planet earth...

I try to focus on the positive in all I do. Some days that is easier than others. I've felt overwhelmed lately by the clouds of negativity and "Dooms Day" thinking that often seem to accompany greener living sites. This video was perfect for putting things back into "Christina" perspective. Enjoy...

mother's little flickr...

Collin decided to play too... I love it!

In case there's any need for explanation:

1. Your name: Collin
2. Favorite food: Meat (As he pointed out, this photo was a DOUBLE bonus, because it is actually a cake decorated to look like meat--cake and steak all in one!)
3. High school: Homeschooled
4. Favorite color: Green
5. Celebrity crush: Mrs. Doubtfire (I spend my nights lying awake in bed, just wishing that this kid had some semblance of a sense of humor...)
6. Favorite drink: Gatorade
7. Dream vacation: Greece (Good call, dude!)
8. Favorite dessert: Tartufo
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? A stationary box (Just kidding... my baby has his sights set on Intelligence Recon as an officer in the USMC!)
10. What you love the most in the world: America (I'm sure he really meant to use this photo.)
11. One word that best describes you: Kickass!
12. Your Flickr name: metatag

Finally proof that the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree.

flickr of hope...

I'm honestly not one for blog "tags"... usually they're pretty goofy, but more often, pointless. This is not to say I haven't EVER done one. This is also not to say that I won't do one again. And of course, there's this one courtesy of my very good friend Erin at Going Green, who did not actually "tag" me and has absolutely no idea who I am.

Wanna play? Here's what you do:

1. Go to Flickr Search and type in each of your answers to the below list of questions.
2. Pick an image from your results--use only the first page!
3. Enter each of the photo URLs into the bighugelabs.com Mosaic Maker. (Note: You will first need to change your mosaic dimensions to 3 columns and 4 rows... or vice-versa if you just like being different! You non-conformist, you...)

And here are the questions to answer...

1. What is your name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. How about your dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What one word describes you?
12. Enter your Flickr user name (or your online alter-ego if you have no Flickr!).

A word of caution because I love each and every one of you with every ounce of my being and wouldn't wish MY initial experience with this little project on my worst enemy. I might, however, wish it on the bitch who almost rammed me with her cart trying to leave Costco the other day. I wasn't aware we were racing. That's another story for another day, though. On to the "word of caution":

If one (or four, in my case) of the photos you select for your mosaic have been designated "Not Available" by the "owner" of said photo for use in Flickr third party applications, you will end up with a blank spot (or spots-see above) in your mosaic. Should this happen to you, for Vishnu's sake DO NOT hit the back button! You will find that your (presumably significant) investment of time has been wiped away by bighugelabs.com without so much as the tiniest thought for your feelings (and no kiss after being f#(ked, either). Instead of risking heartbreak (and the future usability of your computer), I recommend copying each of the URLs you select BEFORE hitting the "Create My Mosaic" button. And after copying them, I also recommend actually PASTING them somewhere, or you'll end up like I did after mosaic attempt number 2 (still not successful, and not surprisingly, still no kiss). I'm really beginning to re-think my friendship with Erin. (Mental note: Find out if Erin was at Costco last Thursday afternoon around 3:30pm.)

Then came attempt #3.

(Insert drum roll here.)

Now for MY results:

1. Christina, 2. Indian (the image I really wanted to use was "not available" to bighugelabs.com for Mosaic Maker-ugh.), 3. Paint Branch, 4. Blue, 5. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (because nothing hot came up when I entered "Dwayne Johnson"... And because using "Shakira" or "Sara Ramirez" might reveal more than I want it to...AND because ohmygod, didn't you just LOVE him as Denny Duquette?!? And even moreso as the {other} Irish hottie in P.S. I Love You?), 6. Green Tea (because only crappy images come up when you enter "Diet Pepsi"!), 7. New Zealand, 8. Chocolate Mousse, 9. Private Investigator, 10. Family, 11. Compassionate, 12. beautiful epiphany .

I showed you mine. Now you show me yours.

PS--If I were the kind to go around giving myself awards, I would totally christen the crap out of this entry in the "Most Links in One Post" category. I so rock. Just ask me.

the eco-freak within...

A crazy lady has taken over my house.

She goes around screaming things like, "Who threw this away?!?", and, "Why do they even give us recycling bins if no one is going to USE them?!"

I'm not sure she has a search warrant for her "Trash Police" raids on our garbage bins.

Did I mention she follows us, too? Even when we're at other people's homes, she demands to bundle up all the compostable discards during our visits so she can carry the crap home. Can you believe this bitch?

She canceled the newspaper, demanded I stop buying paper towels AND (rumor has it) there's apparently a lot more to come! She won't take plastic or Styrofoam "to-go" boxes at restaurants and somehow feels comfortable asking for a piece of foil instead. This chick gives new meaning to "high maintenance"!

Despite my insistence that she keep her hands off my toilet paper, I caught her at my sewing machine the other day experimenting with "family cloth", which she insists would only be for Number 1. When will this madness stop?

I'll tell you when... when someone pries the most recent issue of Mother Earth News from my cold, dead fingers.