Earth Day 2010

So I subscribe to an email newsletter through Whole Living, which I once received via mail...but then decided I should save the cash. Anyways, there are some interesting articles here and there and this week was one entitled "10 Ways to Make Earth Day Mean Something." Just another quick fyi, Whole Living is put out by the Martha Stewart brand..which I love. So there are 10 fantastic ideas to help love on the Earth and live a more sustainable life. I think it's important for everyone to do their part to keep this Earth a nurturing, productive, beautiful place and Earth Day is just the day to embrace those ideas.

Among the 10 things were:

Join a community garden.
A really awesome idea about gardening together. Growing fruits and veggies while getting to know your neighbors, and creating a beautiful, useful space! You can find your local community garden through the American Community Gardening Association.

Plant a tree.

Thanks Olivia for the picture!

This is probably the most traditional Earth Day activity. BUT, did you know that a properly placed tree can reduce your cooling costs in the summer and improve the overall health, aesthetic, and value of your home?

Sit down to a family dinner.

In addition to good ole' fashioned conversation, make your meal of organic, local, and seasonal produce. With nice weather spring and summer weather, take your meal outside and enjoy your food and some fresh air.

Do something outside.

Again..thanks to my awesome sister for the picture

Eat a meal outside, go on a walk..a hike..a run, sit and read a book. Just get outside and enjoy God's creation. It will make you appreciate it more..and feed that desire to care for it more.

Start your own backyard garden.
This is something I've been aching to do...but feel limited by my lack of permanence. We rent..and I want to be able to take the fruits of my labor with me..not just the fruits of the plants! I know I know, the answer to that are pots...I now have no excuses.


So pick something fun this Earth Day and give back to nature!

Some good reads

Yesterday, while being somewhat of a lazy bum around the house, I read a couple articles in Marie Claire.  Yes, magazine articles.  Marie Claire actually has some really good articles that are worth the read.  The first was entitled "My Life in a Harem" and was a Q&A with author Jillian Lauren (now wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner).  Her book her her true-story of becoming one of the Prince of Brunei's 40 girlfriends.  The book is entitled Some girls: My Life in A Harem and I have marked it on my "to-read" list.  The article discusses her sense of adventure and her life while living in the harem.  She received very lavish gifts, shopping sprees where thousands upon thousands of dollars were spent.  Though I disagree with Lauren's opinion on legalizing prostitution, I think the book will be an interesting read because it will open my eyes to a different culture and experience.

GoodReads gives the following description:
A jaw-dropping story of how a girl from the suburbs ends up in a prince's hare, and emerges from the secret Xanadu both richer and wiser 

At eighteen, Jillian Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The "casting director" told her that a rich businessman in Singapore would pay pretty American girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties. Soon, Jillian was on a plane to Borneo, where she would spend the next eighteen months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, youngest brother of the Sultan of Brunei, leaving behind her gritty East Village apartment for a palace with rugs laced with gold and trading her band of artist friends for a coterie of backstabbing beauties. 

More than just a sexy read set in an exotic land, Some Girls is also the story of how a rebellious teen found herself-and the courage to meet her birth mother and eventually adopt a baby boy.


The other article that I really enjoyed was about Tala Raassi, a rising young designer who was raised in Iran.  On her 16th birthday party, she was taken to jail and given 40 lashings for wearing a mini-skirt in the privacy of a friends home and in the company of the opposite sex.  The story is very moving and really brings to light the issues and oppression women face in Iran today.  Raassi moved to the United States after the lashings and stayed with some family while getting back on her feet.  She chose a career in fashion design to celebrate femininity and freedom of choice.  Just a really inspiring story!  You can see her line on the web: Dar be Dar, which literally means "door to door" in Persian, but is also slang for "all over the place".  You can read the article about Raassi on the Marie Claire website.

Last day of the visit

Yesterday was the last day my family was in town and we had a wonderful day!  We started out with breakfast at Bread Winners Cafe and it was absolutely delicious..as always!  Everyone got something a little different and it all looked absolutely fantastic.  I love their Cafe Mocha, it is so tasty and comes in a beautiful clear glass mug.

