This is my newly acquired friend plant. It was gifted from my dear friend La Petite Tricoteuse, as she will be leaving the mainland for some foreign exploits. So I will care for her dear plant in memory of her. I think it looks pretty nice on this stand. I still can’t figure out the exact placement of the table in this corner. Here is where it is now, but it’ll surely move. Ethan has been paying it much attention since it has entered the home. I think he wants to gnaw on the leaves. I’m hoping it won’t become a problem.

My mom sent me this card and I like the quote so much that I wanted to frame the card. Here it is all framed and proudly hanging on the wall. I got this awesome frame from Michaels. I love the red outline around the frame; it adds a splash of color. The card reads:

Dance as though no one is watching you,
Love as though you have never been hurt before,
Sing as though no one can hear you,
Live as though heaven is on earth.
~ souza

I’ve already crossed this off the eco-wishlist but never blogged about it.

• Take short showers.
• Turn the faucet off while shaving and brushing your teeth.
• Toss trash in the wastebasket, not the toilet.
• Take care of your vinyl shower curtain. – I now have a fabric shower curtain.
• Use water-based paints.
• Properly dispose of latex paint cans.
• Use rags instead of paper towels.
• Choose hydrogen- or oxygen-based bleaches.
• Buy concentrated products.
• Don’t wash clothes after every wear unless they’re really dirty.
• Buy phosphate-free, earth-friendly detergent.
• Keep my refrigerator full to cut down on energy.
• Keep the fridge at 37º F and the freezer at 3º F.
• Maintain my fridge twice a year.
• Use the toaster oven for smaller portion cooking.
• Switch to CFLs.
• Turn off the lights when not in use.
• Use ceiling fans to better circulate the air.
• Manage radiant solar gain.
• Buy gift wrap made of recycled paper.
• Reuse gift wrapping decorations.
• Get creative with gift wrapping.
• Recycle my Christmas tree.
• Choose energy-saving Christmas lights.
• Make my own gift tags.
• Participate in St. Jude’s Ranch for Children greeting cards program.
• Shop at my local farmer’s market.
• Eat less meat.
• Switch to cloth napkins.
• Decline  silverware, napkins and condiments when ordering out.
• Wash fruit and veggies in a bowl of cold water.
• Turn the faucet using half the volume.
• Buy in bulk instead of single-servings.
• Collect grey water for watering plants.
• Buy quality products.
• Use rechargeable batteries.
• Buy a paper shredder.
• Recycle old athletic shoes with the Nike program.
• Recycle plastic peanuts with loosefillpackaging.com.
• Download software instead of buying the CDs, when possible.
• Buy only plastic bottles labeled with 1 or 2.
• Create notepads out of scrap paper.
• Ride my bike when running errands three miles away.
• Once a week, use public transportation instead of driving.
• Buy eco-friendly antifreeze.
• Decline housekeeping when staying at a hotel.
• Don’t take the complementary bottles.
• Use biodegradable pet bags.

So a number of new items on the list. I’ll indicate that these are from It’s Easy Being Green with an “E” to clarify the source. Here’s to an eco-friendly 2008!

UPDATE: Reviewed Jan. 4, 2009.

Well, here I am raving too. Not only does it meet some personal preferences I have but it also reduces my consumption of feminine hygiene products. Women consume billions of tampons and sanitary pads each year; all finding their way into landfills around the country. The Diva Cup is reusable and safe, compact (fits under any sink!) and a cheaper alternative to buying products each month.

Apparently Starbucks gives you 10 cents if you bring your own cup. That’s kind of a nice bonus. I also like this mug because it has a swing top lid that helps limit splatter.

I’ve used it each day. Ironically it matches my new wool dress coat, which is red.

This satisfies #2 on my eco-wishlist.

I’ll make the larger ones out of a blue tulle that I bought at JoAnns. I also brought a reusable canvas bag with me for all my shopping today (and this time I didn’t get thwarted.

I get home, still happy as a clam (although I had to fill up my car and the price stung and the lack of options made me smolder). I began unpacking my items. WHAT? I cried. What was in my awesome reusable bag? A plastic bag wrapped around my meat. Ahh! I was thwarted! I thought I did good, but I wasn’t paying close attention. It was nice that the young man didn’t want any meat juices to spill out on any other items, but now I had a grocery bag and a produce bag. Two bags! Even with my reusable. It was a sad moment.

For my one green thing today, however, I am vowing to take reusable produce bags with me to the store (until I get around to making fabric produce bags I found at Circle of Life Foundation, which is on my list). But until then, reusing what I have will be the baby step. Maybe this weekend I’ll get to the fabric produce bags.

Then I ventured over to Trader Joe’s and I remembered to grab my reusable, 100% recyclable bag and throw it at the bottom of my basket. That worked out great. As I was checking out, the cashier was able to grab it and throw everything in. Yay for reusing! one green thing accomplished. Now I just have to remember to grab the bag more often.