Homesteading

My newest obsession is homesteading. Really, it's a continuation of old obsessions. Basically, it means doing things yourself, growing your own food, producing your own energy. It translates into urban farms, learning to make butter, and cheese, raising goats,and sheep, and crocheting and mending clothing, and having solar panels and wind mills.

There are lots of different categories. Rural homesteading, urban homesteading, suburban homesteading, apartment homesteading. Right now, I am most concerned with the apartment variety. There are limiting factors, of course.

Balconies, patios, and windows are big. They allow you to have small potted gardens. Community gardens help a lot too. And CSAs! They are a huge part of urban homesteading. Learning to bake bread, and can vegetables and salsa, these are all skills I would love to acquire.

This new knowledge of homesteading is really shaping how I see myself growing as a person and how I want to live next year. Educating room mates, learning new cooking skills, cleaning with homemade cleansers, reusing things, repairing things, growing some potted plants... I am incredibly excited to see how it all works out :)

Car for next year?

So Matt's dad wants to find us a car.

This is a problem. We can't afford it and it is not a good choice in terms of the environment. I really don't want one. But Matt thinks it might be a good idea so we can get home.

The main issue in affording it is the insurance. We really wouldn't drive it except to go home, but we would have to pay for car insurance 6 months at a time, even though we aren't using it. I really don't like the idea of all that money being spent for barely anything. I would much rather just ride the red coach bus to Orlando and have my parents pick us up from there. It would be a little cheaper, in the long run, if you include the price of the car, and the gas, and the insurance, and the registration... Plus we wouldn't have to drive. The bus has wifi so we could actually watch a movie on Netflix or something. It would be much more enjoyable.

Hopefully we don't get a car, but if we do, hopefully the insurance isn't too much... And the car is gas efficient. (Which probably means it will be manual and I will have to drive it all the time.... ugh.)

Next Year's Housing

So no more house hunting--we have definitely decided to focus our search to apartments. And we have actually made some progress!

We went to an apartment on the north side of campus on Tuesday called Lenox Parc. They have a 1/1 that's just a little more expensive than what we pay now. It has a washer /dryer in unit, but no dishwasher. We weren't expecting on giving that up so that's a bummer. And they have a third party internet which is a little concerning; I'm not sure what to expect.

Yesterday, we went to see Villa Cristina on Bellevue. It did not work out. Their 1/1 was perfectly lovely, amazing actually, with a washer/dryer and a dishwasher. But their rent was $699 and they wanted to charge an extra $100/month because we would be splitting the apartment. That was WAY outside our budget.

But, the trip wasn't a waste. While waiting for the bus, we decided to go into the office across the street because we had really fallen in love with the area (so nice and quite, yet convenient to school, Publix, and a bus stop? yes please!) The lady there showed us the 1/1. It was pretty similar to what we have now, just a little nicer and a little more expensive. Still no washer/dryer, we would have to use the facility. BUT. We talked to her a lot and she mentioned their 3/3 has various sized bedrooms and the master rents for under $500! That's less than what we pay now. We would have our own bathroom, and a washer/dryer in the apartment. And a dishwasher.

She didn't have a unit available for a tour, but she is going to call us when she does. So exciting! This could definitely be an interesting option. And I have so many ideas about the complex. Possibly convincing them to install bike racks? Or a complex garden? Water barrels? Compost bins? Recycling? I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but it is just so exciting thinking of all the new things I could do. They really have a lot of space. I like to obsess over things. Just a lot.

Fingers crossed it works out!

Our Wedding

So, our wedding is beginning to take shape.

I think the separation of church and state should apply to marriage, so we are having two ceremonies. We are getting married legally here in Tallahassee, just the two of us, at the courthouse--Florida doesn't require witnesses. Then we are having a spiritual ceremony, with just the two of us, outside somewhere. I want to decide it kind of spontaneously, wherever feels right for us as a couple. This will  be on March 6th (our anniversary) of 2015. I will have graduated already, but Matt will be in school already. That's the Friday before spring break that year.

Then we will spend a few days alone here in Tally before taking a bus home to Melbourne. At the end of spring break, on the 14th (pi day!) we will have a celebration! We want to rent a beach clubhouse we found and have tacos and just spend time with our family and friends. The venue holds a max of 70, which is perfect since our guest list is at about 50 right now. That gives us space for any vendors, or people who are new to our lives. And we are having homemade pies instead of cake.

We have worked out ideas for the save the dates, and the invitations. The website has been started and our honeymoon registry set up. Our budget is set, and we have ideas about outfits and decor. I am so excited to do this with him.

Best of all--we are having a sea monster theme. This way, it is still beach appropriate, but we can avoid sea shells and coral and such. It is very cliche, but mostly it is just bad for the environment to remove them from the environment. Plus I don't want dead things at the wedding. I am barely OK with having meat options for the tacos.

