recycled bad-ass thing of the day: blooming wrapping paper
I truly, truly believe that one of the coolest things that I've found since I started this whole recycled thing of the day column is the plantable paper. I love that stuff, you guys seem to have loved it since it solicited the most emails and I just LOVE the idea of being able to plant your birthday card after you receive it. So how does it get any better than that? Planting your wrapping paper! I have made a major effort in my house to no longer use wrapping paper. We use reusable gift bags here now in order to cut down on the amount of trees being... well, cut down. But with this stuff? I could start wrapping gifts again! Do you know about something bad ass and recycled? Shoot me an email, link is on the right.
Hey yeah, welcome to the real world Nobody told you it was gonna be hard You said Hey yeah I can't believe it, I bearly started now I'm falling apart, and it's hard
Standing at the crossroads but having all the answers, never helped me out no all the better Boom shake, helps me awake I need some coffee and maybe a shave And it's a pretty bad way to start my today Turn on the radio and what does he say? He says, Hey yeah, welcome to the real world Nobody told you it was gonna be hard You said Hey yeah I can't believe it, I bearly started now I'm falling apart,
and the stars they were shining through the window Yeah, feel a little moon glow Kinda like a rainbow
all the better...Boom shake, now i'm awake I think it's over but it's everyday And it's a pretty fine mess I'm starting to make I couldn't tell you I was never afraid sayin' Hey yeah, welcome to the real world Nobody told you it was gonna be hard You said Hey yeah I can't believe it, I bearly started now I'm falling apart Hey yeah, welcome to the real world Nobody told you it was gonna be hard You said Hey yeah I can't believe it, I bearly started now I'm falling apart
Hey yeah, welcome to the real world Nobody told you it was gonna be hard You said Hey yeah I can't believe it, I bearly started now I'm falling apart Hey yeah, welcome to the real world Nobody told you it was gonna be hard You said Hey yeah I can't believe it, I bearly started now I'm falling apart ahh, welcome to the real world ahh, welcome to the real world ahh welcome to the real world
ps. I am pretty sure this is my favorite song on the new album.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Wet Wipes Redefined
One of the things I mentally battle with on a regular basis is my use of paper towels. They are so necessary in all of my cleaning up that I buy them pretty frequently and every time I do, I feel bad. But when you have kids and spills and you weigh the amount of stuff you'd have to wash if you cleaned up every spill with a small towel... I mean, would the amount of laundry you'd have to do waste more energy and resources than the paper towels? I've never been great at math. But these seem like a pretty decent alternative to the paper towel for most cleaning up problems that I would usually use a paper towel for. And when they are rendered no longer useful, I can throw them in my compost pile. And the price? $15 is the same price as two packages of Bounty and these cloths would surely outlast them.
Do you know about something bad ass and recycled? Shoot me an email, link's on the right.
fire on the mountain through the freeze, save yourself there's evil in the garden but you don't see it, I can tell
how do you sleep while the city's burning? where do you go when you can't go home? how do you drink when there's blood in the water? where do you turn when the world moves on? when the world moves on
fire on the mountain you can feel it against your skin you're standing by the river let the river take you in
how do you sleep while the city's burning? where do you go when you can't go home? how do you drink when there's blood in the water? where do you turn when the world moves on? when the world moves on when the world moves on
hell, I see smoke out on the horizon mama, get your baby, take her down to the water I view the wind like a promise broken I see the future but it's getting farther I see smoke out on the horizon mama, get your baby, take her down to the water I view the wind like a promise broken I see the future but it's getting farther
how do you sleep while the city's burning? where do you go when you can't go home? how do you drink when there's blood in the water? where do you turn when the world moves on? when the world moves on when the world moves on when the world moves on when the world moves on
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: double feature Amanda edition
I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday due to a combination of housework, cleaning out my car and my laptop charger thingy being broken and making using the computer less convenient. So today, you get a two-fer. After minutes of internet scouring, I found the following two items, both of which I could totally buy for Amanda and she would love. The first of the two are these "Nerd Flashcards". They are printed on recycled paper with vegetable inks so they pass the RBATOTD test, no problemo. Granted Amanda is a little old for alphabet flashcards BUT they could be framed and used around her room and I know she would love them because they are science based and she is a science nerd.
The second item I found that I know Amanda would love is the Panda Poo Paper! Yes, remember the other day? With the elephant poo paper? Evidentally elephants aren't the only mammals contributing to the Save The Trees cause.
There you go. You can now go back to your regularly scheduled weekend. Of course, you should still send me recycled bad-ass stuff you've found, link's on the right.
