Heigh-Ho! Heigh-Ho!

It's been about a year and a half since I've been out "in the real world," "working for the man."

Immediately following college graduation, I took an unpaid internship for which I had to commute an hour each way. Don't even get me started on this economy — and yes, I am sick of the phrase.

After moving back home with my parents around the same time the internship ended, I found a full-time job working for a direct mail marketing company in the production department. While I was grateful to have a job (with a salary, benefits and paid vacation), it was never the best fit. It was a stressful environment, and I wasn't doing work that was in-line with my long-term career goals. Aside from these cons, the schedule was not at all flexible.

In July, I took advantage of a new opportunity — social media strategy for a startup internet company. I've really been enjoying the work I do there and feel more fulfilled in my work than I have since finishing college. Tomorrow I officially start full time, meaning five days a week in the office. For the past few months, I've only been in the office three days a week, plus some working from home on other days. Some "me" time is definitely what I needed after my frustrating first year out of college!

While I'm excited to take on more responsibility and play a larger role in the office, I'm certainly going to miss being able to sleep in, cuddling so much with my cats and mid-day runs. It's going to be quite an adjustment in my schedule. However, my schedule is much more flexible here — if I need to come in late or leave early, it's no big deal because I can make up hours on my own time. Plus, more hours will certainly be a good thing come payday!

Working for a startup has its own set of pros and cons, but I'm eager to see how we grow, and to have a part in it. Cheers to the future!

America Recycles TODAY

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted on here. I wanted to break my silence though as a friend/coworker pointed out to me last week that today has been labeled "America Recycles Day."

I think I've made clear my feelings toward recycling in the past, so I won't ramble on. But I wanted to share this website and its resources should you be interested in getting more information. Keep America Beautiful has lots of tips about why recycling and beautification is important and how to get started with small steps.

If you choose, you can also complete the America Recycles Day Pledge and start making a difference in your community. Here is what the pledge entails:

• I pledge to find out what materials I can and cannot recycle in my curbside recycling program.
  (Or in my case, facilities in the area.)
• I pledge to lead by example in my place of work or school by recycling.
  (I'm in charge of my office's recycling. I brought in a box and simply ask coworker to place recyclables there instead of the trash, and I take care of it when it's full.)
• I pledge to recycle my used batteries, cell phones and other electronic waste through a take-back program or e-waste facility near me.
  (Earth911.com is a great resource for finding places to recycle electronic waste. As I mentioned in an earlier post, most Target stores, now have electronic waste recycling bins.)
• I pledge to tell five friends that recycling is one of the easiest things they can do to reduce their carbon emissions.
  (That's where you come in. I'm not sure how many readers I have, but I just want to get the word out. )

I know it's impossible to be perfect. But even if there's just one thing you can do differently to help out our planet and your community, why not put forth the small effort? Happy America Recycles Day!

This and That

It's been only a couple weeks since I snipped the mint down to its roots and re-potted it – separately so it wouldn't kill my flowers in the same basket. And it's already broken the surface (pictured above)!

I'm so happy I didn't kill it. I know mint is hard to kill, but I really thought I might in the process of moving it. Success!

On the other hand, I've failed miserably at my efforts to meditate every day. I might have set my sights too high. I meditated twice in the last week, so if I can just get myself to do it more, I'll mark it a success.

Just Breathe.

As my friends and family well know – I can become stressed out easily. Stressors include a sink full of dirty dishes, my phone constantly flashing at me, a full inbox, a long to-do list, etc.

I love my cats, and as much as they can help relieve my stress, they also can cause some of it – knocking things over, getting into the trash, attacking on me when I'm trying to eat.

Getting myself to relax and not think about everything I need to do is difficult, but necessary.

I used to meditate more frequently, and it's something I intend to take up again. There's something about sitting there, focusing on your breathing and simply being.

Of course, when I try to clear my mind, I'm flooded with thoughts of things I need to do, memories, and other randoms. Never know what's going to come to me.

I meditated for a short time this morning and was actually able to get past most of my thoughts and let go. But meditation – I believe – is something that takes practices.

So this is me stating publicly my intent to meditate every day for the next week and see where I am then.

Organic Fruits and Veggies on a Budget

This morning I was watching "The Doctors" on ABC, and they were discussing organic fruits and veggies – when to pay the extra for organic.

I try to buy organic when I can, but being on a limited budget, I can't always justify it.

Turns out, some non-organic fruits and veggies have been found to contain more traces of pesticides and others.

According to The Doctors, it's more important to buy the following items (dubbed "The Dirty Dozen") organic because they usually have thinner skin and are harder to wash:

• Celery
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Nectarines
• Bell Peppers
• Spinach
• Kale
• Cherries
• Potatoes
• Grapes

 And because it's still important to get plenty of fruits and veggies in our diets, if we can't buy everything organic, the following items (named "The Clean Fifteen") are generally less tainted due to a thicker skin:

• Onions
• Avocados
• Sweet Corn
• Pineapples
• Mangos
• Sweet Peas
• Asparagus
• Honeydew Melons
• Cabbage
• Eggplants
• Cantaloupes
• Watermelons
• Grapefruits
• Sweet Potatoes
• Kiwis

I thought that this info was pretty interesting. Though unfortunately for me, most of the produce I buy fits into the first category.

Source: The Doctors, ABC 

Herb Garden

For my birthday in May, Matt gave me a flower planter with flowers, ivy and mint in it. I'd been meaning to add some more herbs to the collection and really get my balcony garden going.

Today, I took advantage of the holiday by hopping over to Trader Joe's and picking up some basil and oregano to add.

All the pots came from my parents' garage – they were sitting around collecting cobwebs.

Since May, the mint had strangled the ivy. I didn't want it to get to the flowers too, so today I re-potted it. Hopefully it'll grow back quickly so we can continue to use it. (Great for use in Pimm's!)

We chose basil and oregano since we can see ourselves using them in cooking. I'm also looking into trying to grow spinach since we eat a lot of it – so growing our own would actually save a lot of money.

As soon as I acquire more potting soil and get the new herbs re-potted, I'll have a solid start on my little garden! :)

P.S. We decided on Maggie for the kitten's name!

Name That Cat

We got a new kitten yesterday! She's incredibly cute and sweet. A month or two younger than Jozy, they look a lot alike, but this one is slightly smaller still.

We can't come up with/decide on a name though. Here are some of the ideas we've thrown around:

• Georgia (but call her Peanut) – like from Dead Like Me (plus Georgia peanuts)
• Dylan – like Bob
• Nessie – Loch Ness, guess who?
• Maggie (I'd say Maggie Mae a lot)
• Fiona

Also open to other suggestions! Thoughts?

I think Jozy's feeling were a little hurt at first, but they've been playing a lot and even napped together. Hopefully in a few days they'll start being really good friends!