This is my little spot to describe the on- goings of an ordinary crew. Some days look a lot like the day before however they are always funny, sometimes frustrating and never boring. I hope I can inspire you to see the extraordinary in the ordinary or at least laugh a little.
Showing posts with label One Small Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label One Small Change. Show all posts
This happened today. THIS! Really? Enough already. Q actually said, "I THOUGHT it was SPRING?" And, uh yes, he wore shorts to school. The boy thinks he can fool Mother Nature. It's not spring. It's winter. I plowed 10 inches of snow off the driveway today. And, I am bitter. I thought Easter was about new, kicky sandals, springy skirts, pretty pastel colors (aside from all of it's "religious" stuff.) How do you have an Easter egg hunt in THIS?
I mean really! You are NOT going to see any little spring birdie birds bathing their little feathers in that bad boy. No Sir.
We are going to dye some eggs. Trying brown because there is a rumor circulating that they really give off a "rich" color. Plus that's what we eat and I had them in the fridge. Although I am considering just hucking them out into the snow and encouraging the little bees to "just go for it." It will make the hunt last longer that's for sure.
St. Patrick's Day was eventful in an uneventful way. Aside from the normal schedule, there were a few side trips. Check it out.
Elvis's preschool was totally "green" for St. Patrick's Day and went to our local Recycle Center. It happens to be one of my most favorite places. The pack rat, creative sort loves this kind of place. It is a world of endless possibilities.
We saw a rainbow of caps and what not in one particular bin. This makes me so happy I could cry. There a million things that could be done with this "garbage."
Month One went quite nicely. Ladycakes has done an outstanding job of turning off her lights. Quite proud of the Miss. Q has not had much opportunity to walk to school due to weather and a recovering Mother but that is on the back burner. It will happen. Elvis has had to practice SERIOUS restraint in the wardrobe department. But, he's doing it and we applaud when we see the same PJ's two nights in a row.
Mr. Handsome changed the thermostat. It's chilly in certain parts of the house but I am learning to wear an afghan quite fashionably. I am draping it as if I am Fleur Cowles, my newest obsession. Haven't done great with the cloth napkins, but Mom has been under the weather so we'll put that on the back burner as well.
Note to self, don't start a challenge before going into major surgery.
This month is going to be fun. Here's what we have planned.
Ladycakes is going to try re-purposing some of her clothes. Starting with socks. Check this great idea. She will not only make a fashion statement but a few pairs of socks will NOT make it to our local landfill. Plus, we might have a few new birthday gift ideas!
Q and Elvis are going to help me with our compost pile. Yes, we have a composter. And, I didn't buy this model because Oprah recommended it. I had mine before Oprah. Told you we were kinda "green." The boys will be in charge of dumping and churning the frozen, not totally frozen, compost. It's working, the bin never over flows, it's just a little slow. They will LOVE wielding a pitch fork. And maybe come June, we will be able to use some of the compost to really spice up our garden.
Note to self, monitor pitchfork wielding!
Duh, yes, we have a garden. Just because I talk about Snoop Dogg doesn't mean I don't have a garden! Don't mind my own identity confusion.
So, we are up for Month Two, Here at the Hive. We are being conscious of our actions and our choices. That's the point, right? GO GREEN!
So I am going dark for a few days. Have a few things that have to be taken care of. Don't miss me too much. I'll be back. Perhaps on some pain meds which will either make me totally annoying or even more inspiring. I might set up a poll on the sidebar just to keep track of that. We'll see. Good luck in the days to come.
1. Create something pretty. Glue something to something else.
2. Enjoy your children, even when they are whining about the dinner you just served them.
3. Scratch your pets, and them put some jerky on your face. They will love you forever.
4. Go to McDonald's, their Happy Meal toys are super annoying and worth all of $4.58.
5. Do something great for the Earth. I'm thinking just go for a walk and look around. The Earth is a really pretty place. Check out the birds. Someone let me know that Valentine's Day is often when birds pick their mates.
In fact, I challenge all of you to make all five things mentioned above happen.
Take a child (it doesn't matter if it's your child) to McDonald's and buy them a Happy Meal. Keep the signature box that Happy Meals come in. Come home, remove any remaining fries. Save them for later. Cut out a door on one side of the Happy Meal box. Now glue some embellishments onto the box. Feathers, beads, glitter, birdseed, fabric scraps, paper scraps. You name it, just glue. Now take that Happy Meal box and hang it in a tree for all of those horny,Valentine birds. If they are going to get it on, at least the can have some privacy. Go back inside and let your pets eat the remaining fries off your face. You will laugh your ass off.
See you in a few days Ladies and Gentleman.
Add "Closing Time" by SemiSonic to My Life Soundtrack.
So I have a ritual in the morning. After tending to the needs of the little bees, I make my way to the computer and waste a ton of time reading the blogs in my blog roll and then bouncing around all over cyberspace reading other blogs. But while doing this, I learn stuff, lots of stuff!
While visiting The Prairie Girl, I became aware of a little challenge called One Small Change. I read further. It's a challenge to make one small change a month to make our lives a little greener. Here at the Hive, we think we are green. We are so not green. We buy LOTS of new stuff. Some of us leave the lights on in our rooms (Ladycakes!) We do like 50 loads of laundry a week (Me!) We eat at McDonald's. We have a Wii and we play it a lot. We have a ton of work to do.
So with a name like "One Small Change" I feel less intimidated. We can do this. However, I'm making each of us take the challenge. Not just one challenge for the whole family. Everyone has to suffer with me.
Here is what we are committing to this month.
Ladycakes will turn off the lights in her room and closet EVERY time she leaves that space.
Mr. Handsome will program the thermostat to hold steady at 68 degrees during the day. We currently hover at 70 degrees.
Q will walk to school at least one morning a week unless the weather does not permit.
Elvis will try wearing a pair of pants or pajamas more than once before throwing them in the hamper.
I will boss them all around and remind them that they are not green! Just kidding. I promise to bring out the cloth napkins, walk with Q on the days he walks to school and remember to take my re-usable bags to the grocery store.
It's a gentle start for us and this challenge. I think we can do it. Next month, we will dig a little deeper.
Who wants to join us?
Add "It's Not Easy Being Green" sung by Kermit the Frog to My Life Soundtrack.
