McKay's Green Tips

So I started to write an article-type entry synthesizing the research I did about going green and wondered why it didn't flow. Well, I don't like to write research papers. I like to DO research and learn, but relate said research in a more conversational, generalized, conclusion-oriented way. So, I'll include sources here and there, but won't berate you with facts and numbers - that's up to you!

First green tip: Buy local over organic.

I chose to buy local because local produce uses less energy to get to me, I like to support my local entrepreneurs, and the people who work those fruit stands are full of the most interesting information! They know where exactly the fruits and veggies come from, they give out free samples if you ask, they know where the local hot spots are, and they always have interesting histories. Get some local flavor!

Recycle, but don't expect a lot.

Oh boy! There are a lot of opinionated people on both sides of this issue! An Economist's reasons against recycling. Basically, I recycle for the same reason I don't throw a perfectly good pair of jeans in the trash just because I don't wear them anymore. I don't like to know I ended the product's life cycle in my garbage.

These articles in Popular Mechanics were very helpful.

Popular Mechanics Dec 2008
Popular Mechanics: Recycling by the Numbers
Popular Mechanics: 5 Half Truths about Recyling

I learned that metals are the only truly profitable thing to recycle right now; that recycling processes are getting better; that they're still not great; that maybe there's a plasma process that can burn our trash at super hot temperatures and produce water, energy, and carbon; and that I'll continue to recycle my cans, #1 & #2 plastics (nowhere around here takes more than that), paper, and glass. And, I'll try to buy things that have recyclable packaging, or better yet, contain recycled material AND are recyclable.

Reuse your glass.

A lot of places are not taking glass anymore to recycle. In order to recycle glass, it has to get broken down to what is basically sand. Since sand is still cheaper than recycling glass in most places, supply and demand are playing here. I suggest you buy recycled glass to close the recycling loop and help create a need for recycled glass. But mainly I suggest you buy glass that you can reuse. I put colored glass in concrete to make terrazzo, I use bottles for vases and candleholders, jars for cotton balls and bath salts, and I display bottles with intersting shapes. A friend of mine saves hers in her garage and takes them with her when she travels to places that recycle glass (like the next county or something, not across the country!)

What about the trees?

One of the first things that really got me researching was the question of saving trees. I like trees. I want to keep trees in existence. Are they in danger? There sure are a lot of trees most places I've lived...

Question: If I buy recycled paper, does that reduce the price of trees? Does it reduce it so much that tree farmers can't make money and sell the farm to land developers who cut down all the trees?

Answer: Possibly. I contacted the Division of Forestry here in Florida and that's happened a lot here recently, but not becuase the price of paper went down, but the price of land went up (before the recession). What's more, recycling paper is very close to the cost of producing virgin paper; the variables are how much it costs in gathering and transport of paper to be recycled. Once at the mill, it's pretty close. Right now, they gather and transport trees more efficiently. More about recycled paper: Treecycle recycled paper


Also, if you decide to "plant a tree" make sure you know where they're planting it and that it's a good type of tree for the area. Educate yourself!

To reduce my wasting paper towells, I put a basket of washcloths by my kitchen sink to use on spills and regular counter cleaning. I now hardly buy paper towells! Good for the pocketbook too!

Clean Green.

All you need is vinegar and baking soda.

Not only is it WAY cheaper than cleaning solutions, it actually cleans REALLY well! I use a solution (recycling my old 409 bottle no less) of half vinegar, half water, and 20 or so drops of lemon and grapefruit essential oil (well, until it smells nice) to clean my countertops, floors, carpet stains, faucets, bathtub, shower walls, sinks, toilet, all-purpose, you know.

I use baking soda to scrub the bathtub, tough countertop stains, and pour it down the drains to clean and freshen those.

You can also put some baking soda in your laundry load (1/4 to 1 cup) to brighten colors. For tough smells and fabric softening, use 1/2 cup of vinegar. I don't recommend using them together in the laundry - remember the volcano science fair projects?

Want other ideas? Google "green cleaning recipes"

Lightbulbs

Egad! Those energy saving bulbs that everyone is switching to contain mercury?! What!? It's true. And if everyone recycles them like they're supposed to recycle their batteries (seriously, when was the last time you recycled your remote's old AAs?) then, it's no big deal. But if everyone throws them away... that's a lot of mercury!

Be Smart!

Basically, I encourage you to be educated - know why you behave as you do as a consumer. Certainly, there are things I buy because I thought the package was pretty or the people on the commercial seemed to really like it, but I know that's why I bought it.

