Green Shower!

My cousin recently got married.  On her bridal shower invitation I was impressed when I noticed the last line of text. "In honor of being "green" no wrapping paper preferred. What a great thing to do I thought! Then I started wondering how I was going to package up my gift for her, and what others might do.
For her shower I ended up getting her a set of small cast iron pans and a few utensils.  When I told the woman at Williams-Sonoma about the no wrapping paper she decided to tie the utensils to the box of cast iron pans with a pretty ribbon.  How cute I thought! It really came out looking very sweet and "green"! I was glad to not have to waste any wrapping paper.  The same day I purchased their wedding gift.  It was a very large pasta pot set.  The woman at the store had another great "green idea", she put the large box into one of their very large reusable bags, it is by far the largest reusable shopping bag I have ever seen, and I have quite a few.  I was so excited. I tied the handles together with a small piece of ribbon and the gifts were ready to go! I was certain I had gotten very creative with my "green" wrapping, I was looking forward to seeing what other people would come up with. 

The day of the shower there were numerous different types of green wrapping.  There were gifts piled into a reusable basket, tied with ribbon, wrapped with newspaper, in their original department store bags, in decorated store bags, and even wrapped in dish towels that were part of the gift. 
I must say people were very creative and artistic in their ideas. It was also nice that there was hardly anything to throw out.  Since the ribbons from gifts at showers are generally used to make the bouquet for the rehearsal dinner there was almost no wasted materials.  The department store bags used to "wrap" the gifts doubled as a way to transport all the gifts home.
Think about it this the next time you throw a shower, birthday or any kind of party. It is really a simple thing to add to the invitation.  And don't forget you will be helping the planet!

Stressed!

I am a very organized person, and for the first time in my life I feel like I have no control.  We just got back from vacation a last week, and right before we left we found out we have to move.  Our landlord has sold our condo and now we have to find a new place to live.  Trouble is there aren't many options available.  My boyfriend is a lieutenant fire fighter in the town we live in, and he has to live in town.  When I first moved up here we had looked at all the apartments and condos in the area.  We ended up where we live now because all the others were either too small or way out of our price range.  So finding out we have to move again has left us both a little frazzled. We already know that the few other apartment buildings are not options so we have been looking for duplexes and houses to rent.  Again, the problem is there aren't many options. 

We found a wonderful small little house that we love! It is the same rent as we pay now and it has a yard, a front porch, a deck etc etc.  It is so cute and it it a house! our own house! we want it so badly but we don't know yet if we will get it.  We know a few other people have applied and we are impatiently waiting!!

We found a few duplexes as well but they are all more expensive than we are looking to pay. There is also only one that we would consider living in but also has a lot on cons. Problem is we HAVE to move and we HAVE to find a new place to live ASAP!

So we are left stressed, confused and unsure of what lays ahead. I am in the process right now of packing up all of our stuff, even though we don't know when or where we are going.  We are also stressed out about having to pack up everything we own and move it.  Especially since we don't know when this move will happen.  The places we are looking at are supposedly ready September 1st, so that leaves us with a week and a half to move...yet we still don't know if we have acquired a new home!! This has also unfortunately trickled down and affected my eating and workout progress.  I am trying my very best to stay on track.  I did go a bit off course this weekend and indulged at my birthday party but I allow myself to do that from time to time so I don't feel deprived. 

My main goal this week is to get back on the bike at night and continue with my nightly riding.  I come home and want to skip it so I have more time to pack and organize but I know I need to take care of my self first before I try to fix everything else that's going on.

Victory Gardens!

It feels like forever since I have written a post! It has taken a few days to fully recover from our vacation. Thankfully the weekend is almost here and I can rest, lol i know i was just on vacation! We decided to drive down to North Carolina and on our way we stopped to spend the day in Washington, DC.  It was a great day, my boyfriend, my cousin and I spent the day checking out the city. We visited the Vietnam Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, The Washington Monument, The American History Museum & walked by the White House.  Aside from it being very hot is was a fun filled day. 

While we were at the American History Museum we decided to grab some lunch in their cafeteria.  First of all it was the nicest cafeteria I have seen anywhere, ever. It far beats any college food court with the vast array of delicious looking choices.  It also had an amazing salad bar! While we were sitting eating our meal, I glanced over and noticed a large garden on the other side of the windows.  We began to speculate about the garden and if it was used for the food in the cafeteria.  I looked closer and saw a sign stating it a garden for victory.  I got up to take a picture of the garden and reached out to an employee who confirmed the garden was indeed used to supply the food we were eating.  I found this to be such a great idea and was so impressed the steps the museum was taking to save money, be green, be healthy & live off the land they had!  When I got a chance I started to research the garden to find out more about it.

