Why Pretend?

I'm just going to tell it like it is. I don't have time to blog. I hate that it's true, but true it is.

I have a garlic bread recipe I've been meaning to post for a month. A final story about the 7-day plastic challenge. Some first-time gardening successes and failures. A nearly-finished patio, and a waaaay unfinished landscaping project. There's an updated "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides" and new info on sunscreen safety. I discovered never-before-seen veggies in my CSA deliveries. Yet none if it has made it onto the blog.

I feel like I'm letting you down. The few of you who are left, anyway! All I can say is... I started this blog shortly after beginning a one-year sabbatical. I wanted to see what would happen in my life if I actually had time to think, see, hear. In all my new-found open-mindedness, I never saw something like Books for Keeps coming.

So I just want to tell you straight up: for the rest of this year, I'm all about Books for Keeps. As my hairdresser put it: "You're where the universe needs you right now." I tend to think it's God, not the universe, but you get the idea. Even Bayne supports postponing the job search to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to make a difference.

I miss veggie-blogging and eco-blogging and workshop-blogging and all the rest of it... most especially hearing your comments about it all. I hope I can get back to it in the near future.

In the meantime, I hope you'll visit me over at Books for Keeps every once in a while. I'm having the time of my life doing something I would've called you crazy for suggesting just a year ago.

Days 4 & 5

Yesterday was day 4 of the Plastic Challenge. We were supposed to change our "To Go" routine, avoiding takeout packed in plastic. I was so busy I never left the house. I longed to have Peking deliver a Chinese feast but they pack in Styrofoam so I just ate something I had around the house and was actually pretty glad. So... for day 4, success!

Day 5 - Today: We're supposed to monitor the plastic that various products come packaged in at the grocery store. Sadly, I didn't have time to go to the grocery store. But I did have time to stop for takeout, and before I realized it, I was toting a plastic container home... in a plastic bag.

So scratch that claim of success on day 4. This is really hard but certainly makes ya think. I thought I was a habitual plastic avoider but I realize now I've become lax. Back to the training grounds for me.

Day 3: Finally... Success!

Today I upped GreenPlate's ante to make up for yesterday's failure. Not only did I refuse all plastic bags, but I recycled the unavoidable ones.

Think about it: we all get caught without our reusable bags from time to time. My newspaper comes in a plastic bag. My bread comes in a plastic bag. Some of those bags are recyclable. And since they can last for generations, recycling them instead of trashing them might be the most important thing I can do to keep plastic off my plate.

The grocery store was depressing though. Frozen vegetables - plastic bag. Coffee Mate - plastic bottle. Fresh pasta - plastic container. I'm grossed out.

But today I successfully complied with the challenge requirements... finally!

Day 2: Red-faced plastic consumer

Day 2 was supposed to be easy for me! I don't buy drinks in plastic containers. I kind of don't buy drinks, period. I mean, this is the girl who took reusable water bottles to a hotel, just to avoid needing a plastic bottle.

Anyway, all I was doing was having my hair cut. No plastic temptations in sight. I was thumbing through a magazine and I sort of vaguely remember being asked if I wanted something to drink. I guess I said yes... it's all a big blur. All I know is at some point I looked up and there was a half-empty, plastic bottle of Dasani in my hand.

Ah pride... why must the fall always be so brutal?

I feel sick. I tried to make up for it later. I had a drink in a glass bottle at my Books for Keeps meeting, and brought the empty bottle home with me to make sure it was recycled.

Which is when I realized I didn't do the same with the plastic bottle.

It's probably in the trash right now. Whose stomach will it end up in later, when it's had time to break down and sneak its way into our food supply?

Day 1: The 7 Day Plastic Challenge

I was sooo tempted to stay home today. After previewing each day's requirements, I'd already determined today would be the hardest. No plastic straws.

Do you know how many times I've seen servers palm my glass in restaurants? Or had the ice jam up in my glass, only to spill all over my shirt when I tilt my glass? My commitment to avoiding the rim of a restaurant glass has been unwavering. I asked for a straw when dining out with Polly, Executive Director of GreenPlate!

So yeah, I'm totally grossed out by restaurant glassware.

Except for wine glasses, I just realized. I'll have to give that one some thought.

Anyway - for Polly, I sucked it up (pun intended) and went strawless at lunch. It hasn't killed me yet. But this will be an ongoing issue, so I think I'll make it my mission to ask every single restaurant I frequent: "May I have a bio-degradable straw please?" In the meantime, Polly says I have to buy a glass straw. And carry it with me. And wash it in between uses. Why, why, why did I ever agree to this?

Dear Day Two, please hurry and get here! I don't buy drinks in plastic bottles so I'll consider you a freebie....

Now THAT'S organic....

Today, another reason I love Athens. Kudzu control that's not only organic, but also entertaining. And now, it's not just for farmers. Forget the Round-Up; rent your own team of goats for the day. Check it out.

Can you live without plastic for 7 days?

I'm going to try. Actually, I'm thinking the first few days will be a walk in the park; avoiding plastic is almost second nature for me. But am I as good as I think I am, or will I end up eating my words?

I hope you'll join me. Click here and sign the pledge form. It starts August 23rd, and I'll be blogging about my success... or failure....

Til then, here are a few past experiments, tips, resources, etc. Enjoy!

Sister Time!

If you're wondering where I've been, head on over to the Books for Keeps blog. There is very little blog-worthy news in my life that doesn't involve children's books, sorry!

I'm heading to Atlanta for a few blissful hours of sister-time. We will eat Grand China, drink chardonnay, watch a few shared-favorite, embarrassingly inane TV shows, gab, then end up laughing til we cry.