You can go You can start all over again You can try to find a way to make another day go by You can hide Hold all your feelings inside You can try to carry on when all you wanna do is cry
And maybe someday we’ll figure all this out Try to put an end to all our doubt Try to find a way to make things better now that Maybe someday we’ll live our lives out loud We’ll be better off somehow, someday
Now we wait And try to find another mistake If you throw it all away then maybe you can change your mind You can run And when everything is over and done You can shine a little light on everything around you Man it’s good to be someone
And maybe someday we’ll figure all this out Try to put an end to all our doubt Try to find a way to make things better now that Maybe someday we’ll live our lives out loud We’ll be better off somehow, someday
I don’t wanna wait I just wanna know I just wanna hear you tell me so Give it to me straight Tell it to me slow
‘Cuz maybe someday we’ll figure all this out We’ll put an end to all our doubt Try to find a way to just to feel better now Maybe someday we’ll live our lives out loud We’ll be better off somehow, someday
‘Cuz sometimes we don’t really notice Just how good it can get So maybe we should start all over Start all over, again
‘Cuz sometimes we don’t really notice Just how good it can get So maybe we should start all over Start all over, again
You're the best thing I've ever knew You do everything that I can't do Sometimes I get lost in my blues Please forgive me if I'm hard on you Please forgive me if I'm hard on you Alright You and me got so much to prove you're the only thing that I can't lose The nights are peaceful here in our room Please forgive me if I'm hard on you Please forgive me if I'm hard on you Cuz I didn't mean to be mean when I said all the things I said to you. And maybe the worst is the best I can do with you And I never want you to go but I know how they're movin' way to slow and I fall apart because it's all that I know I know, I know, yeah I know Where you runnin' now baby blue please don't let it take me far from you I've been restless, I've been a fool Please forgive me if I'm hard on you Please forgive me if I'm hard on you Please forgive me if I'm hard on you Please forgive me if I'm hard on you
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Recycled Newsprint Wine Bags
In the next week or two, my house will consist of the following inhabitants: Myself, Amanda Panda, Emo, Trin-Trin, Madame Chicita Puppy, Crush the Turtle, Woodstock the very vane cockatiel, and Peanut the World's Grumpiest Parrot. At which point, my intentions are to go through every room in my house one by one, all the closets, all the cabinets, under the beds, the shelves... you name it. I want to know exactly where everything is and get rid of a bunch of stuff we don't need. It's no weekend project people. It's a SEVERAL weekends project. And that's cool. Because, in case you haven't noticed, I don't have much of a social life :) And once I'm done going through my house, I will be going through my shed and seeing what the hell lives in my carport. Now that it is finally going to just be me and my girls and gang of pets we've managed to accumulate, I want to make it our house again. And I want to enjoy all of the hard work that is going to go into not just restructuring the things in our home, but also in restructuring the way we take care of our home as a family (read: chores hehehehe). So what am I going to want at the end of a long day of cleaning and organizing and restructuring? Something that could go into one of these recycled newsprint wine bags. Right? I'm already dreaming of sangria. Jiffinner? Fairy? The Cake Lady? You know you want to come drinks sangria and maybe help me reorganize my house on your weekends off right? Hehehehe... Do you know about something bad ass and recycled? Shoot me an email. Link's on the right.
Remember how I told ya'll we were going to be giving Amanda her own room? Well, I found a bed! We're picking it up tomorrow. Check it out :) It's from IKEA, link is here. Of course, I didn't get it IKEA because THERE ISN'T ONE HERE!!! ARRGHH. But that's ok, because it's used, so we are RECYCLING! Yay for used furniture! If I wasn't SO FREAKIN' BROKE right now, I would get Emilee's new bed too because I am finding some GREAT deals. For Em's bed, I am thinking more traditional style wood that I can paint BRIGHT YELLOW! Emilee is so yellow to me. More thoughts on Em's new room coming soon.
ps. Amanda wants music notes bedding. Help? I can't find any... Just plain black and white :)
One of our very young, semi-new employees got his chicadee pregnant and they decided very quickly to just get married this past weekend. They'd been dating for two years and although they'd had their issues, they jumped in anyway. He came back to work yesterday and we hadn't really talked or anything since his return... So this morning as he was walking by my office, he looked in and didn't say anything so I was all, "Hey! So what? You're not going to say 'hi' or anything??" He laughed and as he walked in, said slyly, "I can't.." I asked him, "You can't? Why? Because you're married now?" He walked over and gave me a hug and he said, "Yup. I'm a married man so I can't be falling in love with you." hehehehe I love working with my boys.
Feeling worn down Like a piece of glass It doesn’t take too much to get yourself to feed your monkey Tell some white lies, they can swallow them You don’t see just how you got into this situation
Late at night, Late at night you weep for something better than the secrets you keep laying down, Just lay down here close to me, And tell me what you want from me.
And I said Hey now, Give me the meltdown, Take it out on me this time around, Oh no it aint over now I can feel the world spinning round and round and round
Hey now, Give me the meltdown, Take it out on me don’t let me down, Oh no it aint over now I can feel the world spinning round and round and round.
