The Grinch didn't steal Christmas!

I don't do a Christmas tree at my house - mostly because we've never been here for Christmas. I do get that little Christmas decorating urge every year... but never give in to it. *sigh*

However, I would give into this:


A Grinch-style Christmas tree! WooHoo! What a delightful idea. Cedar branches all wrapped up with sparkly wire and a sparkly bobble on the end making it lean over. Billiant, simply brilliant.

From Devine Vines in Vancouver.

PS. And they have the cutest blog ever!

Whew. That was an exhausting week.

My craft fair frenzy has ended. Oh it feels good to be done. I can't even imagine making anymore jewelry right now. Oh, but wait- I still have a couple of special orders to finish up...

I have a couple of pictures of me & my table (and H).

Jack Davis Christmas Craft Fair (Work) with a friend (with yummy bake sale goodies in her hand!)



Heather & I at Camosun College. This was just before we were packing up, so you can imagine how much more we had a week and a half ago!


I have to go to the bank today exchange my $1000 for traveler's checks. Yes, $1000! I still have a couple of more opportunities to sell a few more pieces, so I'm confident on meeting my goal. I never thought this would be possible. And it's all thanks do a wonderful best friend, Heather, who loves this as much as I, and a husband who'll put up with beads being all over the house and me spending lots on beads in the past few years. Plus a wonderful family who buys me beads when they spot them (thanks Eric & Dad!)

*EDIT* I was cleaning this afternoon (see 'ending procrastination' below), and in a drawer I found $280 that I had stashed away! Hurray for being a little squirrel! I'd like to thank my friend (Meg) for teaching me that habit! Huzzah! I Rule! *End EDIT*

Anyways....
All of my energy and free time has gone into preparing for this past week; I haven't concentrated on what these next two weeks hold. But now it's here. Two weeks until we leave Victoria. So much to do! But it's a lot less than it could be, since we're renting out our basement suite fully furnished. We just have to pack our personal belongings and put it in the storage unit here.

Goals for this weekend include mapping out where we want to go, figuring out how much it will cost in each place, and looking at routes. I'm reading the backpacking cookbooks (Val, I'll return the Wellfed Backpacker to you at Christmas), and writing down recipes. We also have to figure out what clothes we're going to bring with us from home, I don't have much that's backpacking friendly. (Hopefully I'll be able to find some sweet pieces at Value Village or the Salvation Army!)

So without further procrastination, I'm going to get on that stuff!

Oh, and two more things....

It snowed! I woke up this morning to a centimeter of snow on the ground. I know, nothing for most people, but in Victoria this is a big deal. It's the first time I've seen snow on December 1st in at least 3 years! WooHoo!

Aannndd... I've been addicted to America's Next Top Model for the last 2 cycles. I can't get enough. Joel makes fun of me.

But episode 10 is amazing! The girls go to China and their challenge is to pose all martial arts style in the air! Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon meet ANTM.

Watch it:

Christmas Craft Frenzy-ing!

Yesterday was the start of my craft fair blitz!

Heather and I had a table at Camosun College yesterday, and it went over pretty well. Students are a hard bunch because we're all broke. Especially at the end of semester. All together we sold $350, $160 was me, $100 for her, and $70 for jewelry made by guys in Africa that H brought back from volunteering over there (She sends 100% of that $ back to them), and $30 for my friend Laura's stuff. So a pretty good day.

This piece sold, I was sad to see it go, but I'm sure it went to a good home!


Monday and Tuesday I'm selling at work. Ahhhh! I hope it goes well. So not only do I want to do well for myself, but this craft fair is my baby! I've organized all of it. I hope everyone else does well too!

Not trying to be full of myself or anything, but I'm so impressed with how well I've done since working! These government women are amazing. I've pulled in around $1000 -- however, I've spend well over $500.... but it's the first time I'm coming out ahead! WooHoo!

WooHoo! First Sale on Etsy!

I'm am so happy! I had my first sale on Etsy. Now hopefully it's the first in a long line of Christmas shopping. *hope*

It was these pretty darlings


And last week at work I made over $400 selling jewelry.

Christmas Craft Fair is coming up in 2 weeks at work, and I have a table twice at Camosun in that time too!

I *really* hope I meet my goal of $1500 for spending money in South America!

Etsy + Moo = *Heart*

Moo meets Etsy

So I must do this. Do I have enough time before my craft fairs? I hope so! But I need better pictures. Oh why I aren't I talented with a camera like my husband or s.in.l? Why!

Perhaps I should make it my mission for the day... (besides groceries, Christmas baking, laundry, post office.... )

Etsy Treasury

Look! I made an Etsy Treasury of pretty BC made things!

Christmas Ideas, Anyone?

I posted Christmas Ideas on Southern Constellations

Happy, Hanna?

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween. Maybe it's because I have fond memories of dressing up in hand-made costumes by my mom, or renting costumes from the Capital Theater in Nelson, browsing through racks deciding what I want to be that year. (It's usually something revolving around a princess or fairy...girly and sparkley). This year I didn't dress up, which was sad.

I did however win a pumpkin carving contest, with a coworker. We carved a happy little family of four. Well, perhaps not so happy. One contest we won gift certificates for Tim Hortons, and the other prize is lunch with our Deputy Minister (head honcho). So that will be pretty cool!



I also wrote a poem to go along with it:

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater,
Had a Wife but couldn't keep her
He developed a taste for the kids one day,
So she took the other one far away.

Oh I am cute. And so are my pumpkins!

So yesterday Joel and I went to get our immunizations for traveling. 4 in all, two shots. Joel went first, he took it like a man, no cringing. Then I hopped up on the bench to have mine, the doctor's back is to Joel who's sitting in a chair, and I'm watching him as she injecting me. I see his eyes glaze over, he mumble "oh no, it's happening", his head tilts back and he looks like a rag doll. The doctor gets the needle out of my arm, jumps over to him, tells me to get a nurse, Joel starts shaking, a nurse comes in, Joel regains consciousness and doesn't know where he is for a few moments, and I just stood there in disbelief. It is a scary thing watching your husband pass out and start convulsing. But they got him laid down, gave him some juice, and we both just went home and rested for the remainder of the afternoon. Our arms are very very sore, but now we're immunized. Hurray!

I'm sorry for neglecting.....

I'm sorry... life was a little more chaotic than usual for a bit there.... But I'm here, for now...

So want a run down on the last little bit? I can even include pictures because my darling husband *finally* bought my birthday present (6 months late- but better late than never!)

So where to start?

