So Many Options this Weekend

The only problem will be finding time for them all!

Retail, etc.

SmartMomma Grand Opening (in their new location!)
Saturday - 9/25 - 10:00am until 6:00pm
http://smartmomma.com/Locations-Raleigh-NC-sp-6.html
First 100 families to arrive are getting a nice free gift, which may or may not include a VERY nice discount from SmartMomma's neighbors at Fred's Beds. Just throwing that out there... ;-)

Downtown Designers Market (is back!)
Saturday - 9/25 - 9:00am until 3:00pm
http://www.designersdowntownmarket.com/
Jewelry, crafts, apparel, and other fab vendors in the Ornamentea parking lot!

The Green Chair Project Fall Furnishings Drive
Saturday - 9/25 - 9:00am until 1:00pm
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/greenscene/green-chair-project-holds-fall-furniture-drive
http://www.thegreenchair.org/
Got stuff? Donate it to keep it out of landfills - and help those who need it!

Festivals

Ray Price Capital City Bike Fest
Friday and Saturday - 9/24 and 9/25 - 10:00am until 10:00pm
http://CapitalCityBikeFest.com/
I don't personally "ride", but my family and LOTS of friends do... so I'm always game for going along for partaking in the sights, food, and fun.

Hillsborough Street Reopening
Saturday - 9/25 - 1:00pm until 10:00pm
http://hillsboroughstreet.org/event/
http://www.technicianonline.com/news/campus-buffer-to-get-proper-reopening-1.2337841
In true Raleigh fashion, let's close a street to traffic to celebrate it being re-opened to traffic. (It's what we do.)

Triangle Uncorked
Saturday - 9/25 - 2:00pm until 6:00pm
http://www.triangleuncorked.com/
Wine tasting event benefiting the Frankie Lemmon Foundation and Rotary!

Lots of Options Tonight!

Yay, it's First Friday again!

Music on the Porch at Seaboard Station
http://musicontheporch.com/

Laura Ridgeway and The Livewires will be playing for us this Friday June 4th.

(And yes, this is a first Friday so we have bounce rooms again.)

Laura Ridgeway and The Livewires want you to come out to relax, have fun, and dance, dance, dance (if you want to) - this seasoned troupe of musicians will cross the gamut of swing, upbeat jazz standards, blues, Latin, and oldies pop (Stevie Wonder, etc. and lots of stuff that grooves).........everything is danceable, tail-waggin', foot-tappin', family-oriented fun. Laura is one of our local musicians out of Cameron Park.

Save the Neuse Campaign Kick-Off with SweetWater Brewery (and Old Habits) at the Pour House
http://savetheneuse.com/

Come out to The Pour House of Raleigh this Friday, June 4th, to help SweetWater Brewing Company kick start its campaign to SAVE THE NEUSE. Swift Creek Revival will open up for Raleigh favorites Old Habits. Ticket sales go to the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation.

We’ll also be raffling off some gifts that were graciously donated by our Participating Accounts. Please check them out and support them. They are doing a great service by participating.

Grassroots Opening of the new Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater
http://www.raleighconvention.com/amphitheater/

You're invited to the Raleigh Amphitheater's Grassroots Grand Opening: Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of Raleigh Music from 5 pm-11 pm on Friday, June 4. Admission is FREE!

Event Schedule
5:20 to 5:50 - Th' Bullfrog Willard Mcgee
6:00 to 6:25 - The Small Ponds
6:45 to 7:10 - Sleep Control
7:30 to 7:55 - Old Avenue
8:15 to 8:40 - Mosadi Music
9:00 to 9:35 - I Was Totally Destroying It
9:55 to 10:55 - The Connells

Conservation Meet-Up at Isaac Hunter's Oak City Tavern
http://www.huntersoakcity.com/ | http://www.triangleland.org/

After (or before) stopping at the Mahler Gallery reception, head one block north on Fayetteville Street to join Triangle Land Conservancy staff for a conservation meet-up at Isaac Hunter's Oak City Tavern (112 Fayetteville Street) from 6 to 8:30. Thanks to Isaac Hunter's for offering the space, and to Conservation Trust for NC for inviting us to be part of it.

eCycling

Electronics are probably some of the nastiest things that could end up in a landfill, so if you need to get rid of anything, here's a great *free* opportunity from Fox 50 and Creative Recycling to do so!