Overall, it should be relaxing, and intimate, and personal. And us. Colorful. DIY. Crafty. Eco-friendly (as long as I can get Matt on board).

We still have issues to work out--is it better to be budget conscious and get the food from Sam's or eco-conscious and get it locally-sourced? We are low on budget and self-catering. How much food do we need? Who is going to make the pies? (Hopefully my sister will make a few, she's a pastry arts student. And Matt's dad makes amazing pies) How long will it take to make the invitations I have designed--and will my mom be willing to help? (She's into DIY and cards. She has a lot of supplies.) Do we have the budget to hire a student photographer, or should we just count on our guests to take pictures? Will the kids be entertained enough? (about a third of the guest list are children.) Are we going to have any alcohol?

So much. So much. My parents spent $500 total on their cake-and-punch wedding, including my mom's dress. And Matt's mom is still paying off her recent wedding that cost over $20000. So who knows how this will turn out. Should eb an adventure though! :)

Baking Soda update

So this baking soda thing was going well until... Key West.

My mom said she would bring me baking soda from home, since they were driving and we were flying. So I didn't pack any, and then.. she forgot to grab it.

Oh well, right? But, I had to have clean hair for the wedding. So I used my mom's shampoo--which said ti had low levels of harsh chemicals and stuff, but still. I was a little bummed. And I got a haircut there, and they used shampoo on my hair too.

When I got home, I tried to give my hair some time to just work it out of its system, then went back to the baking soda. I was going through the whole process again. My hair was super oily. Then I took a shower and didn't have the baking soda in the bathroom... And so I had to use shampoo.

It's been rough, but I've been trying to get my hair back on track. I can't expect miracles, but the baking soda works really well when I give it a chance. I put a container full of baking soda in the bathroom yesterday, with the scoop. So, as long as I remember to refill it when it gets low, hopefully I should be good.

Offbeat Bride--the site that revolutionized my wedding planning experience

So, Matt and I are engaged. Have been for over a year. I proposed October of last school year. And the wedding planning has taken many turns.

At first, it was a pretty traditional beach wedding, a little too similar to his mother's wedding. Then I discovered offbeatbride.com and everything changed.

They cater to everyone offbeat--steampunk, renaissance, nerdy, eco-friendly, vegan, polyamorous... Name it, and they are accepting. As long as you can respect other people and don't do any bashing--including of yourself--you are welcome on their site. They think everyone and everything is awesome. They focus on people, not trends. They point out how happy a couple looks, and then how amazing her shoes, or dress, or whatever, is.

What's really cool is all the eco-friendly ideas they have. From non-floral bouquets and centerpieces to eco-friendly decor and fashion, to self-catering for vegetarians, they have it all. What's also nice is they cover emotional and philosophy questions as well--help with in-laws, how to get over body image isues and love your wedding, how to love your wedding even if it isn't perfect. Some of my recent favorites have been how to deal with canceling your offbeat wedding and how marriage doesn't equal children. Of course, there is always the name change debate.

They are very LGBT supportive. So you have trans couples, or male-male couples, or female-female couples. There was even recently a polyamorous group--a woman and man were getting married, but their mutual partner was also present and part of the ceremony. It was very interesting--not quite for me, but nice to learn about other people.

The also have a few sister blogs: Offbeat Home and Life (formerly Offbeat Home) and Offbeat Family (formerly Offbeat Mama). They even have a blog called Offbeat Empire that is all about running the blogs and deals with questions about editing, moderation, and what is covered and what isn't. What is awesome is that the whole thing started with a book called Offbeat Bride, and it has sense turned into this whole community online. There's even a private forum for those planning weddings, commitment ceremonies, and vow re-newels.

I am so grateful this exists, and so lucky to have found it.

No house :/

So, we didn't get the house...

The bank went with a higher offer. i don't know if we are going to still look for houses or look into apartments more, but we have to figure it out soon. The friend we had lined up as a roomate for if the house worked out has since found a room in a house farther from campus--with her car, she can drive to school every day, something we don't have the luxury of as an option.

Most apartment places have individual leases, something that won't really work for us. Right now we have a traditional lease, and sorta in our budget, but we don't have a washer dryer in unit. I could deal with a washer dryer facility next year, as long as it was in the same building. Right now we have to go outside and downstairs with out laundry and when it's cold or raining, it's almost impossible to get the chore done. Last year, we both have laundry facilities, but they were in the same building--I was in Gilchrist, and Matt was in a big apartment building. (His old place isn't really an option because it is dorm style--the apartments don't have kitchens.)

And so we start the search. The impossible search. With no leads yet.

The Wedding :)

The wedding was beautiful. I hate to be back in Tallahassee, in class.