Work
Crazy. Busy. I was tasked with a project, didn't receive all the relevant information, basically had to do it twice...worked 9 hour days...I'm a gov't employee, and a coop at that- I'm not suppose to work that! Plus, I'm on salary, so I don't get overtime. Oh well. It's done now, and I'm back to more monotonous work :D

Two people in our Branch have left, they found other jobs in government. Now we're two people short... I don't know what will happen. But I might get to move offices, which would be Super!

AND... I'm organizing a Christmas Craft Fair at work! I'm so excited! I have a group of ladies who are willing to help, and know how to organize things in the Ministry. I'm hoping to have at least 15 different sellers, everything from jewelry (of course!), clothing, woodworking, stained glass, baking, canning, ornaments... basically anything handmade! I'm sure it will be a blast! The tentative date is December 3rd.

Only 2 months of my job left! AHHH!! I can't believe how quickly these 6 months have gone by!

Which brings me to:

Travel
Plans are coming along well, mostly because we're going down to South America without much of a plan. :D I'm really looking forward to summer in January, because it's started raining here..icky.

We renewed our passports. Which was a hooopla in itself. They changed the passport process, so your guaranteers don't need to be in a specific profession, they just need to hold a valid passport. WootWoot. To bad I didn't know that before I hunted down my friend's dad who's a doctor.

We didn't want to mail our applications in because that can take upwards of 4 months, and well, we don't have 4 months. So we had to wait in line. So on a Wednesday morning we got up and went downtown to wait in line. We got there at 8. It was too late. Too late! We could have stood in line until 4:30 that afternoon and *maybe* would have gotten in. Joel and I couldn't afford to do that because we needed to go to work. We were told we had to be in line by 7am to get an appointment that day. So the next morning we caught the first bus downtown (*6am*), and got an appointment for 10am. There was already over 50 people in line by 6:30! So it was neat (*NOT*) seeing the sunrise downtown.

But it's done. Well, we don't have them yet, but they're suppose to be coming soon.

And we're slowly but surely saving money. I hope we have enough! (*hint hint* Christmas presents for Jen & Joel!)

Next:
Jewelry
I'm back in full swing with making and selling (see above: Christmas Craft Fair!) Heather, (a friend who makes & sells jewelry with me), and I had a table at Camosun College on Thrusday. I made $170, so not great, but students are broke and not in Christmas shopping mode yet. But we'll be back at Camosun Nov 30 & Dec 7th. And the work craft fair that Monday in between. Heather and I are hoping to bring jewelry to my work next week too.

I'm putting away all the money I make from jewelry sales into the Jen-Fun-Spending-Money-in-S.Am. It's really good incentive for me to make and sell lots! I'm at $230, my goal is $1500... go big or go home (or starve), si?

Whew. It's been busy.

Wanna see new pretty things? (taken with my shiny new camera!)








And that's just a taste of what I've been making. Jewelry has sucked up all my free time, but I like it that way!

I've been uploading new stuff to my etsy site, go check it out and tell your friends to buy stuff!

Hmmm, what else to tell you?

I'm hungry. So I'm going to deal with that.

I'll try to to neglect you like that again!

Whew. What a fun weekend!

Friday night was the Tegan and Sara concert! They rocked out to their new album, The Con, and to their last one, So Jealous. Those girls have voices that send chills through my spine, and it was so intense live!

I slept in Saturday morning until 11:30. Mmm, I loove sleeping in. Then my friend Heather & I went shopping for jewelry supplies. We have a table at the college here booked on October 18th, and then twice more in November. So we have to get all our displays ready, make tons of jewelry, make bags to put peoples jewelry in, etc etc. It's so much work! But really fun!

Then last night was the Current Swell concert! I danced all night long, and a long night it was. I went with Heather, and her roomate Mandy (also a good friend of mine). Oh fun girly times.... I didn't get home until reeaallly late... And then slept in until noon.

Good times.

AAANNNDDD.... I get to go to FOSS4G (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial). I'm sure that's Greek to most of you- so basically, it's a conference for FREE GIS (Geographic Information System) software. Why is this so important? Because the GIS program I use, ArcGIS, costs around $10,000 for a licence. Which is obviously ridiculous and completely unobtainable for anyone besides governments or corporations who want to use it. GIS is such a useful tool that everyone should be able to use, and not be limited to those who can afford it.

Their websites says The annual Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference brings together the people who create, use, and support open spatial software. No other event brings together members of the open source development, open data creation, and open standards promotion communities like FOSS4G.

This is going to be an overwhelming and incredible experience. I am so lucky for my work to be paying for this, because the fact is that it's not directly related to my job (because I use that expensive software). This is such an amazing opportunity for me, I'm blown away that it's HERE- in Victoria- this year, because next year it's in South Africa...and I definately won't be going. I just hope that I'm can absorb all the information! The conference is Tuesday until Thursday, so it also means my week will probably just fly by!!

WOOT WOOT!

Run Update

Sorry for the abundance of posts this week! Wait, I take that back- no I'm not sorry.

Anyways, just thought I'd give you a quick update on the run status. So Tuesday's 4.2km was done in 40 minutes, and was around 1/3 walking. I was okay afterwards, but definitely sore the next morning. On lunch yesterday I figured the only way to stretch things out was to go for a smaller jog and do a good stretch. So yesterdays quickie was a solo 2km(ish) on my half hour lunch.

But Today was great! The woman, L, who I was with on Tuesday ran again today, joined by a guy D (who's went to school in Castlegar, coincidentally), and he's super fit. So L & I had to keep up, and we did 4.2km in 23 minutes.

Maybe I will be able to do the 8km in less than an hour!!

Who knew that exercising felt so good?

Cardboard Kitty Chair!

Wow! I found this cardboard kitty chair at Treehugger and I'm pretty impressed. Hmmm, I wonder if George or Leilu would like it??

Don't worry, the adhesive is non-toxic. But I have to wonder if there'd be little cardboard scraps scattered everywhere??

But I suppose that can't be any worse than wooden stair post slivers all over the hallway....

Budget Slashing

Anyone who's watched the news in Canada in the last 24 hours will have heard the sad news. The Conservative Government has cut Environment Canada's budget- big time. Am I surprised? No. Saddened? Yes. Frustrated? Extremely.

The damage?

The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Network (the group that monitors ecosystem change): 80% cut

The Migratory Bird Program: 50% cut

National Wildlife Areas (think significant habitats for wildlife and birds): 100% cut

CBC tried to get in contact with John Baird (see my Inadequate People post) but apparently he was not available, and email messages have been sent saying the government is focusing on Climate Change so other areas were sacrificed.

