pretty obsessively, but we would sometimes tell our friends that it was broken because we eventually got sick of playing it all the time and wanted to hang out with our friends.
For Christmas, my husband bought me a Wii. I asked for it. No, really, I actually did ask for it. It wasn't for the kids. It wasn't for him. It's my Wii. That's actually pretty important to me because it means the kids have to ask me for permission to play it :)
So, what's going on? I'm not a video game sort of person anymore. I spend most of my time hanging out with my kids or reading.
Well, I have to confess. I like the Wii. It's fun. I can play it with the kids or with my husband or by myself. When people come over, we can bowl. It's fun. You get a little exercise. Sometime you don't want to think too much. Sometimes you just want to do something goofy. So, if it's to okay to go bowling, I figure it's okay to play Wii. Because the reality is... I like to bowl, but never go. It's too complicated with the kids. I don't like it enough to pay a babysitter.
So, the Wii gives us a fun family and friend activity when it's too hard to go out. And when it's freezing cold outside and drizzling, it is a way for the kids to burn off some energy.
Have I turned to the dark side? Mmmm... I don't think so.
For Christmas, my husband bought me a Wii. I asked for it. No, really, I actually did ask for it. It wasn't for the kids. It wasn't for him. It's my Wii. That's actually pretty important to me because it means the kids have to ask me for permission to play it :)
So, what's going on? I'm not a video game sort of person anymore. I spend most of my time hanging out with my kids or reading.
Well, I have to confess. I like the Wii. It's fun. I can play it with the kids or with my husband or by myself. When people come over, we can bowl. It's fun. You get a little exercise. Sometime you don't want to think too much. Sometimes you just want to do something goofy. So, if it's to okay to go bowling, I figure it's okay to play Wii. Because the reality is... I like to bowl, but never go. It's too complicated with the kids. I don't like it enough to pay a babysitter.
So, the Wii gives us a fun family and friend activity when it's too hard to go out. And when it's freezing cold outside and drizzling, it is a way for the kids to burn off some energy.
Have I turned to the dark side? Mmmm... I don't think so.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
What to do when your kids keep eating
I'm back. I'm rested. (Relatively). I've been researching sea lions and squid -- interesting animals, both of them. But the mission of this short back-to-blogging blog is....
What do you do when your kids (or boyfriend, or yourself, or whatever) keep eating?
My kids (7, 5 and 3) are eating me out of house and home. We finish dinner and the first words out of their mouths are "Can I eat something?"
I have decided that they need to be a little more self-sufficient because I am sick of fixing snacks. So, they can fix themselves:
yogurt
cereal with milk
fruit
egg cup (microwave an egg for a minute with a little salt -- they love it)
popcorn
PB & J
trail mix
raisins or other dry fruit
None of the above require much cooking. It's all relatively healthy. I have succumbed to the siren song of the frozen Gogurt. It's strange that I buy the big container of organic yogurt, but for snacking and lunches, a frozen tube of yogurt is so much more appealing. I tell myself that at least it's better than the mini container of yogurt, which seems to have more plastic. But that plastic is at least recyclable..... ARGH.
Anyway, sometimes my kids are going for the 8th snack in a row (it seems) and I am cringing at the price of the food that they are inhaling. 50 cent apple (at least) -- gone! 60 cent pear -- adios! Sometimes I try to get them to eat bananas and cereal because at least those things are less expensive.
I do have to admit that my kids are pretty good about not wasting food -- and have even reported shocking instances of other kids wasting food, as in "X threw half an apple away -- he/she's a waster!"
What do you do when your kids (or boyfriend, or yourself, or whatever) keep eating?
My kids (7, 5 and 3) are eating me out of house and home. We finish dinner and the first words out of their mouths are "Can I eat something?"
I have decided that they need to be a little more self-sufficient because I am sick of fixing snacks. So, they can fix themselves:
yogurt
cereal with milk
fruit
egg cup (microwave an egg for a minute with a little salt -- they love it)
popcorn
PB & J
trail mix
raisins or other dry fruit
None of the above require much cooking. It's all relatively healthy. I have succumbed to the siren song of the frozen Gogurt. It's strange that I buy the big container of organic yogurt, but for snacking and lunches, a frozen tube of yogurt is so much more appealing. I tell myself that at least it's better than the mini container of yogurt, which seems to have more plastic. But that plastic is at least recyclable..... ARGH.
Anyway, sometimes my kids are going for the 8th snack in a row (it seems) and I am cringing at the price of the food that they are inhaling. 50 cent apple (at least) -- gone! 60 cent pear -- adios! Sometimes I try to get them to eat bananas and cereal because at least those things are less expensive.
I do have to admit that my kids are pretty good about not wasting food -- and have even reported shocking instances of other kids wasting food, as in "X threw half an apple away -- he/she's a waster!"
Friday, October 3, 2008
Too Tired to Cook
Another in my line of overwork blogs... (I decided to at least blog about my woes, because I miss blogging even though I've been tired and haven't been blogging. But I miss it, so here I go!)
We all know how important it is to plan what to eat, to eat at home as much as possible... for health, financial, and environmental reasons.
