loving green

My 5. (OK, really 6)

2008-10-23T06:12:00.001-07:00

OK, So I haven't blogged in a while... I have had a real lot going on. My Papa recently was diagnosed with lung cancer, we all have the yucky winter/fall cold/flu that is going around, so somethings have had to go to the side.
My friend Abby recently posted her 5 top baby items, so in a moment of not having anything good to blog about, I thought this would be good. So here I go... my top 5.
1. Baby Carrier - I have 3 favs and they are the Ergo, the Moby Baby Wrap, and my hotsling
2. My Born Free baby bottles
and then/now the Klean Kanteen w/ Avent Sippy Cup top - both BPA free :)
3. As Abby posted, A Swaddle Me blanket... I am swaddle chalenged and these saved me :)
4. Our Papasan Cradle Swing - J LOVED this, practically lived in it or so it seemed :)
and 5. A Co Sleeping Bassinet - J stayed with us until he 7 months and then off and on until he was 1 yr., these are also great for when you travel.
6. I had to this, b/c to this day, I still use this book as reference & I tell you that it has saved us from so many doctor visits - Baby 411 and Toddler 411
Check out Abby's 5 here.

To Check out other great baby items and a chance to win a BECO Butterfly baby carrier go here.

depression. the economy. saving $$$. being green.

2008-09-26T08:01:00.001-07:00

OK. So these are a few of many thoughts that are flooding my mind at the moment. President Bush announced that they are going to do something and something quick... I am not sure what it is or if it will even help, but I hope so. It is very scary & is everybody even taking this seriously???
Aside from the financial threat our futures are in... what are you doing to save the green?
One change we've made is getting rid of cable. For one we don't really use, we aren't missing it, and it was so expensive!!! Groceries are also another big way to save - really price checking & hopefully getting it all in one place, so you aren't driving all over (wasting gas, $$$, and hurting the environment). Clip coupons and only buy what you are going to use.
On a happier note, I will be working more on my etsy shop this weekend and getting some fun art & craft projects blogged this weekend!!! My goal is to have a 100% handmade or buy handmade holiday this year!!! How about you?

my etsy shop.

2008-09-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

my shop is still under construction, but for the night I have managed to get a few items posted -
check it out & let me know what you think :)
Sammie2008

Monroe County Farmers Market

2008-09-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is a for your information sort of post.
New York State Farmers Market

The Green Home.

2008-09-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Slowly coming back... Our gardening season is winding down as is our outdoor time :(
We just recently bought a house and have been taking the past 2 weeks moving in. We will be renivating as green as we can - which is just exciting in itself. Of course, I am in the process of creating blog #2 to host the green home happenings.
Just wanted to post a quick blogger hello! So, Hello!!!

Sam
(lovinggreen)

buy handmade.

2008-09-13T12:31:00.001-07:00

not goodbye.

2008-08-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

OK. this is not goodbye, just a quick post to say i will be unplugging for a while. blogging can become very consuming if you let it - right now the important things are to spend time with my family and that is what i will be doing.
thank you to my readers & i will be posting everynow and again just not as frequently as i have been online.

Sam aka LovingGreen :)

Sustainable Community

2008-08-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

so much has been going on around here... it has been a while since my last blogging, but in my defense I have been spending more time unplugged :)
we are camping right now and had the opportunity to visit an amazingly beautiful town that is on it's way to becoming a sustainable community - Sackets Harbor, NY and more Green info here.
on that note I don't want my marshmallows to burn ;)
promise to blog again very soon!

a test post.

2008-08-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

i am having problems viewing my site....
what the !@#!#%$#^#%&#%@$#!!!!????

Meditation & Swap-Bot

2008-07-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

(flickr pic thanks to ellerigby)

OK, I was trying to find a good pic to put with this post & once I saw this picture I knew it was more than perfect!!! The title of this pic is "Day 40: The Power of Meditation" (which will link into my next paragraph) in connection to the fact that this woman has all of these plastic bags sitting around her. One of the concepts that I focus my life (and this amazing blog *wink *wink) around is the environment and our crazy impact on it.