AHH! When will this become apparent to the people in charge that you cannot focus on one while sacrificing the other! Our remaining intact ecosystems is what's saving our world from the point of no return. These natural areas play a significant role (think oxygen production for you to BREATHE!)

I found a study on protecting ecosystems for anyone how's interested: here. This map was in the study:

I have to wonder why, in Canada, the land of plenty, we have so little protected area? Is it because we think everything is so plentiful that we don't need to protect it?

I just have a hard time swallowing the fact that we make these decisions which have huge repercussions on the environment (and inadvertently on us). This world is not ours to use until it's gone, we cannot build suburbs of McMansions onto fragile ecosystems. We are here as stewards of the Earth, it is a gift to us, please don't break it.

Jen, Running? You must be joking.

But No, I am not joking! I have started running, well, as of today I've started. I can't even think of the last time I actually ran (besides quick sprints to the bus!) To change that sad fact I signed up for the Royal Victoria Marathon's 8km run-- which is just a short 3 weeks away. Our ministry has a team put together called Earth, Wind and Fire (sorta energy related). I figured the only way I would actually start running was if I had a goal, so this is it. I really hope to do the 8km in an hour, but that may be pushing it a little too much.

I went on a run today at lunch with a couple of coworkers, it was 4.5km, around 40 minutes of jogging/walking. And for my first run in years, it felt great (I don't know what I'll feel like tomorrow though)!


I went out and bought myself a shiny pair of running shoes, since I didn't even own a pair. If anything will help me run, it's a pair of pretty shoes. See:


Wow, what a changing last few months since working here. I didn't ride a bike, now I do almost everyday. I didn't run, now (hopefully!) I do.

Now if only I can have as much success at my Mom and M.in.L with getting in shape....

Yea! Life!

Hurray. As it turns out, my hopelessness from my last post just *poof* disappeared when I got a day off. Mmm, I looovveee days off! I got a whole lot knocked off my [to do] list.

First, woke up without an alarm at 9am. Perfect. Made myself one cup of coffee. (yea that's right, just one. I've successfully cut my coffee consumption by 2/3rd's!) Then I looked through cookbooks and decided what yummy food J and would be eating over the next 2 weeks. The majority of recipes came from an old Anne Lindsey's Lighthearted cookbook that I found in my mom's basement. Yum Yum!

Then around 11:30 I walked over to Thrifty's, the islands grocery store; which I LOVE & where Joel used to work. Well, he used to work at a different location. I forgot how much joy shopping at Thrifty's brings me. At our last place I Safeway was the closest, and I really don't like them much. Why? I don't really know. It's so big and unpersonal, and not local. Thrify's basically specializes in local & organic, and more wholesome food. It's the only place I can find Annies Bernie O's for Joel- no MSG!

Next, was not such a good idea. I called J to come meet me at the grocery store after I was done and we'd walk the groceries home together. Hmm, it was very hard. My shoulders and back are still hurting. But the groceries got home, and put away, and I made a yummy lunch.

Oh yes, and before I went into the grocery store I stopped in a WIN thrift shop, and found a Beaut-iful-in-perfect-condition-Marmot softshell jacket! For $7.50! Huzzah!

Then we rearranged out living room, and by living room, I mean the one big room that's living/computer/beading/fooseball/dinning. The way we had set it up ended up proving awkward, and now it's better.

And I decided I'm starting a new line of jewelry called Love Again using pieces from garage sales and thrift stores. I bought a bag of costume pearly necklaces (like 10 of them) for $4 a few weeks ago, and they're being restrung and revamped.

To finish my great day off, I baked an apple pie. I had homemade pie crusts in my freezer, so I took one out last night, and made a Granny Smith Apple Pie with an oatmeal crumb topping.

And now it's Sunday, and J has a golf tourney with his work, and I have the day to myself.

La.La.La

Bah! Life!

Why is life chaotic. The more I try out this adult world the more I'm not a huge fan of it. There's not enough time in the day to do the things I want to do, but it gets sucked up doing those things I have to do.

That is not the way God has intended life. At least I don't think so. I could accomplish a whole lot more if I didn't work. Hmm.

My days lately have been sucked up working full-time (since May, until Dec), sitting at an office staring at a computer for 7 hours a day. And then at home I don't ever want to play on the computer and do the things I want to do!

On top of work, I decided taking an evening Biology course at Camosun would be a good idea. Mostly because my dear friend H is in it, and a course at Camosun is half the price as it is at UVic. And a credit is a credit. But it meant I didn't get home last night until around 10. And then had to leave at 8 to bike to work.

And H and I have a jewelery stand booked at Camosun for the 18th of October. Hurray! But it also means I need to make lots and lots of jewelry. Oh my. Which makes it feel like work. I still haven't done the bead order I was planning on doing for the last few months. So I feel terrible because I've promised to trade beads with Hanna for her making Perizada Designs.

Oh right. And I'm still working on learning to save money. Since I have to or J and go to South America with nothing.

Stressed much??

All I really want to do is hide out in the woods and make everything I need.

Green Confession

A place to confess your green wrongdoings!

Me?

Never.

Okay, maybe....

I get Starbucks frappuccino's or a Tim Horton's Ice Cap once every one in awhile, and don't always recycle the cup! Eek!

What's your green confession?

Waldmart Watch

This is too Funny, I had to share!



From: Walmart Watch

Who Knew??

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Who knew it was so easy to change the world?

The next time you pack this all-American sandwich for lunch, you're helping the environment and making a difference in animal welfare. You don't have to change your whole diet to change the world. Just start with lunch.
PB&J

How to Help the Environment at Lunch

A PB&J will slow global warming.

Next time you have one you'll reduce your carbon footprint by saving the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over an average animal-based lunch like a hamburger, a tuna sandwich, grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets.

That's about forty percent of what you'd save driving around for the day in a hybrid instead of a standard sedan.

If you were going to have a ham sandwich or a hamburger, you save the equivalent almost 3.5 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
A PB&J will also save water.

That's about 280 gallons of water over the hamburger. To put this in perspective, three PB&Js a month instead of hamburgers will save about as much water as switching to a low-flow showerhead.
A PB&J will save land.

Have a PB&J and save 12 to 50 square feet of land from deforestation, over-grazing, and pesticide and fertilizer pollution.

From: PB&J Campaign
Photo from: UncommonIndustries

A New Home

We're in our new place. Whew. This was the biggest move yet, and it got pretty stressful at points. But it was fun, and now I live in a cute basement suite, with nice landlords living above us. And now I'm sick. Icky sick. All flemmy, coughing, sinuses stuffed up, and headache. I'm doing better today then yesterday. I woke up 2 nights ago and couldn't swallow. Oh self induced sickness. But there's many things that still need to be done, so a few tablespoons of Buckley's and Advil will hopefully get me through the day.