The ceremony was a little long, but the ribbon-children were so cute going down the aisle--all 11 of them! My cousin, Elizabeth, looked beautiful in her gown--a mermaid gown, fitted to her knees, then with some flare at the bottom. I was kind of hoping she would wear a less traditional gown, since she is so artistic, but I forgot how traditional her family is. She wore a beautiful lace-lined veil. The bridesmaids were in orange with awesome shoes, and the groomsmen and groom wore khaki suits. While everyone waited for the trolley, a band was outside playing "When the Saints go Marching In." We didn't wait for the trolley--instead we walked. It was nice to be able to see more of Key West.

Hemingway House was amazing. When we got there, cocktail hour was waiting for us. Waiters were passing out appetizers, which I didn't eat because they had meat, and there were tables with fruit, cheese, crackers, bread, and hummus. There were also waiters handing out mojitos, sangria, and lemonade. As people started arriving, a band started playing and it really got lively. Chairs were found for some of the older guests, and kids were running around. The wedding party were taking pictures up on the second floor porch of the house and eventually everyone wandered over to the reception space, which was on the lawn.

The tables were really pretty. Elizabeth had picked out really pretty centerpieces, these low arrangements of green flowers. Her colors of pink, orange, and green really worked. Each setting had a favor box--inside was a little bowl made by Elizabeth. Where she usually signs her name, she had stamped her name and her now-husband's name, and the wedding date. It was adorable! And it had to have been so much work. Each one was a different combination of colors.

The dinner was lovely. There was an amazing salad. And then beef or fish. I had selected the beef. I ate the potatoes and some of the asparagus and then split my steak pieces between my sister and Matt. My sister had the fish, and she said it was really good.

The wedding party had a pretty awesome entrance and did the speeches right away, then the first dance. Then the band started up, and they were a little too loud. The cake cutting was cool. They didn't smash it in each others' faces. Unfortunately  the cake was right by the band and we ended up standing right by the speaker, so that was annoying. Bu the cake was delicious. Each layer was a different flavor. There was white cake with guava filling, a red velvet, and a white cake with cream cheese filling. At least.

The kids were chasing cats for awhile, but as the cats disappeared, they began chasing each other. I was so afraid they would knock over one of the serving stations or run into someone, but I don't think there was an incident.

Overall, it was a wonderful evening, and I am so grateful my parents gave Matt and I to go to our first wedding together.

Key West!

Matt and I in Key West! The weather is beautiful, the air is salty, the sun is shining... It's great to be here. Feels like a second home. Haven't been here in years. The last time I remember coming is when my great-grandmother died... But this is a much happier occasion!

We have been running around getting our sight-seeing in. We visited my cousin's new pottery shop. It looks beautiful! Not much merchandise, but that's to be expected--she's busy preparing for her wedding.

We walked down Duval St. and admired all the tropical plants, especially the orchids. Everywhere we turned, there was an orchid hanging in a tree just BURSTING with blooms. And the chickens! They really are everywhere. We saw several mothers with her brood of adorable chicks. We even had chickens come into a restaurant we were eating at! Crazy. The waiter had to keep shooing them out and eventually fed them rice down the sidewalk to divert them away. I was hoping to see an iguana, but no such luck. Apparently, they had a recent campaign to reduce the iguana population centered in the cemetery.

Tomorrow, the wedding ceremony is at the family church and then there will be a trolley car to transport us to the Hemingway House for the ceremony! I love the Hemingway house. We went on the tour a few trips ago. There are so many cats, and the stories about all his wives are really interesting. There is even a urinal-turned-cat-fountain from the original Sloppy Joe's bar! And the first below ground pool in the Keys.

Matt is with us, which is super cool. He knows a lot of my closer family members, but hasn't had the chance to meet the extended portion down here. Plus, he hasn't been to the Hemingway House. I think he is very excited about this weekend.

Going to Key West soon!

Tomorrow, Matt and I leave for Key West!

We are flying from Tallahassee to Tampa, and then Tampa to Key West. This will be Matt's first flight, and I don't much like them. Hopefully it turns out alright?

We are going for my mom's cousin's wedding. She is an artist and sells her pottery in Key West. I have a bunch of family who lives down there. My mom was born in Key West and I lived there for a summer with my grandmother and great-grandparents. It's really great to have a lot of history in such a famous place--but it means I know a totally different side of the island. Most people think of Key West in terms of the gay population, or Fantasy Fest, or tourism.

My great-grandparents owned a grocery store way back in the day. And my great-great-grandfather before that. Carlos Supermarket has since been torn down, but the house they lived in has been restored by family. It was across the street from the store and is now home to a cafe and some offices on Carolina St. That was the house my grandmother and all her siblings were born in. The house my great-grandparents got married in still stands, on Simonton St. The house my grandfather built, and the only one I visited them in, is still there, just being rented out to a family friend. My mom's uncle is a doctor in Key West and has his house still--a beautiful house in the old style of architecture for the island.

