To run or not to run......that is the question.

Shamrock Half Marathon

Now, doesn't that look tempting? I'm sure to some of you, it does. I successfully completed ONE half marathon already, and while I thought I would never do it again, I keep wondering....should I try to beat my time? I like how the race is sponsored by Yuengling.

Either way, I need to kick my butt in high gear and run more. My gym has an indoor track and I loooove it.





p.s. I want a dog!

Another fine youtube pick

I love the intro to Across the Universe, so much in fact, maybe I'll watch the dvd at some point in the next few days.



Happy Thanksgiving!

10 minutes is plenty.

As an addendum to my post yesterday, on cleaning the working girl way, I wanted to point out that there's always a few minutes here and there, everyday, to clean and keep up with chores. There's certainly not enough time to say, organize the closet or bake a batch of cookies, but laundry can be folded and the bed can be made.

Now, my weekdays go something like this:

8.00: Wakeup. Shower, dress, make coffee, etc.
9.15ish-6.15ish, sometimes 7.00: Work. My office is about 5 miles away, and I usually go home for lunch at noon.
6.15/7.00: Home: Dinner.
8.00: Gym.
9:30: Home: Shower, tv (read: relax and decompress), snack.
11.00: Bed.

There's obviously not a lot of free time. If I'm not running late, however, I can usually find a few minutes to do something. For example, when I wake up, I can easily make the bed in under 2 minutes. Whew, the room instantly looks cleaner. The couch cushions can be fluffed on my way from the kitchen to the front door. Have a system. Dirty clothes automatically go in the hamper -- not on the floor. Empty containers go in the trash. A container of lysol wipes in the bathroom makes for a quick clean in under a minute. It isn't the end of the world if the sink holds the breakfast dishes all day, or if the coffeemaker doesn't get cleaned until the next morning. If it's important to you to have a clean place, then you'll simply just find the time. If you have a boyfriend/husband/roommate, then share the chores.

I think I'll try to clean the coffeemaker when I go home for lunch.

The peachy way to clean

I guess, in a perfect world, I could be as well put together as The Hyper Homemaker. Not having a speck of dirt in sight, perfectly pressed linens, fresh flowers in gorgeous vases, etc. She even lists how to be organized, complete with tips on how often to do chores.

I pride myself on a clean and happy apartment. But.....I just don't have the time to iron my sheets! In fact, I have a set of Ralph Lauren (bought at Ross!) sheets that are forever wrinkled. Can't help it, but wow, they're soft!

I don't clean on a schedule or have days set aside for certain chores. My free time is unpredictable. No two Mondays are the same. Instead.....I get things taken care of as I think of them. Scott does a great deal, too. It's not all on me.

Here are a few of MY tips:

--Once the clothes hamper is full, sort into loads and do them when you have a chance. Just no time for laundry? Sometimes, I start a wash load just before I go to sleep and then put that load in the dryer the next morning. Or I'll start a wash load while I'm getting ready in the morning and then toss them in the dryer on my lunch break. I fold & put away the clean laundry when I get home from work, while Scott is making dinner. I'm not sure what I'd do if we had to go to a laundromat. I can't even imagine. Having to use the dorm laundry room in college was bad enough.

--No time to clean? Pick a free Saturday or Sunday. For me, there's absolutely no time for this during the week. If I'm at home on a Saturday morning, that's when I'll scrub the bathtub or vacuum the carpet.

--Find shortcuts! I cannot stress this enough. Martha Stewart has all the time in the world to do crafts and bake bread from scratch. I don't.

Any quick cleaning tips out there?

Morton Family Strata

From The Family Stone:

SERVES 8

Ingredients

* 8 slices white bread
* 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
* 14 ounces tomatoes, sliced
* 13 ounces sliced mushrooms, drained (or sauteed fresh)
* 1 medium onion, thinly sliced into rings
* 5 eggs
* 3 cups milk
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 1 pinch garlic salt
* parmesan cheese
* black olives, sliced

Directions

1. Using a cookie cutter, donut cutter or lid from a jar, cut bread into shapes or circles. Set aside.
2. Place bread scraps in bottom of buttered 13" by 9" baking dish. Layer half of the cheese over bread.
3. Arrange half of the tomatoes and all of the onion rings and mushrooms over the cheese. Cover with the rest of the cheese.
4. Arrange the bread shapes on the cheese. Put slices of the tomato in the center of each bread shape.
5. Combine slightly beaten eggs, milk, salt, oregano and garlic salt. Pour over the bread.
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dot with olives. Cover. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
7. Bake 1-1/2 hours in a 325 degree F oven, or until knife comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes or until firm.