So our place is great, it's at the end of a dead-end street, with a path over to Quadra (a main road, with a frequent bus). It will only be around a 15 minute bike ride for me to work (as compared to my 45 minute ride from Gordon Head). Woot woot! And it's a 4 minute bike ride for Joel to work, which is right on Swan Lake (more of an oversized pond, actually). Joel will be able to come home for lunch- hurray! Hopefully that will save us a lot of money!

There's a Thrifty Foods just 3 blocks away, with a Video Store (We rented Disc Five of Planet Earth!) And Save-on-Foods is under 10 blocks, which I like because they have an amazing bulk section and have things that no where else does (Pickles, anyone?) And Douglas st (it turns into the #1 highway) isn't very far, so we're close to almost any bus.

The only sucky thing, is there is no direct bus from Camosun College to here. I'm taking an evening Biology course there, with my friend Heather, because I need to have a first year science. But I'll survive.

J and I hope that us being on our own will help us save money, because there won't be the constant temptation from roommates to spend money. And it was always on silly things, like eating out. But that was also because I hated my kitchen at our last place, I felt like I was cornered off to a dungeon. The kitchen here is a bit better, and the landlord here wants to knock out half the wooden wall (by the fooseball table) to open up the kitchen. I hope we can do that soon! Then cooking will be more fun!


Ooh, and one thing that makes me (& J) super happy, is there's a plug & good lighting in the bathroom! (No plug or good lighting in the last place.) So I can blowdry my hair and do my makeup in there, and J won't be woken up 20 minutes before his alarm by my morning routine.

So that's life in a nutshell of a post.

Traveling Blog!

I found another distraction from packing- We needed a traveling blog! Of course it can't wait until after we've moved, I needed to do it today. I woke up this morning, made myself a cup of coffee and away I went. It's pretty. Not going to lie, I'm really impressed with myself. 8 months ago I didn't even know what 'code' was, I'm not a computer geek, I'm a geography geek. But darling s-in-l taught me that this is fun, and pretty. And pretty is what counts.

Without further ado, I present

Southern Constellations.

Funny story, I've been working on this all morning, while Joel was sleeping. So I get him to look at it when we meanders upstairs, and I spelled constellations 'constillations.' So I had to delete it and start over again. Oh Jen. And I had spelled meanders 'meyanders.' I think spelling is overrated.

Are all your needles in one place?

I am brilliant. These are the kinda things I come up with when I'm suppose to be packing. I was going through my craft stuff ::scapbooking,painting stuff (from my Pretty Rain Boots, sewing, knitting...:: My stuff was driving me crazy, because it was in a mess in my craft room- which I never used since isolated craft rooms are uninspiring. Anyways...My knitting needles were in assortment of bags, all with various half balls of yarn. It was messy. So I decided it didn't have to be messy.







It was fun playing with my sewing machine (a dee-lightful b.day present from my mom a few years ago!) I don't play with it nearly as much as I should. But it's always there when I really want it. And this was my first time playing with the embroidery stitches on it. Fun Times! I think I should buy some pretty fabric and sell these on Etsy.

It's Official!

Joel and I are going to South America. We're flying from Vancouver to Lima (Peru) on January 11th, and leaving Santiago (Chile) on April 14th. There's no turning back now, the tickets (& insurance) has been bought- almost $3000 for the two of us. *ouch* I don't think I've spent that much on anything besides tuition.

We've decided to take a semester off classes, and by the end of April we'll have been out of school for an entire year! In May, J and I both got GIS (Geographic Information Systems) coop jobs until August, and we've both been asked to extend our terms until the end of December. Obviously, it's an amazing opportunity to learn more about a job, because these past 4 months has just scratched the surface. We have been blessed enough to *coincidentally* get two of the best paying jobs, for two of the most understanding employers ever (side note: my Mom passed the belief onto me that coincidences are God's way of having people in the right place at the right time) Anyways, this opportunity with our coops is also providing us with the chance to save money--besides just making ends meet. :-)

We decided South America is the place for us, 'why' you ask?
~Want somewhere not English speaking
~Patagonia & the Lake District
~Want to learn about cultures & ways of life different from our all consuming parasitic Western life
~Learn to tango and/or salsa...other J just doesn't know it yet
~Penguins, condors, flamingos, viscacha (check them out!!)

I could go on forever about how excited I am & the things we'll be doing... so I'm staring a blog devoted to our preparation, and we will be posting on it whenever we get the chance down there. Oh how the internet has made my life beautiful. No matter how much I want to live a simpler life, I cannot imagine it without the internet.

Don't take it all too serious

I just had to laugh when I saw this... oh our Green World.

Simple Solutions

So I have two new simple solutions for you, that I have found, well- SIMPLE!

I told you a couple of posts ago that I had a stress breakdown and cleaned my bathroom using Method cleaning products. I can't tell you enough how much I love them. One of my favourite perks- I really hate cleaning with gloves, and these guys encourage you not to use them! Woot Woot!!

Second Simple Solution is cleaning up my body! No more chemicals being spread all over it! Who knows what that crap does to you anyways! About a month ago I found a local 'artist' who makes all their product called Nezza Naturals. They're redoing their site, but check them out anyways, and then check them out again!

I bought the 'Tea Tree and Pepermint' Shampoo and Conditioner. I LOOOOVVVEEE it! Smells great, feels great, and cleans my hair without chemicals! Downside, they need prettier bottles. Not going to lie, I like pretty packaging.

Ooh, and price wise: Method, pretty much costs the same. I found my stuff at Safeway on sale, and it was the same as that Mr.Clean crap. The Nezza Naturals set cost me less than $20, but it's been a month, and I'm bearly an inch down the bottle.

Just do it. Go natural. For yourself & for the Earth.

Pickle Problems Solved!

I Did it! My first ever canning experience by myself! Woot Woot! And it was easy! I made 16 jars (some of my 20 pounds of pickles were icky). Aaaannnnddd..... ALL OF THEM SEALED! EVERY SINGLE ONE!