Our landfills are filling up with things that won't ever go away. Specifically, old, outdated electronic equipment which take up space and pose a hazard to our environments.

That's why FOX50 created "E-Cycling" Day:
Saturday, June 27th from 10am - 2pm at all 3 locations.

Come out and see us - rain or shine - in the parking lots of three Best Buy locations:

* Durham - Renaissance Center
(7001 Fayetteville Rd, Durham, NC 27713)

* North Raleigh - Capital Blvd.
(6101 Capital Blvd, Raleigh, NC 27616)

* Cary - Crossroads Plaza
(237 Crossroads Blvd, Cary, NC 27518)

It's so convenient. You won’t even have to get out of your car! Volunteers will unload your electronic items

And there's countless number of electronic items you can drop off.

Equipment Accepted: All electronic equipment is acceptable with the exception of manifested hazardous waste, radioactive waste and/or biohazardous waste.
Read the full info and see the list of what's ok and not ok to bring here!

Please pass this along or encourage your local media and Best Buy to model something in your area after this program!

FYI: Our Beautiful Green State Gets Greener

From the City of Raleigh's eNewsletter:

NEW STATE LAW PROMOTES RECYCLING OF PLASTIC BOTTLES

A new state law will ban plastic bottles from trash cans beginning Oct. 1. The intent of the law is to encourage people to recycle the plastic bottles.

“This is a wonderful piece of legislation,” Linda Leighton, waste reduction specialist for the City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services Department, said of the new law. “A great number of our residents would willingly comply and keep plastic bottles out of the landfill, if we make them aware of the new law.”

Ms. Leighton pointed out that since 1991 it has been illegal to put aluminum cans in the trash.

Currently the average Raleigh resident recycles 321 pounds each year. The goal of the City’s Solid Waste Department is to increase that number to 451 pounds per year by 2012, Ms. Leighton said. The ban on placing plastic bottles in the trash should help.

In addition to plastic bottles, the City of Raleigh’s curbside recycling program collects:

* newspapers and all inserts;
* magazines and catalogs;
* white paper, including junk mail;
* corrugated cardboard;
* paperboard, chipboard and paper tubes;
* steel food cans;
* aluminum beverage cans;
* aluminum foil and trays that are free of food debris;
* plastic beverage rings;
* glass food and beverage containers;
* gable top cartons; and,
* aseptic (drink) boxes.
These items -- along with ink jet and toner cartridges and cell phones without accessories -- can also be taken to any of the City’s seven recycling drop-off centers. Unless otherwise noted, the drop-off centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The recycling drop-off centers in Raleigh are located at:
* Jaycee Park, 2405 Wade Ave,;
* Mini City Shopping Center, 4510 Capital Blvd, behind the Taco Bell and adjacent to Food Lion;
* Solid Waste Services Administrative Office at 400 W. Peace St. (7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday only);
* Brennan Station Shopping Center at the intersection of Creedmoor and Strickland roads. The drop-off center is located behind the shopping center off of Brennan Drive. Follow the large white water tower;
* City of Raleigh Yard Waste Center, 900 N. New Hope Road (open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. only);
* Sam’s Wholesale Club, 2537 S. Saunders St.; and,
* Habitat Wake ReStore at 2420 Raleigh Blvd (open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Mondays).
For more information about the City of Raleigh’s recycling programs, including how to obtain a recycling bin or order an additional bin, contact the City’s Solid Waste Services Department at 996-6890 or visit the City’s website at www.raleighnc.gov/recycling.

For My Green Thumb Readers...

I've noticed many of you (with blogs that I read... drop me a comment if you've been lurking and we haven't connected yet) have mentioned starting up your own backyard produce farms and/or gardens, so I thought I'd pass along some great tips from yesterday's Toxic Free NC Spring 2009 email newsletter.