I have all these stories from my family. When my grandmother broke her arm and had to go to Cuba because there were no doctors in Key West, just a vet. When she got sick and they cooked her pet rooster for chicken noodle soup--back when chickens didn't run wild but were valuable property in the depression, back before the keys tried to "secede" and become the Conch Republic, with the rooster as their national bird. When she went to Cuba for her honeymoon. When her father locked her in the store overnight so she could conquer her fear of the dark. How she would run to her aunt's house to use the indoor plumbing instead of the outhouse at her house. How there was only one movie theater and how movies cost so little. How girls couldn't go to the movies with a boy without a chaperone. So many stories about an island I haven't really seen, that no one can see now. It's been torn down, rebuilt in pastels and neons and parallel parking spots. The roads are dangerous, teeming with bicycles driven by clueless tourists who think they are in Disney World. The island turns bar scene at night. My family is too old for that island and can barely afford to live there. But, it's home for them and they make it work.

Nutrition Event

This Thursday is our nutrition event! Yay!

Finally, all of our hard work will come to a point. I am excited to see how the student body takes our information. Hopefully well?

Fingers crossed for a successful event! :)

The House

We had a lot of fun touring the house! It was really interesting. Parts were original, but other parts were not.

If we get it, it will be a lot of work. Matt' dad thinks it is doable though! He is going to put in an offer. My mind is full of all the possibilities for next year--a garden, a cat, a roommate, a usable kitchen, a firepit... But I am probably getting ahead of myself right now. I should wait and see how it goes. We are offering under the list price, and it's a foreclosure/short sale, so the bank will have to decide.

Hopefully we will find out soon? :/ I hate waiting...

New House?

So, tomorrow Matt and I will be touring a little 3/1 house on Copeland St. So exciting! If we get it, then there will be so many possibilities in terms of being green. There is already a clothes line in the backyard, lots of room for a veggie garden, and lots of beautiful trees. Maybe we can get a bike rack? And a push mower? And I can't wait to build a huge compost bin! And we can use candles and there's a fireplace and we can have a fire pit!

I don't know if Matt is quite aware of how much I want to do. Maybe I will have to talk to him about all of this...

New phone!

Over spring break, I got a new cell phone :) My fiance and I are switching over to Virgin Mobile from Verizon because the plan is so much cheaper. I got a phone on clearance at Target, used a gift card, and got 5% off with my mom's credit card. I feel so frugal and thrifty! Plus, the phone is made from recycled post-consumer waste.

Now all I have to figure out what to do with my old phone...

Summer Internship

So, over the summer I will be doing an internship for Orchard Pong Organics. So exciting! I have to do an English internship for my major, so getting that requirement out of the way is great, but the content is fantastic. It ties right into our class project!

Basically, Shelby will be my supervisor. I will write two days a week from home and then work on the farm one day a week, helping out with harvesting and such. I will write their newsletter, work on their website as well as their presence on social media, create informational pamphlets... I also get to create a project of my own. This summer should be very fun :)

Health Update

I have been suffering from a strange allergy-like affliction since Veteran's day and Monday I had an appointment with an allergist. Apparently, it isn't an allergy! I have chronic urticaria with dermatographism. Which means an autosomal reaction... to something... My trigger is pressure and it is intensified by heat, alcohol, and most over the counter pain medications. And then, 8 vials of blood were withdrawn along with a  cup 'o' pee. And in four weeks I should know if this has a physical cause, like a viral infection, or if it's just some weird thing I have to deal with indefinitely. In the meantime, loads of antihistamines and avoiding my triggers.

Baking Soda update

So the baking soda shampoo has been going fairly well in Tallahassee. I thought it would be tough coming home and having to find baking soda all the time, but it was super easy! Best part? The soft water back home made the baking soda paste so much smoother. It looked exactly like shampoo. And my hair felt fantastic afterwards! Now if only I had soft water in Tallahassee...

Carrots!

Over winter break, I planted some carrot seeds... Promptly forgot about them. I came back home Friday and today I got to harvest my carrots! :)

Here's what they looked like:

No more iPod!

I used to have an iPod. And an iPad mini. But the iPod was kind of useless compared to the iPad mini and it just used more energy to charge and carry around. So, I gave it to Matt to trade in at Gamestop. It was worth almost $70! Along with a few games he was done with, he had enough credit to pre-order a new game he wanted with lots extra. Now, in the winter, when the next Zelda video game comes out, we won't have to pay out of pocket for it! It's great when being green and frugal turn out to be the same thing.

Reverse Printer

Reverse printer? Yes! It takes the ink off of paper so you can print on it again. That would make recycling printed paper obsolete.

Take a look! It looks really cool. http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/06/24/reverse-printer/

Solar Fridge

Here is a link to some concept art for a new solar-powered fridge: http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/09/16/chilling-outside-the-window/
It seems really cool! The fridge stays outside the window apartment and uses solar and wind energy to keep the food chill. I can't wait for it to become real. It would be perfect for my apartment and would saves us lots of money.