Wide awake now and your monkey’s dead You’re so perfect that you never really need nobody Put your hands down, you’re among your friends You just take and take and take and take and take and take and
Late at night, late at night You weep but so no better than the secrets you keep Stay down, just lay down here close to me Pretend you’re never leaving me. And I said Hey now, Give me the meltdown, Take it out on me this time around, Oh no it aint over now I can feel the world spinning round and round and round
Hey now, Give me the meltdown, Take it out on me don’t let me down, Oh no it aint over now I can feel the world spinning round and round and round.
Tell me what you want child Give me the meltdown, Take it out on me this time around, Oh no it aint over now I can feel the world spinning round and round and round
Hey now, Give me the meltdown, Take it out on me don’t let me down, Oh no it aint over now I can feel the world spinning round and round and round. Hey now, Give me the meltdown, Oh no it aint over now I can feel the world spinning round and round and round.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: recycled glass tiles
Sometimes I wish I were in my Forever House. I wish I'd found the house I wanted to keep forever and leave to my girls. I'm not. I'm in a house that I can hopefully build up enough equity in so when I sell it when property value is at an all time high, I can make a decent chunk of change and use that to make a big life and/or location change. I hope I will be a published author when that time comes so I can work for me and live the dream and all that jazz. When I try to envision that house, my Forever House, I can't just barely get a fuzzy picture in my head... I know, as much as I say otherwise, I want a big house... two stories, three or more bedrooms, lots of wood (says the environmentalist)... cabin-y, home-y... I HAVE to be near water, I know that... my soul needs water. Whether it is a lake or an ocean or a river, I need to have water near me. And it would have to be filled with comfy furniture and walls of books. *sigh* In the meantime, while I am in my just for now house, I have to resist the urge to redo stuff. My floors were a neccesity. I CAN'T deal with carpet. And in the next year, all of my floors will be redone. But other stuff? Like my cabinets? And painting? Not necessary and really just a waste of money. Plus, the biggest thing for me is not to put too much of myself in the house. Because it should be a neautral pallet for someone else when I sell it. But if I could? If I wanted to take all my cabinets out and replace them and redo the tiles and the backsplashes? I would so totally use recycled glass tiles. I just think they are so pretty. And if I were making long term changes that reflected MY taste, I would so totally use recycled glass tiles... Do you know about something bad ass and recycled? Shoot me an email. Link's on the right.
I can't seem to narrow down the boat-load of thoughts I have in my head down to one or two poignant thoughts. Sorry. I want to write about Rob Thomas and how his new cd touches me. I want to write about how glad I am that Fairy has found this guy that it looks like she is going to stay with... maybe forever. And how their two sons are like these bookends, they just fit perfectly. I am so proud of her for so many reasons right now. It makes me want to cry. In a good way. I want to write about how my family is dispersing over the next few weeks. And how my sister and I just can't seem to find a relationship which kicks my ass. But also about how my brother and I have managed to and I never would have expected it. I want to write about how this morning while Noah and I were driving to work, it suddenly occur ed to me that he may be headed in the direction of finding someone. My little brother, moving into a decent sized town with his two dogs and his apparent good looks and all that single guy no baggage thing going on. I just hope I like her. I want to write about my trip to Ireland this time next year and start brainstorming with Jiffinner about what we're gonna do while we are there and maybe even start making reservations. I want to write about how I miss my sister Blue and I wish I could go visit her. I want to write about how I'm a little bothered by the fact that Mr.I and I haven't talked in awhile. I want to write about Amanda and Em's dad and how his girlfriend asked me to let the girls call him for Father's Day and how I said no. I want to write about the ideas I have for the girls rooms. I want to write about the diet I'm about to go on which is less of a diet and more of an assisted lifestyle change. I want to write about how the stuff at work is almost completely finished and I while it isn't what I wanted, it's better than what I didn't want. I want to write about how I'm starting to feel a little lonely because HOLY SHIT I've been single for FOREVER. And while most of the time I am ok with that, it's bothering me a little right now. And in that vein, I want to write about the very nice email I got from a very nice man on plenty of fish and how I wasn't even remotely attracted to him and that makes me feel bad. I want to write about the movie coming out, My Sister's Keeper, which has previews that make me cry... and last night, when we were watching the previews and Cameron Diaz shaved her head, I told Amanda and Emilee that I would do that too if they had cancer and Amanda cried. There is a lot I want to write about. It's all coming people. I'm about to explode from everything I've been holding in.