Organic Gardening from Scratch

Here are a few tips for starting a new garden from Toxic Free NC and Tom Mekus, owner of Native Elements Landscaping in Raleigh.

Plan for too little (and too much) water
Keeping your garden within a hose’s length of an outdoor tap is always a good idea, but it’s also wise to consider installing a rain barrel. Just one-quarter inch of rain onto a 300-square-foot section of roof can yield nearly 50 gallons of water!

Resources for gardeners
Free soil testing by the NC Dept. of Agriculture
Call your County Extension office for more info, or visit http://www.agr.state.nc.us

All about composting from the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources www.p2pays.org/compost/
919-715-6500I thought I'd just pass along some tips that were maintenance related, since many of you have already started (and posted) some of your great results. Be sure to read the full post for some even better all-around tips.

Want to make your own rain barrel? That's definitely something I'm going to be tackling this summer... especially after previous summer droughts here in central NC.

Here are some links with how-to guides:From the EPA - Build Your Own Rain Barrel (pdf)
YouTube - How to Build a Rain Barrel (video)
YouTube - How to (On the Cheap) (video)Get creative! Add a screen to keep out leaves, etc., add a monogram (for the particularly preppy garden), whatever floats your boat... knock yourself out. (As pictured above, I'm not above putting a monogram or some cute embellishments on a rain barrel!)



{Images: Clockwise from Top Left - Zedomax, River Falls Rain Barrel Program, This Old House, Arlington Village Green Team. Embellishments by yours truly.}

The Good Stuff

Because my posts about booze, tailgating, and the like always get the most attention, I know you all will enjoy this budget-saving tidbit.

Courtesy of local retail queen - Sue Stock - this is a mail-in rebate that basically hooks you up with... you guessed it... free vodka! And not just any vodka, but good for the earth vodka (billed as "the world's first eco luxury vodka")!

It's distilled by a company called "Earth Friendly Distilling Vodka, Co." out of Missouri (yes, I had to Google it to make sure MO was in fact Missouri - don't laugh).

Read Sue's whole post here and print off your mail-in rebate!

As Sue mentioned, the fine print doesn't include NC in the ineligible states, but the biggest obstacle is whether or not it has been approved by the state and county boards for distribution here... guess we'll find out (or at least I will find out)!


{Image: Vodka360.com}

A Different Green Post

Here's a totally different green post for you - as in St. Patty's green!

I enjoy the holiday and the debauchery that goes along with it, but I've been consistently sick the last few weeks so I didn't do too much... well, other than celebrate my younger sister's 21st birthday (which by the way, still blows my mind that it's now legal for her to shop at the ABC store). I'll have to dedicate a separate post to that momentous occasion later.

However, just because the parties from last weekend and Tuesday have passed... there's more this weekend since last weekend had a bit (downpour) of rain.

Raleigh's St. Patrick's parade is today at noon - Downtown.

For those of you who are thrilled by the idea of Irish-themed events all year long... I guess this is my Merry March Christmas gift for you - a website and email list devoted to those local event (RaleighStPats.org).

Local Job Opening

This isn't my typical blog post, but this isn't your typical job opening either. This sounds like it would be a really fun and rewarding job.

Please pass this along to anyone who may be interested.

Open job position from SEEDS (1998 NC Peace Prize winner)
From Lucy Harris, SEEDS Executive Director,
706 Gilbert Street, Durham, NC 27701
919.683.1197
www.seedsnc.org

SEEDS is hiring a co-coordinator for Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) to start in March 2009.