It's the happiest time of the year

I'm making a list of classic Christmas movies, or just classic movies with Christmas scenes, to watch over the next month and a half.

White Christmas
It's a Wonderful Life
Meet Me in St. Louis
Penny Serenade
Miracle on 34th Street
One Magic Christmas
Yours, Mine and Ours

TV Shows:
Grey's Anatomy -- season 2, Christmas ep.
any Home Improvement Christmas special



Any suggestions?

Today, I love...

Rock music. Especially 80's/90's rock. Give me Guns n Roses, Bon Jovi, Poison, and Aerosmith.

I love the guitar solos, the ballads, and I try to tolerate the long, frizzy hair. I'm actually not a fan of the long hair, to be honest. Anyway, I really wish there were bands out now that could play like them. Whatever happened to the guitar solos? Everything sounds so electronic now. I'm not very good at Guitar Hero, but I like to watch others play just so that I can hear the music.

I'm watching the new season of Celebrity Rehab -- because it's so addictive, and Steven Adler of GNR is on there. It's sad that his life changed so dramatically just because of drugs. He keeps talking about his friend, Slash (also of GNR), too. I keep wondering if I'm a few degrees away from Adler. Back in the 1980's, sometime between '85 and '88, my dad's coworker's niece married the drummer of GNR, and then they divorced. I've never met the niece, but we did spend a lot of time with the aforementioned coworker and his family -- we were all living on a base in Japan. I asked my dad if he knew the guy's name, but he didn't. It has to be Adler, though.......because there was a previous drummer, but he dropped out after just a few months with the band. Anyway.

Today I love...

1) My right to vote. I did, in fact, make it to the polls at lunchtime. There was no wait whatsoever, and before I knew it, I was walking away with a voting sticker. It's a great feeling. Last election, I was away at college and had to fill out an absentee ballot. Now, I can finally go to the polls! And 8 years ago, I didn't turn 18 until 2 months after the election. TWO MONTHS! Oh, well.

2) Coffee. More specifically, Starbucks. Today, and today only, they are giving out free cups of coffee. All day! I decided to try the new Thanksgiving blend. So far, so good.

3) Good news. I'm going to be an Aunt! I found out this morning that one of my best friends is going to have a baby! I couldn't be happier for her, and I think she's going to be a great mom. Yay for Linds!

At the moment, that's all I can think of. Wow, this coffee is amazing.

Some sweet sites!

Wists

Woot

How to Clean Stuff

How to Organize Stuff

Popgadget

Dinneware

Does anyone know what kind of dinnerware the Camden family used on 7th Heaven?

I LOVE those dishes, and would love to find them.

I heart cookware.

www.foldtuk.com

My company has been providing web sevices for Foldtuk, a new kind of cookware. It's like tupperware, but is made of a material that is ideal for the fridge, freezer, oven, microwave, and dishwasher. I'm taking home a sample piece to try out, and possibly come up with some recipes.

Also, Foldtuk is Richmond based. Isn't that cool?

Yet another Chantal update!

1) 90210 (the original, not the CW) -- tea kettle on David's stove
2) Friends -- Monica has the cookware set
3) Seinfeld -- Jerry has the tea kettle
4) Home Improvement -- Jill has the set
5) Gilmore Girls -- tea kettle on Lorelai's stove
6) Everybody Loves Raymond -- tea kettle at Ray & Debra's (Deborah?) house.
7) 7th Heaven -- in the Camden's kitchen

Chantal alert!

I'm up to 6.

1) 90210 (the original, not the CW) -- tea kettle on David's stove
2) Friends -- Monica has the cookware set
3) Seinfeld -- Jerry has the tea kettle
4) Home Improvement -- Jill has the set
5) Gilmore Girls -- tea kettle on Lorelai's stove
6) Everybody Loves Raymond -- tea kettle at Ray & Debra's (Deborah?) house.