Oh what the hell she says I just can't win for losing And she lays back down Man there's so many times I don't know what I’m doin' Like I don't know now
By the light of the moon She rubs her eyes Says it's funny how the night Can make you blind I can just imagine And I don't know what I’m supposed to do But if she feels bad then I do too So I let her be
And she says oooh I can't take no more Her tears like diamonds on the floor And her diamonds bring me down Cuz I can't help her now She’s down in it She tried her best and now she can't win it's Hard to see them on the ground Her diamonds falling down
She sits down and stares into the distance And it takes all night And I know I could break her concentration But it don't feel right
By the light of the moon She rubs her eyes Sits down on the bed and starts to cry And there's something less about her And I don't know what I’m supposed to do So I sit down and I cry too And don't let her see
And she says oooh I can't take no more Her tears like diamonds on the floor And her diamonds bring me down Cuz I can't help her now She’s down in it She tried her best and now she can't win it's Hard to see them on the ground Her diamonds falling down
She shuts out the night Tries to close her eyes If she can find daylight She’ll be all right She’ll be all right Just not tonight
And she says oooh I can't take no more Her tears like diamonds on the floor And her diamonds bring me down Cuz I can't help her now She’s down in it She tried her best and now she can't win it's Hard to see them on the ground Her diamonds falling down
Ok, so today, because I feel like you guys are ready to start making that kind of effort, I am giving you the link to the How to Recycle Anything guide. I have to be honest, lately I've felt more like helping you recycle things you already have rather than pointing you in the direction of where to buy things that other people have recycled into something. Not that that isn't fabulous. We LOVE those people. But, it's much Earth friendlier for you to recycle your own stuff and keep your carbon footprint even smaller by avoiding having your package be one of the ones on the airplane contributing to the fuel being burned off and polluting our planet. Oh. My. God. I am such a hippie. We are mere minutes away from dreadlocks. Anyway, this link will give you a breakdown of how to recycle a lot of things you may not have known you could. I personally prefer it when I can find links that show all of you how to repurpose your stuff rather than recycle it, but I realize that you can't keep everything you buy forever. In fact, I am almost ready to start whittling down my insane collection of CRAP to less. I won't be throwing it all out though, I will be putting a BUNCH of stuff up on freecycle.org and repurposing the rest of it. An Earth friendly purge if you will. So check it out and see what you could be recycling that you are currently chunking. Then you can bookmark the site for future reference. And if there is another item YOU know how to recycle that isn't on that list, put it in the comments and I'll add it :) Oh yeah, and in case you didn't know already, if you know about something bad-ass and recycled, shoot me an email and I will post it. Cuz that's just how I roll, yo.
You know what freaking rocks? Being able to listen to Rob Thomas' new album for free... before it releases. What are you even still doing here?
Cradlesong arrives on June 30th in the US but you can listen to the album right now! That’s right, every song on cradlesong is streaming on Rhapsody.com and VH1.com as we speak. The album streams will be live until cradlesong is released on June 30th. If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy of the album, make sure to do that now at Rob’s webstore.
No really, what are you still doing here?
ps. If you want to start stalking Rob Thomas as I have, you can do so on twitter.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: elephant dung notebook
Yup. You read right. Elephant. Dung. Paper. How could you be ANY MORE Earth Friendly than buying paper made from poop? I say you can't. In fact, I challenge you to find a more Earth friendly product... No, seriously, go ahead and try. I'll wait here. And how can you bitch about the price? Someone takes poop and turns it into paper. Can you really say, "Hmmm, I think that's a little pricey for dung paper..." Yet another cool find from a link sent to me by WAHS.
Did you find something bad-ass and recycled? Shoot me an email yo, link's on the right.
Do you know what this is? It's my brother's new duplex! Or townhouse! Or whatever you want to call it.
Amenities include: 9' vaulted ceilings Walk-in closets Full-size washer/dryer Whirlpool appliances, built in microwave Extra storage space & separate pantries Ceiling fans
Enjoy living in a beautiful town home and walk on over to use the swimming pool, hot tub, BBQ area and our 24 hour fitness center. Meet your neighbors at Bingo night or for Saturday morning homemade baking and fresh coffee while you read the paper. Stay with us while you are building your dream home or indefinitely! We are just blocks from the downtown shops and a short drive to IH-10. Hope to see you soon and remember to be a great neighbor wherever you are!
They have a calendar page too with cool community activities! Like bingo night and monthly pot-lucks. So nice. And for those of you who know how stressed I've been with my family stuff, this is one less thing... even though it's my brother and I'm going to miss him... it's still one less thing.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: T-shirt Diapers
Ok, so I have had babies on the brain... probably because I know a couple of people who are expecting one, a couple of people who have had one and because I am dreaming about them. Jiffinner? Totally had a VERY vivid dream that you had a little baby girl. I was holding her and telling her I was her "aunty" (that's what Fairy's son calls me). She was stunning. So, with all the baby on the brain, it got me to thinking about some baby/Earth friendly stuff. And then, last night, when I was on Twitter, I saw an ad for reusable training pants for toddlers... I know right? Twitter? WTF? I have to be honest here... Rob Thomas, as in Matchbox effing Twenty, has a twitter page. That he updates. Himself. Like with random what he's doing every day stuff. I couldn't resist after I found that out. My ONLY option was to begin stalking him. Anyway, if you twitter, you can search me... katehopeeden. I'm the one who is stalking Rob Thomas. Back to the diapers though... in case you didn't know, Dooce just had an adorable baby girl who they name Marlo Iris, which is a super cool name... and as I was looking at her "twit-pics", this ad came up for reusable diapers which got my brain wheels a-spinnin' and led to today's post. On Natural Violet, there is a step by step guide on how to turn a t-shirt into a reusable diaper.