Me!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No, I believe Jennifer Lynn was the only name my parent could agree on... it was also the most popular name of 1985, and the same name as my oldest best-friend since gr.1, who was born 8 days before me. I think I know more Jennifer's (variations) than any other name out there. Side note--in gr.5(?) I named myself Jenni, with the 'i' to try being different. I still kinda like it... but I'm not really a Jenni, just Jen.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
haha, well two nights ago I had a stress breakdown, locked myself in the bathroom, cried, got myself together, and scrubbed the heck out of it. (Yea for Method cleaning products, the cucumber spray worked Fantastic!)
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Yea, it's fun and bubbly.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Chipotle Chicken
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Nope, but I'm getting excited for when they come one day.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Hmm. Someone to do crafts with all day long? Someone who understands my sound effects? No, I don't want to be friends with them. They'd ruin all the fun, and I have Heather for crafting.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
I don't think so, but some would beg to differ
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
My friend Heather scared me out of it. (She bungee jumped into the Nile!) More side notes--you can bungee jump for free (or close to) on Valentines Day in Naniamo, if you go naked. *Cringes*
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Strawberry MiniWheats
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Skateshoes, heck no.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
No. Well, the only person I try to beat up is Joel, and he's much stronger than me.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Ben&Jerry's Chocolate Brownie with Cookie Dough
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Clothes
15. RED OR PINK?
Pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Amazing ability at procrastinating. Why is this not asking my favourite thing about myself? Positive thinking, People! (PS, that would be my smile!)
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Where do I start? I do miss all you guys after being on this Island for 3 years.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO LINK THIS BACK TO YOU?
Oui
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS (Or Kilt) AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Shhhh... I'm sitting in bed with the laptop. I'm in sleeping non-clothes
20. WHAT WAS The LAST THING YOU ATE?
Mmmm, last night... I think it was some yogurt
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Joel kinda snoring
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
The deep green or fuchsia pink.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Home-cooked food. Fresh cut grass. Bakeries. Coffee. Flowers. And my Sandlewood perfume from the Gap. (I'm not a Gap kinda girl, but mmm, their purfume!)
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My M-in-L... me being frantic over pickles.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO LINKED THIS TO YOU?
Si.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
I really got into hockey last year. I can't wait for it again!
27. HAIR COLOR?
Faded brown... because I made a deal with myself that I should stop dying my hair because all the chemicals are really bad for the environment... it was a sad and hard decision.
28. EYE COLOR?
Hazel
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
This has been a fiasco over the last few weeks, because I want contacts so I can wear sunglasses, but apparently my eyes don't like them in. So I want to wear contacts.
30. FAVORITE FOOD(S)?
Lasagna!!
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Motorcycle Diaries. I'm so excited for South America!
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
We've already been through this.....
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer. But spring is my Favouritest.
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
I like the all embracing hug with a kiss.
36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Mmm, Val's Raspberry Chocolate Coffee Cake.
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Barb...and now You have to!
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND
The rest of them....
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
South America on a Shoestring. Little House on a Small Planet. Lost in the Barrens. Did I mention I have a short attention span sometimes. Actually, I think it's that I try and do too many things at once....
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
No mouse pad, just touch pad.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Motorcycle Diaries.
42. FAVORITE SOUND?
My own voice...haha, just kidding. Music.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Tennessee. But soon to be Patagonia. Hopefully Tierra del Fuego.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
My thumbs bend back further than most
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Nelson BC
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Barb's

Pickle Problems....

So my dearest M-in-L let me know a couple of days ago that pickle canning season is here, and emailed me the recipe. She also emailed me the recipe for canning peaches. Yum Yum! This made me very excited, because not only do I feel bad about raiding her pickles & peaches every time I see her and rationing myself (and other J), but I really want to can. I think it's a very valuable skill that most people in my generation (and my m-in-l's) have forgotten. So if I want to learn to be more self-sufficient, then canning has to be at the top!

Anyways.... so I went to go get pickles last night. First of all, I only have 1 big pot with a lid (besides my canner)- and this is a problem with big batches of things. So after work I went to get one from a second hand store, but the 3 stores I went to had NONE! I was frazzled by that, because I thought a big pot would be the least of my worries. No, it was just the start. So that took about an hour of my time.... and I finally get up to Safeway, but they didn't have pickling cucumbers! Nor did they have Freestone peaches! I was pissed! So I called Save-on-Foods, and yes, they had what I was looking for- and to boot, they're on sale! Hurray! Problem solved.

Except getting home. As I said, I take the bus. Save-on-Foods is 2 buses away, and if I'm lugging 20 pounds of pickles and peaches (each) the bus is not an option. So I called to see how much a cab would be.... and it's $20! What! That is just not cost effective.

Needless to say, I didn't do the canning I wanted to last night. And by the time I got home after work it was after 7. *tear* And I don't really have time this weekend, seeing as that it's the last weekend before we move... and I haven't started packing... ooops. (Also another problem is getting moving boxes when I don't have a car!)

Ugh. I'm not very happy about all this.

But I will have pickles and peaches somehow. And hopefully they're not from m-in-l's cellar.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Hurray! We've made it 3 years. Only a lifetime left. I'm excited about that!

Our weekend of camping was wonderful. Pictures to come.

This pretty much sums up our time:

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes
on the grass on a summer day
listening to the murmur of water, or
watching the clouds float across the sky,
is hardly a waste of time.— John Lubbock

We're home... and have a new one!

Joel and I made it back from another surfing trip, alive, sore and exhausted. It was sunny the entire time! Which is unusual for the West Coast- the last 3 times we've made it out this year it's been a mix of snow, hail and rain, rain, rain. And yes, we've surfed in it all.

Needless to say, I'm sunburnt. (I feel like a broken record the number of times I say that). But- Joel is more sunburnt than me! Now that doesn't happen very often!

My surfing skills are improving, I'm getting closer to catching a wave. I really just need to take a couple of lessons and I'll be golden. Joel on the other hand was doing awesome! (Surprise, anyone? No.) He can get up everytime! Jealous Jen! (And a proud Jen because he's pretty sexy looking on a surfboard.)

So our campground SUCKED! It was like a parking lot where they charged people $40 a night to stay. With a trailer for washrooms. Ugh. So we left. Unfortunately the campsite was non refundable (of course!), so we severed our losses and took our friends car up a logging road and camped. It was awesome, I'm never paying to camp in Tofino or Uclulet again. So I guess it was a good thing we camped there?

And GOOD NEWS! We found a place for September, it's a one bedroom basement suite. It's really close to work for Joel (like 4 blocks close!) and a short 15-20 minute bike ride for me. Sweet!! The couple living upstairs own the place and they seem really nice, and the guy lived in Nelson for awhile! Small world, eh? It should work out great!

Besides that, life is good. Work is pretty crazy. I'm way ahead of where they thought I would be, so I've been tasked with a bunch of random mapping work. I love it!

I'll post surfing picks when our friends who went with us send them to me!