Sounds perfect to me. Hope you have a good night too!

Trains, Planes and Automobiles

Poor Bayne. Had a particularly demanding week at work. Back and forth to Atlanta. Big interview for an even bigger deal. Quick trip to Virginia, and suddenly it's Friday and he's coming home on the 6pm flight.

6pm - whoops, delayed due to weather in Atlanta
7pm - bad, bad weather
8pm - folks, the weather's cleared up but now we've got a flat tire
9pm - FLIGHT CANCELLED

Nearest available hotel room - 25 miles away. Rent car, drive. Check in. Arrange 4am wake up call for 6am replacement flight.

3:00am - "this message is to inform you that your 6am flight has been delayed."
4:00 - forgotten wakeup call. !!@%*^!!
7:00- trek 25 miles back to the airport, return rental car.
8:00 - the tire blowout damaged another part of the plane; delayed til 10am
10:00 - delayed til 2pm. Mechanical crew seen scratching heads
10:01 - reserve another rental car, plan to drive 10 hours home
10:02 - wife does NOT approve; cancel rental car
10:03 - book flight out of a nearby city... TAXI?!
1:45 - flight leaves on time. Thank you AirTran!
3:30 - arrive in Atlanta. Take shuttle to car. Drive....
5:30pm - arrive home 23.5 hours after ordeal started
5:31 - sigh of relief... kiss wife... pet kitties.
5:32 - shower
5:35 - sweats, frosty mug o' Fat Tire... home sweet home.

Welcome home Ru!

It's a Books for Keeps Week

Can you believe after 2 weeks I still have about 50 things on my to-do list? It's getting very old. But this week I've focused a lot on Books for Keeps. I'm talking to as many people as I can to learn ways I might collect more books here in Athens, and reach more kids too.

My focus on Books for Keeps makes this blog pretty boring. All the action is happening on that blog these days. My veggie obsession is on the back burner; I'm still experimenting but I've lost my motivation for blogging about it. My save-the-earth-obsession is a permanent part of life, but it's so second nature that I feel like I've blogged all I can on that topic. The patio? It's too hot to even step outside and take a picture. But we're making progress.

It all just seems so boring compared to the search for childrens' books.

So my apologies for a lack of blog-worthy material, but I am all about Books for Keeps right now. It's fun, it's obsessive, it's rewarding... and it's exhausting in a happy sort of way. I do have a couple of recipes to share; they've become obsessions in our home. I'll get them posted one of these days!

We be buggin'

Bayne was kind enough to share his 24-hour bug with me, so today my ongoing effort to conquer the to-do list is on hold. I'm camped out on the sofa alternating between napping and productivity of a more modern kind: I'm cleaning off my DVR and catching up on my surfing.

Thanks to Later with Jools Holland and DirecTV's concert channel, I have hours and hours of live performaces hogging space on my DVR. I watched Radiohead live from the basement with one eye while reading blogs with the other. Now Wilco is playing, and I'm browsing recipes.

Next up: 10 episodes of Jules, and a stack of magazines. It's funny how DVRs and magazine subscriptions can induce guilt when you get behind on your media consumption. So to me, this counts as a sick kind of productivity in today's world.

Time for another nap....

Productivity is over-rated....

I'm still on the to-do list binge. But 3 days of tackling things put off for months/years is really not that fun, and I'm soooo ready for the weekend.

But if you're keeping track: Yesterday was spent knocking out a large number of small things that individually take very little time, but together... all day. Dropping of ink cartridges for recycling, transferring medical records, filing insurance forms, renewing/canceling subscriptions, scheduling long-overdue appointments, tracking down water filters for the refrigerator. Seriously boring stuff.

On deck for today: pest control, oil change, brake repair, pantry cleanout, and the dreaded bifocal purchase. And there are still stacks of books that need to be sorted and boxed for storage. Oh, and we have company coming tonight so I guess I'd better clean up!

I'll keep plugging away and reminding myself that it does feel great to have this stuff out of the way. Thank goodness the weekend is in sight! Better hustle if I'm gonna get it all done!

Oh yeah, gettin' it done!

So far so good on the effort to conquer some long-overlooked items on the to-do list. Yesterday I knocked out 4 amended tax returns (quadruple ugh!), and built a blog for the Overview Commission. Definitely two time-draining items I've been avoiding for quite some time. It feels good to have them done!

Today I've moved on to shopping for better insurance rates. Another ugh. This one's been on my to-do list for almost a year. Can you believe that? All this time, paying more than I should just because of the hassle of comparing rates. No more! Today it WILL be done.

In the meantime, can I share a few baby pictures with you?

This baby visited my backyard yesterday.


These babies visited me in Tate City last week: my "baby" niece Syd and mom's baby Sam Sam....


And MY babies, who I couldn't have imagined having just a short year ago... growing fast and sweeter than ever.


I figure fawns, puppies and kittens are more pleasant to think about than insurance rates. Have a great (and productive) day!

Who's Ready?

I decided the vacay wasn't over just because I came home. I mean, who ends a vacation on a Friday??? Yes, I did a ton of laundry... but at a leisurely pace. Our weekend was mostly relaxing and fun, but along the way I worked on my to-do list. It's massive.

So here's Monday and I've decided to make a game of having the most productive week ever. Yes, I will finish unpacking, pay bills, and clean house. But I've got my sights set on bigger and better things. Items that have been on my to-do list for waaaaay too long. How many can I cross off the list in 5 short days? We'll see.

Enough blogging about it. Time to get busy.

Remember me?

I'm back from 2 weeks in the mountains; rested, relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to ROLL. Come on world, bring it on - I'm ready for ya! In the meantime, I'll be doing laundry....