PSA

Hi all,

Last night I got two comments on my previous post (yay!). But, a couple minor problems popped up. The first comment was anonymous so I can't write back and say thank you!!!! for your/their friendly feedback. If whoever you are wants to remain anonymous that is just fine, too. Just know that I say thanks. If you do want to let me know who you are, and you have my personal email address, drop me a line.

The second comment was from Alice, which was also totally sweet. Alice, I tried to email you with your regular email and it bounced back. What is your new email address? I want to know what's going on in your fantastic life!

It's snowing this morning, which is making it hard to tear myself away from the couch/fire/dogs/coffee pot, but someone has to sell shoes in town.

Cheers,
NC

Song of the day: Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes

Countdown

Ha! I finally came up with a blog subtitle/description (as seen in the heading above). And you thought it couldn't be done. I know it's short, and maybe it's even cliché, but it is accurate. I also decided to design a new page. The photo of the road behind the blog heading is one that I took as I was leaving Eugene back in June when I started out on this crazy journey.

My totally awesome, fabulous, wonderful and amazing friend, Courtney, is coming for a visit this week. She arrives mid-day on Wednesday and I cannot wait till she gets here. I spent most of today doing all the essential cleaning, making sure the floors, windows, throw rugs and the like all had the stink blown off them. And then I got headed down that all too dangerous road of over cleaning, which generally takes the place of professional counseling, and started oiling the floors, washing the curtains, wiping down the baseboards and dusting off the big horned sheep head that hangs over the dining room table. I got the cobwebs off his horns and then named him Sid. My roommate, who shot the thing and had it mounted, doesn't seem all too pleased with this.

For those of you who know Courtney, you are probably more than slightly aware that she is, to put it as simply as possible, an experience. But for those of you who have not been so lucky as to meet her, I will just say that while she is here I will do my best to capture the beautiful collection of playful insanity that is this person. Think Thelma and Louise without the cliff jumping bit.

Cheers,
NC

Song of the Day: Pretty Girl by Tom Petty

The Love It List

So I've been on a bit of a green kick lately. Part of it is because I've been reading Daniel Imhoff's book, Paper or Plastic and the other part is that I've had a bit of a shake up in my life over what it means to be green and live well (and while I could dive into this and get all poetic about epiphanies and personal beliefs, who really wants to go there?). Anyway, I've been out shopping today and reading labels on just about everything I purchased. Just for the hell of it I've come up with a list of products that are great at what they do and also great for the environment. I thought I'd put this out here because I know that most of you who read this blog are genuinely concerned about what you buy and what it may or may not do to the planet and your body.

Cosmetics:
Some cosmetics, lotions and soaps contain what are referred to as parabens, chemicals that are used as preservatives. While the FDA hasn't definitely concluded that parabens are toxic, they have stated that products cannot use any more than 25% percent parabens. In the meantime cosmetics companies have started to eliminate parabens from their products and using alternatives. Burt's Bees, Avalon Organics and Aveda, just to name a few, make great products that are paraben free and use post-consumer materials in their packaging, which are 100% recyclable. Their soaps are also biodegradable and use real essential oils as opposed to synthetic. The Avalon Organics lavender body lotion has been my top find in new cosmetics so far. It's got a great scent that is strong at first but then quickly fades so it won't overpower whatever other perfume you might be wearing. For more info on parabens, check out the FDA website at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-para.html

News:
For green news (and sometimes just a quick laugh) I click over to www.grist.org. They are a Pacific Northwest NPO internet-based magazine that reports on the environment. They also have political news, product info and links to buy items that are eco-friendly and fun. I love that they have a funky, cool, non-dirty hippie look and tone. To be green does not mean you have to be a socks with sandals wearing extremist, thank you very much.

Cleaning Products:
Don't get me started... Basically, household cleaning products should not make you sick, harm the environment or leave behind more crap than they take away. They're suppose to clean, right? That being said, Seventh Generation is my pick for great cleaning products. Their site, www.seventhgeneration.com has a ton of great information. The only bummer with them is that the prices on some of their products are a bit high. When I went looking for a laundry detergent I was really taken aback that it would cost me over $12.00 for a bottle that would cover only 36 loads. I found that All detergent had a biodegradable soap in a 25% post consumer materials 100% recyclable bottle and it was only $4.00 for 36 loads. So as much as I would love to buy the yummy lavender smelling Seventh Generation brand, I ended up going with the cheaper more conventional alternative.

Shoes/Socks:
Ah, how I love shoes. They can tell you so much about a person. I work in a shoe store so I get to see and hear about all the things that certain companies are doing to try to be more green. Simple makes a great little shoe that uses old tires for the soles, liners made from recycled water bottles, and 100% post-consumer paper in their boxes. Keen, Smartwool, Teko and a whole bunch of other shoe and sock companies are also on the recycled materials bandwagon so finding a product that is at the every least attempting to be greener isn't that hard. Visit their websites, or just look on the packaging for more info.

I know I have barely scratched the surface here, but I thought I would mention the little tidbits that I have learned in the past month or so. And I do know that the best product for the planet is always going to be no product at all, but it's not like we can run around naked...though I'm sure some people like that sort of thing. If you have to buy something (and I do believe that soap and shoes DO qualify) you might as well buy what is good for you, the planet and your wallet.

Cheers,
NC

Catching Up and Freaking Out

Okay, so it's been a few days. I get that. I was busy, I was working I was writing and at one point, I even slept. Want a recap? I could use one myself. Here:

Thursday: Worked on an article for the magazine in the morning. Skied with the cutest little kid you've ever seen in your whole life in the afternoon. Worked on the article again all the way till midnight. Passed out.