Come join our multi-generational team of youth and adults working together to increase food justice in our community by:
-Growing healthy, sustainable food on a 1/4 acre lot in northeast central Durham
-Selling it at the Durham Farmer's Market every Saturday
-Learning about the importance of food and sustainability
-Cultivating self-confidence, inter-dependence, solid community, and a strong value for all life
-Primary responsibilities would be:
-Sharing knowledge of sustainable gardening, cooking, and healthy living with youth;
-Program development;
-Youth leadership training;
-Working with volunteers;
-Garden stewardship

Required Skills:
-Experience working with youth, especially in leadership development;
-Some gardening experience;
-Creative problem solving and conflict resolution skills;
-Ability and interest in doing physical labor;
-Commitment to social, economic, and environmental justice;
-Ability to work well with a multi-racial, intergenerational staff and desire to interact with a wide range of people
-Flexible schedule, driver's license, sense of humor and the ability to think on your toes

Strongly recommended:
-An understanding of and interest in food systems and food politics;
-Cooking skills;
-Carpentry skills;
-Creative self-expression;
-Morning person

We encourage applicants to get a feel for the position by volunteering during a Saturday work day.

Starting salary $12/hour + paid sick, vacation, and holidays
Average of 28 hours/week including Saturdays

Job starts mid-March

Interested parties should send a cover letter and resume to Lucy Harris, lharris@seedsnc.org, or 706 Gilbert St, Durham, NC 27701.

SEEDS is a non-profit community garden whose goal is to teach people to care for the earth, themselves and each other through a variety of garden-based programs.

The Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) program is a youth-driven, urban farming leadership development program. DIG empowers teens by teaching organic gardening, sound business practices, healthy food choices and food security values. The program emphasizes sustainable living and growing practices, ecological balance, and the natural recycling of organic materials for plant health and nourishment. DIG youth are paid a stipend to cultivate fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and mushrooms, which they then sell at the Durham Farmer's Market.Today's beautiful local weather should definitely encourage some good applications for this position - plus, just think about all the amazing things you'd learn about in this position. I've never heard of this before seeing this posting come across the Chix email list, but now I'd love to volunteer sometime.

E-Waste Recycling Event at NCSU

I would to credit this to the source where I saw it first, but I can't remember where I saw it (a green blog, something NCSU, who knows)!

E-Waste Recycling Event

What can be recycled?
Pretty much anything you can plug in!

*Computers – CPU’s and laptops, main frames, peripherals
*Monitors – CRT’s and flat screens
*Telephones, Cell phones and Telephone systems
*Fax Machines and Central Office Equipment
*Printers and Copiers
*Banking and Financial Equipment
*Medical Equipment
*Rechargeable batteries
*Electronic Circuit boards and components
*Stereo Equipment, Games, PDA’s
*Televisions (There is a $5 fee per television)

Location: Centennial Campus
Directions: Main Campus Drive between Monteith Eng. Research Center & Corporate Research 1

Date: March 11th
Time: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Sponsored by: Synergy Recycling L.L.C., NCSU Waste Reduction and Recycling, S.E.E. NCSU
For more information, email recycling@ncsu.edu or check out the online event PDF (which includes all the information I posted here, but in a pretty flyer).

Starting the Year Off Right

I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions... trust me, I can find a million ways to improve myself and life around me any darn day of the week.

In that spirit, I'm still going to share some good vibes to start 2009 with... might as well set the bar high for a good year ahead with some good news, events, and buys from all over place (no rhyme or reason to the following list):

Heart-warming Headline: Highwoods Properties Donates $10,000 to Homes for Our Troops

Style Report: Green koozies that won't break the bank

Green Reads: for parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, nannies, etc. - Green Babies, Sage Moms

Less is More: Cleaning out? Here's a few uses for household items that help our furry friends you might not have thought of otherwise.

This Might Hurt a Little: Spend Saturday mornings with Paragon Crossfit for free bootcamp workout sessions when you need a swift kick in the butt to get going.There you go. A green, simple, healthy, and karma-positive start to 2009.

Note: Adrianne and I (and possibly some other Raleigh girls) will be going to bootcamp tomorrow morning... it's gonna be interesting for sure.

{Double Post} Bring EcoStiletto to Raleigh

If you read my fashion and trend blog, you might have responded to my call to action to subscribe to a great eNewsletter that combines two fabulous things: fashion and reducing your carbon footprint. (As they say in today's edition: "where you get the scoop on how to shrink your carbon footprint from the size of an Ugg boot to a Manolo with eco-focused fashion, beauty, lifestyle and parenting updates".)