U2

I think that Bono has an amazing voice. Proof is below.

I'm running just as fast as I can.

I love this commercial....

Also, I finished a 1/2 marathon on Sunday.

http://www.rnrvb.com/home.html

There's a cute video on the webpage.

On Sunday, we woke up at 4:15 am at Scott's brother and sister in law's house in Newport News, VA. We all left the house by 4:50 am.

We got to Virginia Beach by 6am, parked, and took the shuttle to the start line. We finally got there around 6:15, and stood in the portapotty line forever, until 7am, which is when the race officially started. One of Scott's friends found us while we were in line, and she gave us big hugs before leaving to get in her corral. That was so nice.

There were 25,000 runners, so the place was packed. Everyone was organized into corrals, depending on their estimated finish time. Scott guessed 2 hours, so he was in corral 10. His corral started around 7:20. The Kenyans started exactly at 7 am. Anyway, I was in corral 22, so I started at 7:45. I predicted 3 hours and 15 minutes when I registered, but I honestly prayed to finish before the 4 hour time limit. The only reason I know the time is because I glanced at the official clock as I crossed the start line. It was a little intimidating, honestly. While I was waiting for my corral to move up to the starting line, I spent a lot of time looking around and seeing just how big the race was. I wasn't expecting THAT many people to show up. Because I was standing by myself, I was a little nervous.

The course loops around Virginia Beach and ends on the boardwalk. As I was nearly into mile 2, I had a good view of the last stretch of the race before the boardwalk...and wouldn't you know, the guy who won ran right by. I swear, he looked like he sprinted the entire race.

Since I didn't want to overdo it and collapse halfway through, I jogged the first 2 miles and then booked it by speedwalking. Every mile or mile and a half, there was a water station with cups of Cytomax and water. Cytomax is this disgusting Gatorade-like drink. To be on the safe side, I drank a cup of Cytomax at every stop and 2 cups of water -- one to dump over my head and one to sip as I speed walked on. I'm so glad I did that, because it seriously helped. I've felt sick to my stomach during 5k races, so I was surprised that I felt fine during this race. Whenever I felt good enough, I jogged for a little bit and then broke into a speed walk.

6 miles in, I got to talking to a lady walking next to me, and I joined her group of friends. They were so nice! I didn't have anyone to walk with, since Scott, his brother, sister in law, friend and her mother were way on up ahead. It was great to have someone to keep the pace with.

All along the course, there were bands playing, and high school cheerleading squads. I'm serious -- there were cheerleaders. Also, parts of the course went past homes and apartment complexes. Some people sat in their driveways, with their stereos blasting and signs to cheer everyone on.

Oh, and because the race was so long, I actually had to stop off at a portapotty about 4 miles in. I couldn't hold it! There were actually lots of portapotties on the race course.

Anyway, around 10 miles in, my hips and thighs started to get sore, and whenever I jogged for a bit, I could feel the blisters on my toes. I don't remember the exact time I finished, because it had to have been sometime after 11am, but my official time on my chip was 3 hours and 19 minutes. Scott had finished at 1 hour and 53 minutes, and walked over to the finish to wait for me. He said that as soon as he got there, I crossed the finish line and that's when I heard him shout my name. It was an amazing feeling to finish and then the first person I saw was him. I picked it up and ran as hard as I could for the last tenth of a mile, just so that I could run across the line.

A full marathon, however, is twice that.......and that would take far more training that I've ever done in my life. Yikes.

Scott, my dad and myself are all signed up for a 10k later this month. I'm pretty excited.

Happy Days = 90210?

Today, it dawned on me that Happy Days is the 1950's equivalent to Beverly Hills, 90210. Well, Happy Days was filmed in the 1970's, but it takes place in the 1950's.

Think about it, the characters are nearly identical. You have Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, similar to Mr. and Mrs. Walsh. Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) is Brandon Walsh. His sister, Joanie, is obviously Brenda. Fonzie is Dylan. Ralph Malph is Steve Sanders. The diner, Al's, is the Peach Pit. Al is Nat. I wonder who Scott Baio's character could be....I haven't seen enough of the show to really know, but there was a cast reunion on the Today Show this morning, which made me think of this. Joanie's eyes were bugging out of her head.

