In Which I Pretend to be Al Gore

Lucky readers, today you get to hear about that time I pretended I was a hippie - which, for the purposes of this post, I am defining as

Hippie: hip pee; a do-gooder attempting to help save the earth from global warming and stuff.  A good person.

Or maybe I'm not a hippie...maybe I just picked what seemed like the easiest solution to a problem I was having...,

Are you confused enough now that you want me to explain, or are you too busy laughing at how inaccurate a description of me that is? 

A couple weeks ago, one of my roommates had a brilliant idea that would solve a couple problems we'd been having: (1) there is no dumpster in our building area, so we have to walk the distance of 5 buildings to get to one...and we're too lazy for that shiz.  And, well, things start to get stinky when you're keeping trash in the closet....  and (2) we don't have a garbage disposal, which means the trash is even stinkier because it has banana peals and stuff in it.

So the solution?  A rubbermaid container from Target, dirt, and a couple (hundred) worms.

We decided to make a compost which, my roommate and the internet inform me, is actually good for the environment!  

Ready to hear how we made that happen?  Lucky for you, I've made a step-by-step instruction list!

(1)
Walk downstairs to the scent equivalent of what you believe to be a wall of garbage.  Take the trash out, and furnish the apartment with Glades.  The entire downstairs will still smell for the rest of the day. Go to work to escape the smell.

(2)
Decide that the only solution has Al Gore's stamp of approval: a compost.  Start out slow though - just get a big rubbermaid container, put it outside, and start tossing your junk in:
- fruit cuttings, peels, or remains (like that gross papaya your roommate thought she'd enjoy, and then immediately threw out when she got a whiff of it)
- egg shells
- liquids, such as milk or juice
- basically, at least the way we see it, anything you eat.

(3)
Notice that your compost is attracting flies, and decide to make a trip to Walmart for dirt and worms.

(4)
After debating whether to go with all-purpose fertilizer or African Violet-fertilizer (eventually deciding on all-purpose), head home with two bags of the brown stuff and about 5 containers of worms.  Worms that neither you nor your roommate want to have to touch (pro tip: you will have to touch the worms when you leave the open container on the table, and the worm tries to escape).

(5)
Using a stick you found next to the tree outside, stir the contents of your rubbermaid bin, effectively burying all your garbage from the past couple weeks.  Take pictures to use as evidence when you brag to your family and friends.

(6)
Put the lid back on, and put your newly created compost somewhere outside where you can easily get to it.  We keep ours on the porch, right next to the sliding door.

My roommate informs me that eventually, we'll have a rubbermade container full of extremely fertile dirt.  So, if gardening's your thing - win win, right?

Have you ever done something like this, or are you going to now?  Is there something I didn't mention?

<3

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Happy

I'm a writer at heart, and through every inch of my body.

At night, I dream of the words I'd write if I were awake.  

My waitress book is filled with half written ideas for stories that will never find their way to filled pages of my slanted writing.  

When a professor mentions that the class will consist primarily of papers, I feel a thrill of excitement where the other students groan in almost physical pain.  

So it's always confused me that when I'm so happy I could burst, or have something to say about my own life or to someone in my life, or somebody is upset...words escape me.  

The thoughts bounce around incoherently and never come out right...so that instead I stare blankly like a woman that can't use words.

I can write you a story about a couple that is not me and the words will flow beautifully.  But in my own life when asked to respond to something, I'm lost for words.  

But I am happy.  

So very happy.

Day 74

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Of Trail Rides and Picnics

Yesterday I went horse-back riding for the first time in what feels like forever (4ish years is forever, right?)

It felt so good to be back up there, and I swear I never wanted to get back down.  And it helps that the trail we rode through was absolutely gorgeous...

But afterwards, I had a 2-person picnic to attend, and so of course I donned my camera and popped some blackberries!

Day 73

And, incredibly, the rain held off for us all day!

Next weekend, I head back to college.  But for now, I think I'll enjoy days like yesterday, eating up the last bits of sunshine and summer before the cold descends again.  

(why don't I move somewhere WARM???)

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Disappearing Act

Over the past couple of weeks since my disappearance from this blog, I've had SO much going on.

And I feel like I owe you an explanation, at least a little one, because I had plans for posts.

Primarily, I've been busy with work.  But it's been more than that.  

Life just gets in the way sometimes, and I'll be honest...I've loved every minute of it.

Instead of telling you what's been going on though, I'll give you some pictures.

Day 71

No matter where I end up in life...I think the Philadelphia skyline will always be one of the most beautiful things I've seen

Day 72

Say what you want about Philadelphia fans, and certainly I can't pretend I know anything about baseball.  But I do know that these players love each other, and the game.  How many major league teams run into each other's arms when they win a simple regular-season game?

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been babies born, and parties planned for those still on their way.  Relationships have been formed, and old ones rekindled, while those that never left have carried on.  

As the final weeks of summer wind down, and I get ready for my Junior year of college, I'm loving every minute of the sunshine - whether I've photographed them or not, little or small.

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The First Day: Exploring Dublin

As in all things, the dust has settled.  

A couple of days back at work has brought me back to America, so that I no longer spend the greater part of my days wishing for the green hills of Ireland; for another funny man with a gorgeous accent to whisk me off to somewhere pretty in a bus driving down the left side of the road (although a few hours at work left me wondering why I ever came home).

So now, it's your turn.  For both my own sanity (sorting through nearly 1000 pictures and trying to narrow them down enough for one post would land me in a padded room, I'm sure) and because six days in Ireland is just too much to absorb in one day (even if by one day I mean one blog post), I'm going to let you in on my trip one day at a time.  As the title of this post so slyly suggests, we spent our first day in Ireland (Sunday) exploring the new city we found ourselves in - Dublin.

Because we arrived on a red-eye flight early on Sunday morning, we didn't have any tours planned for the day.  So we dropped our bags off at the hotel (it was only 8:30, and since check-in wasn't for a couple of hours, there weren't any rooms available yet), and set off into the city with our taxi-driver's advice in mind: stay right.  Apparently going left at any point before reaching city center would lead to the proverbial "bad part of town".

Although we got a little lost, we did find this adorable little bus-stop turned park.

(while we took picture after picture, three girls in Trinity sweaters stared us down, presumably thinking "stupid tourists") 

In the entire week we spent in Ireland, this was one of the only Irish flags we saw.  Apparently hanging the flag everywhere is an American tradition.

And have a conversation with a complete stranger we did, but more on that later.  

My delicious lunch found at a sports bar of sorts, where all the "football" fans congregated for a beer before the game.

Can I just tell you how many different forms of potato were on that plate? 

Three.  There were three types of potatoes on that plate.  And let me just assure you that they were all delicious!

A group of people presumably walking to the football game.  Our hotel was right across from the stadium, and our first day there it played host to a game between to apparently well-known teams.  

Remember that stranger I mentioned?  Well, here he is.  Or at least one of them.  Him (Brenden) and a friend (who goes by a name I didn't quite understand through his accent) happened to be sitting at a table next to ours at dinner, and when he saw Corey (brother) taking a picture of me, he decided to photo-bomb.

Corey and I, of course.  

So there's Day One guys.

More tomorrow.  I promise!

<3

PS.  Here's Day 70

Day 70

To the Wild Wild Wicklow

Day 69

More photos to come, just as soon as I'm home in America and can sort through them.

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