Tropical Smoothie

So we went to Tropical Smoothie for lunch the other day. I got a pita pizza, Matt got some sort of chicken sandwich, and we shared a smoothie. Afterwards, there was way too much trash. We dined in and it looked just like if we had gotten it to-go. Ridiculous...

Publish your own E-book

Professors are always writing their own material and sending us to Target Copy or the UPS print shop. But what if we could get that same material--but without paying for the paper or ink?

Well, we could. Here's how:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-20010547-82/how-to-self-publish-an-ebook/

Wouldn't it be great to pay, say, $5 for a book you can read on a laptop, than say, $40?

Cup Speakers!

Earbuds aren't loud enough to party with, but these speakers amplify the sound from earbuds without using an excess energy. Best part? They're just paper cups and toothpicks.

http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/11/13/macgyver-tries-ipod-speakers/

Netflix

I recently got a Netflix trial subscription. It is amazing! I can watch it on any PC, my iPad mini, and on the TV through the Wii U. So, next year, if we have the ability, we may replace our cable with netflix. It is much, much cheaper. I'm not sure if it is environmentally friendly or just frugal, but I am definitely ok with just frugal.

Rain barrel

Next year I want to have a rain barrel. I am not sure how to do that without gutters, but I will definitely need a barrel. I wonder if I could get one for free? I remember my dad made one. It was up on blocks so that gravity provided the pressure for the water to leave the barrel out of a hose at the bottom. We also saved milk jugs to store the water during the rainy seasons. That way during the drought, we had a reserve to use on plants. So I definitely want a storage space for those jugs as well as the barrel. Perhaps if I make a rain chain that will work without gutters to direct the water into the barrel...

Digital Coupons

So next month Publix will be debuting a new digital coupon system. You go on their website, select coupons, and then when you check out, type in your phone number and any coupons that apply will automatically be used. You don't have to print them or clip them!

Here is a page explaining how it works:

http://publix.couponselectionpage.com/offers/all

Paperless Semester

For Christmas and my birthday, my parents got me an iPad mini! Super exciting, now I can download a butt-load of apps and play a bunch of games. 

But, in terms of school, I have discovered it is excellent at making me paperless. By far, the most useful app I use is Notes Plus. While it did cost a few dollars, it was definitely worth it! I tried almost every free version and this one definitely had the best features. I can hand write notes for class with a stylus or type them with my bluetooth-enabled keyboard. I can impost pdf files which came in handy when I discovered all of my Bio II lecture slides were available in a pdf format. I can export my notes in a variety of formats. I can even record lectures that are saved with the notes I take. I am a little organization-crazy so one of the most important features this app had that others did not was the ability to layer unlimited notebooks and folders. There is also an upgrade that enables the app to transcribe handwritten text into typed text. 

I don't have a smart phone, so with wifi I am connected to the internet's wide world of awesomeness. I can save documents I want to be able to access on Google Drive (which has its own app and even allows documents to be set viewable offline) and can always download class forms from BlackBoard. 

Celery and Lettuce Update!

My lettuce has been growing! It probably grew about 4 inches so far! I will transplant it into a green bean can and dirt soon.

The celery though got cut more recently so it hasn't quite grown as much. I'm going to make Matt eat some soup so I can have one of the much wider Progresso cans for the celery when it gets a little bigger.

It is so nice having my own little garden inside, even if we don't have any real green space!

Recycling Paper

So I have a fairly recent fascination with paper. Well, I guess a refascination. I learned how to make paper way back in elementary school for a Girl Scout badge. That was a small rectangle of course purple paper. Pretty much just newsprint and food dye.

This past summer I made paper with my cousins. We gathered green bamboo leaves from the ground in the backyard and blended them to make the slurry. I ended up adding a little blended newspaper because I was afraid the bamboo wouldn't stick together. I have no clue if it actually needed that though.

To make our frame, I just cut a rectangle out of a foam tray with an exacto knife and staple some wire mesh across it. The slurry was put in a plastic bin the size of a shoe box and sifted around to catch the pulp. Once there was plenty on the screen, I just placed paper towels on both sides and pressed some water out. They dried on the porch and eventually I popped them out of the frame and put them on a drying rack.

The paper was thick and coarse but it maintained the natural green color of the leaves without any dye! That was very cool. I think I could have used a cloth, like cheese cloth, instead of the mesh to make something with a finer texture. To make it thinner, we could have rolled it between the paper towels with a rolling pin.

The pieces were so small because of the frame and so they weren't of too much use. We ended up using them to mat some photos we took at the zoo that summer before we put them in frames. It looked really cool!

SInce then, I have really wanted to make more paper. So, I have been keeping paper in my apartment! Matt doesn't really like it too much, I think, but it's better now that I organized it. That was simple -- I just turned some cereal boxes inside-out so they were brown and stacked them. Instant paper organizer!