Home Sweet Home

Apparently I wrote this in the Fall of 2004, when I took a poetry class in college. I forgot that I had saved my files from school, and I came across this gem. I have tons of files from class assignments, newspaper writing, term papers, etc. I forgot that I had written poems at all. Wow.





Home Sweet Home is Everywhere

Twenty-one years ago, I took my first baby steps
in a small New Jersey town, as my family got ready
to move to South Carolina
and this would be yet another house I would not remember

Eighteen years ago, I never noticed that my family
didn’t look like the locals in Okinawa, Japan.
I assumed that every kid had a Marine father
and lived among different kinds of people.

Fourteen years ago, my best friend and I were girl scouts in North Carolina
singing along to old 1950’s records, and playing pretend after school.
We couldn’t wait to grow up together and I thought we’d live on Sandy Lane forever.

Ten years ago, I was a minority in a tiny town in southwestern Arizona
with a new best friend, sending letters to the one I left behind.
Rainfall was a rare occasion, and snow was unthinkable.

Five years ago, I moved to Maryland after a 4 year stint in Virginia.
Dad retired at the pentagon and we all looked forward
to a home that wouldn’t change addresses for awhile.

One year ago, I was a junior in college.
Mountains and cold weather became part of my daily life,
while the rest of my family had it warmer on flat land hours away.
I occasionally wrote letters to my previous best friends and made new ones at school.
Keeping in touch, as they say in yearbooks, is more difficult than it seems.

Adaptation is something I’ve learned to accept, and I’m trying to adjust all the time.
Home is where the heart is, and in my case, home is everywhere.

Dreamtowns in America

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25851656/

I live in Lexington Park...and it is NOT a dreamtown. Good lord.

The Sand Castle

I'm nearly done with The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown. It's not my favorite book, but it's worth mentioning due to the fact that it takes place at Point Lookout in St. Mary's County. Holler.

The entire book is about 100 pages long, and it's from the POV of a seven year old. She's off to spend the day at the beach with her mother, her aunt, and eight year old cousin. It's sad, but it's witty at the same time. I found it at the library, in the "new books" section.

Oh, and it takes place in 1952. I can only imagine what this place looked like back then. It was pretty barren in 1998, when I first moved here.

Chantal cookware

I mentioned before that I've seen Chantal cookware on 90210, Friends, Seinfeld and Home Improvement.

Yes, I'm slightly obsessed.

Mostly, I see at least the tea kettle. On Friends and Home Improvement, I've seen the pots and pans.

Last night, as I was watching Gilmore Girls, I caught a glimpse of that tea kettle on Lorelai's stove.

Okay, so that's 5 shows now.

1) 90210 -- tea kettle on David's stove
2) Friends -- Monica has the cookware set
3) Seinfeld -- Jerry has the tea kettle
4) Home Improvement -- Jill has the set
5) Gilmore Girls -- tea kettle on Lorelai's stove

I'll update as soon as I see it on another show or movie.

It took awhile to come up with these.