BC Day Shnanigans

I'm so stoked! Joel and I are going out camping -again- on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. We have a campsite booked at Ucluelet Campground, and our friends Meg and Adam will be joining us (and driving :) I'm sad we couldn't get a spot at Bella Pacifica, but anything makes me happy!

I went out last night and bought a wetsuit, MEC had them marked down from $250 to $110. I couldn't resist. Besides, it will last me a long time, and I don't have to wear one that someone else has peed in. Gross. (They always smell like urine. ewww.) So I'm really looking forward to surfing!!

Hmm, what else? I'm almost done the new Harry Potter book. Not going to lie, the first half was good, not great. I had higher expectations. But this last have has been fantastic! All I want to do is read.

It's been really fun having these books come out every few years. I started reading them back in 9th grade when the third one came out. I've been waiting for the conclusion for a lllooonnnggg time!

I hope everyone else has a great long weekend. Well- I guess for those of you living in BC.

I heart BC!

"I don't find it hard to be green, I find it fulfilling"

Rage Against Environmental Decline
By William Deverell



I believe in taking action, urgent action to save this wounded planet. Meanwhile, I sit here and wait for the mono titis, as I have waited for the last two winters, but they no longer come. Mono titis, they call them here in Costa Rica, squirrel monkeys — high-flying acrobats who used to scamper about jungle and orchard, joyfully filching avocados and bananas. They come no longer — their territory has been carved up by roads and power lines and the parking lots of hotels and condos, concrete goliaths rising above the remains of what was once a great rain forest.

Here and in British Columbia I have watched the wilderness systematically destroyed by quick-buck developers. Gas-guzzling SUVs roar up and down roads, or sit there, spewing exhaust, like panting predators pausing from the chase.

So we carry on in the false name of progress. We clearcut old growth, fish out our oceans, blight our lakes and rivers. As the world’s oil supply flatlines, we Canadians gloat – we’ve got the oil sands! So it’s full speed ahead as we rush lemming-like to the precipice. Though to be fair, that’s a bad rap. For the lemmings.

In subscribing to the mantras of economic growth and sustainable development (that favorite oxymoron of global warming deniers) are we simply uncaring about future generations, about the survival of humankind itself? Or did T.S. Eliot have us pegged bang-on when he said humankind “cannot bear much reality.”

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings. We have bought the bafflegab invoked by selfish capitalism, whose power over the global economy, whose pervasive influence over politicians and mainstream media, whose hoarding of the planet’s overtaxed resources, whose spinning of convenient untruths, have all combined to dumb us down, to create feelings of learn’d helplessness, to cow us into passivity and submission.

Reduce, reuse, recycle — these are such simple and obvious antidotes to the Age of Waste they need hardly be stated. Respect for all life on Earth, for biodiversity, finding solutions to the overpopulation crisis before solutions find us — these are the concerns that consume my cranky senior years, the core issues that must be shouted, bellowed. Rage against the dying of the planet. Shed that comforting costume of liberalism, get a spine, be angry, be prickly, be radical — revolt against a system that stifles sustainable economic ideas while hyping globalization, unrestricted markets, and rampant consumerism. I cringe when the mass media equates growth with progress.

Fifty years ago Erich Fromm wrote in The Sane Society: “So long as we are more motivated to have than to be, we shall continue down the tunnel of consumerism. We shall do so despite knowing full well that the light at the end is not the sun. It’s the train.”

So I decline to be remembered by my descendants as one who didn’t warn about the onrushing train. I’m proud to be accused of being an anti-growth pro-slow tree hugger. I don’t find it hard to be Green, I find it fulfilling, it helps me keep faith that my little threatened friends, the mono titis, will return to share the fruits of our orchard.

For This I Believe, I am William Deverell in Costa Rica.

From: This I Believe

Jewelry Success!

This past week I brought my jewelry collection to work at the request from women I work with. I was expecting to sell, you know, a few items or so, but wasn't getting my hopes up too much. Well.... it went WONDERFUL! Thank you, Thank you to all of you!

Selling jewelry feels sooo good! I'm not going to stop making it, and I can only make so much for myself. And it makes me happy to give special women a unique piece- which will never be duplicated- that they can treasure. I hope they enjoy it very much!

And of course it's fun to have people oogling over my stuff telling me how talented I am....

(*Note to self: Modesty, Jen! Learn Modesty!)

Garage Sale!

Joel and I had a garage sale this morning. It went really well- we came out of it with almost $200, which is pretty sweet for stuff we don't want anymore! But somehow we still have soooo much stuff. I really don't want to move it, nor do I want to store it. We're wanting to move into a bachelor, or a one bedroom suite. I've had enough of having space. Space just equals stuff. No more.

I was surprised with the garage sale. First of all, our ad said 9am. While we were setting up just after 8, people were already showing up! Seriously people! And when I go garage sale-ing, I look at books. But no one really touched ours! Are people not interested in fantasy series? We purged about half our books, seeing as that the last time we moved we had something like 15 liquor boxes of books. That's just silly. And I don't really re-read many books. Therefore I don't want to move them. And I had my bike out there, and no one really looked at it. Granted, the majority of people who showed up were older, out of shape, collector types. But I really thought I could sell it. I want a newer, speedier, commuting bike.

So all in all, it was a great morning. I love making $, while sitting in the sun chatting with people. It works well with me.

Except now I'm sunburned. But I'm sure that's no surprise to anyone one.

Going Green!

Want some inspiration and other ideas?? I just came across a news report by CBC called 'Shades of Green' and at the bottom people are posting their ways of going green. So many people out there with Simple Solutions, and some pretty Substantial Solutions too!!

I wrote in my 'Shade of Green' was, here's what I said:

This is great reading everyones 'green ideas', good work!! Collectively we can change!!

However, I feel we're missing a big piece.

'Going Green' means reconnecting with the earth, with our neighbours, and ourselves. I don't mean it in a weird hippie way, just simply, we have forgotten that humans are just another piece of the ecosystem. We can't keep building concrete cities and suburbs, excluding ourselves from nature. Why do you think people are so happy and easy going when they're camping, but so uptight and rude when in the city?? Get Outside!!

Next, how many people don't know their neighbour?? I don't know most of mine. We need to reform those community groups, build strong connections with each other, and remember what it's like to call on a friend for a favour. It's not rude- everyone likes to feel wanted!! And what if your neighbour knows how to fix your bike, and you can make yummy treats, why not trade?? Save money, save the environment...save your sanity!!

Going Green to me means living a balanced life, where I know my place, and it's just one small part of the whole ecosystem.

Simple Solutions...

I'm starting a Simple Solutions post, full of well- simple things you can do in life that will make the earth happier. I'm going to focus on the small ideas that can make a big difference... you guys give them a try, and collectively we can bring change.