One of the things I truly regret is that I didn't use cloth diapers with my children. My mother used them with all three of us and I really wish I had used them on all three of my girls instead of dumping a gazilliondy disposable diapers into the landfills.
Do you know about something bad-ass and recycled? Shoot me an email, link's on the right.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Envirope Double Hammock
Sticking with my outside theme this weekend, the Envirope Double Hammock... made from recycled soda bottles. Isn't that awesome? When I was at IKEA in Toronto, I wanted SO VERY BADLY to buy a hammock there to bring home. And even though we were late and even though it wouldn't fit in my suitcase, I made Lola stand there with me and think, think, think of ways I could get it back to Texas. *sigh* I love hammocks.
Do you know about something bad-ass & recycled? Shoot me an email and I'll post it. Especially if I REALLY like it ;-)
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: recycled hummingbird feed
Ok, I am a slacker. Today, instead of posting a bad-ass recycled thing of the day, I got up late, made coffee and pancakes and then got all lathered up with sunscreen and loaded the girls up for a pool party. We stayed there for three hours until we were thoroughly baked and then we went to the store and bought some grilling goodies and came home and stuffed jalapenos and soaked corn on the cob and then ate ourselves silly. So today instead of my normal semi-early morning RBATOTD, you're getting a late evening post. And it isn't even mine. It's the smarts of Roots and Wings Co. and their reuse genius. I was sitting here thinking of something outdoorsy and recycled since I was feeling the sunshine and the summertime fun today. So skip on over and see how you can make your own recycled hummingbird feeders. And then go outside and play. Because it's nice out :)
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Recycled Metal Magnet Board
I love this. Especially right now when I am in make-over-the-girls-rooms mode. I really love cork boards and magnetic boards - pretty much anything I can stick stuff to :) We owe our thanks to WAHS again since this is also off of the site that she sent me the other day with the tire tube wallet.
Do YOU know about something bad-ass and recycled? Shoot me an email!
I am a few weeks away from taking the girls from shared rooms to single rooms. Of course, this has my imagination running away with possibilities for how to redo these rooms to make them personalized for each girl. Amanda will be moving into what is now our "playroom". This is what that room looks like right now... It is 12x15 feet.
The window looks weird because that is where the "tree house" is and if you are wondering about the strange "rugs", those are two 100% wool rugs that shed LIKE CRAZY that we have stacked and flipped over because Trin likes to play in there and it makes the floor all cushy and keeps the carpet clean. And yes, that is the solar system hanging from the ceiling. I think I got it on Toyrsrus.com and we LOVE it. You can't see, but above the couch is Van Gogh's Starry Night which is, without a doubt, one of the girls favorite paintings.
So, like I said the room is twelve by fifteen feet. Amanda wants a double bed, she is SOOO over having a twin bed. This is my layout idea... The furniture that is staying in there is ONLY the little tables on either side of that couch. They look kind of like this but they are painted with some ugly grape design and we will be repainting them. Amanda also has a small desk that looks similar to this except very plain, not as deep and a solid cream color that we will be painting to match the side tables. WE also have this bench which I want to jazz up somehow and put at the foot of her bed. I like the idea of doing something bold with her furniture. Something with a few paint colors and some silhouettes... Maybe finding some wallpaper and cutting the silhouettes from the wall paper. I have a couple of ideas... ways to incorporate things Amanda is really into. Like this music pattern... I thought about painting this across the top of the desk and then putting music notes randomly on the rest of it...
Or pandas or monkeys... or animals in general...
She likes light greeny blues, greens, deep blues and sand colors... Those will be the colors we use for the painting, the roman shades we'll make for her window and her bedding... Here is the color pallet she chose...
So why am I telling ya'll this? Well because I am no decorator chic and I would love to hear input, ideas, and strategies for how the hell I am going to pull this off.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Reynolds Wrap 100% Recycled Aluminum Foil
It's rare that I see a commercial. I have this wonderful thing called a DVR and almost never watch live tv. However, since the summer season has started on TV, there has been less and less for my DVR to do so this past weekend while I was working on a little project, I had the tv on something on The Food Network and saw a commercial for recycled aluminum foil. Aluminum. Aluminum. Doesn't matter how many times I type that, it still looks like I am spelling it wrong. Anyway, as the picture says, the foil itself is 100% recycled AS IS the packaging! Yay for you Reynolds Wrap. Way to be green!
Do you know about something bad-ass and recycled... maybe you saw it on a commercial because you were watching crap on tv... shoot me an email, link's on the right.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Recycled Magazine Flower Pots
I want to thank WAHS again for sending us the link for the tire wallet that I blogged yesterday because today, now that I am poking around on the site, I am finding all kinds of recycled AND inexpensive items available that I want to share with ya'll. Today, the recycled magazine flower pots. A SET OF THREE IS ONLY TWELVE DOLLARS! Ridiculous.