Also in today's EcoStiletto eNewsletter was the potential to bring a ridiculously fabulous event to our area: Want EcoStiletto in your hood? We're planning a whole series of EcoStiletto Green Girls' Night Out events nationwide for 2009 and the cities that that have the highest concentration of newsletter subscribers get our free, super-eco-fantabulous party coming to their town first. So go get your friends to sign up, already!I can't even start to count the number of gal pals who I know would attend this event... so let's bring it to town!

Be sure to sign up for the eNewsletter here.

CB Goes {Green}

I saw this featured on News14 - a woman from Carolina Beach has come up with a great fabric wrapping system for gifts (all shapes and sizes) that reduces your paper waste and can be used year after year - and even all year long!

In all honesty, I can't totally afford to do all of our gifts this way this year (we all know being green ain't always cheap!), but I'd like to move to using a system like this all the time in the future.

Double love that 1% of each sale goes to an eco-organization!

PS - I still consider Carolina Beach, NC to be "local". It's a few hours away, but the products are made in the US and even better... made in NC!

Some Good {Green} Tips from My City

I love Raleigh - email Chris Riley to subscribe to the weekly enewsletter.

City of Raleigh Urges Residents to Reduce Waste During the Holidays
On average, Raleigh residents produce about 3,000 tons of garbage each week. That number jumps dramatically to 3,750 tons per week during the holiday period, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

To reduce the amount of waste taken to the landfill, the City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services (SWS) Department and the City’s curbside recycling program, Raleigh Recycling, are encouraging residents to follow holiday waste reduction tips. SWS and Raleigh Recycling have joined other agencies in issuing these tips so everyone can enjoy a “Green” Christmas. Actually many of the tips can be used throughout the year, not just the holidays.

The holiday waste reduction tips are thorough and cover a variety of topics. These include holiday decorations, parties, holiday food, holiday cards, gift wrapping, enviro-shopping, gift giving, green gift ideas, gifts of time, gifts of charity, gifts for grandparents, homemade gifts, homemade gifts/non-homemade gifts made from reused materials and decorations, zero budget gifts, mailing packages, changing gift giving traditions, and energy savings.

To view all of the holiday waste reduction tips offered by SWS and Raleigh Recycling, visit the City of Raleigh’s website at www.raleighnc.gov.

Here are a few of the tips:
* Decorate your home, tree and centerpiece with
holly, cedar, berries, cranberries, popcorn, fruits and nuts, all of which can be composted or used for bird food after use;

* To add a special touch to your decorating consider using memorabilia such as a child's first shoe or teething ring, old jewelry, mementos from vacations, small stuffed animals and toys, holiday card ornaments, miniature toy cars, cookie cutters, dressed up dolls, or edible cookie ornaments;

* Email holiday party invitations making it clear that the invitation is in lieu of a traditional card;

* Eliminate disposal plates, cups and napkins from your holiday party. Instead, use “real” dishes and cloth napkins that can be washed and reused. Everyone loves hanging around the kitchen so make cleaning up part of the party;

* Give home-baked goodies in reusable holiday tins;

* Recycle all beverage and food cans and bottles from your holiday gathering;

* Buy the highest content post-consumer recycled holiday greeting cards that you can find. These cards are becoming easier to find in stores. Look for the recycling symbol inside a circle or a statement that says the cards are made from recycled paper;

* Reuse wrapping and ribbon when possible or purchase gift bags that can be reused as an alternative;

* Call the toll-free phone numbers on unwanted holiday catalogs and have your name taken off their mailing lists;

* Give non-materialistic “green” gifts that do not require wrapping, such as gift certificates for massages, restaurants, cooking classes, sailing lessons, etc. Experiences are remembered long after other presents wear out;

* Help someone recycle by buying a can-crusher, recycling or compost bin, or a tote cart to help get the bin to the curb;

* Prepare homemade soups or dinners that can be frozen for future use;