I'll start with two things I know are easy, because I've been using these Simple Solution for a couple of years now.

SS # ONE: Coffee (or Tea) Mugs.

This was a pretty easy one, especially for a coffee connoisseur (aka: addict) such as myself. All I do is carry around a travel mug with me all the time. Simple, eh? I bring a coffee in a mug from home to work when I'm on the bus, and use it at work. When I'm in school I just chuck it in my backpack, because a class is always better with a cup of java.

I've estimated it out too, I usually have one, sometimes two, coffees a day. If I was using paper or Styrofoam cups, that upwards of 700 cups a YEAR!! I think my simple solution has made an impact, I mean, less of an impact!!

SS # Two: Reusable Grocery Bags.

I love reusable grocery bags. I simply love them. They can hold at least 4 plastic bags worth of goods, don't rip, pack nicely with yummy food in them, usable for many things besides groceries. And it's SIMPLE! I'm organized enough to know what days I'll be stopping by the grocery store after work, so I'll just chuck the bags in my purse. Or when I'm going shopping on the weekends, I just grab them with my grocery list. It's really not hard at all!

I dare you to buy the bags the next time you go shopping. You won't go back to platic. I promise.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Rant that comes along with...

Disposable coffee cups and plastic bags drive me crazy. I can't walk down any street without seeing a plastic bag or a take out cup littering the sidewalk or stuck in storm drain! It was also ridiculous the number of bags I had stashed from grocery shopping under my sink--and they aren't even useful for putting garbage in because they usually had holes in the bottom!! And I've read they can take upwards of 500 years to decompose!! Just imagine all the people who use them, how many they use in a lifetime, and the number's uncomprehendingly gargantuan.

But there is a SOLUTION.

Now- what are you waiting for! I dare you, buy reusable grocery bags on your next trip (it will only cost an extra $4 or so) and you'll never go back.

Ooooh, I have another note... (sorry my SS post is getting so long, I just have so many thoughts!) The town of Leaf Rapids in Manitoba is the first in Canada to place a bylaw against plastic bags! Hurray! Go Leaf Rapids Go! Check out the story!

I don't know if NO bags is the answer for all towns, because weeny people would put up a fuss. But what could be done is creating bylaws saying only biodegradable bags (usually made from corn oil) can be used, and if the businesses want, they should be able to charge people for the bags. I think this would highly encourage people to use reusable bags.

So that's it. The first of many Simple Solutions to come your way. Please keep me posted if any of you try them, and let me know how it worked for you. And let me know what your Simple Solutions are!

Happy Earth!

Record Breaking

Anyone paying attention to the weather happening on the West Coast this last week knows it hasn't been 'normal'. Wednesday was ridiculous- it hit 37 degrees (98.6 for you Americans). Too Hot. Wikipedia claims that it only hits above 30 here once or twice a year. And the previous hottest temperature recorded was 35.3 degrees in July of 2004. Whew.

You know what?? There have been multiple records broken since J and I moved to Van Isle. Early Spring of 2006 rain records were broken- it rained everyday for over a month. It sucked. And we were living in a crappy apartment with a deck that flooded. Boo.

AND...It has snowed every winter for the last 3 years. I've been pretty stoked about that. The whole city shuts down when more than an inch falls, we've had classes canceled every year because of snow. Hurray!

Wait a minute...is there weird weather happening anywhere else?? Hmmm, tornadoes in the East Kootenays, 8 tornadoes in one week in Manitoba? Huge hurricanes. Drought. You get my point.

Oh Climate Change. It's going to be a wild ride for the next century.

Xavier Rudd!!

So Guys, You really need to experience this. This is the man himself, Xavier Rudd. Prepared to be amazed.

This is a live clip of 'Yirra Curl'...



And this is his video for the song 'Messages' (which is my Favourite!)



The show was 2 hours of awesomeness! We were only 5 rows back, center. Straight line view of him! I don't understand how one person can move every limb of their body-independently, playing multiple instruments, and sing - all at the same time!

Besides being an unbelievable musician, his lyrics also set him apart,

A clip from 'Messages'

For this sacred land
It has seen many hands
It has wealth and gold
Yet it is fragile and old
And all the greedy souls
Just don't care to know
Of the changes it will confront

Good times. People like him give me hope that collective change is possible.

Tofino Pics...Finally!

Sorry for the delay on the photo's guys... I was waiting until our waterproof camera was developed, but most of the pictures on it sucked anyways... I guess that's what happens after one's used to a nice digital camera. And I need to wait and use my roommates computer to scan the pics. So enjoy these ones first!

We had a great time, I'm completely sold on surfing. It is by far the best work out I've had in my life. Every muscle was tense trying to hold myself against the pounding waves. Fantastic. It is amazing being in the ocean, feeling all the energy stored and released when waves break. (The 'roar' of the surf is just the extra energy being released as sound. One of my prof's told me that. Cool, eh?)

Some delightful sea anemones!

Clams and Seaweed. Yum!

Oh Joel... doesn't he make you smile :p

Tent City! Okay, the rain was insane!
We had 3 giant tarps covering our site, and we still ended up soaked.

This is MacKenzie Beach at Bella Pacifica Campground, which is where our campsite was.
Jim & Val took us there last year, and we couldn't wait to return!

That is all for now.

I really want to blog more... I have so many thoughts running around in my head all the time that I want to share. Now, if only they made a computer that would write my thoughts....

Joel & I are going to Xavier Rudd tonight!! Ahhh!! I've been waiting for so long! Well, since last year when we saw him last. Check out his music. Listen to the words. You will love him.

WooHoo!!

So stoked am I! Joel and I, with our two friends Kevin and Jeff, are heading out tonight and going surfing!! Woohoo! I've been waiting for this day, well, since the last time we went surfing (in March.) We've booked a campsite at Long Beach Golf Course for Friday and Saturday night.

The weather is suppose to rain the whole time, but that's okay, because rain usually equals waves, and we're in wetsuits anyways. Besides, it was snowing and hailing last time! And the waves are only suppose to be 3-4 feet high, compared to March's waves being like 6-8 feet. That was crazy, and perhaps a little silly.

Maybe I'll be able to actually stand on the surf board this time.

Maybe. Maybe Not.

Ahhh! So excited!!

Struggles in Life

So I'm struggling with a number of things lately. Mainly, how do I, as a young Christian woman growing up in an uncertain-climate-changing world live? I want to live more simply, pursue a higher education, enjoy my family, have a career that makes a difference -but without being a part of this all-consuming mind-numbing society!

