bad habits, good habits, red fish blue fish... what?

So Tyler, our new part-timer, has been making coffee in the mornings at work and I simultaneously love him and hate him for it. Because I love the coffee but I really ought not drink it. It turns me into a jumping bean.

I had been furtively sneaking small amounts in the little disposable starbucks cups that we had left over from some event Lauren did, and that seemed sufficient to keep me from drinking much of it, but it also meant I was using disposable cups :(

anyway, I'm a sucker for sale items at starbucks and snagged a lovely mug there the other day for $3, so now I have my own coffee mug for my desk at work.

In the same beverage-related vein, after all the hubbub over BPA in Nalgene & other plastic bottles, I used it as an excuse to pick up a Camelbak for me and for mom.

They are both on my desk right now, lovely and green in the flourescent lighting.

thanks, Mr. Hunt

So, back when i was buying the Prius, I thought long and hard about the impact that its actual production (well, the production of any new car) would have on the environment. I had heard about the toxicity of the batteries and the problems with producing them, and I knew that buying anything new is not really a green activity.

However, it's always nice to get some concrete numbers to go with what you already sort of know. Many thanks to Jeff for the link.

I did pretty much know this when i decided to purchase the little bugger, but I hoped then, and I do still hope, that my purchase wasn't stupid. I hope that by hopping on the hybrid bandwagon, I helped just a little to push forward hybrid and electric technology.

::sigh:: I don't know. I've already put 25K on the Prius over the past year, so, according to the article, I'll have overcome that new/old car carbon gap. Of course, if I just stopped driving altogether, that would be even greener...

and spring became the summer

Well, regular season college baseball is at a close - the conference tourneys start up at the end of this week - and summer is surely upon us.

I totally forgot to tell y'all that my "carbon pawprint" article (downloads a .pdf) came out in the March/April issue of Nashville Paw. Somewhat of a combo of me and Heather, the editor, composing it, but it's alright I suppose.

I have a temporary roommate for the moment (please, universe, see fit to have my condo sell) who is AWESOME. Here's her website. She just moved back to Nashville from NYC and is waiting for the lease to be up from the person renting her house, so I'm getting the benefits of having a wonderful person to share my space, pay attention to Madeline and cook dinner! And, this Saturday (last I heard), she's starting a Yoga In The Park class in Centennial! It never occured to me before, but doing yoga on the ground - not on concrete or a wooden floor - really sounds wonderful.

A couple of weekends ago, Madeline and I went with Julie & Hayley to the Centennial Dog Park, and it was AWESOME!!! Maddie is so weird - she didn't want to have anything to do with anyone but me when we were in the big dog section (which, really, there were small dogs in there, too, lots of dachshunds and shih zus and terriers), but when we went over to the small dog section, she was friendly as could be! The thought of living 1 block from there makes me tingle with delight. Walking to work, baseball AND the dog park? I'm smitten.

The more I think about it, the more I'm contemplating jettisoning the Prius. Well, really, I'm thinking about making Matt take it, getting rid of his big 'ole truck, and just having him bring it to me when i need to make a long drive (or, heck, renting one!). Talk about cutting costs! No insurance, no necessary parking space, no oil changes, no car payment! WOW!

Anyway, I'm rambling. Summer is definitely in full swing outside, with June just around the corner. I cannot WAIT for some poolside margaritas and some beer on the lake.

toothpaste for dinner

This guy's stuff is awesome!