A set of three NOT recycled flower pots would cost you more than that.
I usually recycled my flower pots pretty frequently as the plants I kill come out of them and the plants I buy to replace them go in. I'm such a work in progress.
Do you know about something bad-ass and recycled? Shoot me an email yo, link's on the right.
Guys, Take ten minutes today and register. Usually there is a fifty dollar cost to become a marrow donor but through the 22nd, they are waiving that fee. I've just registered and it took less than ten minutes and was easy to do. So free and easy and you can save a life. Why wouldn't you do it?
I don't remember where I was but there were two guys there as well as several other people, my kids even I think... anyway, one of the guys was my very good friend and the other was his very cute friend. I remember thinking that his friend was very cute and wanting to talk to him. But we had plenty of time because we were all staying in the same place, like a large beach house or cabin or something. Anyway, at some point, I was telling my very good friend about all of the things that were going on in my life, some of which were bad, some of which were good... just like catching up. Later, I was getting ready to go somewhere and the cute friend walked into the room I was in and I remember thinking to myself yay, I'm finally going to get a chance to flirt with this guy... And he walked up and just hugged me. Like a long I don't want you to be sad hug. And it was perfect and just what I needed. I've been thinking about it all morning.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Tire Tube Wallet
Ok, so ya'll know how I feel about WAY overpriced recycled products. The feeling is bad. I dislike overpriced recycled products. I mean, I expect for the products to cost a little more than the regular product because obviously some of them require a little more work but when the cost is doubled, I feel like the recycled product makers are just shooting themselves in the foot and hoping that people will be so into being green that they will spend money unnecessarily for the image. Today on run-on sentences... So when I find, or in this case when someone (Woman Atop Her Soapbox.. really peeps, she's kickin' ya'll's butts in the emailing of bad-ass recycled stuff to me... kickin' them.) sends me something inexpensive and bad-ass and recycled? I just get so excited :) I've seen recycled wallets, clutches, purses made from old tires and I love them. One day I will be buying them all. And at only SIX BUCKS $12.95 (price went up) for this wallet? Well, I may be buying them MUCH sooner! Thank you WAHS for the link! One day when I am famous and rich, I will start sending you gifts for every referral! Until then, you get to be an Earth Warrior!
Do you know about something bad-ass and recycled? Shoot me an email and be like WAHS. Link's on the right!
Every year when we get our pictures done for softball season, Lifetouch (who seems to hold the monopoly on any photo's taken of your children through high school) offers to make us photo buttons for the low, low price of eleven bucks. The first year I bought one and tried not to think about how I was WASTING money. Eleven bucks for a button? Really? This year when we got our order forms, they were selling the buttons for eleven bucks for two. You know, for the kids with two parents. What the hell am I gonna do with two buttons? I can barely remember to bring one to the games to wear. So I decided rather than cough up the cash for two buttons I didn't need for eleven bucks, I would do some checking online and see if I could find a better deal. And boy did I. Zazzle.com is a pretty amazing website for customized gifts. And their buttons? They are very inexpensive and printed on 100% recycled paper.
The quality of the buttons was easily equal to the buttons I had previously received from Lifetouch and I got all three of the above pictures buttons, which I was able to completely customize for a little over ten bucks which included shipping.
Do you know about something bad-ass and recycled? Shoot me an email.
I've been roaming around always lookin down at all I see. Painted faces fill the places I can't reach. You know that I could use somebody You know that I could use somebody Someone like you And all you know and how you speak Countless lovers undercover of the street You know that I could use somebody You know that I could use somebody Someone like you Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat I hope it's gonna make you notice I hope it's gonna make you notice Someone like me Someone like me Someone like me Somebody (Go and let it out) Someone like you Somebody Someone like you Somebody Someone like you Somebody I've been roaming around always lookin down at all I see
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: recycled and organic fabrics
Fabric is something I am starting to want to buy more frequently now that I have a house. In my dreams of aspiring to sew things, with my Singer Sewing Machine that I've had for a couple of months and never used and have no idea how to use, I love to choose fabrics for roman shades and pillow covers and even duvet covers for the girls rooms. About once a month I spend a couple of hours browsing through fabrics online and letting my imagination run away with all of the possibilities of colors and styles and maybe even learning how to turn the sewing machine on. One of the things I look for when I am out there in cyberspace hunting for the perfect colors and patterns is recycled materials. We know they are out there, you can buy t-shirts made from coke bottles at freaking Wal-Mart and even Woman Atop Her Soapbox is wearing recycled "trousers" in the UK...(and emailing me about it, where are ya'll's emails?? huh? huh?) So where can you get several yards of earth friendly materials for your roman shades? The answer is: I don't know. I've found one etsy shop that sells recycled material that is made with hemp... But it seems to me that if you want something earth friendly in your fabric selections, your best best is organic. I get kind of skeptical when the fabrics are twenty something dollars a yard though... which makes me think that maybe I should try an actual fabric store and see if it is easier to buy organic at your local store rather than have it shipped in from god knows where...