100 things about me

1. I have always liked the color pink.
2. I began wearing glasses when I was 11.
3. I finally got contacts at 22.
4. My first favorite movie was Labyrinth. I used to watch it endlessly.
5. I need at least 7-8 hours of sleep to function.
6. I cannot work a full day without coffee.
7. I almost always wear sunglasses when it's sunny outside; especially when I'm driving.
8. I am deathly afraid of mice.
9. I can remember as far back to around 2 or 3 years old.
10. I really enjoy doing laundry.
11. Dusting isn't my favorite.
12. I've always had freckles.
13. Both of my parents are left handed; my brother and I are right handed.
14. I've struggled with math since first grade.
15. I've always loved reading and writing.
16. I almost always write in cursive.
17. I spent 3 years of my life in Japan, 1985-1988, living on a base with my family.
18. I'm a Marine brat.
19. Before I was 15, I had never lived anywhere for longer than 3 years.
20. I still talk to my best friend from first and second grade.
21. I ran cross country and track in high school. It was fun.
22. I'm not above drinking Franzia wine. As long as it's red wine.
23. I like to have music when I'm running.
24. I can listen to the same song over and over. All day long.
25. I love almost anything 80's related. Music, cartoons, movies, tv shows, etc.
26. It took me nearly a year to watch the entire series of 90210.
27. I still read my old babysitter's club books.
28. Jordan was my favorite NKTOB.
29. I like thrift shopping. More so than yard sales.
30. I built my entire dish collection from thrift stores and ebay.
31. I have a full set of Corelle Spring Blossom. I get the warm fuzzies just looking at them.
32. I like drinking coffee, tea and red wine. The dentist always points these things out as if I'm not aware.
33. Both Scott and I have My Buddy dolls from when we were kids.
34. I saw Conan O' Brien live in 06/2008.
35. I absolutely love going to New York City.
36. I have been on two cruises so far. So far.
37. My tonsils are long gone.
38. So are my wisdom teeth.
39. I sunburn way too easily. Hello, SPF 45.
40. I can be very shy in large groups. I wish I wasn't.
41. My dream car is a Honda Fit.
42. I love the preppy look.
43. If I could have lived in another era, I think the 1960's would have been fun. Minus Vietnam.
44. The crockpot is my favorite kitchen appliance.
45. I have dreams of owning a Kitchenaid stand mixer in either apple green or cinnamon.
46. I'm very frugal/thrifty.
47. I could spend an entire afternoon in either a used bookstore or library.
48. I have no patience for knitting, sewing, crocheting, etc. I wish I did.
49. I love taking pictures.
50. I took photography in college.
51. I went to Frostburg State University in Maryland.
52. Someday, I'd love to go to grad school.
53. I've been to Disneyland several times, and only once to Disney World. Disneyland is better.
54. I lived in North Carolina from 1988-1991. I absolutely loved it there.
55. I lived in Arizona from 1991-1994. We had the chance to live in California, but my dad decided against it.
56. I had a southern accent when I moved to Arizona; I didn't realize it until the other kids pointed it out.
57. I was born in New Jersey, but we moved before the end of 1983.
58. I lived in South Carolina from 1983-1985.
59. I would love to go back to South Carolina and make up for what I was too young to remember.
60. I lived in Northern Virginia from 1994 -1998.
61. I've been in Maryland since 1998.
62. I have a brother named Jonathan; he's four years older.
63. I was a Brownie when I was in elementary school.
64. I have 20+ cousins on my dad's side, and one on my mom's side.
65. If I didn't have to work, I'd spend my mornings writing. Maybe I'd write a novel.
66. Deep water (as in, the middle of the ocean) freaks me out.
67. I love strawberries.
68. I look for sea glass at the beach.
69. My favorite season of The Real World is Seattle.
70. I've been to Seattle once, and I can't wait to go back.
71. I enjoy Starbucks coffee.
72. I will only eat strawberry flavored toaster waffles.
73. I'm totally uncoordinated. I'm sure it's a hoot to watch me play tennis.
74. I'm a capricorn. My birthday is about 2 weeks after Christmas.
75. I think that I was meant to be a 1950's housewife, given my love of everything domestic.
76. I could spend hours in housewares.
77. When I lived in North Carolina, my family had a dog named Buffy. She couldn't come to Arizona with us, so we gave her back to my mom's Aunt. I never saw her again. :(
78. I'm really not a competitive person.
79. I like the 80's/90's Bon Jovi, but not so much the new stuff.
80. I'm really not a fan of country music, with the exception of maybe two songs.
81. I will wear a Phillies hat at any baseball game, even if they're not playing.
82. I can't whistle to save my life.
83. I love Wawa hoagies.
84. I worked at Wawa during the summer of 2003.
85. I would love to live in Manhattan if it wasn't so expensive.
86. My middle name is Mary after my two great grandmothers.
87. I like the color green.
88. I wore braces in high school.
89. Formal restaurants make me uncomfortable. I enjoy diners, personally.
90. I had my first cup of coffee at 18, courtesy of my friend Linds.
91. I never leave the house without some sort of sunscreen on.
92. I can only drink iced tea if it's sweetened.
93. I have a very supportive family.
94. My heritage is Scottish and Welsh. I'm sure some English and Irish is in there, too.
95. I think I was an Italian in a former life. (love of food, culture, etc.)
96. I'm very sentimental.
97. I like to learn about history.
98. I'm a cheesesteak snob.
99. It's hard for me to sit still; I always feel as if I need to do something.
100. I love blogging, reading blogs, making lists, filling out surveys....
     