Let's chat about my newest LOVE ~ Meditation. I often have unwarranted anxiety which results in long, long, long nights... I am talking that I am up a good 5 hours after everyone else in the neighborhood. Ha, ha, ha... OK, maybe not 5 hours, but you get the idea. I have attempted Meditation before and let's say my heart & mind really wasn't in it. So this week I have committed to meditating every night before bed (and incorporating one or two yoga poses with this routine.) I feel AWESOME!!! I have been sleeping soundly & falling asleep in a timely fashion (I contribute this to being able to clear my mind before bed) and feel completely rejuvenated in the morning! Do you meditate??? Tell me more!!!

Now, let's talk about another love of mine - www.swap-bot.com !!! Basically, everything from artists, bloggers, writers, crafters, etc. can join this community and swap (fill in the blank)! I have taken a few pics of recent swap items I have received, but have not had a chance to upload them as of yet. However, feel free to check out the "swap-bot" tagged items on flickr to get a glimpse at a few. ( "Swap-Bot" on flickr) Anyone else "Swap-Bot"??? Right now I am participating in a few different swaps - cardmaking kits, whimsy jars, altered journal, altered sketchbook, & scrapbooking/paper goods stuffed envie swaps to name a few!

sigh of relief for some...

2008-07-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

(flickr pic thanks to hamedmasoumi)

The list is out folks... The 600 Starbucks that are closing (insert sounds of crying here.)

Those of you that live in the Rochester and surrounding area can rest assured that our beloved local Starbucks are staying put (atleast for now).

100 blue lake organic green beans

2008-07-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

We have now harvested approximately 100 green beans!!! My little green is LOVING every single bean :)

story. soul. home.

2008-07-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

A while back I joined Em on her art journal challenge and for the lack of exscuses I have been a slacker. Tonight I made time for my self and my art journal... 3 more pages! Word prompts: Story, Soul, and Home. It is nice to just create for the sake of creating something - makes you feel happy!!!

home sweet home. (I missed you garden.)

2008-07-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

We are back from our big camping trip! I LOVE camping! I must admit though, I stressed the whole time we were gone about our container garden. We didn't have anyone watching or watering our veggies for us... I did flood them with water and filled some 2L. bottles with water and put them upside down in the containers so they could self feed until we got home. We have picked about 30-40 green beans since we've been home! I really had no idea how many 2 containers of green beans would yield, so this was very exciting to come home too. Little Green has eaten about 25 of the beans so far, as well he decided the birds needed some and threw a handful off the balcony. As of this morning we have 3 in the fridge... THREE doesn't make a side dish :) I LOVE that our first year of container gardening is a success and that Little Green has been inspired and is LOVING to garden! Over the next few days it looks as though we will have another 30 to 40 beans to harvest! The tomato plants look AWESOME (but no mato's yet). Same goes for the Pepper plants. I am getting so ancey waiting on these two plants - we really love our tomato's and peppers around here! Then there is the eggplant and cucumber plants... I don't know what is going on here. For the longest time we didn't have sprouts or anything and now we have about 6 or 7 large plants/weeds??? Maybe I shouldn't have put them in the same container... I will be curious to see if we end up with either eggplants or cucumbers, or perhaps EggUmbers! Wouldn't that be strange? Lastly we have the zucchini plants - these things are out of control!!! I am pretty sure I mentioned this a post or two ago, but we had to move two of the plants to my Mom's yard since the zucchinis busted out of their containers. We have one last plant here and it is HUGE!!! On that note, not having any zucchini of my very own (along with some blueberries), I caved and bought some from a local farmer yesterday. Tonight I will be baking my famous Blueberry Zucchini Bread!!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it :)

Happy Day!

2008-07-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day ( a lil' late) and Happy 4th of July for those that celebrate!!!

forgive me, as it has been 6 days since my last blogging...

2008-07-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

OK, so how tall is a mato plant supposed to be????? Ours is just as tall as me... we are talking about 5'2"! How organic were my mato seeds?!?!?!? Ha, ha, ha :) I have to charge my camera battery and get some pics up of these amazing plants!
Seriously, nothing happening here. We have just been doing a lot of family time and getting ready for our big camping trip!
It is nice to not always be glued to this screen!

More to come!

the garden grows...

2008-06-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

This little balcony garden is not so little anymore. This garden is now taking over our balcony... don't get me wrong, I LOVE our garden, but I did not expect this! I am going crazy waiting for the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, and beans to be pickable!

hello creative me.