Hopefully this summer I can make a larger frame using a picture frame and some cheese cloth. And I want to use a mortar and pestle to grind the paper into pulp. That way the paper would be recycled without the use of any energy! I also want to experiment with different leaves and such with different combinations of paper. Should be an eventful summer!

HW 3 update #2!

So boiling water and adding baking soda sucks. I have now started just placing a scoop of baking soda on the back of the toilet. When I am in the shower, I just grab it and dump a little in my hand. The powder mixes with the water in my hand (perfect temperature, not too hot, not too cold!) and becomes a thick paste.

This works so much better for me! I couldn't find a spray bottle so thicker was the way to go. This is simple, easy, very little prep! The paste is a little gritty, but I like the way it feels -- it exfoliates a little and I know it's working into my hair. I leave it in my hair for about a minute, then rinse it very well. Yay!

I don't think I've hit the magic point yet, but I'm definitely not ready to go back to regular shampoo. I think that has a lot to do with the length of my hair. If it feels weird, I barely notice because I don't ever have to mess with it. When my hair was longer, it used to be in my hair all the time and I would be bothered if it was the least bit greasy or weird.

Shampooing with baking soda is so convenient. Imagine traveling without having to bring shampoo! It isn't a liquid so it can go on planes in larger quantities, you can bring it camping and just add water when you need it! It makes so much sense to just add water to the powder when you need it. Why have we been buying, bottling, storing, carrying huge bottles of liquid around for so long?? Powders are much better.

I haven't tried the vinegar conditioner yet. I have some white vinegar, but I figured that has to be diluted and would be best if I hade a spray bottle. I will bring one back over after spring break and try it then.

Re-growing veggies!

So we went grocery shopping yesterday! Yay for food!

While it's great to have bread and milk and eggs, I am super excited for the lettuce and celery we bought!

Yes, I like lettuce and celery, but I'm not a fanatic. I'm excited because I found a tutorial on the internet for regrowing your lettuce and celery. So cool!

Basically, you chop off the end of the stalk -- the end you don't really eat anyway and ends up in the trash or compost -- and stick it in a shallow dish with water. Then add sunlight and wait!

So we cut off the ends and put them in small tupperwares. They live on our kitchen table half the day, but we put them in the windowsill before we leave for school each day.

Eventually they will need to be in soil, but not until they are larger.

Fingers crossed for great results!

Laundry time!

This weekend we have to do laundry...

That means carrying all our dirty clothes, detergent, and quarters down a few flights of stairs to the laundry facility in our complex.

We don't use cash much, and so we have to conserve our quarters as much as possible. So whe the washer and dryer each cost $1.25, we try to save a little money by not electrically drying our lighter clothes.

Typically, we pay to dry our sheets, towels, jeans, and any dirty coats. These things get to use the highest heat setting and so we get the most for our quarters. Everything else we trek back up to our apartment and drape on a folding drying rack that is stored under our bed.

Usually, though, we have too many wet clothes for that one drying rack and we end up hanging the clothes on hangers in the shower or along the bedframe or the back of the coach or the towel rack or... Basically, there are clothes EVERYWHERE.

While our main motivation is the moolah, we also end up helping the environment, right?

Yep! Saving the environment, one load of laundry not-dried at a time!

Make your own cat litter!

So, next year we are moving to a townhouse (fingers crossed) and we can get a pet! Because we go to school most of the time, a cat is just a much better choice than a dog.

The problem is, pet cats can cause a huge issue, environmentally. Their feces is subject to dangerous bacteria and such because they are carnivores. This means it is imperative their waste be kept out of the ground water.

Cat litter is also a huge problem. Clay cat litter causes extensive mining damage to the environment and the most popular commercial alternative is made of pine chips--not much better for the forests.

Some people toilet-train their cats, but this introduces their feces to the water supply. Some people use a commercial litter alternative made from recycled paper -- this still ends up in the landfill, though.

Could you compost cat feces? Why yes! The temperatures and fast turn around associated with vermicomposting are perfect -- the high temperature kills the dangerous bacteria and large amounts of waste can be broken down on a regular basis. You can dispose of your cats' litter in your own back yard!

But -- commercial cat litters contain anti-microbial agents that can kill your red wrigglers and undermine your whole waste disposal system.

Why not make your own recycled paper newspaper though? Is it possible? Of course!

http://thegreenists.com/pets/tip-of-the-day-make-your-own-kitty-litter/1044

Here is a simple tutorial I found online that uses regular newspaper and turns it into litter! Paper litter (along with pine litter) don't clump like clay litter does, which turns off many cat owners, but it still absorbs it and the whole pan can be dumped into your vermicomposter with minimal fear of hurting your worms or in turn, your plants grown from the eventual compost.

Win-win? I think so!

HW 3 Update 1

So. No shampoo. I haven't used any shampoo in a week! Yay for determination!