As the world falls down

Labyrinth was one of the first movies I remember watching. When I was little, living in Japan, we had tons of videos. They were apparently pretty cheap, so for some reason, my dad bought Labyrinth. And then...I just couldn't stop watching it. I still love this movie. This is one of the best scenes from the movie -- isn't it gorgeous?

Who wouldn't love to go to a masquerade ball?

American Dreams

I love, love, loved American Dreams when it was on NBC. The show took place in Philadelphia in the late 1960's. I guess the show reminds me a lot of my dad, who grew up just outside Philly. Like JJ, he enlisted in the Marines around the same time -- 1968.

I really wish that this show was still on the air.




and



and this one is sad...

Amazon Love

I love anything kitchen related. Dishes. Cookware. Spatulas. Potholders. Even dish rags.

So, here are some things I've been drooling over lately...

Chantal and Le Creuset












Chantal makes a matching tea kettle, but I just don't know. The funny thing is that I've seen that blue cookware on Friends, Seinfeld, 90210 and Home Improvement. It's pretty famous. You can only order the cookware from Chantal.com and from Amazon, as far as I can tell. I really want to see it in person, just so I can lift it and check out the finish. Am I a nerd or what?

Five

1. What were you doing ten years ago?
It would have been the summer between 9th and 10th grade. We moved from Virginia to Maryland. We had just had the house built and I was upset because I didn't know anyone. That was a tough summer.

2. What 5 things are on your to-do list for today?
1) Finish some things for work
2) Eat
3) Go to the gym
4) Pack
5) Watch tv with Scott

3. Snacks you enjoy?
Pitas and hummus, bbq chips

4. Places you've lived?
NJ, SC, Japan, NC, AZ, VA and MD

5. What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1) Not work
2) Buy a house and have kids
3) Travel
4) Presents for everyone!
5) Donate to cancer research

A Nice Homecoming

I saw this on another blog, Southern Comfort, and I had to repost it. I can't even see straight my eyes are so watery.

Survey says

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now? An umbrella...never go anywhere without one

2. When was the last time you threw up? A few months ago; I ate an undercooked hamburger

3. What's your favorite curse word? Crap. I really don't curse

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? Scott, so far

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Making coffee

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Making another pot of coffee

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now? Heading off to a party

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope!

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? "Bye" on the phone

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? Strawberry

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? Coffee

13. What was the last thing you ate? Sushi

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Sure: two skirts from Harold's and I'm fighting temptation to order from jcrew.com. I love sales.

15. When was the last time you ran? Does the elliptical count?

16. What's the last sporting event you watched? Who knows

18. Who is the last person you emailed? A coworker

19. Ever go camping? Yup, most recently the 4th of July

20. Do you have a tan? Not at all. I rely too much on self tanner.

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw? Only at restaurants

25. What did your last IM say? Haven't done that in awhile

26. Are you someone's best friend? I sure hope so!

27. What are you doing tomorrow? Coffee and bagels with Linds in the morning, then packing, then hosting some guests

28. Where is your mom right now? I'm sure she's at home

29. Look to your left, what do you see? The printer

30. What color is your watch? One is silver and the other has a light blue band

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Kangaroooooos

32. Would you consider plastic surgery? Only if my stomach looked like Kate Gosselin's before she had surgery

33. What is your birthstone? Garnet

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Drive thru, I don't have time to be parking and going inside

35.How many kids do you want? At least two

36. Do you have a dog? Not since I was 8

37. Last person you talked to on the phone? Someone for work

38. Have you met anyone famous? Sure.

39. Any plans today? Well, I need to go to the gym, go to a party with Scott and then go to sleep.

40. How many states have you lived in? 6 states, 1 other country

41. Ever go to college? Finished!

42. Where are you right now? In the "office"

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? I feel so tired for some reason.

