What Did You Do?

The holiday season is coming to a close. I could list several things my family and I did to lighten our footprint this year, however, I'd like to play a game. I'll list one eco-friendly thing I did and then I'll tag a few people. If you get tagged, it's your turn to list your "one thing" in the comments to this post AND on your own blog. Just copy this paragraph into a new post on your site and tag more people to do the same. We'll see how many people are taking care of our earth and maybe pick up some new tips.

My one thing - I recycled all my used wrapping paper.

I'm tagging Patrick, Melanie, Micaela, Jolly Green Girl and Laura.

Happy Christmas to All

And to all a good night.

Endangered Plants Could Affect Healthcare

Unsustainable collection practices is leading to fewer and fewer medicinal plants we need for traditional and modern medicine. Concern has been growing for some years which is why WWF (World Wildlife Federation) has administered a set of principles and criteria for sustainable wild collection of plants.

The new standard addresses requests from industry and consumer concern and provides information on the sustainability and ethical implications of products. This document is designed to help the people involved in the the business of wild-collected medicinal and aromatic plant resources to understand and comply with the conditions under which sustainable collection of these resources can take place.
IUCN, WWF and TRAFFIC - a joint programme of WWF and TRAFFIC - are working together to apply several laws, certifications and policies.

Without sustainablity rules we could lose the plants that make the medicine that may someday save your life.

Happy Little Trees

Bob Ross, the super cool, afro-wearing painter from the 80s shows up on our television set at home once in a while. His old how-to show called "Joy of Painting" is featured on the CREATE channel. We could all learn a lot from Bob and his happy little things. He was a lover of nature and all things serene. What a beautiful world this would be if Bob Ross could paint it for us.

Random Facts Meme From Patrick

Patrick tagged me and I'll play along so here we go:

The rules:
Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random or weird things about yourself. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. Patrick and I have two parakeets, Amelia & Roger. We call them our babies or our kids and we really believe they are.

2. I love to cook but hate to follow recipes. I guess I'm a rebel.

3. I'm an insomniac. I always have been, even as a kid.

4. I met Harry Belafonte. We shook hands, and briefly discussed the importance of music education. I thanked him for supporting the arts. He's a very kind man.

5. Patrick and I saw Oprah at the restaurant, Serendipity 3, in NYC. She was filming a segment for her show. Months later we saw ourselves on TV!

6. I don't like coffee but I love tea.

7. I LOVE chocolate like it's a family member and I enjoy mints to cover bad breath but I LOATHE chocolate and mint flavors mixed together. YUCK!

I will tag
- Melanie at Bean Sprouts Melanie is creative and a friend to our earth. She has recently used starters to make her own ginger beer and sour dough bread. mmmmm
- My friends at Broomhuggers. They're great, you should check them out.
- Micaela at Mindful Momma. She runs an awesomely organized blog for moms who want to be ecofriendly and kidfriendly. Click and check her site. She's got lots of useful stuff to share.
- Jolly Green Girl at The Accidental Environmentalist Like me, she finds ways to make being green easier than Kermit thought.
- Organized friends at Unclutterer. Think you need all those gadgets and appliances taking up your desk and counter space? Read their articles and learn better. Simple is better.
- John at Born Again Bird Watcher Read his witty blog for a "born-again" view of the birding world.
- Julie at Julie Zickefoose. Julie is always doing something creative and interesting. Recently she made goat cheese!

Homemade Bread

I decided to make my own bread last week. If one has the time (and I do acknowledge it's time consuming), making bread isn't very difficult. I chose to give it a whirl because I like the idea of knowing exactly what goes into my mouth. Patrick and I are trying to be healthier at the same time we're trying to be greener and the two go hand in hand. Making your own bread healthy, economical and uses less energy since you don't have to drive to the store to buy a loaf. One could argue that you have to drive to the store to buy the ingredients for your DIY bread but think about how many loaves you'd get out of one bag of flour. When you weigh the carbon footprint of homemade vs. store bought, homemade wins hands down. So if the baking bug bites you, give it a try.

The Harm in Antibacterials

I always knew antibacterial soaps and lotions couldn't be as good for us as they claim. How could something that strips away at our skin so harshly be so good? It isn't. Enn.com published and article that supports my theory. It turns out the chemicals in antibacterial products interfere with normal hormone production. You can read the article here for yourself.

Home From New Mexico

Here is just a small sample of what Patrick and I enjoyed while visiting New Mexico. More to come during the week.

Abert's Squirrel - Looks like a squirrel with big mouse ears

Rosy-finches outside the Sandia Crest Gift Shop

This could be a postcard, couldn't it?

Me and Patrick enjoying good wine and good food at St. Clare's Winery in Albuquerque

Me in front of one of the many decked out store fronts in Santa Fe

The outdoor markets of Santa Fe, where you're sure to find a nice piece of jewelry

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open....

Duraflame? Yes, Duraflame is the green way to start your fireplace fire this holiday season. Duraflame logs have replaced petroleum based logs with all natural organic ingredients which burn up to 80% cleaner than wood. Using 100% renewable resources these logs produces zero greenhouse gas emissions. The new green formula reduces the annual carbon production of 62,000 cars. One Duraflame log will last about as long as four average wood logs and, of course, saving 1.2 million trees, annually. Another benefit...they light FAST.

Visit Duraflame's website for more green tips and to enter a chance to win a $20,000 green makeover for your home.