Don't just "go green" blindly. I'm preaching to the choir. Does that charger really use less electricy? Why exactly should I buy organic? How does bamboo's "sustainability" sustain in this increased demand?

Do you have awesome green ideas? Why do you act as you do as a consumer? Do you have other interesting links to articles?

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

On our way to church yesterday, we saw the herd of turkeys that lives on base!! They don't look quite like I remember them in the illustrations for Thanksgiving. What's more... they can fly!!! Yea, turkeys can fly. And not crazy flapping chicken flight.They just open their wings and fly - kind of like quail or turkey vultures. Another car pulled up to look at them and the whole herd just took off into the air and flew into the trees! I was so shocked I forgot I had a camera, otherwise I would have snapped a picture of flying turkeys for you.

The turkey out front is the male.

As our church group's last send-off for fellow Air Force couple moving to Japan, we all went out to Olive Garden for lunch. Imagine the stunned face of the woman at the hostess stand when I ask for a table for 14 adults with 6 babies. It turns out that we didn't actually have 14 adults and 6 babies, though. We had 16 adults, 5 babies, two toddlers, one child... and a partridge in a pear tree. Per the usual, Rob and I were the only couple without one eye on an offspring. When asked how we feel about that, Rob blurts out, "self-controlled" - LOL!

We enjoyed our Super Bowl experience last year so much (remember the brie and hot wings?) that we decided to enjoy it at home again! So we each got our "Super Bowl food." Rob's was, again, hot wings. But this year, I got.... my own cookie cake!!!!!! YESSSSS! So our food was great and the game was great!

I couldn't resist taking a little nibble before I could even snap a picture. mmm.

Saturday, Rob and I took a little adventure shopping. It was so nice! I love going places with Rob! Anyway, we went to the mall to buy Rob some new jeans and look for new running shoes. Check. - Levi's and Under Armour's new shoe line - really neat. I also got some new shoes! This FABULOUS pair from Nine West (god, I love their shoes!)... on clearance... with a military discount! YAY! This may be the most wonderful wear-with-anything pair I've got since the pastel ribbon ones (Apartment of Fun roommies, you remember)

We also went to Pier Park (the fancy new outdoor mall), ate at the Hoffbrau House - YUM, bought some fudge, and shopped at other fun stores. It was a nice outing. We also bought... a second controller for the PS3!!! SO that means, I can play too!! Rob and I played Soul Caliber together and had so much fun! He is so sweet - he turns his power down and lets me turn mine up so the fight is a little more even. :-)

Hope your weekend was fun too! For comment fun, what was your favorite Super Bowl ad?

A Day of Literature

So, yesterday I had a day filled with literature. It was lovely. I finished Water for Elephants and loved it so much that I just wasn't done. Knowing I would be discussing it at book club later, I typed up all the passages I thought were thought-provoking, full of substance, or discussion-sparking. I ended up with two pages worth of commentary about the themes of faithfulness and loyalty throughout the characters and situations, the motif of chaos in its many forms, tons of ironies, parallelism, and the good or evil inherent in man debate. Mom, I know you said you were looking for a good fiction book - you should try this one!

I enjoyed exercising the word-analyzing part of my brain so much that I picked up Shakespeare next. I had recently received As You Like It in my netflix and wanted to brief myself on the play and its circumstances before I watched it. Well, WHY haven't I picked up this play before???? I'm already so excited and I only just finished the first act! The play uses a pastoral setting to bring up contrasts between the simple life in nature and the courtier life in man's world. It has tons of interesting commentary and reminds me of the current green movement - the move away from industry, manufacturing, and consumerism in favor of pure products, things found in nature, and small business outfits. Yet another reason why Shakespeare is always relevant! Awesome.

Oh, and before you get to thinking I'm supersmart and only do constructive mind-enhancing things with my time, I'll tell you that I also watched some of the America's Next Top Model marathon on cable yesterday. Like totally awesome.

Recently

Rob and I at the beach in Pensacola

We've settled into somewhat of a routine. Rob goes to work at a different time each day, comes home at a different unpredictable time, but calls me before he comes home every time. :-) I prep dinner at 4pm so that it is almost ready to go for whenever he gets home. During the day, I partake of a variety of activities, including, but not limited to: checking my email, walking the dog, doing a Bible study, cleaning, doing yoga, researching topics on the internet or at the library (presently learning about going green), and tons of other fun stuff. Fridays the girls usually get together while the guys attend roll call (that ends at any given time between 5 and later). Saturdays, Rob and I usually reserve for us to hang out. And Sundays are church, relaxing, and prep. I'm sure only a fraction of you were interested in such details of our routine (our moms :-) and as a reward for the rest of you, I'll share some fun pictures.