The fact is that Joel & I cannot be in school right now without being on student loans (at $24 000 a year), but I don't want to spend the rest of my life paying them off. We want to buy land as soon as possible, and create a self-sustaining community, off the grid, where we can grow our own food, and raise our kids. We would love to have a number of families out there, so we can all combine skills, because it's all about synergy - the effect of the sum is greater than the individual parts.

I'm so sick of this rat race, of getting more and more, yet feeling emptier and emptier. And I am so scared of getting caught in it post graduation! On the other hand, I'm excited for my career, because getting into sustainable community designing is becoming more of a reality every week. The BC government is pushing a couple of initiatives that promote sustainable design, but most of them are focusing on alternate energy while keeping the status quo lifestyle. So I am torn. I don't think the only solution is finding alternate energy. We need to look at building up communities, creating a safe, loving, and healthy holistic environment.

My next struggle is that God doesn't want us destroying His Earth. We're suppose to be stewards of the Earth, yet all we do is consume it. Leaving nothing. Scientists predict there is around 40 years left of oil left. Millenniums of decomposition, all used in two centuries. Millenniums of carbon trapped within the Earth released to our atmosphere causing climate change. 73% of Vancouver Islands old-growth forests have been logged. Gone. Centuries of forests, of habitats for other flora and fauna gone. Species everyday going extinct.

You get the point. It's not responsible stewardship.

I am glad for all the attention Climate Change has been getting lately, but I think Climate Change is just a symptom for a much bigger syndrome. It's just one piece. Don't forget about lack of clean water (which is getting worse), malnourishment, monocultures in agriculture, a loss of biodiversity, corrupt governments....and what about people not knowing their neighbours, living in McMansions (aka big suburban homes), homelessness, drug & alcohol abuse, suicide... the list goes on.

Why do we have these problems? Simple. We forgot we're a part of the ecosystem. Humans are a mammal, just like any other. You take an animal out of the wild and they face all sorts of problems with eating, a lack of energy, and reproducing. There have been experiments done on mammals taken out of the wild, separated from their kin and they go crazy.

Humans are crazy now. We performed a giant experiment and created a world for ourselves separate from the natural world. The experiment has failed.

But then again, I guess it all failed when Eve ate that apple.

Aaaahhhh!! My head is spinning!!!!

I feel crazy.

Thanks for listening to my rant :)

Etsy!

So I finally made an Etsy shop for myself! I came across the site a few months ago when looking to see how other people sell handmade jewelry, because I knew I didn't want to deal with doing it through my website (too much work!) So when Hanna mentioned Etsy a few days ago it sparked that inspiration again, and away I went.

It's sooo easy to do it through Etsy, all I needed was my paypal account, and a day (or two!) to sit down and do it. So today was the day. It still needs lots more work, because I have a lot of jewelry I want to sell, but over the next little bit I'll get it all up.

So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!
Perizada at Etsy

What's Your EcoFootprint?

Do you ever stop to wonder how much of an impact your daily life is having on the environment? Think of everything from food, electronics, and clothing to transportation. One way to attach a number to this is to use a EcoFootprint calculator. There are a number of EcoFootprint calculators out there, and all differ from each other - but the point is getting an idea of how much Earth is takes for us to live (very comfortably I may add!) So I checked one out on from my all-time favourite stores - Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC). Check it out for yourself here

Honestly, I like to think of myself as a fairly eco-friendly person. I've been biking everywhere lately (side note- I've been biking to work, and last week I clocked over 100km of biking!!!!) And during the school year I lived on the bus (or at least I felt like I did). My house had 6 people living in it, we recycled more than we threw away. I try to buy only BC grown vegetables- organic when feasible.

But it's not enough.

The Results:
Category/ Global Hectares
Food 3.1
Mobility 0.4
Shelter 1.0
Goods/Services 1.1
Total 5.6

If everyone lived like me, we would need 3.1 Earths...but God only gave us one. I guess it's time for some sacrifices.

I want a Happy Earth.

Jewelry for Me!

How could I forget... I'm sure you all want to see what my jewelry looks like!

TaDa!

Jewelry for Aimee!

My cousin Aimee, who eloped last year is having her wedding reception this weekend in celebration of their one year. So it's a not-wedding-wedding-celebration. (And the whole point to a wedding is the presents! ;) This past April Aimee did my taxes for me, and in exchange I was to make her jewelry for her not-wedding-wedding-celebration.

So without further ado...

The earrings...which I am very excited about! (I think I need to make myself a pair!)
Sterling Silver, with Fresh Water Pearls

Necklace Option #1
Sterling Silver, Fresh Water Pearls and Swarovski Crystals

Favourite thing about this necklace: the simple elegance

Necklace Option #2
Sterling Silver, Fresh Water Pearls and Swarovski Crystals

Favourite thing: wonderful cluster of tresures

Necklace Option #3
Sterling Silver, Fresh Water Pearls and Peridot Chips

Favourite thing: flowers make me smile!

I hope Aimee likes one of them, but if not then I get to play more! Hurray!

8 Random Facts About Me....

Alright, since I've been tagged my my M-in-L & S-in-L I will participate. But I cannot tag anyone else besides my little brother. So Brian, you're up next!!

---

Rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

---

Oh Man, random facts for people who know me so well. Time to get creative.

1. My favourite tree is the Garry Oak Tree.
   
2. I want a Garry Oak Tree tattooed on my back, on the right side of my spine, and about 12 inches long. But I want half the tattoo to be its roots, because it's the roots that gives it life.
   
3. I have had 14 piercings: 6 in the lobes of my ears, 1 on the top outer cartilage, 1 on my rook & 1 on my conch (inside ear cartilage), 1 eyebrow ring, 1 labret (lower lip), 2 nose, 1 bellybutton.
   
4. I'm scared of needles. Like you can believe that after 14 piercings....but I'm okay with them if I get something cool in the end. I'm too scared to get my wisdom teeth out because they need to give me an IV.
5. Favourite Kids Movies: Fern Gully, The Little Mermaid, & Aladdin
   
6. Goal for this summer: Learn to Surf!
   
7. Goal 2 for the summer: Bike to work (almost!) everyday.
   
8. Goal for Life: Save the World! Check out: WorldChanging.com
   

Yea! I'm on a roll!

Joel and I just wrote our motorbike knowledge tests and we both passed! Hurray!

We decided last week that we want a bike, because there are only so many places we can access by city transit (and we've done them all!), and we don't want a vehicle. First step was getting our learners licenses - now we just need a bike and someone who we can practice with. We have a few friends with bikes, so I hope they'll help us out!

Rah Rah Rah! :D