Monthly Archives: June 2009
Do The Right Thing
| June 29, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
Sunday while walking to the car after dropping recycling off at Whole Foods I saw $40 in the parking lot. I took a second deciding what to do and asked my husband who agreed I should take it inside in case someone came back asking about it.
The people working there and the person behind me were shocked that I would bring it in and not just keep it. I couldn’t do that because what if someone really needed that money for something important.
Sure I could have kept it and likely no one is going to claim it but I know I did what was right and that’s what’s important.
They also took my info and are going to mail me the money if no one claims it and if that is the case I get the money guilt free.
And who knows maybe at least one of the three people that were there when I turned it in will do something kind now because they witnessed my act of kindness.
My mom left a purse in a shopping cart once at Wal-Mart and wonderful couple took it and called my mom to return it. That was such a HUGE relief for my mom.
One of my brother’s friends left a wallet in a bathroom but someone mailed it to him, again a huge relief.
You never know what your act of kindness can mean to the person you help or even just the people that witness it. So live mindfully and make the world just a little bit better.
Trip To Frisco
| June 29, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
My wonderful husband and I are in Frisco/Plano Texas for an early birthday trip for me. We got here on Friday and we leave tomorrow.
On Friday we went to some clothing stores that carry organic clothes, that my husband had found on the internet. I got two organic shirts (both on sale!) and he got some organic shirts as well.
We also eat lunch at Whole Foods, went to the Stonebriar mall, watched Transformers, shopped at Legacy Town Center (where I got an awesome handmade skirt), Cheesecake Factory for dinner and went to Barnes & Noble. Oh and ate way to much junk food from Whole Foods (we did that every day)
Yesterday we went to Whole Foods, Stonebriar mall, Cheesecake Factory for cheesecake, and some other shopping.
Today we ate at Chipotle, shopped more, saw Food Inc., and went to Whole Foods (yes we have gone a lot!).
Trips always seem to end up more wasteful than being at home but we have recycled what we could, turned off all the lights when we leave the room, and have eaten almost all organic food.
We have to go home tomorrow sadly. We have had a lot of fun. It’s been a great birthday trip for sure!!
Mekong River Dolphins
| June 28, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
The Mekong River Dolphins may be extincted soon. The WWF says only 64 to 76 may be left.
They are dying from pollution and it may soon be worse if a proposed dam is built.
Read about it on CNN.com
My “Hippie Day”
| June 24, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
This past Monday my mom and I decided to go to Norman, Oklahoma mostly because we wanted to go to Native Roots. We also had seen a restaurant on our way back from the OSN conference early this year. It’s called The Pink Elephant and looked like our kind of place so we knew we needed to go to that.
Not surprising to those who know us this turned in to what we were calling our “hippie day.” We first went to a little international food store and then hunted down a natural food store neither of us had been to. It’s called Earth Natural Foods and it was very cool. They have a community garden behind the store, lots of bulk items including soaps, and just a very down to earth environment.
After that stop we went to The Pink Elephant for lunch. It was amazing!! They try and serve as much organic food as they can and it’s all fresh and really good. I’m getting rather hungry thinking about it. The staff was also very kind and the restaurant itself is just so cute. Even if you don’t care about organic food if you are in Norman you have to check it out!
After that even though it was pushing 100′ we walked to a few other stores we wanted to go to like a international food store we hadn’t seen before and a record store. And of course Native Roots, one of our favorite stores.
After that was a quick stop at Target for some Method products for my brother, natural grass fed steaks for my mom, and some worm poop for me. It was a very nice trip and I’m happy to have found another natural food store and a wonderful restaurant.
Do you try and support your local stores and restaurants or do you stick to chains?
Conserving Water
| June 24, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
If you are on my Facebook you know that I post some kind of (VERY!) controversial statuses on rare occasions (almost daily). Well surprisingly enough the one that has gotten the most comments to date is one where I said I was going to go take a bath and something about knowing it’s a waste of water and such.
I think it ended up with over 44 comments. It was shocking to me to learn some people don’t think we have any water related environmental problems. I thought that was fact. But we are often out of touch with the world around us.
“Less than 1% of freshwater is usable, amounting to only 0.01% of the Earth’s total water.”- UNEP, Global Environment Outlook 3 (Earthscan 2002)
“By the mid-1990s, 80 countries home to 40% of world population encountered serious water shortages. Worst affected are Africa and the Middle East.” – NewInternationalist
“40% of America’s rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.” – Grinning Planet
These are just a few facts that should show us that water is important and we need to protect it. In American we spend more than $15 billion a year on bottled water! While other countries can’t get any clean drinking water.
We can’t live without water, yet we treat it like we can. But we can make a difference. You don’t have spend huge bucks either. Here are just a few ideas, please add your own in the comments!
1. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. You will save around four gallons of water each time you brush!
