Archive for category Making A Difference

Hodgepodge of things to share…

First and foremost, there is a wonderful update by Peter Mayhew about Anissa – she is going home!  That totally made me cry big, fat tears of joy.  Please read the update and pass along the good news in any way you can – on your website, Twitter, Facebook, shouting from rooftops, etc.  We need to spread this – ANISSA IS GOING HOME!

The tweet announcing she’s left the hospital is here. RT that sucker!

Additionally, we need to do everything we can to  help them now, again.  The copays for her outpatient care are $100 a day.  Anything we can donate to The Mayhews right now will be of great help to them.  You can click here to access their Paypal donation page, or click the image below.

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Of much less importance, I have another two posts syndicated at Blogher: Falling Happens, But Jumping Takes Courage and The Not Good Enough Mother.  You may or may not have read them here, but if you have a chance, I’d love for you to check them out and leave me a comment over there.

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I’m also excited to share that I’ve started a new job as Nashville City Guide Editor at The Savvy Source. They are still looking for Editors for other City Guides (you’d provide regular info on preschool-age child-friendly activities in your town) for the following places: Berkeley, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Halifax, Honolulu, Houston, Indy, KC, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Northern New Jersey, OKC, Pitt, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver. If you’re interested, Tweet @whithonea or email him

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I’m also contributing to Room 704 in its new, monthly format. (Officially, I’m Visual Editor/Cartoonist, but I’m submitting posts, as well.)  Check out the February issue!

Whew.  This really cramps my sitting-on-my-ass-doing-nothing style.

What have you been up to? :-)

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Love & Help for Anissa

*For updates on Anissa, you can visit her CaringBridge Page.

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I was going to tell you about how great it is to have my laptop back and tell you a little about what I went through to get it fixed, but being on Twitter more again today led me to learn some awful news about a wonderful lady who is a friend and fellow blogger.

Anissa, of Free Anissa and Aiming Low, had a stroke this afternoon.

(This is her second. You can read about her first one in 2005 here.)

Often when you hear bad news about someone, the first thing you think of is that last time you talked to them or saw them in person.  In October, Anissa, Mishelle, and I spoke at a seminar and we got to share laughs and drinks together the night before.  It was a fabulous time because of the amazing company.

loter&anissa
photo credit: Mishelle Lane, © all rights reserved

Anissa is such a fireball and, at the same time, just the most lovable sweetheart you’ve ever met.

This post, at Aiming Low, tells how you can help her and her family – especially if you are in the Atlanta area.  Please visit Aiming Low for this post as well as new updates on her condition and how you can continue to help.

(If that page won’t load for you, it may be getting hit with a lot of traffic, and you can go here for the information it holds, as well.)

If you have a chance, send Anissa love on Twitter – (her handle is @AnissaMayhew) When you tweet, you can use the #hashtag #prayersforanissa so that your messages join together with those of many others thinking about and supporting her and her family.

You can also show your support by changing your Twitter Avatar to a photo of you and Anissa together, if you have one.  If you don’t, you can still show support with your Twitter Avatar by adding a Twibbon to it.  There are currently two available:

For updates on her condition and to leave her and her family supportive messages on the guestbook, please visit Anissa’s CaringBridge Page.

You can also send her messages on or her Facebook page if you’re a friend of hers there.  And by all means, pray, if that is your way.  Remember, if you are in Atlanta, you may be able to help her family in a more practical way (see link above).

We are all used to seeing Anissa’s smiling face online and being entertained by her quick wit, her fabulous humor… and her magnificent rack. (She was First Runner Up in Bewb Fest 09, remember?)

Tonight, many of us are shedding tears and wringing our hands in worry.  She is being showered with love, lifted in prayer, and thought of all across the world.  There is hope, boundless.  There are jokes and stories being told in her honor.  We wait for updates and continue to push our strength out to her and her loved ones.

Anissa, there’s tons of love for you from all of your friends, all over.  We are sending you everything we can, and we won’t give up!  We all know you’d do the same for any of us.

Now get your ass out of that hospital and back here where you’re supposed to be making us laugh, woman.

We love you.

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Reusable totes are awesome. When you don’t suck, and actually bring them.

The second Monday of the month sometimes (when I pull my head out of my ass) means I’ll post a piece about the things that John and I do to help lift a little burden off of Mother Earth’s shoulders. It’s this thing I started doing after I was completely disgusted on a walk almost 2 years ago (wow, it’s been that long?). I was appalled at how much trash people just throw on the ground, basically.

Back then, I realized I was pretty disgusted with a lot of things I was (or wasn’t) doing, too. No, not the Asian Porn fetish or even the Kitten Juggling. That stuff is fun! I’m talking about the stuff that’s not so good for the environment (like the Aqua Net huffing problem I had).