Then we headed down to the Dallas Farmers Market...which I will have to start patronizing on a more regular basis!  We bought a bunch of fruit and veggies for dinner/dessert at a really reasonable price!  I mean..we got like 4 or 5 yellow squash for $3!  I think that's a pretty good deal.  We also got some fresh greens for salad that was amazing!  Joshua and I will have salad remaining for at least a week..and we'll have to eat salad for every meal. 








After the Farmers Market we went to the Dallas Museum of Art.  I had wanted to go all week, so I was really glad that we were able to go on Friday!  They have a really cool exhibit up right now that relates 19th century photography and painting of the Normandy coast.  

It was really neat to see the images along side each other and learn about the history and impact the two mediums had on one another.  I took an AWESOME class about 18th and 19th century photography while at the University of Georgia and it included a couple of images that were on display.  It was really fun to be able to explain/discuss those with my family. We spent about 2-3 hours at the museum..I mean, it is 4 stories of art!  After the Museum we all needed a little pick me up so we headed over to Yumilicious (used to be Yogilicious), which is one of THE BEST frozen yogurt place in Dallas.  

No offense to all the others, of course, but it was one of the first during the fro-yo, do it yourself waive..so I'm still partial.  I always tend towards the fruit flavors.  they have FRESH raspberries, kiwi, and strawberries which are soo delicious mixed in with the plain yogurt flavor and a splash of Fruity Pebbles for a little bit of crunch!


Ok..so last night mom and I cooked a scrumptious dinner.  We used the fresh veggies from the farmers market and roasted them with olive oil and italian seasoning in the oven.  Dad grilled some marinated chicken from Central Market and they turned out SO tender.  It was awesome!  We also had a great salad, some fresh sliced tomatoes, and bow0tie pasta tossed with pesto.  Mmm, mmm, mmm.


Now the family is gone..and I am left to do a little cleaning (not much though) and catch up on the laundry.  Cheers to a fun, relaxing week with my parents and sister!

Family Visit

My mom, dad, and sister are in town for the week and we've had so much fun so far.  Tuesday was spent at the Arboretum wandering the BEAUTIFUL grounds.  Their tulips are in full bloom right now..and the flowers themselves were about the length of my hand!!

One of the many tulip beds

Yesterday was spent shopping at North Park...literally all day.  We had a lot of fun and found some really good steals...One skirt at the Gap was only $7 and the other was $10!!  What a find.

Today we are headed to Fort Worth for the Art Festival and to explore in general.  We'll probably head to the stockyards after we are done with the art festival.  It's a little chilly this morning, so I'm hoping it will warm up on our drive over.  Maybe we'll get to experience the cattle drive down exchange street!  yeehaw!

Ok..that's all for now.  I'll post more about the trip tomorrow.

Easter

I am so thankful...and so blessed...to have an amazing God who loves me, and the rest of humanity enough to give his son as a sacrifice to save me from my sins.  Easter is a celebration of that love and a celebration of Jesus' resurrection.  I am so thankful to have been saved from my sins and have the gift of eternal life in heaven with the Lord.

Joshua and I attended LLUMC this morning for the Easter service.  The service was great and really celebrated Christ and his resurrection.  After church Joshua and I came home and I cooked up a wonderful Easter lunch.  We had some traditional staples: bbq baked beans, deviled eggs, and sweet potato casserole.  Instead of ham, we had steak..which Joshua grilled for us.  A picture of our delicious feast is below:

I even pulled out the china to eat on.  First time with the china at the new place.  We were out of town for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year...so haven't gotten to use the beautiful dishes.  Good occasion to use them though!

Mom, Dad, and Olivia are headed in town tomorrow, so this weekend was spent cleaning and preparing for them to get here.  Last weekend I bought a new welcome mat because we still had our Christmas mat at the front door.  This weekend I bought a couple packs of flowers and got some pots replanted and placed on the front porch.

There are two of these pots on the front porch.  I love them!

I'm so excited about the week to come.  I think my parents..and Olivia..are really going to love Dallas and we're going to have a blast!