Food For Thought

Hi Everyone,

As I sit hear sniffling and coughing, I reflect back on the week I have had. It has been an extremely busy week which made being sick that much harder. Mike was away in Vegas, to which I am happy to report, he came back having won some money. However, since Mike was gone I was stuck running the house and taking care of our animal kingdom. I realize now how thankful I am to have someone to help out with those daily tasks.

All that being said, I was trying to nurse myself back to health this weekend and was unable to get a full blog post out. Instead, I wanted to share something with you that my good friend Paul shared with me last week.

Below is a video of Joe Smith, former chair of the Oregon Democratic Party, titled “How to use one paper towel.” To answer your question, YES he spent 4 minutes and 28 seconds showing us the proper way to use a paper towel. Keep an open mind and let me know what you think.

How many paper towels do you use?

Other ways you can reduce the waste in landfills from paper towels, could be using a hand dryer wherever available or even having a handkerchief in your purse or pocket and completely eliminate a paper towel all together.

Have a great week. I hope I am back to healthy soon!!

Warm Winter Days

As a little kid, I can remember is being bundled up in a snow suit and going out into and playing for hours in the mounds of snow. As I grew up, those memories changed to my friends and I pulling out the sleds and finding some very large hills, most of which I look and now and ask, “Was I crazy?!”

As an adult, I feel like I have very little winter memories. Then again, the winter activities now are shoveling, cleaning off the cars, dreaded winter driving, etc… all memories you don’t want to recall!

I started reminiscing on those good old winter days today, after getting in my car yesterday and seeing this:

(Temperature reading – January 12, 2013 in Niagara Falls, Ontario)

After this “winter” day in January, I started to do some research. How have the winter temperatures changed from when I was young?

The following statistics are from the Weather Network for Toronto, Ontario: 

The average temperature for January over the last 30 years is -4.2 degrees Celsius with a record high from 1967 of 16.1 degrees. Compare that, to the stats for January, 2013 to date:

After putting everything together, this January is not significantly warmer than we have seen on average over the past 30 years, despite the last couple days of very warm weather. So instead of reminiscing on those good old winter days, maybe it is time I make some new winter memories with these warm temperatures in mind! Yesterday, Mike and I went out and ran some errands with the windows down, soaking up the sun and enjoying the warm breeze. We completed the afternoon, playing with our big man, Rocco outside in the backyard. He however did not seem to enjoy this warm January day as much as the rest of us. He just loves the snow! He kept running to the one little snow patch left, eating whatever he could.

Check out some of my other recent posts on our changing weather paterns and some tips on what we can do to help Mother Nature. Because although it was a beautiful weekend here in Niagara, there are signs of the effects our lives have on the enviroment in every part of the world.

My GREEN Bible

Every year I look forward to getting my new recycling guide. Yes, in my house that is normal! The recycling guide has tonnes of recycling tips including what you are allowed to put in the green bin, grey box, blue box, and what should be leftover for the garbage. The huge benefit of the recycling guide, is that it lists out the dates and locations for hazardous waste disposal sites throughout the year, Christmas tree pickup dates, information on large household item and appliance disposals, and much more.

Honestly, if you have any questions on what is recyclable in your area, this should be your resource. I always have it available sitting either on the fridge or on top of the fridge to use if I ever have any questions.

Here are some of the more interesting tips you may not have known:

For a full copy of the guide, click here and remember recycling restrictions are different in every area, make sure you are following the specific guidelines for your Region.

In our two-person household, we have no more than a plastic shopping bag worth of garbage for the whole house. I challenge you to reduce your waste. For every piece of garbage that goes to a landfill, the general stats are that 50% of that waste could be diverted through the use of an organic bin, 13% are recyclable materials that could have been put in your grey bin or blue bin and the other just 37% is garbage for the landfill.

I hate that excuse everyone uses – recycling takes so much time! It takes the same amount of time to throw a pop can into the garbage as it does to throw it into the blue bin. Maybe you don’t have an accessible system at home, but that is no excuse. A onetime reorganization effort can make your recycling efforts that much easier. Check out my earlier post, titled “It’s time for a change” that will provide some helpful items you can use to improve your recycling at home.   

New Year. New Look.

In keeping with the New Year’s Resolution theme this week, I decided the blog needs a new look for 2013. I am still playing around with the templates, but look forward to a brand new look in the next couple of weeks.

This is my initial template draft and there is much more to come. How are your resolutions coming this week? Remember it isn’t about creating a resolution and giving up if one day you fail… Tomorrow is a new day, why should resolutions be stuck to a start date of January 1^st?

New Year. New You.

A quick google search lends a common theme to this year’s popular resolutions:

1.       Prioritize fitness – Go to the gym more regularly, lose weight, etc.

2.       Eat healthy – This usually goes together with a fitness resolution.

3.       Stop drinking – I think this stems from the festivities of New Year’s Eve fighting back!

4.       Quit smoking – Most resolutions seem to be quitting cold turkey, others choose to use Nicorette type of products.

5.       Get out of debt – Some people strive to win the lottery, however the odds of this happening are very unlikely.

And many, many more!!

As for me, I have had some things happen in the last couple weeks that really just open up your eyes. I have chosen to not just have one thing I am vowing to do or not do but more just to focus more on taking care of myself and the relationships in my life, whether it be my fiancé, family or friends. I have always been one to be on the go all the time. I always have something to do whether it be work or personal commitments. A few months ago, I decided it was time to stop dedicating my life to work and take more time for me. With planning a wedding in 2013 this is even more important. I know I am a little behind on the planning already... as everyone around me keeps reminding me of.

Do you have a resolution this year? Have you had any past resolution successes or failures? Maybe my blog has inspired your resolution to take on a shade of green this year.

HAPPY 2013 EVERYONE!

This is a snapshot from our new year's eve bash last night. Looking back we kind of look like the land of misfit toys, complete with the dog trying to bite Mike's hand. I hope you had a happy, healthy 2012 and are looking forward to a positive 2013.

 Best wishes, Dawn & Mike