Friday: Worked on the article from 6am till I left for work at 8am. Worked till 5:30. Enjoyed a well deserved mini break and then came home. Had dinner. Unwrapped new phone (I mentioned the broken cell phone charger, and thus broken cell phone, earlier didn't I?) from ebay. Dealt with family issues. Passed out.

Saturday: Got up, got pissed off and ate a peanut butter sandwich which walking to work because I was running late. Sold shoes. Lots of them. I was even friendly and cheerful (sort of). Came home. Returned emails, ate dinner and realized that it was in fact Saturday night.

WTF?

And now I'm sitting here, wanting to put so much stuff out here. It's been an intense few days. Lots of work. Lots of stuff. Lots of ghosts walking around. I almost feel I should just pop it all into bullet points and call it good, but that's cheap, right? Whatever. Did I mention being pissed?

Cheers,
NC

Song of the Day: Turpentine by Brandi Carlile

Retail Therapy

I'm a bit tired tonight and need to get to sleep so that I'm ready and rested to chase a seven-year-old down the mountain tomorrow. A co-worker was confused the other day when I explained that my new clogs were a result of retail therapy. This is how I summed it up fro him:

"I had a long week. Then I had a long weekend. My only pair of black shoes were old and falling apart. They weren't pretty, therefore I didn't feel pretty. I bought new, discounted black shoes. I felt better."

The end.

Cheers,
NC

Mini Rant: Cured By Ice Cream

It's cold outside, I didn't sell as many shoes as I would have liked, I have a ton of work to do and not nearly enough time to do it this week, my cell phone charger spontaneous broke into five separate pieces, the books I ordered from Amazon still haven't come yet and for whatever reason Katie Couric is using some kind of annoying interactive political map that requires her to continually keep her hand in the screen, making it seem that "Thing" from The Addams Family is in charge of covering what the media is now obsessively calling Super Tuesday.

So no, I was not in the best of moods when I came home from work. The remedy? Sweats, a warm fire, three happy dogs, and eating ice cream in front of the TV with my roommate as we yell obscenities at the campaign coverage.

Woohoo! It's a rockin party in here.

Cheers,
NC

Frozen Panties

My bedroom in the house I live is located in the basement. It's a nice little room with green carpet, an antique short four-post bed, a couple of windows, and pastel pink walls and ceiling. Most of the furniture is rustic and charming, and there is plenty of room for all of my stuff, even my giant box of shoes (I know-shocking). I hung curtains, a makeshift lamp, put up cards and photos from loved ones, and decorated with a few other personal touches (such as the neon velvet Elvis from Courtney via her cousin, Earl) to really make the place my own. Basically, it's a great little room that I feel right at home in.

The only downside to my little oasis of pink is that it's fairly cold. The entire basement, which is made up of a large laundry room, a utility room and another bedroom besides my own is completely without central heat. But that's not to say that I'm suffering down there. I have a space heater, fleece pajamas, hoodie sweatshirt, down comforter, heating pad, flannel sheets, wool socks, wool hat and heated blanket to keep me warm. I'm really rather toasty at night. I just plug is the space heater, nestle down and before I know it I'm happily snoring away.

The only time I notice the lack of heat is when I come down to my room before getting that space heater going. And reach for my pajamas. My frozen pajamas. And it's at that moment, as I'm dangling my icy clothes in front of the space heater, hoping to get them somewhat warm before throwing them on to my naked, pale, shivering body, that I start seriously contemplating running away to Hawaii or Mexico or Thailand or any place, ANY freaking place where one does not have to defrost their clothes before putting them on.

And why, I must ask, does the deicing of the bed not take nearly as long as the clothes? I just jump in with the heating pad and it warms up fairly quickly (not that I'm complaining--I'm just saying it's weird). I swear, if the dogs didn't fart so much I'd get them to warm up my bed and pajamas for me before I bedded down for the night.

Ahhhh....life in Montana.

Cheers,
NC

There Aren't Enough Hours in the Day...That's My Excuse.

When I was a freshman in college, my roommate and I had this quote taped to the door of our dorm room:

"Procrastination is like masturbation. It feels great when you're doing it, but in the end you're just screwing yourself."

I think I need to make this my screen saver, tape it to the bathroom mirror, put it on a sticky note in my car and then tattoo it to the back of my hand. That's if I get around to it, of course. I hate this feeling of having a to do list that is never complete. It drives me nuts to have an article to write and then not doing it right away. Why do I do this to myself? Why can't I just say that I'm going to do something, and then sit down and do it?

Ugh...on that note, it's time to spend my Sunday night curled up with computer.

Cheers,
NC

Busy Weekend

I've been running around for about a week now. First there was magazine work, then shoe store work and finally volunteer work, all of which warranted their own types of recovery. I meant to stay in Friday night but ended up going out for a beer with my roommate and his friend. I then spent most of Saturday just hanging out, doing laundry and not writing much of anything. Now it's time to go sell more shoes.

Where did my weekend go?

Cheers,
NC

At the Shoe Store....

A woman came into the store today with her daughter and infant grandson. While the baby was cute, he did managed to spit up twice and fart about every three minutes. It's amazing to me that so much stink can come out of such a tiny body.

"Mom, I think Jack might be allergic to milk," said the daughter.

"Him? No, honey he's too fat to be allergic to anything. Try these on--they'd be cute on you."

And that, ladies and gents, was the highlight of my day.

Cheers,
NC