"A New Era of Responsibility"

I like the sound of those words. I know there’s all this backlash that people think Obama is god, even when he says the same words as Bush, but I think it all comes down to who you believe more. Or who has not made a fool of the country he claims to love time and time again. I hope everyone takes these words to heart, and begins their own personal quest for responsibility. Owning up to our mistakes, accepting what has come to pass and being accountable for our actions. It’s going to be a long slog through the mire, but I think the only way Americans can make their way through this is to scale back, take control of their own lives and SIMPLIFY!

To quote Nina Simone:

It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good.

I hope everyone is feeling pretty good today.

A Day of Service: A Simplist's Contribution

So I headed out last Saturday morning for my few hours of volunteering—I had opted for a joint venture between WeChangeLA and Tree People helping prune fruit trees that would be donated to non-profits such as schools or churches to distribute amongst their members. A little trepidation as I roused myself from sleep this morning (as there is anytime you try something new, alone) but a short bike ride to the park where the event was held and I was ready to get to work. We all seemed daunted by the large number of trees waiting for us in the compound, (it looked like a challenge out of The Amazing Race...)but the 15 or so volunteers that showed up made quick work of it (so much so that while we were budgeted for 4 hours of work, we finished it in 2). It turned out to be a wonderful idea, reacquainting me with Tree People (which I had been a member of many years ago but let it lapse after moving away), plus introducing me to the newly formed We Change LA (so new they don’t even have their own website, oh the humanity!) While this 2 hours of pruning might not change the world, it showed me that this kind of service—something so simple and not very time-consuming, can fit into even a very hectic schedule.

Call to Service

So this weekend, our President-elect has issued a call to arms to the American people…5 hours of community service on Monday (for those with the day off—I however will be toiling at the TV Guide Network). So in lieu of having a day off, I’ll use this weekend to do my 5 hours of service. The real task now comes at selecting something last minute that is both worthy of 5 hours of service and "accomplish-able". First stop: checking out USAService.org for a listing of projects in my area.

I'm back... finally.

Greetings and salutations… it has been far too long since my last post, and I am terribly sorry for that. I also abandoned my 12 for 2008 resolutions started last January midway through the year and well that’s just unfortunate. But it’s a new year, and a new you…er, me… and a new economy. In just 5 days the Almighty Obama will take office and fix everything…right? Well just in case, I’m going to try to use this year to focus on how to save money and be green at the same time. I’ve always been very conscious of both, but it’s time to dig deeper and see how green and how frugal I can be. It’s time to cut those bills in half! It’s time to kick it into high gear, people!

It figures when I can get from Navajo, AZ to Groom, TX on one tank, gas finally goes below $2 a gallon again.

Okay I’ve regained my simplistic composure over here, granted I’m still spending money like I have it to spend, but I also am a lot more focused on being able to find alternative solutions based on using items that I already own as well as creative holiday gifts (didn’t you know Christmas season started yesterday). I’m also working on clearing out the back of the freezer by finally thawing out all those old items and converting them to edible dinner—with the help of random late season peppers that are growing (no idea what kind they are but don’t look a gift pepper in the mouth). And also finally rounded up all the haz mat items in the house for the yearly trek to the recycling center. I’m really lucky to live in a community that has its own (pretty much) ‘no questions asked’ hazardous materials center that’s open 3 days a week, and while I try my best to avoid purchasing anything that may eventually become hazardous waste, sometimes it’s unavoidable—burned out light bulbs that came with the apartment, dead AA batteries, old and failing electronics, expired medications. At least I could take some pride in watching my neighbors bring in clearly-dug-out-of -the-ground car batteries.

More lapsing...

. I’ve been a lapsed simplist lately. I know I should know better, and what’s even worse is that I have the time to devote to making conscious decisions. Not sure why I’ve decided to take the easy way out on numerous occasions. I figured after I stopped working 7 days a week, I’d be better able to focus my attention on making better decisions. But alas no. Instead of asking a friend if I could borrow (have) an old phone that they weren’t using or heading to Goodwill to see if they had a used one I could purchase, I headed to Target and thought a $5 cheap plastic phone was a better idea. Instead of taking time to look up the cat’s vaccination schedule and speaking up at the vet, I let her go ahead and give him his vaccinations at least 6 months earlier than needed and at full cost (remembering afterward that PetCo does them for considerably less.) I brought new foam cushions into the house to finish up the couch, forgetting the effect that the off-gassing fumes would have on me for months and months into the future. And on and on, the list goes. So starting here and now today, I’m going to refocus my attention. I have the time, there’s just no excuse for why I am not more mindful of my actions, especially in these troubled economic times.