Instead of chemical-laden shampoo, I have been boiling water and stirring in baking soda. Just 1 tbsp of baking powder per cup of water needed! Unfortunately, the first time, I did it right before I wanted to take a shower and then stuck the jar in the freezer for a little bit. It was still hot though -- way too hot. The next time I used it, I just shook it a little to redisperse the baking soda. Not good though -- too cold.

The watery mixture is very... watery. Shampoo is much thicker and much easier to keep on my head. A lot of people have found success using a squirt bottle to disperse the mixture into their hair, maybe I can find one and do that.

Update soon, hopefully!

Being a Vegetarian

Since January of my freshman year of high school, I have been a vegetarian. SO, it's been over 6 years now! I have learned a lot since then, for sure.

When I first started, I ate a lot of carbs and cheese. Mac-n-cheese, grilled cheese, fried mozzarella cheese sticks! Not super healthy.

As I progressed, though, I started trying tofu, and frozen meat substitutes. I have found I really like sliced tofurkey, for sandwiches, but the tofurkey you make for Thanksgiving is just alright.

I have also found that a lot of "meat" dishes can be made vegetarian with simple substitutions, such as using tofu or meat substitute instead of the meat, or just using vegetable broth instead of chicken or beef stock.

And the labels! I have found the labels to be most helpful. A lot of things can be tricky. Like vegetable soup. You would think vegetable soup is vegetarian, but if it is made with beef stock, then it's a no-go. Baked beans are often cooked with bacon or pork bits, refried beans can have lard in them, and sometimes even black beans have meat. You just have to be careful.

Restaurants have to be the most difficult yet amazing places to be vegetarians. Once you get over your shyness, you can ask for suggestions. Many restaurants, such as Chilli's, won't have a lot of vegetarian options on the menu, but the waiters will have a few dishes in mind that can be made with a few substitutions. Unfortunately though, you can also discover dishes you thought were safe have been compromised when you ask. For example, the mac'n'cheese at Cracker Barrel is made with bacon grease. Who would have known?

Consciousbox.com

Recently I found this website on the internet:

http://www.consciousbox.com/

It seems like a really cool idea! Basically, you sign up and pay a subscription, and the company will send you a box on a regular basis that contains all sorts of natural and organic products. They say they have done all the research on the products and that they are all good things. They support "good" products and in turn you are exposed to these products, supporting the companies in turn! And it is delivered right to your door. Seems like something a consumer could easily buy into, as it takes the guesswork and the research out of the buying process. For a busy family, this seems like a good idea. I'm not sure if there research is real or not, but it is definitely a good idea.

Homework Assignment 3

So, for our third homework assignment, we are supposed to try something new for a month to see if it will develop into a habit. I have decided to try transitioning my hair to a "no 'poo" routine!

Commercial shampoos have a lot of crazy chemicals in them that are terribly harsh on your hair. It takes about 6 weeks to transition your hair off of shampoo. Instead, you should wash with baking soda dissolved in water and condition with diluted vinegar. Eventually, some people wash with water only. Your hair gets to the best it has ever been -- after a few weeks of miserable hair.

This should save tons of money and bottles as well! Even if plastic bottles are recyclable, they are still a waste when I can buy a huge box of baking soda at once and dilute it myself. And plastic tends to be downcycled, trapping those materials in speed bumps.

So, hopefully this works out really well. I will share an update about once a week!

Litter and Waste

Walking to bus stops or t school, you tend to see a lot of trash, whether it is litter or on the curb for pickup.

At a bus stop, I spied a complex that had many, many, MANY black plastic bags full of leaves at the curb. This really distressed me. Plastic doesn't break down very readily, so the leaves, usually very degradable, are stuck in the bag at a landfill! And I doubt they gathered that many leaves with a rake--they had to have used a leaf blower. Those seem so unnecessary and use so much energy. If that landscaper or complex had a compost bin, they could create rich soil for the spring planting! And there were already leaves all over the ground again, so it didn't make much difference.

Back at home, we have a little grove of bamboo and it tends to shed leaves all year long. There are so many that my mom can't pick them all up. Instead, she tends to just let them fall and they act as mulch in her planting beds underneath. It works quite well. The leaves keep grass and weeds from growing, they fall off and around the larger plants she wants there, and they break down into the soil eventually. Whenever she wants to add a new plant to that bed, she just scoops a bunch with the rake and moves them to the compost bin. And voila! There is a clear place for her plant to go.

On campus, the landscaping tends to change with the seasons, but part of the year, the "mulch" is actually just large amounts of pine needles! These are particularly good because they are acidic (I think) and deter certain pests once they break down into the soil.

Walking to school one day, I say a bunch of styrofoam peanuts scattered EVERYWHERE. At first, I was really upset that someone had littered them all over the sidewalk and grass, but then I realized the alternative was to be bagged and stuck in the landfill. Subject to the elements, they had a better chance of breaking down in the grass. And they might have been those water soluble ones, which definitely shouldn't go in a trash bag -- though I doubt it. Funny how we have this gut reaction to not litter when in reality, some things would decompose better "littered" everywhere than in a plastic bag!