2008-06-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

So, here and there I have still had creative moments :) I just haven't been photographing and posting everything. Here is a painting/collage I did for one of my best friends baby (& before I get it in the mail I thought I should take a snap shot of it) - it is a take off of a print I have seen. And, here is a card I made using my fun petal stamp set (in 3 colors).

Tonight, I have scrapbooking waiting for me....

I LOVE to create!

organic on a budget and avoiding greenwashing...

2008-06-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

So, I have spent many postings talking about being frugal, CVSing, cutting our grocery budget in half and I am more determined than ever to shop Organically on my budget. I found this great article Shopping Organic on a Budget in combination with a great organic coupon post here by the Centsible Sawyer. Just "google"-ing shopping organic on a budget is apparently talked about a lot online :) So the basics are...

1) Shop around. Do your research. The best deals may not be at your local grocery store. Perhaps joining a co-op, farmers market, or buying in bulk (aka BJs, Costco, Sam's Club) may offer you more organic food for your hard earned dollar!

2) Prioritize. OK, so perhaps purchasing ALL of your food at the organic level will empty your wallet, so the foods that you eat the most or out of the foods you eat which ones have the most pesticides/toxins, etc... will be the ones you purchase at the organic level.

3) Stock up. Nothing new here... when it is on sale, in season, or you have coupons Stock Up! Utilize your freezer, your freezer is your friend! To tell you the truth, until just the other day I would not have thought about putting bananas in the freezer. My Mom said, what are you going to do with those bananas once they are too brown to eat? (They were pretty bad at that point...) I said, banana bread. After snickering on the fact that it would make a lot of banana bread she had suggested freezing the bananas and taking them out when ever I am ready to bake with them. What would I do without my Mom!?!?!?! Thanks Mom!

4) Grow your own. That one is pretty self explanatory.

With all of this being said we also need to be knowledgeable ( I guess this goes back to doing our research and knowing our products...). Green-washing is everywhere. It is so easy for a company to label their products with words such as all natural, Eco-friendly, etc. and so on. I could go on and on about this topic and how it gives me a headache, but I won't in fear that I'd just be giving you a headache. How does the saying go... "buyer beware!"

Q&A: Ask Loving Green Anything, Part II

2008-06-17T18:41:00.001-07:00

Again, I wanted to thank everyone for reading my random rambles, green rants, and other various postings! I am going to split up the questions that were left in comments, sent by e-mail into 3 postings. (If you still have a question send 'em my way!)

Why are you so interested in being "green"?
I am not sure if it is the artist/art teacher part of me or the nerdy side, but I have always been into reusing & recycling! For no other reason than some things always seemed odd to me, I have always been against using toxic cleaners, anti-persparant, and items of this nature. Then when I became a mama the importance of being "green" just overtook me. Can we say OCD?!?!?!?!?! Ha, ha, ha!!! So on top of all the serious reasons why it is important to be environmentally friendly & environmentally conscious - for me the most important reason is for my babes and for their whole generation (and my grand kids, etc..).

What does Mr. LG think about all of your crazy challenges?
He usually just goes along with it... He is all for being conservative, ec0-friendly, and frugal! On some of the more let's say crazier ideas he just nods his head and smiles, but he always comes along for the ride :)

seeing spots

2008-06-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

the littlest green has chicken pox, so needless to say mama is tired... not to mention we are getting some really nasty storms through here and we've been trying to keep the computer shut down as much as possible (yes we do have a surge protector, but still...)
will post part II questions tomorrow :)

Q&A: Ask Loving Green Anything, Part I

2008-06-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

First, thanks for reading my random rambles, green rants, and other various postings! I am going to split up the questions that were left in comments, sent by e-mail into 3 postings. (If you still have a question send it my way!)

What has been your hardest/most frustrating green challenge?
The most frustrating challenge that I have taken on is omitting paper towels. I guess this might seem kind of trivial, but it bothers me that I ended up going back to paper towels. A while back, we decided to just use dishcloths, towels, microfiber cloths, etc. and not use any paper towels. It was hard... we don't have easy access to a washing machine, so laundry gets done maybe once a week, but usually once every two weeks and we were running out of towels. In addition to that fact, having two kids makes paper towel almost a necessity (I said almost...). Then when I started on this whole CVSing craze I had the opportunity to get a bunch of paper towel for next to nothing, so I did. I use the paper towel sparingly in my defense...