This weekend hasn't been very good for our RBATOTD stuff has it? More of me bouncing ideas off of ya'll than actually directing you to the Earth Friendly Awesomeness huh? Well, if you know about something recycled and bad ass, shoot me an email, link's on the right.
Look, let me be straight with ya'll for a minute here. No body messes with my hair. No. Body. The second I even consider getting rid of my veryeco-un-friendly VO5 curling mousse? *shudder* Does that mean that I will never change to something a little less environmentally toxic than chemicals with aerosol in a can? Not at all. But experimenting with my hair was something I did all through out the nineties which was truly a horrible hair decade for me. One in which I walked around with half a bottle of mousse in hair that could have, for all intents and purposes, repelled bullets from a gun. Here's the thing... when you have VERY curly hair and your parental figure does not, you need to get yourself some friends who do. Otherwise you will be twelve or thirteen years old and have no freaking idea how to make your hair NOT stand up with static and you may or may not get the idea to chop your hair off to make bangs. And you might do it when your hair is wet and measure it wet not knowing that ONE- when it dries it is going to be shorter and TWO- because it's curly it's going to be MUCH shorter. And then you end up with bangs that stick straight up in the air. And NO ONE WANTS THOSE BANGS.
Think I'm being dramatic? Observe. This is me before I knew I had curly hair... you know, when I used to brush it dry and just accept that I was doomed to have frizzy GOD AWFUL hair for the rest of my life. You can tell I've accepted it because this is PICTURE DAY and that's how I look.
And this is me in high school, after the discovery of mousse. Still not fabulous, but no longer looking homeless either.
I can't go back to the old hair while I try out new and EXPENSIVE products that probably won't even work on my hair type. Which is "impossible" in case you were wondering. When I try out a new hair product, I almost always do it on a weekend where I don't need to be out in public. And it almost never works and then I end up with a bottle of stuff I've gotta give away to someone with more forgiving hair.
So when I got to the part of Sleeping Naked is Green (yes, I put the Twilight series down for a few minutes...) where she gave up her shampoo and conditioner for vinegar, it made me cringe a little because I know when I wash my hair with my GarnierFructis Sleek and Shine that it is bad. I know the chemicals are bad that I am sending down the drain, I know that there is some chemical in there that isn't even good for my hair and I'm pretty sure they test on animals. It's bad, bad stuff. That makes my hair so very pretty. Every time I get close to the end of a bottle, I think I am going to try something new but then time gets in the way and I run out and I don't have time to properly choose a new hair care line... But while I'm over here trying to decide if Earth Friendly and Organic can beat out Really Super Cute Hair, there is no reason I can't pass along to ya'llthe link to a decent and not too expensive site for good for your hair and good for the environment products... And if you are feeling like going cold turkey today on your hair care carbon footprint, check out this post on Green As A Thistle for all natural and allegedly good "shampoo" that you can make at home. Apparently all you need is organic baking soda, organic vinegar, cinnamon, vanilla and a well rinsed old shampoo bottle. If you try it, let me know... I'm curious...
I had no idea. I had no idea about this whole world that Stephenie Meyer's imagination had created. No idea about vampires who were vegetarians falling in love with normal high school girls. I had no idea about the intensity of the relationship that they would have, the feeling that pulled them together. I just had no idea. I blogged before that I hadn't even heard of this series until all of the intense and insane hype happened as the first movie came out. Even then, I was skeptical and didn't think about reading the books until the movie came out. When I watched the movie? That was it. I read Twilight and then New Moon and I am now on Eclipse and hopelessly and ridiculously hooked. This world? I love it. I love the characters, I love the writing, I love the intensity. I don't want it to end. And at the same time, I am blowing through a book in a couple of days. If you haven't read the Twilight Saga, I seriously, seriously recommend that you do. It is so worth it.
recycled bad-ass thing of the day: Recycled Kitchen Bags
So I got the following email from The Cake Lady... Sorry, I am jumping on the bandwagon. I felt guilty enough buying a donut and not sharing and then on top of that I have GUILT for damaging the environment! What's a girl to do?
I love, more than anything, that I get emails and phone calls from ya'll saying that you feel guilty when you think about your impact on the environment now. That is really the best motivator for making changes. When you stop and think to yourself before you buy some thing or before you throw something away, How am I affecting the planet? I couldn't ask for much more than that because that will trigger most of your changes and once you start rolling down the conscience hill, well it's all downhill from there ;)
The Cake Lady does a lot of this stuff called "baking" and so she uses products that I haven't ever heard of... like bags for icing? Did I ever tell you that The Cake Lady was the person who saved me hours upon hours of time by showing me how to cut a small hole into the corner of a ziplock baggie full of deviled egg stuff so I could squeeze it into the waiting egg white? Seriously, it takes me minutes to make deviled eggs now. And all because she is awesome. And if you ever have deviled eggs at her house, she uses a frosting tip and makes them all pretty. I don't have a license to operate frosting tips, so mine aren't pretty.