2. Check to see if your toilet is leaking. Place a few drops of food coloring in the tank and if you see any in the bowl without flushing then you have a leak. Fixing toilet leaks can save around 200 gallons of water a day!
3. Don’t throw out water. If a glass gets left out with water that no one is going to drink, pour it on a plant or save it until you are ready to water.
4. Get a low flow shower head. You can save around twelve gallons per shower.
5. Get low flow aerators for all your faucets. Can save you thousands of gallons of water a year.
6. Run full loads when washing clothes and dishes.
These are just a few tips. What is your tip??
Giveaway: Envirosax Reusable Bag *Closed*
| June 20, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
Envirosax has been kind enough to offer a reusable bag for one lucky reader. If you win you will get your choice of any bag from either the Oxford series or the Retro Graphic series.
Reusable bags are an easy way to go green so even if you have enough pass one on to a friend.
And now for the rules-
1. Post your e-mail!!!!! Every time people forget, you can’t win if you don’t leave an e-mail address. (if you have a blogger account that has your e-mail that works as well, or if you fill it out in the info, just somewhere please!)
2. Go to Envirosax and pick out your favorite bag from either the Oxford or Retro Graphic series and post a comment with it.
3. Enter by June 27th at 11:59 p.m.
Extra Entries (post comment for each):
1. Blog about the giveaway, post link.
2. Post on Twitter, post link.
3. Add me on Twitter @retrohousewife5, leave username in comment.
4. Follow me, let me know which way you are following.
Mary Avinger is the winner of the Envirosax bag!
Product Review: Envirosax
| June 19, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I always have an Envirosax reusable bag in my purse. They hold up to 44 lbs pounds, are waterproof, and roll up so they can fit in your purse, backpack, or car.
Envirosax has many different designs to fit everyone’s style. Now even for all the guys wanting to go green. It’s a lot harder to find bags guys want to use, the Oxford series is sure to help.
Check back tomorrow for a Envirosax giveaway!
Another Health Problem!
| June 18, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
So if you know me very well you know I’m always having some new health problem. I’ve had asthma and allergies all my life, I have Fibromyalgia, cluster headaches, doctor said my insulin is to high, I have a high heart rate for which my doctor can’t find a cause, and a few other things I’m forgetting, I’m sure.
Well now I have another to add to my list, a ganglion cyst. I’m just sitting watching “A Crude Awakening” and look at my bent wrist and see a bump that wasn’t there yesterday.
Of course I start messing with it, looking at my other wrist and then search Google. Gotta love Google because the second result was something about ganglion cyst.
I then call my mom who says she used to get them and says she will come over to check it out. Sure enough that is what I have.
It doesn’t hurt and they aren’t harmful so not to worried about it but I would love ideas for natural things I can do to get rid of it. I don’t want it to get in the way of yoga and things like that.
My Confession: I’m Still Addicted to Plastic
| June 17, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I do use reusable bags, Sigg water bottles, reusable lunch containers, glass straws and such. Yet there is still so much plastic in my life.
The double wrapped bread I buy because it’s the only one I can find without HFCS, the container of gelato I was just eating (and man was it yummy!), the compost pail I got a few weekends ago, the packing that came in the box containing my organic shirt, and those are just a few things.
While these things can make me feel really guilty at times, I have to stop and remember what I am doing right. I think we all need to remember the good. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in all the things we aren’t doing.
Sure we don’t want to stop being mindful but we can’t let ourselves become to overwhelmed. Becoming sustainable doesn’t happen overnight.
So stay mindful of everything you do but at the same time remember you can’t do it all right away. Guilt will just get in the way! So confess your “sins” and move on. 
This is my post for this month’s Green Moms Carnival hosted by Jenn from The Green Parent. Check out the other Green Mom’s confessions.
Product Review: Fuji EnviroMax Batteries
| June 16, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
Rechargeable batteries are the most environmental way to power your battery powered items. But for those who aren’t ready to switch, for emergency backups, or to include with battery powered gifts Fuji‘s EnviroMax batteries are the next best thing!
The batteries look the same and work the same. They are just missing some of those nasty things like cadmium and mercury. Making them landfill safe, which is just another reason why they are great for putting with your gifts. A lot of people don’t know batteries can’t go in the landfill but with these you don’t have to worry.
Another thing I’m happy to see Fuji remove from batteries is PVC! PVC is a nasty plastic that off gases things like mercury, dioxins, and phthalates.
I tested the batteries out in our Wii remotes. They seem to last longer than our rechargeable batteries and maybe a little longer than normal alkaline batteries. The only real difference was they are much lighter than other batteries, which of course plays no factor in how they work for you.
Fuji hasn’t stopped there. They are working to lessen their impact on the environment in every way. You can read more about Fuji and the environment on their website.
Fuji EnviroMax batteries can be found on Amazon.com, ACE Hardware, select Sears, and as well as other stores near you. They will be sold at Target starting in July.
If you are in Oklahoma you can find them at Native Roots Market in Norman, Oklahoma.