44. Last song listened to? Something in the car...I forget

46. Are you allergic to anything? Pollen

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? I wear my flip flops from NY & Co a lot

48. Are you jealous of anyone? I'm a little jealous of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Garner

49. Is anyone jealous of you? No idea

51. What time is it? 4:36 pm

52. Do any of your friends have children? Yup

53. Do you eat healthy? 88% of the time

54. What do you usually do during the day? Work, eat, hang out with Scott, go to the gym, talk to my parents...

55. Do you hate anyone right now? No. I try not to hate.

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Of course

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 26

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Once and that was enough.

60. How did you get one of your scars? When I was two, I scratched at my chicken pox on my nose, and well, there you have it

I Heart Etsy

A few things I added to my favorite list:


1) A pretty apron from "momomadeit"

2) Crochet dish cloths from "earlygirl"

3) Sophia slouch bag from "debos"

4) Slices of bread magnets from "skirtsandscarfs"



5) And lastly, because I can't end a list on a FOUR -- this adorable bunny from "neet"

I might just have to buy one and pack it away!

An online shopping trip.

I've discovered Harold's. In my little town, there is really nowhere to go shopping. We have Target, Old Navy and JcPenney's. There's also Ross and Marshall's. Otherwise....it's a good hour or so to get to a decent mall in Annapolis or northern Virginia.

Apparently there's a good sale going on, so I found a few skirts for work:

and

Now, I just need a few more pairs of sandals.

Three R's

When I was in 7th grade, I remember this worksheet from Science class that really annoyed me. It was about recycling and finding ways to reuse everyday trash. Each item had a piece of trash and then a blank, to write down a creative way to reuse it. Okay, so some items might have been paper towel roll, empty soda bottle, shoe box, dirty kleenex, etc. Okay, I'm kidding about the kleenex, but still. One of the items was an empty juice box. Yes, I remember this because it bugged me. Anyway, I asked my friends what they were writing down for that one -- I was stumped, because seriously -- who saves a juice box?! I probably made up something, like deciding to use it as a toy. I should have challenged my teacher, but I was one of those nice kids who just finished the assignment, no questions asked. I'm all for reusing things, but at some point, it just turns into clutter. And there's no need for that. Instead of trying to figure out to reuse 30 empty juice boxes -- stop buying juice boxes. Instead, buy a larger container of juice and fill up reusable bottles instead. Take the large container and recycle that. End of story.

You know, I'm wondering if I should have named this blog Green Peach instead of Preppy Peach. I'm sure I'll have something preppy to say eventually, but I've become so aware of living green lately. It's all of the little stuff that gets easily missed, and yet, it's all of the little stuff that can make a difference. At the gym, there are rolls of paper towels to wipe the machines down after use. We usually take our own towel, but I'll notice empty paper towel rolls sometimes. Plastic cups, too. Umm...I've been taking them when I see them and then I add them to my recycling pile in the kitchen. Is that weird?

The Joys of Vinegar

I've almost always liked cleaning. Organizing, straightening up, laundry, dishes.....

Lately, I've discovered how awesome vinegar is. Yes, vinegar. Apparently, it does more than get thrown into pasta salad. It's a natural disinfectant (look out, bleach!) and is a greener way to clean. It's so versatile.




Ways to use:

1) Add into the laundry as a booster; use instead of bleach with the linens. Be sure not to mix with bleach.
2) Sunburned? Take a washcloth and soak with vinegar. Let the washcloth sit on the burn for awhile, and the vinegar will take away the sting. (My mom has always done this.)
3) Dirty shower? Spray some vinegar where needed, and then sprinkle baking soda. Or, you could make a paste. Let sit for a few minutes, then take a sponge and clean. This method is easier on the lungs, than say, lime away.
4) Dirty countertops? Vinegar can actually cut grease. Take a spray bottle, and fill half with vinegar, half with water. Spray and wipe dry. The vinegar smell will eventually fade, but the results are amazing.
5) Need to clean the coffeemaker? Fill the resevoir with equal parts vinegar and water. Turn on the coffeepot and let it go. I usually repeat the process once or twice with water, to rinse. The vinegar will help remove the build up, especially with hard water.

Want more? Try this site: All-Natural Cleaning