The Cake Lady, whom we love and adore, sent us a link which shows us that we can buy products from Treecycle Recycled Paper to use in the kitchen when we preform feats of baking that will never, ever compare to what The Cake Lady herself is capable of. I don't know how to use most of the stuff on the Treecycle website (I think you have to get a license, like for the frosting tips) so if you have questions, you'll have to ask The Cake Lady. But I am more than happy to point your eco-friendly bakers in the right direction. Because that's just how I roll.
Do you know about something bad-ass and recycled that I have no idea how to use? Shoot me an email yo, link's on the right.
If you missed the pre-braces interview with Amanda, you can read it here. So I took the day off of work yesterday because we really weren't sure how the whole getting braces event was gonna go down. Some of Amanda's friends said it was very painful, some said it didn't hurt at all... we weren't sure.
Amanda was split between being nervous and being excited because, let's face it, it's kind of like getting a hair cut and getting to go to work or school or whatever the next day and have everyone wanting to check you out. We all love the attention we get when something is different.
I had promised to take her to her last metal free mouth breakfast that morning but her stomach wasn't really up to eating a big breakfast so we ended up stopping for kolaches a few minutes before we got to the orthodontist to grab a quick bite and some coffee. And then we headed to her see her doctor. Have I told ya'll that her doctor looks exactly like Brendan Fraser? It's truly unsettling. He has that flat top hair cut too, the one that Brendan has in that movie with Alicia Silverstone?? Amanda wasn't thinking about that though when she saw these...
Now no one really tells you that the whole getting braces put on thing is pretty boring for bystanders. I did a lot of hand holding since Amanda has a pretty deep rooted fear of dentists but other than that it was just an hour of standing around.
They told her she would have her mouth open for an hour or so while they cemented everything to her teeth.
She was very cool about it and just laid there staring at the ceiling and listening to Dr. Brendan Fraser tell her what he was doing step by step by step.
I tried not to overstep my picture taking since I am pretty sure most parents hang out in the lobby and read their books.
My eyes did occasionally drift over to the table where the third Twilight book was sitting, my page clearly marked...
But I stayed right there next to Amanda through out the whole event, holding her hand when she got a little freaked out and watching the process...
Once all of the brackets were put on, it was time to choose the rubber band colors. But Amanda already knew she wanted black and blue. The blue she picked glows in the dark which was pretty cool last night.
And then that was it. They were on and she had a travel case full of goodies to help her keep them clean and cavity free. We will be doing monthly pictures of her progress so that we can see how much changes as the year goes on.
Who: katehopeeden Where: San Antonio, Texas
Yeah, so I am all that you see here.
I am friendly and kind, crazy and bitchy, playful and flirty...
sometimes I am funny but mostly I just write the first thing that comes to mind and then stop when it ends.
I love life and I am lucky to be living the one that I am.
Want to know more? Click here!
"The most wasted day is one in which we have not laughed"
"Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you might miss it."
"Guys are like stars, there's a million of them out there but only one of them can make your dreams come true."
"Don't spend your life with someone you can live with, spend it with someone you can't live without."
"Reach for the moon, even if you miss you will still land among the stars"
These are a work in progress.
They are in the right order, but more will fill in the blank spaces in time as I write them.
"I just got done reading the history lessons on your blog (yes, I've been lurking on your blog).
All the respect I had for you...has increased, like, tenfold.
I don't think I could have done it.
To go through what you have and not only still be able to discuss it with such wit and poise,
but also to raise those three gorgeous girls. You are truly an inspiration.
You are honestly one of the strongest people I have ever known, either online or IRL.
Thank you so much." -Stef
"There are some of us out here who are living vicariously through you, okay?!
So for god's sake, let us have some fun and excitement!" -Educated Liberal
Hey yeah, welcome to the real world Nobody told you it was gonna be hard
fire on the mountain
You can go
Feeling worn down
Do you know about something bad ass and recycled? Shoot me an email. Link's on the right.
Oh what the hell she says
One of the things I truly regret is that I didn't use cloth diapers with my children. My mother used them with all three of us and I really wish I had used them on all three of my girls instead of dumping a gazilliondy disposable diapers into the landfills.
but they are painted with some ugly grape design and we will be repainting them. Amanda also has a small desk that looks similar to this
It's rare that I see a commercial. I have this wonderful thing called a DVR and almost never watch live tv. However, since the summer season has started on TV, there has been less and less for my DVR to do so this past weekend while I was working on a little project, I had the tv on something on The Food Network and saw a commercial for recycled aluminum foil.
