TerraPass and a haircut

I got a TerraPass for my birthday from my lovely roommate, Amber. Very exciting stuff, and I've wanted to write about it for a while but just haven't gotten around to it b/c of all the other exciting things going on. Sarah introduced me to TerraPass back in the spring when she told me that Ben had gotten her one for Christmas or some occassion. I was intrigued, told Amber about it, and then got one for my birthday!

TerraPass is a way to balance your carbon footprint from driving, plane rides, your home energy use, or even your wedding. Basically that means that you calculate how much your carbon output is from one of these activities, and then purchase carbon "offsets" which are certificates that represent the reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. When you buy a carbon offset, the money goes towards several projects that TerraPass funds, such as wind power projects, landfill gas capture projects, and farm power which makes use of animal wastes. You can find out more about the projects at http://www.terrapass.com/projects/. The pass that I have is for my car. So even though I can't walk or bike to work, I can offset the amount of carbon that I put into the environment through my donation towards green energy projects. Amber calculate how much I drive in 6 months, and purchase a pass for that amount. It's great! I would definitely suggest it and hope to continue to use a TerraPass in the future!

In other news, I got a haircut today. Thought I'd share the new look with you. I really like it. Just wanted a change.

Shoes, Shoes, and Labor Day

Labor Day weekend was full of lots of relaxing, shopping, cooking, and just hanging out. Friday night, Amber and I decided to do some browsing at Target, Ross, and some other stores. We noticed all of the TERRIBLE shoe fashions out there right now. Why do people want to wear shoes like this? So we documented some of the worst trends out there for you to be the judge. It all started at Target with these pink rubber boots (which I actually think are pretty cute and would be funny to have at work). But Jes thinks that I can only wear them to work if I got Willy a pair too, and somehow I don't think he'd be a fan. Next on our adventures was Ross, where we found these lovely gold boots...with a little surprise on the backs. They were super hot (not in a good way) with fur on the inside (like Uggs) and I just don't know how anyone could wear those unless you lived in Alaska or something.

We went to Rack Room next, and there we found many many ugly trends. Like the very popular gladiator sandals, the crocs with fur (although I would have loved to find the crocs wedge just for Jes), and another atrocity boot with fur on the outside. And just so you know, I did not waiver in my disgust at crocs, so Amber had to model those for the camera along with the fur on the outside ones which I think she rocked pretty well! She could be a shoe model. :) We had a good time with our shoe adventures - but please, don't be caught in some of these trends!

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out in the burg. We made it to Mug Night on Sunday, and now that the students are back in town it's a big change. The place was packed! For the first time all summer, we weren't able to get a table on the patio right away but we made it out there eventually and enjoyed the lovely weather. Yesterday, we went to the pool here at Oxford for the first time, and tip learned from the day, just because it's September, you still need sunscreen (check out Amber's two-toned legs). Hope you all had a good Labor Day!

Flowers Always Make It Better

I had a lovely afternoon today after work. I went grocery shopping to try out some new recipes, then I came back to New Town and walked around the Farmer's Market that New Town has every Thursday in the summer. I got to visit with a colleague who was selling some stuff there, discuss herbs and flowers with two other vendors, and pick up some fun stuff as well. It was very relaxing. And I picked up some new flowers too. I got some dahlias (Andrea's favorite on the right) because they were just so beautiful...and also one other flower for my bathroom that is awesome. It's a Polianthes tuberosa which when I smelled it, immediately reminded of something but I couldn't quite place it. Until the woman told me that they are common in Hawaii and usually used in leis. So yeah, brought me back to my family's trip there in '99. And it smells sooooo good. :) The flower woman also gave me some great tips for keeping cut flowers, all from this video, so check it out http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fttLKJSX0uA . But basically she said you need a little chlorox, a little sugar, and a little lemon juice in with your plants to make them last longer. :)



I also tried out two new recipes tonight too if you're interested. The salad dressing was really good but the popsicles aren't frozen yet so I can't give them a review just yet.