So we started changing little things in our life for the better, to help the earth, its inhabitants, and ourselves. And I started a project – PSBN – and began posting about those things here, to share with and inspire you. (So consider yourself shared with. And inspired.) It was a whole Happy Happy Love Love Green Living Be Awesome To The Earth I Believe That Children Are The Future Teach Them Well And Let Them Lead The Way kind of thing.

Did you see what I did there? Ahhh, yeah. You liked it, didn’t you?

Anyway.

I’ve gotten really lazy about putting up these posts. I have to be honest with you – I know that some of you have been supportive about them and enjoyed them, but they generally don’t seem to draw must interest and like anyone, that kind of makes it harder for me to work up the energy to make an effort and put them together. That assholishness apathy on my part as well as being lazy as hell just not creating as much time for posts anymore overall means I’ve skipped several of these “second Mondays” without publishing anything for PSBN.

I know. I’m a shitbrain.

This, by the way, happens to be something I abhor about myself – I get really into something, but then I get lazy and I don’t maintain my momentum. I forget, or I find other things to amuse me, and I lag off. (Hahaha, you thought I was going to say jack off. Yes you did. Liar. Ok, I thought I was going to say it.)

This *might* be why Dana called me a lazy douche last year, and why I’ve run with that whole “I’m a Lazy Douche!” gag for this whole time. Because it’s really the truth! (I still haven’t answered all those questions, Dana. You were so right! Isn’t that awesome?)

LAZY DOUCHE, FTW.

And that really actually segues well into today’s PSBN topic, which is Reusable Totes for shopping.

I loved the shit out of the idea of reusable totes. In fact, I took that idea and I bought it a nice steak dinner. I bought it many, many glasses of fine wine. I told it how sexy hot it was and then? I took it home with me, full of unclean intentions. I rubbed that freaking reusable totes idea up against my trembling body until… uh. Um. *clears throat* I think I’m getting carried away. What were we talking about again?

Oh. Yeah. I was in love with the idea of using some bags over and over again.

Don’t Waste – Reuse, beeshes.

So.  I totally freaking bought them and started using them every time I got groceries.

And IT.WAS.AWESOME.

I was totally single-handedly saving the world.

SUPER HEROIN IN THE HOUSE, BEESHES.

Wait. Wait. That makes it sound like I was shooting some kind of incredibly refined drugs into my veins in my domicile. And while that might be true, it wasn’t what I was trying to say.

But basically,

I AM AWESOME. You can say thank you any time. (For saving Earth, and all. You’re welcome.)

So yeah to recap: I was using the bags and it was awesome (like shooting up drugs).

But then I would forget them at home.

And (like shooting drugs) it started happening more and more. (It’s either premature aging, excessive alcohol consumption, or all those times I’ve slammed my head into the wall.)

(On purpose.)

So yeah. I would forget them constantly… and I would berate myself.

Me in the parking lot of the grocery store:

“You stupid, stupid bitch! You forgot the fucking bags AGAIN!”

“Well you could just drive home and get them before you shop.”

(Yes, I talk back to myself. DON’T ACT LIKE YOU DON’T. Also, if you don’t… just, you know, pretend like you do and lets move on so I can protect the fragile shell of my imagined sanity.)

“DRIVE HOME AND GET THEM? ARE YOU A MORON?”

“Uh. Uh. No?”

“Well, see… CLEARLY YOU ARE. If we drive home and get them we’ll be POLLUTING MORE and, also? WASTING GAS. Do you even have two brain cells left to rub up against one other? I swear I hate that I’m you.” *spits in own face*

(That is a talent of amazing proportions. I can sense your jealousy.)

“But, but…” *sobbing*

“You make me SICK. Pathetic. Why don’t you just grab a broom handle and stick it up Mother Earth’s ass and call it a day, okay?”

*continued sobbing*

“I am going to strangle you with the plastic grocery bags when we get home.”

It’s really embarrassing, by the way, to have this kind of argument with yourself in a public place. I mean, usually this kind of thing happens only at home…

“You stupid whore, did you forget to take meat out to thaw for dinner AGAIN!??? Come here so I can SLAP YOU WITH THE HAND OF RIGHTEOUS FURY.”

…and at least there’s no one to gasp or scurry away blatantly. And no parents telling their kids, “Honey, don’t look, just keep walking. Hurry. She might hurt us.”

I guess what I’m saying is that employing the use of those Reusable Grocery Totes is REALLY REALLY AWESOME and can help us SAVE OUR PLANET if we actually remember to bring them with us to the store.

And what I’m asking, no, *begging* you to tell me is, What the hell do you awesome people who use them every time do to REMEMBER TO ACTUALLY BRING THOSE SHITS WITH YOU?

Please help me. Please.