The Victory Garden was started in conjunction with the Within These Walls exhibition that is at the Museum. Using a design from 1943 the Smithsonian re-created a World War II victory garden. The garden is 130 feet long and contains over 50 varieties of different vegetables and flowers that change with the seasons.

Before this I had never heard of Victory Gardens. From my research they were vegetable gardens planted during the world wars to ensure an ample food supply for civilians and troops. Government agencies, businesses, and schools all worked together to provide land and seeds for individuals and communities to grow food.  All across the country Americans plowed their backyards, parks, and schoolyards to create gardens. Children and adults worked hard fertilizing, planting, weeding, and watering in order to harvest an enough vegetables. The goal was to produce enough fresh vegetables through the summer for the immediate family and their neighbors. All excess produce was canned and preserved for the winter and early spring. Throughout the World War II years millions of victory gardens from window boxes to community plots produced abundant amounts of food. While the gardens themselves are now gone, posters, photos, newspaper articles and memories remain to tell us the story of victory gardens.

This seems like a great thing and I don't know why it ever stopped.  We should all know how to grow our own food.  I feel like sometimes we become too dependent on the food service masses.  Though it is not feasible for everyone to grow their own food and depending on where in the country you live it limits the foods you can grow, It isn't crazy to do things in small quantities.  You can grow herbs in your kitchen or out side in a flower box.  If you have a house you can create an herb garden,  plant a few seeds, or a create a large garden and grow your favorite fruits and vegetables.  Not only will you save money you will benefit from having fresh ripe produce at your fingertips all season long.

I'm Back!

Just wanted to post a quick post letting you know I am back! I had a great vacation in Outer Banks, NC.  It was beautiful, relaxing and fun! We drove down last Saturday and spent the day in Washington, DC and that night in Virgina.  Then we enjoyed a long week at the beach ending with my cousin's wedding.  It was a wonderful family vacation! Aside from the tremendous amount of traffic we hit driving home on Sunday it was a great vacation. Now I am back to my normal life and getting back into the swing of things.  I will be posting lots of great stuff so stay tuned! ;)

Friday's Featured Product! Spin Pin

So this week's featured product isn't a food or health product.  It is actually a hair product! I know! Not what you expect from my blog, but I just came across it and love it so I thought I would share.

I don't know if you have seen the commercials for the "Spin Pin", but ever since I first saw them I have wanted to try it. They are advertised as a way to throw your hair up into a messy bun, quick & with only one pin that acts like 20 bobby pins.

 I usually check the hair care isle at the grocery store and they haven't showed up there yet.  Than the other day when I stopped by Walgreen's I remembered that I wanted to try them and went to see if they had them.  I was excited to find that they did and even more excited to see that they were on sale for $4.00 (usually about $6.50).  Obviously I quickly grabbed it up and went home to try it.

The only thing I was surprised by was that it actually takes 2 spin pins to do what the product claims.  I cant be sure but I don't ever remember seeing that in the commercials, but I yet to see one since.  Other than that it works great. Especially for me, since I leave about five minutes to get ready in the morning.  Usually I throw my hair into a pony tail & and if I wrap it up into a messy bun, I use a elastic and sometimes it ends up looking a bit weird.

So essentially the Spin Pins are corkscrew-shaped pins that you can use to create a  messy bun that will stay in all day.  They come in a few different color options & if you wear your hair up a lot they are worth checking out.  Especially for going out!


Have you tried the Spin Pin? Do you think you will now?

Twitter!

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New Blogger!

Check out this new blogger Erin @ Doing 40

She just turned 40 this year and is excited about what the future holds! It is her mission to be in the best physical, emotional, spiritual & financial shape she has ever been in by her Birthday this December.

Check her out & Wish her luck!

Another year has come and gone!

Yes, yesterday was my 27th birthday.  It's sad as you get older, birthdays really just start to feel like any old day.  I was caught off guard the other day when my mom and I were talking and she mentioned how I needed to take a photo on my birthday for my blog.  I was confused, then I remembered that I have been chronicling my journey since my 25th birthday by posting pictures of my progress and success. I was actually disappointed because I don't feel I am where I want to be for my next "photo".  I guess it's good though, I had gotten a little lazy and side tracked and maybe this will push me to be better about staying on track with my eating and fitness. I just wish I was in a little better shape than I am at this moment.  Though knowing me I would probably feel that way no matter what.

Though I haven't made it back to the gym yet, due to some health issues, I have been back on my bike almost every night as well as taking a weekly Zumba class. We are also headed to North Carolina next week and I am bringing my bike with me so I stay on track!

I have to be happy about the progress made thus far.  I have come a long way in the past two years and I am excited for my triumphs and proud of my accomplishments!

So here are some pictures!

I will be updating my journey photos soon, I'm hoping to get some nice photos from our vacation!