* Give away --- not throw away --- the last great book you bought. Give it to someone who enjoys your taste and later the two of you can talk about it;

* Save gift boxes, bows and ribbon for use next holiday season; and,

* Start off 2009 by making waste reduction your No. 1 New Year’s resolution. Commit to purchasing longer lasting products, such as compact florescent light bulbs and rechargeable batteries. You will save money and have less trash to discard.And the next headline from this week's eNews:City to Recycle Discarded Christmas Trees
What’s an easy and environmentally friendly way to get rid of your Christmas tree following the holidays? Raleigh residents should place their discarded trees at the curb with regular yard waste on their scheduled collection day.
...
All natural Christmas trees collected by the City’s Solid Waste Services Department, including those taken to the Yard Waste Center, are recycled into wood chips and mulch. These products are sold to the general public at the Yard Waste Center, which can be reached at 250-2728.Can you believe how much our waste increases during this short time period?

*Crosses Fingers*

I'm really hoping that this site will do the trick... hey, it's worth a shot! My friend Carolina forwarded this to me via email from a daily email tips newsletter from Ideal Bite - "bite-sized ideas for light-green living each weekday".

Stop Yellow Pages

This is the confirmation I received: "Your request to be removed from Yellow Pages distribution has been forwarded to the Yellow Pages publishers we have on file that serve your area. Lisa, for verification, we have sent you an email. Please click on the link in the email to verify your signature."

Like I said in the title, *crosses fingers*!

Eco-Friendly Products for Pets

If you've read this blog for long enough (or happen to know me in real life), it's very easy to notice that I am a puppy lover (and that all dogs of any age, shape, or size are "puppies" to me).

This is a great line of eco-friendly products that my friend Caroline emailed me. This company takes plastic bottles (keeping them out of the landfill!) and turns them into a wide-range of consumer goods... for our furry friends!

Worldwise Pet Products





Maybe if Nick and I invest in a few of these, Tank will quit stealing my spot in bed! And yes, Tank is a big boy.This is Tank, being his usual lapdog self with Renee.

He's my (big) baby!

I Hate Junk Mail

HAAAATE IT! But I do love real snail-mail :-)

Anyways, not much to say about this other than "THANKS!" to A Southern Accent for sharing this totally neat little green website... where you can easily get off of junk mail lists.

Sign up on GreenDimes (I went with the free option - don't hate), validate your account via the link that arrives in your email, then be sure to click on the boxes that display "action required" so you can for real get off the lists!

I hear there's something about a yellow pages opt-out now, that was the topic of one of my very first blog posts of 2008, but I'll have to go digging to find a link!

Another Reason to Love Capital Bank

If you read my first post about Capital Bank, here's another winning reason why you should dump your dud of a bank if they're not working for you: my debit cards showed up today and clearly noted on the back of all of the envelopes was this message -

"Biodegradable. Compostable. EarthFirst PLA film made from corn."

See Kermit... it actually can be easy to be green. ;-)

If You're On Your Umpteenth Nextel...

Paging Brandon Williamson... if you can't put it on eBay or Craigslist and recoup some of your investment... why not pay it forward?

Give those old phones hanging around (you know, in a bag in the back of the closet or the bottom of the desk in the office) a new purpose and be green, ie: reduce some waste in your life!

From the Nextel/Sprint subscriber eNewsletter:

Sprint Project Connect^SM

In April 2002, Sprint created Sprint Project Connect^SM, a wireless recycling program, to help prevent millions of phones from ending up in landfills.

Sprint Project Connect is a free service for anyone who has wireless phones, batteries, accessories and connection cards that they no longer use. All makes and models are accepted, regardless of condition or service provider. To recycle your wireless device, pick up a free, postage-paid envelope at any participating Sprint store nationwide. Or, print the free, postage-paid mailing label available on this site.

All of the net proceeds from Sprint Project Connect help to keep kids safer online through Sprint's 4NetSafety program in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the NEA Health Information Network, and others.