Link of the Day: Junk Mail Gems

We’re all about creative reuse here at the Daily Dose, and yesterday I came across this site: Junk Mail Gems which “turns trash into treasure”. Now the best way to get rid of junk mail is to cut it off at the source by opting out of marketing mail and removing your address from their system…BUT, even with those tricks, there’s always going to be some junk mail that slips through. And what Gretchen from Minnesota has done here has created some great examples of upcycling (recycling a material to make something of higher quality than the original product): pins, magnets, wallets and jewelry created using recycled materials, and each piece is handmade and unique. Even nicer is the fact that she gives you hints on how the items are made and provides links and ideas on how you can recycle your own junk mail.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame Week

So it apparently is “Lights Out” night while watching Game 4 of the ALCS… So I’m sitting over here in the dark waiting for the Red Sox to come back from a 3 run deficit. It’s gonna be a long 9 innings if they can’t come back and I have to sit here in the dark. I wonder how many people are actually also sitting watching in the dark as well… the website already has 105,000 registered participants (all probably excited about the prospect of winning a new TV that uses less energy too.)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame Week

This might all fall into the “every little bit helps” file. Caught a playoff game in Anaheim last week and noticed that the beer cups are now made from corn and considerably larger (more beer in the cup means less trips to the beer line… uh, and less cups!)

'Take Me Out To The Ballgame' Week

To celebrate the baseball playoff season, I thought I’d round up a few attempts by the national pastime to “green up” their sport.
First, I caught this bright idea from the perfectly coifed & chiseled Anderson Cooper during the ALDS game 4 between the Red Sox and the Angels: As part of his “Planet in Peril” series he is trying to rally the viewers to turn their lights off during game 4 of the ALCS. But be sure to leave your TV on. Maybe someone mentioned the irony of this request, because doing a Google search, I can’t find anything about it online.

We're Back

Well the ‘Daily Dose’ has been a little dark for the past few months what with our office’s mandatory ‘take the summer off’ policy, followed immediately by ‘get back to work to pay off those summer bills’. But we’re back up and running now and hopefully back on a regular posting schedule.

I’d be remiss if I let this weekend’s sad news go by without a mention. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been a Paul Newman super-fan for many many years and the sad news this weekend that he had lost his battle with lung cancer is still touching my soul tonight. More than just celebrity ‘hero-worship’ Paul was a man who truly represented what I’m trying to extol here on the blog, in my book and with my daily actions. He was someone who did not just talk the talk. He put his money, his time and his reputation on the line for helpless children who are suffering from disease. He did it all with dignity and class. He did not live in a glass tower and look down those he was trying to help—he was there, in the trenches. He was a truly passionate individual that took a hobby for driving fast and turned it into a second career that delighted him until his final days. He was a truly brilliant actor—so good that I don’t think people truly realized his talents, thinking that maybe he was truly that roguish cad from Hud, or that sly trickster from The Sting. In fact, he is probably a little of each of the characters he played, but none is a complete picture of the man.

The world is a little sadder now that he is gone, but I hope that his legacy lives on. Thanks for the memories, pal.

(LA Times posted the official obituary here)

A little R n' R

So the blogger is off galavanting across the country for a few weeks this summer—probably not the most cost effective move when gas is averaging over $4 a gallon, but sometimes you just can't let life stop you from livin'. So I am off first for my first trip to the Pacific Northwest: San Fran, Portland and Seattle, then down to Utah and hopefully the midwest will dry out by the beginning of July so I can make my way across the plains to the east coast. I'll try to come up with some simplist observations while I'm on the road, but for now, please enjoy the musings of the Los Angeles Roaming Gnome instead. He's good comedy, and always seems to bring a smile to whomever he meets :)

Happy summer on and all, stay cool!

Mid June updates!

So we’ve hit mid-June here in LA, and remarkably the weather has been fairly mild so far (hottest it’s gotten is about 90º but it cools down at night so it’s bearable). Been managing to ride my bike everywhere lately since I’m working at Disney this week, a straight shot down Buena Vista. Gotta somehow make up for the fact that I’ve got about 7000 miles worth of gas to buy in the next two months on the great American road trip, during the worst possible time…ever. My drinkin’ and swearin’ challenge this month is going pretty well—I have not had a diet coke since May and I’ve only had 4 beers total in 16 days. Swearing, well that’s another matter entirely. I catch myself every so often and slap myself on the wrist, but sometimes it’s just the only way to express oneself when navigating southern California freeways. Still got half a month to make up for it though.

Also sad to be leaving town, just as all my crops started coming up. Here is the very first jumbo cherry tomato of the year…the mini-cucumbers are coming in but won’t reach maturity until I leave town. Here’s hoping the sprinklers keep them all hydrated until I get back!

