Enjoy

Today is a beautiful day in Southwest Florida. The air is crisp and the sun is still shining. No matter where you are, here on the beach or up north sitting in snow you should go outside and just enjoy the environment around you.

Look at the wildlife and the grass and the trees. Take a big deep breath and try to describe what you feel.

I stepped outside today and smelt fresh brisk air. I squinted at the sight of the sun and laughed when I saw a couple of birds chriping and fighting over a piece of bread. Life isn't always about your job, school, or just trying to get by. If you just take a moment and enjoy your surroundings you might find some peace inside of yourself.

Try it, you'll feel better.

"I eat grass"

Vegan.
The word doesn’t really appeal to me. I don’t think I could stop eating meat. I have a love affair with chicken and eat it at least once a day. Even soup, chicken noodle soup is my favorite. But going vegan is good because it saves on resources or something to that nature.

My point is that I can’t eat a salad just plain with nothing on it. I love french fries on salad (I think that’s a Pittsburgh thing). I have to say that I don’t feel full unless I have some protein from some meat. I'm sure vegans can get the same nutrients from vitamins but how appealing is it to say "Yeah, I eat grass." No thank you.

Not that I’m saying people who are vegans are crazy. They’re just a bit unstable in my mind. I feel like if I don’t eat this piece of steak then it’s going to waste and who wants to waste food? Wouldn’t it be better to eat Kosher foods anyways?

I don’t understand the big deal about not eating meat anyways. I will continue to eat meat daily and vegans can continue not to. More steak for me.

Speechless

I found this picture through another blog. If a picture is worth a thousand words than what do you think this one is saying?

If you couldn’t make out what the heck is in this picture it is of an Albatross carcass. They cannot distinguish between food and our garbage so when they eat the things you see here in the picture they starve to death.

Look what we’re doing to poor animals from our waste.

Motivate Me

After my last post I realized that it’s a lot harder than I thought to be so environmentally friendly. Taking the caps off of my plastic water bottles before I throw them out is irritating. I feel like this is a lost cause.

I mean how many people recycle? How many people recycle the wrong things or the wrong type of plastic? I’d confident when I assume that a lot of people do that. I do it. It’s ridiculous how many materials are out there for us to use and reuse at some point and time.

I decided I needed a motivator to help me through my troubling times of saving the planet. I found a blog with a gentleman who is trying to throw nothing away for a whole year. Doesn’t that just sound crazy?

Well he’s doing it and makes me want to do it too (Ok, I probably could not do this for a whole year but at least help me be more aware of what I am throwing away).

How many things do you throw away in a single day? Just think that this guy is doing 365 days and looks like he’s doing a great job too.

Week Event!

This week is Green Week on Regis and Kelly. During the week they are going to give away a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. I’d love to win that but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Anyways, if you missed today’s episode have no fear; I am willing and able to fill you in.

They had a so-called “expert” on their show today talking about recycling. I say “so-called” because when she was talking about recycling newspapers Regis asked her about the process and she said she didn’t know! Hello?! You preach about this stuff and you don’t even know how it’s done?

The guest expert also talked about how when you recycle plastic bottles you should take the cap off because it’s not made of the same plastic and cannot be recycled. Just throw it out. I hope that someone can come up with a recyclable cap soon because that’d be helpful.

There was also talk about wet cardboard and how you shouldn’t recycle it if it’s wet because it gets clogged in the recycling machines. Also plastic bags are bad but we’ve already discussed this.

Clean lint out of your lint trap after every load of laundry to save about 30% of the energy. Good tip!

Today there were some good tips and I’m looking forward to seeing what they have on there tomorrow. If you can’t catch the show their website will update every day too. I hope tomorrow they have someone else other than the lady that was on there today being an “expert.”

So have a good day and remember when you go to recycle that plastic water bottle you should throw away the cap!

Eco-Friendly Restaurant

The other night my boyfriend and I decided to go someplace other than Outback to eat dinner. Thank goodness. We decided on a place called Ted's Montana Grill and I'm so glad we chose that restaurant. Did you know Ted's is eco-friendly?

What we noticed right from the start was the straws. They were made from recycled materials and could get a bit soggy at the end of your meal but I didn't mind. I felt like I was doing better for the planet by just eating there.

Another thing they had was recycled paper to put down on your table to basically catch all the mess and food you spill during your meal, because things could get messy there with their ribs, burgers, and chicken sandwiches.

They only had cloth napkins which they could obviously wash every night and reuse.

Those were just some of the things I saw without even reading on the website. I hope this restaurant trend catches on and others try to do little things to help the world.

I'd highly recommend Ted's not only because it's eco-friendly but because the food is amazing. They hand-make their french fries and have bison. Bison is a little bit better of meat other than ground beef. It's a little more expensive, maybe a dollar, and has a better taste.

So if you're in the mood to try something new then here you go. Ted's is located at Coconut Point and the Coastland Center Mall.

Vroom...you smell like a burger and fries...

After watching a repeat of Rob and Big last night I was inspired to educate you all on vegetable fuel systems for your automobiles.

There are a few things that you need to know/do before having your car converted to run off of grease.

I'm not sure if I'd take the plunge and get my car converted but I might buy a Hybrid.

Take me Out to the Ballgame

Baseball season is upon us and I can already smell the hot dogs and popcorn. The little kids screaming and the wave rotating around the stadium all remind me of energy efficient ballpark stadiums. Well, not really. But now I’m excited to report that there is such a thing! In Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals are the first to open a Green U.S. Ballpark.

The stadium was certified in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED, rating system. Here are a few qualities it carries that other ballparks don’t:

Efficient lighting technologies
Low flow bathroom fixtures
Use of recycled building materials
Stormwater management system
Green roof with plants which manages rainwater and temperature

It seems to be a new trend. The New York Mets new stadium, Citi Field, plans to open in 2009 with eco-friendly materials and resources just like this one.

And for all you sports fans out there that didn’t get to watch the game that they played on Sunday here's the ending score: Washington 3, Atlanta 2

See, being environmentally conscious helps you win games. Not really, but that’s what it looks like ;)

Bug off!

Ah, spring. What a wonderful time to be surrounded by….flowers? No. Love? Definitely not. Oh yes…umm… bugs! And don’t you hate that disgusting smelling and sticky no less, bug repellent that not only keeps bugs away from you but also most people? Me either.

This is why California Baby has created such a wonderful product on an organic bug repellent.

You’ll still smell but instead of the disgusting sticky odor you’ll smell like lemon and citrus, which I know, is still unappealing to some people. You’ll smell like spring time because the active ingredients in this non-toxic spray are lemon eucalyptus and citronella.

I’d rather use this bug spray then the one I currently have in my first-aid kit. The one I have says, and I quote, “Harmful to Humans.” Why did I even buy this in the first place?

I feel much safer with the non-toxic version.

I'm added!

I'm excited because I was recently just added to the Best Green Blogs Website!

There are numerous blogs on the website that all bring a different view into green living. I hope you enjoy searching through some interesting blogs.