Lately

I thought I would take a minute to give an update on my resolutions.  One of my resolutions was to send birthday cards to friends and family and so far I have been doing very well at that goal.  It's only been 2 months but I think I can make it the whole year.  My second resolution was to lose a few pounds and I am still actively working on that one.  I've had to really learn a lot about lowering my caloric intake because I have always eaten very healthfully but I am now learning that it takes a little bit more than that to drop pounds.  I am working out a lot though.  My third resolution was to get a new hobby with Tony and we did invest in a Canon Rebel SLR and we have a few photography classes on the schedule.  We still have to download the software for the new camera but stay tuned for some awesome pix!  

Breckenridge

Yes, I know.  It's been a month since we went to Breckenridge and I haven't posted any of the pictures yet.  Well, it was an awesome trip.  Tony and I went with my sister, Hilary, and her boyfriend, Corry.  We all went skiing together last year in Snowshoe, WV and it was a great trip so we decided to head out to Colorado this year.  I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous.  I had skied 2 years in a row in WV but east coast slopes and elevations are pretty different from those out west.  I'm a pretty good skier but still learning and I am definitely not a dare devil so I was a little bit anxious to see how my abilities would transfer from east coast to west.

It actually wasn't as hard as I'd expected (either that or I'm just a bad-ass).  

Breck (as the locals call it) is a great town.  We stayed at the River Mountain Lodge which is ideally located just 2 blocks from Main Street and a short walk or shuttle ride to the gondola.  I will definitely go back to Breck in the future.

New Year's Resolutions

Whether you believe in them or not New Year's Resolutions are all over the place.  I usually don't make them but this year I did and I'm putting it out there for all to see.

1.  Send birthday cards to close friends and family members.

2.  Get below 120 (I'm about 123 right now) and stay there through the end of the summer.

3.  Get a new hobby to do with Tony possibly dance lessons or photography classes.

My good friend Casey mentioned to me that one of her resolutions is to get more "green" so if that is one of yours or you just feel the need to be more environmentally friendly anyways here are a few tips that can be easily incorporated into your daily routine.

1.  Drive Eco-

I'm not telling you to go buy a new car but if a new car purchase is in the cards for this year try to get one with high mpg's.  If the car you really, really want is not "green" make sure you do ALL of the following things to make up for it.

2.  Recycle-

Come on; if you still aren't recycling you're living in the stone age, just plain lazy, or both.  All you have to do is call your garbage company and they will drop off a bin and you set it out with your trash each week.

3.  Bring your own bag-

To the grocery store, Target, wherever.  You can get a bag (mine are from Publix) for about $1 at most places and 2 should do it for your average grocery trip.  If you forget to bring them one day don't worry about it too much.  I reuse grocery bags as trash bags in the bathroom or for cleaning the kitty box; you can also recycle them (see #2).

4.  Buy organic-

Foods are the most popular organic items but you can also easily find organic soaps, shower gels, sheets, and all kinds of stuff and the prices are very comparable to non-organic items.  Here are a few reasons to make the switch:

-They are healthier for your body because they do not contain pesticides or toxins.

-Most organic farms use environmentally friendly systems such as wind energy and recycled packaging.

-Less pesticides used on foods means less toxins in the environment.

5.  Use natural cleaners or make your own-

I previously published a post on natural cleaners so you can refer to that in the archives.  I would also like to point out that John Travolta's son died a few days ago and from what I heard he had a history of seizures caused by a condition called Kawasaki syndrome.  They think that he contracted this disease as a toddler crawling around on carpet that contained harmful chemicals either from the products they use to manufacture it or toxic carpet cleaning materials (or both).  If that isn't enough reason for you to cut out the chemicals in your life I don't know what is.

Being more "green" isn't supposed to stress you out or make you feel guilty.  It is about awareness.  Take what works into your life and know that it does add up and make a difference.