12 Resolutions June: Vice-free for 30 Days

So in preparation for my upcoming job at the end of June working in Provo, Utah where the producers have requested that while staying on the campus of Brigham Young University we refrain from swearing, drinking alcohol, and smoking, I’ve decided to issue my own personal challenge to see if I can give up a few of my own personal vices for the whole month. The smoking ban is of course the easiest one for me, as I’d rather do pretty much anything rather than smoke. The swearing and the drinking might be a little tougher (hey, I’m a WASP, what can I say?) I’ll throw in a ban on Diet Coke too to keep me right with the Mormons.

Water Month: The LifeStraw

Came across this story on my favorite mental_floss: about the LifeStraw, an amazingly simple idea that truly could change the world. Basically it’s a straw that contains a filter that removes diseases and bacteria from water as it’s being used (it doesn’t filter out Giardia yet, but they’re working on it) Cost per straw? $3, which is more than most of the people who truly need the straw can afford. Here's hoping my economic stimulus check comes through soon so we can redirect those funds to get some of these devices out where they really need them. How wonderful is it that a simple little device could make such a difference?

12 Resolutions May: That is not a sign of a healthy lawn.

We’ve been doing our own water conservation here at the Burbank bungalow—seems the reason our front lawn has turned to dried hay was my neighbor deciding the sprinkler timer needed to be unplugged without realizing what it was or without telling anyone that she had done so. So, while we’ve conserved some water (and her electric bill—[so she claims]) we’ve got a dead and crispy lawn that probably isn’t coming back this year. Finally realizing that the sprinklers weren’t on at all does have an added water conservation benefit: now I’m in charge, for the time being, of watering the lawn. The timer can’t decide to take the day off because it’s raining like I can (which believe it or not, it’s actually raining today. In May. In L.A. OMG, it actually just THUNDERED as I typed that!). It also called to light the fact that we were missing a sprinkler head and had created essentially a geyser that bypassed even the corner of the lawn and drained directly into the street. I was also able to redirect the sprinkler heads so they’re pointing We’ve got a little dribbling problem at one of the sprinkler turn-on valves, but it’s a work in progress people.

May Resolution: better late than never

I’ve been a little MIA in the blogosphere lately—too much work, too much heat and just not enough energy to do the little things that aren’t essential to day-to-day living. Here it is 3/4 through the month of May and I haven’t even had the wherewithal to come up with a monthly challenge. (Or possibly recap my April successes and failures). Temperature reads 87º here today, but feels much, much warmer in my kiln…er, apartment. But we’ve got a few weeks left on the month, so I probably can come up with a challenge that I might have even been observing all along. May apparently is some sort of water conservation month here in California (I think every month should be water conservation month, but we’ll go with it…) I’m a thirsty gal (I usually drink at least a gallon of water a day) so I know the importance of making every drop count. I’m usually pretty good about the conservation: recycle the gray water for non-edible plants, use the bucket in the shower to catch water to use for toilet flushing, water the crops early in the morning to prevent evaporation. This month’s challenge will be to find a way to cut back even more so, while still remaining hydrated.

TLC should always be organic.

I’ve always known the hardest times to stay simplified are: when there’s an emergency, when we’re in a rush, when we’re on vacation, any time we’re distracted, when we succumb to peer pressure, and when our beliefs contradict each other. This week I would probably add another situation to the list: when time is of the essence. With two very dear people in my life in the hospital this week, I want to support them but not at the expense of my beliefs. I don’t want to just grab a bunch of flowers from the supermarket to express my “get well” wishes. So instead, I stopped and thought for a little bit about what I would appreciate if I was laid up for awhile. The organic bouquet was the first thing that was a must (organicbouquet.com)

Next was to devise a pampering care package for my pal Marla, which was very cathartic to make because it made me think of all the wonderful things that she has done for me for so many years. It also feels good to make something that doesn’t betray my beliefs. Recipe for a natural and clear-conscience “get well soon” care package:
• Some nice Pomegranate white tea (lots of good anti-oxidants)
• Some Trader Joe’s lavender body oil (good for keeping skin moisturized)
• a few lavender sachets for under the pillow or in the clothes drawer (relaxing scent, without chemical fragrances)
• one of my infamous soothing eye pillows (relaxing & soothing; can never have enough of either)
• (shameless plug) a Simplicity Connection exclusive “simplify” tee (made in the sweatshop of my living room)
• a pink ribbon ball cap (donated by one Lesley Davis, paid for by donating much of her sassy blood & platelets)
• and my favorite item by far, the “Guess Who’s Kicking Cancer’s Ass?” mix CD. (Had to share the play list because I’m quite proud of it. ☺ (Clicking the graphic makes it larger, so it can actually be read!)

(P.S. Re: #22 on the CD: If you’ve never seen the Joss Stone/Melissa Etheridge Janis Joplin tribute from the Grammys 3 years ago, it’s an amazing representation of what kicking cancer’s ass can do: see it here on Youtube.)