What green challenge have you taken up ... but then dropped, and why?
I guess in a way the previous answer also meets this question, but I will talk about another green challenge that I dropped that still haunts me. Cloth diapering... We cloth diapered for many reasons, one being the green factor. When I became prego with the littlest green I could not stomach CDing with little green. It was bizarre, but true. And then when I was no longer prego with a super sensitive ol' factory we had moved and like I mentioned above access to washing machine was not easy. I dream about cloth diapering (ok, I am a little off...) and if there is ever a little green #3 and we are in a house (which we should be by the time #3 is an option) I will be CDing their green bum!!!

What is growing in your garden & why are you container gardening?
I have always dreamed of owning a farm and on a smaller scale growing all of our own fruits/veggies. Since we are currently living in an apartment and we don't have any land to call our own. Creating a container garden seemed the most logical. I also figured that this would be a good way to find out if I even have a green thumb. The last reason why I started the garden was so little green and I could create something together! He LOVES his garden!!! We picked our first strawberry today - YUMMY!!! Everything with the exception of 3 plants were all started from seed. As of today we have:
too many to count - green beans
1 brandywine tomato plant
3 beefsteak tomato plants
4 pepper plants
4 zucchini plants
1 strawberry plant
some eggplant sprouts
some cucumber sprouts
wild flowers
mixed herbs
one rock garden, about 20 hand selected rocks, 100% organic!!!
I think that is it... However, I could be forgetting something... I can't wait to start harvesting some tomato's with all of this crazy tomato recalls going on!

I earned $18.76 at CVS today!!!

2008-06-10T11:36:00.001-07:00

Transaction 1:
1 Listerene $3.49
3 Nivea Shave Gels $2.99 each
1 Nivea Mens Face Wash $5.99
1 Nivea Mens Aftershave balm $6.39
2 Garnier Scrub $5.99 each
Total w/out tax: $36.84
after coupons & ECBs I paid $19.73 OOP
I earned $23.49 in ECBS, so I made $3.76!!!!!
Transaction 2:
10 Reeses PB Cups $5
11 M&Ms $5.50
2 Garnier Scrub $5.99 each
Total w/out tax:$22.48
used a $3/$15 coupon
Used 19.48 in ECBS & paid NOTHING OOP
I earned $15 in ECBS, so I made a total of $18.76!!!!!

This was a great week for me... my hubby will only use the Nivea Men's skin line & now he is well stocked! Also, I picked up a little tip on IheartCVS.com you can buy 2 Garnier Scrubs @ 5.99 each to earn your $10 ECBS - this is a great deal!

Any more questions...

2008-06-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

If you have any questions (does not matter how random...) Please post them here or in the original post here or send me an e-mail to lovetobegreen@gmail.com! I will answer any and all questions on my 1 year blogging anniversary June 11th!

Thanks
Sam :)

CVS & Other Grocery Deals

2008-06-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Here is to another photo less CVS posting. (And how many of you really care about what I am buying, but here it is.) A snapshot of today's CVSing...

CVS Transaction 1:
1 Gilette Razor $9.99
2 Dove Shampoo $4.99 each (BIGI sale)
4 Nivea Men Shave Gel $2.99 each
after Coupons & ECBs $6.62 with tax OOP

CVS Transcation 2:
4 cases of Coke 4/$11
1 Shick Quattro Razor $9.49
after Coupons & ECBs $9.57 with tax OOP

CVS Transaction 3:
2 Lucky Charms $3.34 each
3 Nature Valley Oats&Honey granola bars $3.34 each
1 Honey Nut Cheerios $3.34
1 Cheerios $3.34
1 Reese Granola bars $1.50
after Coupons & ECBs $7.59 with tax OOP

$23.78 OOP and I earned $10 in ECBs for my next CVS trip :)

Then I made a quick stop at another local grocery spot, which was exciting, because I found Cascadian Farms Organic Frozen Vegs (the same ones I tried finding at Walmart). My purchase total before Savings $29.86 and after coupons I paid $13.10 OOP.