Being Awesome: Day Fourteen

Prompt #14
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

I know this seems totally weird-o, but I think it's a great to be awesome for myself and for the earth. Whoa...that was lame to the extreme, peeps! Living a little more green is very important to me, and even though I have been ignoring my worms since July (bad Mom), I try very hard to be as environmentally conscious in my everyday life as I can.

Here are some more specific prompts for this one:
- Start a small compost bin in your backyard. All you need is a lidded garbage can, some brown material (dead leaves, sticks) and some green material (kitchen scraps) and a sunny place to put it. It cuts down on the amount of trash that gets sent to the landfill, and makes amazing fertilizer for your plants and garden.
- Reduce the amount of stuff coming into your house in the form of packaging. I try to remember to bring a cloth bag with me wherever I go, but even if I don't have one on hand, I always tell the cashier I don't need a bag. Then try to cram all my purchases in my purse (this is where a giant one comes in handy) or balance them in my arms on the way to the car!
- Do you have a recycling program in your city? We've got one of the best in the world, so I'm kind of spoiled with this one. Even if you don't have curbside pickup, you might have a recycling depot close by that you can use for your household recyclables. If you're not sure what is recyclable in your neck of the woods, check out your city's website. A handy tip for any recyclables is make sure it's clean (no food debris - yuck!) and dry!

There are loads more ways to bring the Three Rs into your life! This is really just the tip of the iceberg. I know Mel & Trisha would have a couple of ideas for me to add here....

later loves

Master of None...Living the Green Life

Oh Gosh! I thought I had already posted this! I guess not eh!? Oh well...here goes! I'll be back later tonight with a fun artsy post!

Some of you may know that I am currently taking just graduated from a course with the city entitled: Master Composter and Recycler. This immersion in a subject that is near and dear to my heart (and becoming nearer and dearer by the day) has inspired me to start a new Feature on the blog (yes...another one...I think that brings my total up to 6!).

I will be sporadically sharing articles, news, tips, and other items of interest that have anything to do with Recycling, Composting, Reducing Waste, Reusing, Generation, etc. in a feature I like to call: "Living the Green Life". I like the science behind some of these things, but I am mostly interested in giving you some food for thought on how you can live a greener life at home and at work!

My first article is brought to you by my husband Russel. He is the clever one in the household, and is much more travelled on the WWW than I am! He found this article for me, and I am sharing it with you...thanks hun!

The Pizza Box Mystery
A synopsis: don't put your pizza boxes in the recycle bin!

And the site that posted this is full of fun environmental news and tidbits. I am sure to continue sharing items from their archives with you!

Thank you, and good day...

The Backyard Blues

(Hi! This was supposed to have posted on Friday, or was it Thursday? Anyhoo, I'm posting it now, better late than never!)

I am so not in love with my tiny patch of yard dirt behind my house! Lucas and I spent some of the afternoon out there on Sunday, playing pirate vs. tiger and with all the wind the dirt just blows around and it is not a fun place to be.

I have some hard work ahead of me to get it into shape, but I thought I would start by making it at least nice-looking-enough to want to go out there and get to work. Make sense? Clear as mud? Good.

Here's a before shot, or two, so you can see what I'm dealing with (not that the after is much better, but it's an improvement at least!).

And here's the after:

I made a bunting/flag/pennant/banner-thing to give the fence a little colour before the plants come in/before I buy some plants. I actually bought some plants already, at Salisbury, and got them in before it rained on Wednesday. I bought some lamium, a beautiful Jacob's Ladder, and some kind of yellow and red-leafed thing with an "H" name. They are all shade plants, and Mom says that lamium spreads so I'm hoping that they do well back here in the shady glen!

Dad is going to came over yesterday to help me fix my compost so the roots from the tree don't invade it as desperately as they are right now. We're putting a large board down under the bin...I'll let you know how that works. This means I have to empty my compost bin, move it, then reassemble it! Eek! That's probably going to be a whole day's/weekend's work, so I'm leaving that until the weekend. (It only took us a couple of hours of really hard work, but Dad does the work of about two or three of me, so it went much quicker than I anticipated!)