Recipes:
Red Pepper Viniagrette
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cubed
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
Place into blender. Puree until smooth.



Chocolate Popsicles
2 tbsp flour
2/3 cup sugar
3 3/4 tbsp cocoa
1 dash salt
2 cups milk
12 oz. can evaporated milk
Mix. Cook until thick. Remove from heat. Stir in evaporated milk. Pour into popsicle molds.

Weekend in Boone

This past weekend was another fun summer outing. My mom and I traveled over to Boone to visit Jimmy. We had a great time enjoying what Boone and the surrounding areas has to offer. Friday, when we arrived in Boone we went to play a game of disc golf, which I'd never played before. It was really fun but definitely a little scary playing near the pond b/c I did NOT want to lose Jimmy's discs. We even saw some super cute ducks with their babies.

Saturday was the big tubing event. We have been wanting to go tubing in Boone since Jimmy started going there, and we finally made it happen. Jimmy already had the tubes, so we dropped off one car at the start and one at the end, 2 miles apart, and then got in the tubes and started drifting down the river. We went on the New River, which is one of the oldest rivers in the world, which is pretty cool. It took us three hours to get just those 2 miles, so it was a pretty slow moving river. But we saw crayfish, fish, snails, and a snake along the way, plus hummingbirds and other cool birds. It was really fun. It could be a little warmer, but in the sun it was really great.



Sunday, Mom and I stopped at the Buck Shoals winery along 421 on the way back to Wilson. It was really good, and cool to see the grapes still on the vine. The weather there was so wonderful! No bugs and just really cool, not hot at all like it was coming back to Williamsburg today.












It was great to see the fam and be able to visit Jimmy!

Lawn Party

Amber and I wanted to show people our new place and especially the backyard and lawn games that we have now! So, last Sunday we had a little Lawn Games party. We set up the Baggo game, bocce, and the new Bimini Ring Game that my mom built for me. It was awesome. The weather cooperated and we had quite a few people show up.

Before the party started, we had some Ellie, Jes, and Rob time so that we could catch up with them. Ellie was super cute in her fish dress and we each got a lot of time with her, which was nice.

Then, the games began! Baggo was the most popular game of the day, but the VIMS educators got a good game of bocce in while I held Ellie, and the boys were pretty determined to try and get the ring from Bimini onto the hook (which proved harder than they thought). Everyone brought some really great food and we had a good time enjoying a summer Sunday afternoon. Here are some pictures of the festivities!

Erin's Defense

Erin defended her thesis on Monday (congrats Erin!) and we had a fun party for her at VIMS Monday night. We got to cookout, hang out on the porch and enjoy the breeze, and even play some bocce. It was a good time had by all, most of all the graduate! You know it was a good party if the boss man himself showed up and even lasted longer than Amber and me. Congratulations Erin and we're looking forward to celebrating with you more on Sunday!

Backyard at the new house

Amber and I are thoroughly enjoying our new "backyard". I wanted to share with you guys just how cute our little back porch area is because it's one of our favorite places of the townhouse. Pictures of the rest of the house will be posted soon for those of you that haven't been to visit yet (shame on you!). We even have plants that we have been keeping alive for two whole months, quite the feat for us. And we have a hummingbird feeder that I have seen birds come to many times, which is fun. The recycling bins are a proud purchase for us too. I know it's strange for people to be proud of their recycling bins, but we searched high and low for those things and they are just what we were looking for.

For my birthday, Jimmy even got me a fun game that takes advantage of the yard space, Baggo or "cornhole". It's even a game that Amber (the "game hater") has approved of AND enjoys playing. We are practicing our skills this week after work because we're having a yard games lawn party this weekend and we need to be ready to take on our guests!

P.S. Totally unrelated, but this was on MSN today. Read, enjoy, join the crusade against crocs (sorry Ellie, it's not your fault)! http://www.newsweek.com/id/150240/&GT1=43002