I'm a big fan of the book Your Money or Your Life. In that book, you are asked to calculate how much working costs you. Yep -- that's right -- how much money do you lose by going to work. For example, do you need different clothes? Do you spend money commuting? Do you buy/do things to relieve the stress you have from working? Do you buy convenience food because you're too tired to cook?
Of course we have to make adjustments in our lifestyles so that we can work. That can be a good thing. I'd probably not be a better person if I spent all day in my pajamas, comfy though that might be.
What's killing me this semester is food. And that's a shame, because I really like to cook.
Here's how it works:
I teach a night class two nights a week. The night in between, I spend a lot of time preparing my classes, and don't get to chill out. The night following my second night class, I spend a lot of time lying on the couch because I'm exhausted. Friday night I usually do some quick cooking or we go out because I've had a hard week and feel that I deserve it. Saturday and Sunday I cook.
Uh oh... what's my family eating? Um... I'm not totally sure. There's a lot of pasta and leftovers and fruit. It's not that bad, really, but there's not much left for lunch.
So, for lunch I've been eating cinnamon rolls and take-out. What the heck!? That's a recipe for disaster. Oh, and sometimes I eat nothing.
All work and no play makes grad green a grumpy girl.
What do you think your work expenses are? Do you eat differently on the days that you work? Better? Worse? How do you handle dinner?
We all know how important it is to plan what to eat, to eat at home as much as possible... for health, financial, and environmental reasons.
I'm a big fan of the book Your Money or Your Life. In that book, you are asked to calculate how much working costs you. Yep -- that's right -- how much money do you lose by going to work. For example, do you need different clothes? Do you spend money commuting? Do you buy/do things to relieve the stress you have from working? Do you buy convenience food because you're too tired to cook?
Of course we have to make adjustments in our lifestyles so that we can work. That can be a good thing. I'd probably not be a better person if I spent all day in my pajamas, comfy though that might be.
What's killing me this semester is food. And that's a shame, because I really like to cook.
Here's how it works:
I teach a night class two nights a week. The night in between, I spend a lot of time preparing my classes, and don't get to chill out. The night following my second night class, I spend a lot of time lying on the couch because I'm exhausted. Friday night I usually do some quick cooking or we go out because I've had a hard week and feel that I deserve it. Saturday and Sunday I cook.
Uh oh... what's my family eating? Um... I'm not totally sure. There's a lot of pasta and leftovers and fruit. It's not that bad, really, but there's not much left for lunch.
So, for lunch I've been eating cinnamon rolls and take-out. What the heck!? That's a recipe for disaster. Oh, and sometimes I eat nothing.
All work and no play makes grad green a grumpy girl.
What do you think your work expenses are? Do you eat differently on the days that you work? Better? Worse? How do you handle dinner?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
TGITh ... I am overworked
Whenever we make a big money decision in my house, my husband and I think about our priorities. When we were going to buy a house, we decided to wait because our priorities are 1) a good education for our children, 2)being able to walk to things, and 3) having enough money to do fun stuff. We decided not to get stuck in a house that was in not quite the area that we wanted because 1) the schools weren't as good as we wanted, 2) the stores, etc. weren't as close as we wanted and 3) we were going to get locked into a high fixed expense that was not quite comfortable for us economically.
This semester I failed to consider my priorities and now I have 3 jobs. I thought that the extra money would be great to save for a bigger down payment on a house, but now that I am actually doing the jobs, I don't think it's worth it.
What are my priorities?
Money for a downpayment? Or everything else?
Because that's what's happened. With 3 jobs in 3 different schools, I teach a total of 7 different levels. On some days of the week I teach from 8 am to 10 pm, with only a few hours to come home and do the homework/dinner routine with my family. The other day, I had to leave for work with my daughter sobbing in the driveway. That is NOT what I wanted.
So, I've been thinking about this a lot. I gave up one of my jobs, effective mid-October. Just thinking about that makes me feel better. I've realized that this semester I've been living for the weekend. On Sunday night, I start to get really stressed out and sort of nauseous and that feeling doesn't go away until Thursday afternoon (my teaching load is relatively light on Fridays).
Clearly, I need to work less. The extra money just isn't worth it. My priority is to have a relaxed lifestyle, to be able to spend enjoyable time with my family, and to actually see my friends. If you can't do those things, you're probably working too much... just like me.
This semester I failed to consider my priorities and now I have 3 jobs. I thought that the extra money would be great to save for a bigger down payment on a house, but now that I am actually doing the jobs, I don't think it's worth it.
What are my priorities?
Money for a downpayment? Or everything else?
Because that's what's happened. With 3 jobs in 3 different schools, I teach a total of 7 different levels. On some days of the week I teach from 8 am to 10 pm, with only a few hours to come home and do the homework/dinner routine with my family. The other day, I had to leave for work with my daughter sobbing in the driveway. That is NOT what I wanted.
So, I've been thinking about this a lot. I gave up one of my jobs, effective mid-October. Just thinking about that makes me feel better. I've realized that this semester I've been living for the weekend. On Sunday night, I start to get really stressed out and sort of nauseous and that feeling doesn't go away until Thursday afternoon (my teaching load is relatively light on Fridays).
Clearly, I need to work less. The extra money just isn't worth it. My priority is to have a relaxed lifestyle, to be able to spend enjoyable time with my family, and to actually see my friends. If you can't do those things, you're probably working too much... just like me.
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