Omg, I was going to end the post there, but then I just totally had an idea for making them into underwear so you’d always have one with you. No, wait. That would be gross, wouldn’t it?

Darn.

Oh, and while you’re sitting there trying to figure out exactly how to make me start taking meds, please link up any posts you’ve written recently that discuss “green” topics. Thanks!

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PSBN – Water Conservation

Project Support Beauty in Nature
It’s that time of the month again! Why yes, I AM ovulating quite painfully, but what I meant, rather, was that it’s time for Project Support Beauty in Nature. Remember, if you have a “green” post you can link to it on the Mr. Linky Widget at the very bottom of this post any time this week.

I’ve posted about water conservation before, but I thought it would be a good article to run at this time of the year when people tend to use more water than ever.


John and I have been much more careful with our water use, and it has made a serious difference in our water consumption.

It’s worth it just to save the water… but if you take these steps you can also save a considerable amount of $$$.

  • NEVER wash a load of laundry until you have a full machine’s worth of clothes. I even experimented to see if I could get away with “medium” water on a load I normally would have called “large.” It actually works most of the time.
  • If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down. A lot of people are squeamish about this, but it made a rather large difference in our water bill. We now pee 3 or 4 times (sometimes more) before we flush. Think of how many tanks of water that saves in a month’s time!
  • Reduce the number/size of baths. Braden takes a bath every night as part of his bedtime routine. We fill the tub only half as much as we used to. He never even noticed when we made that change. All he cares is it’s wet, there are bubbles, and he has toys. ;-) We also stopped waiting for the right water temp before dropping the plug. The plug drops, water starts. It all mixes in and evens out.
  • Take shorter/less showers. Less showers is hard if you go to work every day and have to shower to get ready, but you can try shortening by using a timer with an alarm, the kind that counts down and then goes off. Start by figuring out how long your average shower is, then try to shave off 5 minutes at a time. It’s just a habit thing. With practice, you can knock off some time (if you shower longer than 15-20, especially).
  • Collect the cold water at the beginning of a shower in a bucket for use elsewhere. I got this awesome tip from Sandy @ Momisodes back when I first started doing PSBN and it is a GREAT thing to do. We have saved SO MUCH water doing this! During gardening months, you can use it to water plants, but there are plenty of other uses, such as:
    • add to bathwater for baths
    • use in clothes washing
    • mop floors
    • dog’s water bowl
    • aquarium refill
    • vases for picked flowers
    • rinse water for dishes
    • wash car in driveway
    • wading pool during summer (idea courtesy of Alison)
    • water for live Christmas tree
    • ETC
  • Don’t run water when you’re not actively using it. Whenever you wash your hands, put soap in your hand, then wet them, and turn the water off while you lather. Turn it back on to rinse. Do the same when brushing teeth. If you handwash dishes, don’t leave water running while you’re soaping them.

This is just a short list of the things that have made the largest difference for us so far. In fact, our monthly water bill is as low as $16 most months, and never more than $34. I don’t know about you, but to me that is amazing!

Droplet Reflection


Other tips:

  • Make sure you inspect all pipes and areas where leaks can occur (water heaters, outside hoses and spigots) because a slow leak can add up to a huge amount of wasted water over a long period of time.
  • If your toilet is high flow, you can place a brick in the tank so that it takes less water to fill it. Make sure there is still enough power to flush in one try – if you end up flushing twice to “get it down” it’s not doing you any good.
  • Don’t put any extra bulk in the toilet (like tissue you blow your nose with, for exampe). Reduce the amount of TP you use to wipe if possible. We did!
  • Wash your dishes by hand. Buy sink tubs and run one with soapy water, one with clean. Wash in one tub, rinse in the other. This reduces water use DRASTICALLY over using a dishwasher IF YOU RINSE DISHES FIRST. You can also re-use the water from the tubs for mop water, and even garden water if you purchase posphate free dish soap. Energy Star rated dishwashers use as little as 4 gallons of water, however. So if you scrape instead of rinsing, this type of dishwasher will save you more. You cannot re-use the water, however.
  • Rain collection barrells gather a large amount of free water for you. You can use that water for gardening, mopping, car washing, etc. I really want one, but we rent, and you have to make modifications to the downspouts on your gutters. If you own your home, you should REALLY consider it. The cheapest I’ve found pre-made are $150, and they can get really pricey, up to 3 times as much as that for the “really nice” ones. But you can also make them yourself with a little effort, and that costs WAY less.

Click HERE for helpful links about rain collection barrells, as well as other water saving tips.

It’s worth saving this stuff and making sure there’s always plenty left over.

09.25.08 Zoo Falls, 2

There are plenty more ways to save water – do you do some things I didn’t mention here?

If you have a “green” post, please feel free to add it to the Mr. Linky! Thanks. :-)

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