4NetSafety

Sprint is partnering with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the NEA Health Information Network, leading advocates for child and Internet safety, to provide free tools, resources and information that help:

• Kids to appreciate the power of the Internet and the implications of the decisions that they make when connected from a computer or their wireless phone.
• Educators to teach students about Internet safety and keep parents informed of potential risks.
• Parents and guardians to understand online habits of young people, what risks are associated with this behavior, and how to have a positive dialogue with their kids about Internet safety.

We encourage you to visit and use the following 4NetSafety resources funded through Sprint Project Connect:

NSTeens Website - This site was designed for young teens by Internet safety experts at the NetSmartz Workshop, a program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The site models safer online practices through engaging comic-book-style characters, and addresses topics such as social networking, cyberbullying, and gaming. Educators, parents and guardians are also given tools and resources such as safety tips, suggested activities, and discussion ideas to help kids make safer choices online.

bNetS@vvy E-Newsletter - This online newsletter is published by the NEA Health Information Network. Designed for adults to help young teens use Internet technologies safely, this resource is packed with stories from teens, parents, educators and experts. It also offers tools and activities to help adults and kids to become more Net savvy - and safe.It's not at all the type of good cause I had expected to see the recycling/reuse program connected to, but it's a noble cause nonetheless.

"Southern" Sugar Scrub

...because you know how Southern cooks are: directions are only "suggested" and anything goes.

Case in point, this afternoon I noticed an "icky" (if you will) peeling arm/shoulder. Crap, there were two of them. (Two weeks to the day after getting sunburned on Falls Lake with the Redneck Yacht Club.)

I went home and googled "homemade sugar scrub" and found a new fun website (with RSS feed!) and a recipe to boot.

Homemade Sugar Scrub | Healthy and Green Living

By Annie B. Bond, Care2 Green Living Executive Producer

"OK, folks. Get ready for almost unbelievably soft skin (even for those of us with older skin).

The other day I was speaking with Larry Pleasant, CEO of The Vermont Soapworks, and he mentioned that he and his staff had spent the morning testing homemade sugar scrubs, and that everyone was commenting on how incredibly soft their skin felt. Aware that sugar cane produces glycolic acid, one of the natural alpha hydroxy acids that exfoliates the skin, I was immediately curious about his recipes.

Ingredients
* 50 percent white cane sugar (note that organic sucanat, while the best choice for food, doesn’t work as well for this recipe)
* 50 percent vegetable glycerin to moisten the sugar (I used avocado oil since I was out of vegetable glycerin and it proved to be a successful substitute)
* Small amounts of aloe vera gel, vitamin C crystals, or anything healing that dissolves in water
* 1 or 2 drops of essential oil if desired (Larry recommends combining orange and lavender)
* Enough ground hibiscus powder for pink color (if desired)

Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Scoop some of the scrub onto your hand and massage gently onto your skin for a minute (the scrub will actually tighten onto your skin like a masque). Leave on for 3 to 4 minutes before rinsing.

Let me warn you in advance that you’ll want to use this sugar scrub on your entire body. I started on my face, returned to my desk, and my skin felt so baby soft that the skin on my neck felt like sandpaper, so I needed to use the sugar scrub there, and on and on."Here's how mine went:Ingredients (with SUPER technical measurements)
* 1 plastic bowl (and a fork to mix with)
* Enough sugar to fill the bottom of the bowl
* A squeeze of honey (for consistency... seemed like a good idea to me!)
* A little bit of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil for those of you who aren't Rach fans)
* A squirt of lemon juice
* A few drops of lavender essential oil (for smell)
* Some bath salts (also for smell)

Mix all of the above. Hop in the shower with a poof or a washcloth and enjoy SUPER soft skin!I even got to skip the after-shower lotion because this was that awesome. I basically got an idea of what would work and just "went to work" gathering what was available in my kitchen.

The only changes I would possibly make would be for coconut oil (or another yummy smelling oil) in place of EVOO and to add the aloe gel... I forgot about that part even though I had some on hand.

I wouldn't recommend this in the morning... some of the oil could leave spots on clothes. (I'm wearing linen pants and a tank-top right now with no problem though!)