Star Metro Electric bus!

The other morning while waiting for the FSU bus to come, I saw an electric StarMetro bus drive by! It looked a lot funkier than the regular ones and said it was electric on the side. Here's an article from the StarMetro website:

Things I would like to do to be green (but that my fiancé won't let medo)

Because we live together, we kind of have to agree about the routines we practice in such a small apartment. So, every time I come up with a great idea, I have to ask myself: Would Matt be willing to do this? This is a list of the things which haven't gotten his approval.

1. Create an old-school grey water system: I would like to plug the tub during showers to collect the water. Then the water could be used to flush the toilet -- all we would need is a bucket! Added benefit? Seeing (and feeling) all the water at the bottom of the tub would be an incentive to take shorter showers!

2. Vermicomposting: Because we are in such a small apartment with no green space, there isn't a good way to compost traditionally. But vermicomposting can take up much less space! I experimented with it back home and had a plastic bin the size of a shoe box for my precious worms. You just have to give them a well-balanced diet of newspaper, food scraps, and plant material and you gets some really rich dirt! And less compostable material in the landfill. It even takes a really short amount of time compared to traditional composting.

3. An Army of House Plants: Plants are incredibly good for the environment. While we cannot have a garden (again, the lack of green space), we could have lots of plants. They are the only pet that won't break our lease :D If I had my way, ever square inch of space in our apartment would be covered with air plants, cacti, and all manner of indoor-tolerant plant varieties. Sadly, Matt wouldn't appreciate living in a jungle.

4. Switching to cloth toilet paper: Matt likes toilet paper. I get it, we all use it, and then dispose of it. But tons of people use cloth diapers--what's wrong with using squares of material instead of paper, and then washing them? I understand his hesitation and I'm willing to wait until we have a washer/dryer in our own apartment (rather than a laundry facility) to make this change. But when we have kids, I will definitely be using cloth diapers and cloth toilet paper. And while I'm at it, cloth paper towels! There are awesome tutorials on the internet for absorbent cloths that snap together into the form of a roll of paper towels. When you want one, just unsnap a cloth instead of ripping. Then, once they get cleaned, just snap them all together and roll them up!

5. Sustainable energy: I would really love to have solar panels or a wind turbine. Alas, again, the small apartment. Someday though!

6. Organic veggies: Matt says the organic vegetables are too expensive at Publix and I totally get it. And the farmer's market is a bit far and on Saturdays when I just want to sleep in. Oh well. One dat it will happen!

I cut all of my hair off!

On a whim last night, I cut all of my hair off! YAY!

Here I am, before:

Half way through:

And after:

While my motivations were personal satisfaction and change, with a dash of an internet obsession for pixie hair cuts, having less hair can definitely be eco-friendly!

With less hair on your head, you can use less water, less shampoo, less styling product. You spend less time blowdrying your hair, ultimately saving electricity. You don't have to constantly buy new hair ties and doodads when all your old ones disappear behind beds, under cushions, and at the depths of every bag you use (and some you don't use).

I don't blow dry my hair very often because it can be very damaging, but I would occasionally dry it after a morning shower on a cold day, just to keep my ears a little toastier. Now, with shorter hair, it dries by itself much faster and wet hair on a cold morning is no longer an issue.

Maintenance can be a big issue with pixie cuts, as they must be cut regularly to keep their shape. But seeing as I cut my hair by myself to get the pixie, I am pretty sure I can trim it if it gets too unruly. I plan on letting it grow a little so I can get it shaped some by my preferred hair stylist back home over spring break. You would think short hair is short hair, but there is so much shaping you can do! And little changes can make a big difference with such short hair.

And now I have so much extra time since I don't have to fuss over my hair! All the better to think about being green?

My Peperomia <3

Last semester, my mom bought me a house plant because she stole adopted my dorm cactus. We went to the Tallahassee Nursery out on Thomasville and I picked out a pretty little peperomia! It gets a little sun through the window and otherwise just looks really amazing. Sometimes, if the weather is nice, I will set it outside on the window air conditioner unit.

Having a house plant is really nice. It improves air quality! That is super important for our apartment because it reeked of smoke when we first moved in. I think the previous tenant was a smoker. My fiancé has a strong sense of smell and any smoke bothers him a lot. Between the air conditioner, the plant, and a few candles, we have managed to fight the smell, but some days it is still pretty bad in the kitchen where the smoke has been painted into the cabinets.

Plants also just look really nice! They update and soften the look of the room. In a sea of artificial and man-made furnishings, it is great to be able to have a breathe of nature in my living room!

This is my first post!

I will be documenting my journey through a semester of living green as I make choices. Who knows how different my life will be after this? Hopefully better! :)