This is Gus checking my email and doing my Bible study. He's such a spiritual dog.

The girls: Taryn (pregnant with twins!) and Katy

Lovely hostess Sarah and me

And the Guys: playing Rock Band at Sarah's after roll call

At the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. I like to think Rob was proud of my airplane recognition as I was able to mostly identify the F-4, A-6, F-14 and Hellcat (it's one of my favorite dogfighters). Of course he was my own personal tour guide as we admired the planes, explaining what each was (hardly ever even looking at the display sign!) and its purpose. I'm a big sap when it comes to war heroes and the endurance of the human spirit so I teared up a lot at the displays like the one about the USS Forrestal and the huge fire that devastated the deck, killed hundreds, and inspired the remaining to acts of heroism to bring the fire into submission. In fact, I'm tearing up now. It's a beautiful and sad story. I also loved seeing retired Navy or Air Force men wearing shirts that said their call sign or another signification that said, "hey, I used to fly these" - those guys are so amazing!

This is Rob and I in the cockpit of the A-6. I'm his bombardier/navigator to his pilot. Can I get an "awww"?

Sunset in Pensacola

So I thought only dumb people in movies ever did this! I started to fill up the sink to soak some dishes, went to the other room and promptly forgot about the running sink. I returned just in time for my brain to go, "what is going... oh no!" Thankfully, it was just before I would have had water flowing over the sink!

I love the Sunbeam

Gus and I both followed the sunbeam in the living room all morning and it was lovely! I'm reading Water for Elephants for book club. It's so nice to read something written well and store away insights for a future discussion! Sometimes I'll read something and really wish I were still in school so I could write a fantastic essay pointing out the ironies, motifs, themes and how the writer uses such-and-such as a metaphor for human spirit.

In my other reading, I'm reading about manners - thanks for the initial inspiration, Mari! The subject was also spurred on by my study of Esther. It's been great to delve deep into the story and find what qualities Esther must have possessed that contributed to her favor. It certainly convicts me of my ever-present pride and realize I have a long way to go in terms of putting others first - one of the basics of manners - caring enough to make others feel at ease.

So, I did it again - I was at the commissary, inadvisably hungry! This time, I brought home spicy sweet chili Doritos, french pastries, and Pringles. I stopped myself before the mascapone cheese (with intention of making Italian dessert with strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and marscapone cheese). Yea, it sounds amazing! But I remembered that I didn't have any strawberries and had already driven past the farmer's market that had already packed up. I got this idea from my new favorite cookbook: The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook. It not only has Greece, but Turkey, Italy, France, and North Africa!!! With pictures!!! I found it for $5.99 at my local Borders. What a find! Had the vanilla ice cream, topped with 1 tsp espresso grounds and 1 Tbsp whiskey the other night - YUM! Try it, it's good.

Another reason I love Florida: produce everywhere at the stands on the sides of the road! Citrus galore! Oranges, tangerines, tangelos, grapefruits (red and white), pomellos, lemons (made fresh squeezed lemonade!), and more! Strawberries, the best tomatoes Rob and I have ever eaten, onions, squash, green beans (amazing flavor! prefer them fresh). I mean wow! It's awesome. Not to mention the temperature outside is in the 50s/60s and SUNNY! I love it.

Crazy Woman

So I'm doing a Beth Moore Bible study. I knew the Lord was telling me I needed to get involved in our local church and I'd been wanting the regular Bible-reading that comes with a Bible study that meets weekly. Well, for those of you who didn't go there, Grace Bible Church in College Station raises you to be a Bible study snob. This has both good points and bad points. The good points are that one is taught to study the BIBLE and what it actually says and glean TRUTH. The bad part is that we condemn studies in which a HUMAN has written the study! *gasp!* "You mean I am to learn God's Word from what a mere human has gleaned!? As if!" Therefore, unfortunately, I was going into this Bible study a little like Jonah after he finally resolved to go to Ninevah, "Okay. Fine. I'll go. But it's not going to do any good." Confessing my pride, I prayed God would help me.


So... the Beth Moore study isn't that bad. Really, it's not. It has a lot of inductive-style qualities. She has us write everything certain verses tell us (good on that) and then conclude answers from our brainstorm without actually telling us "the answer here is Jesus." It's nice. Plus, her videos and writing tone remind me of Tristie Fisher - she's VERY conversational and even though she's speaking to hundreds or thousands of people in her video, she still manages to sound like the two of us are just sitting down to coffee.