Other plans include putting in a new flower bed along the fence, attaching some planters to the fence, and getting some new furniture. The stuff that is back there now was a wedding gift from my dear friend Sarah. I got married 8 years ago, so I think it's time to upgrade. Besides, this stuff is starting to turn to powder, which means every time I sit on it, I get up to a white back and bottom. That's a good thing to tackle today...on this lazy Sunday! HA! Simone and I were joking about long weekends the other day, and how the only thing they're really good for is working outside...why relax that extra day when you need to get your garden in!?!

Check back here tomorrow for a cute and crazy birthday present for a little sweetheart, and on Tuesday for a shop update! What the!?

Note: Some of you may be wondering what kind of a game "pirate vs. tiger" is. Some of you may not, but I'm recording this for posterity people! Backstory...I downloaded Plants vs. Zombies for the iPad the other day and we have been playing it more-or-less non stop since then. Lucas is slightly obsessed, and even when we're not playing it on the iPad he's pretending to be a plant or a zombie and trying to get me to play along as well. So I finally told him that I was not going to play along with this one, and wanted to see if he could come up with another game (he told me he didn't want to because he wasn't obssessed enough with anything else...yay I taught him a new word!?). So we invented "pirate vs. tiger", which is essentially me playing either the pirate or the tiger (we have to take turns y'know), singing a funny song (because all my games have improvised songs in them) and Lucas chases me and we giggle. Good Times, like Super Good Times!

Note: Some of you may be wondering what one of my funny songs sounds like. I'm thinking that I might do a vlog about that one day. Oh my...what have I got myself into!!??

Found!

This kind of encapsulates Found! PSA Of the Week and Green Living. Somebody put on a showing in Edmonton a couple of weeks back, but I was too busy (as per usual) to go out amongst the living and enjoy it in person, but maybe I can get my hands on the DVD (library card anyone?). This is one reason why a vampire is superior to me...better night life!

The Economics of Happiness > a film

I will post the winner of the Starbucks mug tomorrow, so come on back!

Green Living - Recycle Those Cups!

When in my local Starbucks this morning, I noticed a recycle bin near the pick-up area! I was excited, but upon peeking inside I saw that it was already just being used as another garbage can.

Here is an interesting article on Starbucks and their efforts to make all of their cups recyclable:
Starbucks Greens Its Coffee Cups

I bought a new to-go mug there the other day, with the intention of giving it away on my blog...but it's too good! It keep my coffee hot for two hours! That's unheard of! And it was warm for at least another hour after that...yes...it takes me a long time to drink a mug of coffee! Which is all the more reason for me to be in love with this mug!

As part of my Master Composter/Recycler Outreach plan, I am starting a recycling program at TM. One of the main reasons is because of all those darn Tim's iced coffee cups that end up in the garbage there. They are recyclable, so darn tooting, I'm going to help Chan recycle hers!

Funny thing...I don't like Tim Horton's (like, at all...I despise them...I'm not even joking), and I found someone who (sort of) feels the same way! Check this out: The Cult of Tim Horton's. It's an old article (she talks about Tims not taking debit!), and I do not agree with her statement that their coffee is "just plain good." But it's a good (short) read nonetheless.

My Point Today: Most "paper" coffee cups are not totally paper. They are mixed with wax and whatever else to insulate them, which makes them really really tough, if not impossible, to recycle. So, instead of getting your morning Cup O Joe in a disposable cup, bring a cup from home! I try to remember to keep one in my car. And they don't have to be fancy, or brand name or anything. A good coffee place should refill your mug even if it has the name of your company on the side!!

And for you Frap-drinkers, Starbucks has a great (like, super great) reusable cup for their cold drinks. Russ bought one ages ago, and he loves it! We also use it at home for nice cold pop on a hot day. It works wonders!
*****

Okay...you twisted my arm...I'll give away a mug! What!?! Did she just type what I thought she typed!? You read that right...I am giving away a re-usable Starbucks Mug.

Giveaway Deets:
To enter: Leave a comment here telling me what your favourite Starbucks drink is, and make sure I can contact you (email, blog, etc.)
For one extra entry: Tweet and/or blog about the Giveaway. Don't forget to leave an additional comment!
Deadline: May 15th, PM
Who Can Enter? Everyone is free to enter, internationals or whatever!
Also: Please also let me know if you would prefer a "cold cup", or a "hot cup", and I'll try my best to accommodate. For those "hot cup" peeps, you will get a smaller version of my new fave mug! Cause it's the best, yo!

Here's to Green Living!!

P.S. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!