So if you're away from College Station, I know it will be hard, but try not to condemn studies before trying them - and don't be proud! It doesn't help anyone.


All that to get to where I was really going when I started this. We're studying the book of Esther. I know! Awesome! Anyway, one of the things Beth has us think about is the phrase, "It's tough being a woman when..." Hmm. Ignoring the fact that many of us (me) really LIKE being a woman (we're way prettier), I guess it is hard sometimes. And this morning, I know my answer. Now, before I say mine, I want you to think a little bit about yours. Okay?


Well, for me, it's hard being a woman when my emotions get the better of me. For example, there's plenty of times I have to explain something to Rob with the clause, "I know it's stupid and completely illogical, but I'm a girl and that's what I think." He's a very gracious and understanding husband. The other times my emotions get the best of me is today. I'm completely flooded. I'm happy and excited to be going to Okinawa - our first choice of assignments. I'm stressed and anxious, worried I'm already behind on preparing to move. I'm determined and focused, trying to gather, sift, understand, and store all the TONS of information on the island of Okinawa, how to do a military move, how to move overseas, how to move to Okinawa, how to move my pet to Japan, where to live, when to sign up to live there, where to travel, when, how, etc., etc, etc. I'm fearful of the unknown. I'm bold in the face of the unknown adventure. I'm anxious. I'm happy. I'm a crazy woman.


Thankfully, this post was written yesterday and between then and now, Rob came home and made me sane again. I love Rob. Now, I'm leisurely looking at potential travel destinations around Japan in my spare time. Nice.

Back to the Beach

Taken Saturday! I love Florida!

Okay, the big news first! Rob's solo night was Friday and we've officially received Kadena as our next assignment!!!!! Rob and I are so excited! We look forward to more beautiful beaches, warm weather, and lots of sushi! Based on the classes in front of ours, it looks like we'll be leaving pretty soon after Rob's graduation - so Okinawa in May probably!

Our Road Trip

We really enjoyed our Christmas break and visiting family and friends in Texas. We drove through New Orleans on our 13-hour trip and took some pictures. On the way back, we stopped at Bass Pro Shop in Baton Rouge (shoutout to our Tiger buddy Lance!) and took GUS! He did so well too! Now, back in Florida, a cold front has just hit (it's been 65 and sunny most days :-) so I'm in the house with 45 degrees outside.

Here's some pictures from our road trip.

Driving on the longest bridge IN THE WORLD! How cool is that? It's the one over Lake Pontchartrain.

Gus, trying to get comfortable in the truck. I love it!

People keep asking about the boat. Well, it's turned out to be not such a great idea. :-) If we had a month here before Rob started and didn't leave until June-ish as originally planned, I think it would have paid for itself. But Rob started early and was obviously busy and we didn't decide to have a professional rig the boat (it wasn't sail-able when we bought it, thus the good price) until about 2 weekends before it got cold. It's actually gotten pretty warm outside lately, but the water is still very very chilly. When sailing on a catamaran, one does get wet. It's designed for that. Neither Rob nor I find being cold and wet in the wind fun. Sadly. Thus, the poor S.S. Awesome has remained in boat storage. We are determined to sail it before we have to sell it (how sad is that?) and may decide to gear up in the cold water, but if I were you, I would be sure of the number of weeks one has available for sailing before one decides to buy rather than rent a boat. Just some advice.

Rob has started defensive BFM (basic fighter maneuvers) and is doing really well! He really loves starting with the instructor chasing him and succeeding in getting away or not getting shot down. He finds a lot of satisfaction in not dying. :-)

I don't think the concrete guy is going to call me back. Sad! I called him again after the holidays, but my not hearing from him before made me worry and I'm pretty sure he's decided that he doesn't need or want me to volunteer. I'm a little bummed, but his place is on the other side of town, so I guess I'll save some time and gas. Also, we received two concrete books for Christmas from our families and they have great instruction! We're planning on making a coffee table soon.

Yesterday, Rob and I (but mainly Gus!) were invited to a dog birthday party! Libby (the weinerdog of one of the other students) turned one year old and the Clarks threw her a happenin' party! Most pictures on facebook. But here's one because I couldn't resist.

I'm going to leave you with some of my favorite pictures taken recently. Enjoy.

Christmas at the beach

Rob's truck in the "sure you can shoot there... just stay away from the road" area

Rob and yet another little animal he accidentally caught