Restless spirit

"Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop." (Usmin B. Asif)

What do you fear? My number one tangible fear in life is snakes...I hate them with every bone in my body. I have a small panic attack anytime I see one. Even though I live in the middle of a city, I see them more often that you would think when I am out walking my dog.

On a more serious note, my greatest fear is failure. I'm scared that I will never settle into a career where I can blossom. I fear that I will never fall in love again. Most of all, I fear that I will continue to wander through life unsure of what my next step should be. A friend of mine recently said to me "You've always been our restless spirit." This was a few months ago, and her words continue to haunt me. I feel like a butterfly that continuously flies around stopping only when something catches my eye and causes me to ground myself temporarily. I "flew" to Atlanta 2.5 years ago and started feeling the urge to resume my flight pattern about one year ago. Time will only tell where my next stop will be. Various little birds keep landing around me, whispering "New York" before flying off. One day, I hope I can follow them into the sunset knowing that I am about to land where I have always wanted to be.

Under pressure

Today's go green tip comes to us courtesy of my dear friend Liz Crowley in Charleston, SC. Make it a habit to check the pressure in your tires once per month, during cold weather, and before a long trip. Have your tires balanced and rotated every 5,000-8,000 miles. Here are some more facts:

• Properly inflated tires can save $0.05 per gallon on gas


• 5% under inflation increases fuel consumption by 1%, and it releases 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide


• Maintaining proper tire pressure generates less scrap tires


• Tire pressure is the single greatest cause of tire damage and failure


• A well-tended tire can last 40,000-80,000 miles
  

In layman's terms, when tires are not inflated properly, they are less round and require more energy to start moving and maintain speed. This results in more pollution and gas consumption. For more information on checking the pressure in your tires, go to http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoAirPressure.do.

Thoughts on Avatar

(photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox)

I finally saw Avatar yesterday afternoon. If you have not seen this movie, go see it today! It is absolutely one of the best movies I have ever seen. The special effects (I highly recommend seeing it in 3D) were visually stunning, and I left the movie wanting to get on the next flight to Pandora. I am in awe of the brilliantly creative minds that dreamed up the world of Avatar. While I still have some questions about the basic concept of an avatar, I walked away with a deep respect of the simple and yet powerful messages I feel James Cameron conveyed.

The two main messages I saw in the movie were this. 1) We are slowly but surely destroying each other through war, hate, and other means of destruction. 2) We are also destroying the beautiful planet we are so blessed to inhabit. Note that I said "we" not you-I am in no way disqualifying myself from being a part of the problem. While the Na'vi people (the indigenous people of Pandora) are certainly not perfect, they seem to highly value their community, their beautiful planet, and all of the creatures that live on Pandora. Yes, they resort to violence at times, but what group of people hasn't done so when foreigners invade its' lands? What messages did you see in the movie?

If you've read my blog before, you are hopefully starting to recognize an ongoing theme that resonates in many of my posts. We need to love each other and build each other up instead of tearing each other down. Let's try harder to take care of this amazing planet that God has blessed us with. I know we can't take it with us when we leave, but we are here to protect Earth for generations to come. We only have one shot of life on Earth, so let's unite together in an effort to love harder, give more, and use less. To borrow the lovely words of the Na'vi, "I see you." And I hope that you see me.

Hope for Haiti Now

(photos courtesy of The Huffington Post)

I realize that I am a bit late in posting this, so I'll be brief. Please go to http://www.hopeforhaitinow.org/ to make a donation. Your generous gift will help provide food, clean drinking water, and medical care to the people of Haiti whose lives were devastated by the recent earthquake.

No gift is too small, so please donate what you can. It's time for us to come together to support mankind. This isn't about race, religion, or any other agenda. It's about people helping people. I encourage you to make a donation in honor of the people you love. In doing so, you will know that you are helping the loved ones of someone else. If your mom, dad, husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, or friend was in need right now, and you were unable to help them, I know you would hope and pray that someone else would do so.

If I ruled the world...

(photo courtesy of http://www.pinkowlphotography.com/)

If I ruled the world, here are the Top 10 laws I would enforce and/or issues I would fix. (Keep in mind that this is just for fun and is not serious in nature.)

1) Women who are 5'6 and shorter must date men who are less than 6'0 tall. Let's save the 6'0+ men for the tall ladies.

2) People (from my experiences, this mostly applies to men) who work out in Crocs, khaki shorts, jeans, etc will be banned from the gym. Every gym has this in the rules, yet I see people all the time working out in said illegal apparel.

3) Clear deodorant would really be clear...enough said.

4) Tables at events would magically accommodate an uneven number of people if someone doesn't bring a date. There's just no need to make that person the odd man (or woman) out.

5) No voicemail=no return phone call. My personal policy is that I will only call you back if you leave a message as to why you are calling. The only exception is if we have plans, and we are trying to arrange said plans.

6) Guys that take girls out on dates and then never call them to offer some sort of explanation really do have to go to a faraway place such as a farm or deserted island...instead of making frequent appearances at the gym, church, Facebook, etc. This just makes girls wonder what went wrong-MAN UP!!!

7) Pizza, cheese dip, and chocolate will have neither any calories nor any fat.

8) All the smart, fabulous, amazing single ladies I know will find true love.

9) The US will finally adapt to a more European way of life-more naps, fewer working hours, better vacation policies.

10) Teachers, social workers, and caretakers (of the elderly and the disabled) will be paid for the amazing work they do, and how much they contribute to our society. Professional athletes, actors, and other occupations of this nature will take a pay cut to cover the difference.

If you don't like my rules and policies, too bad! Start a blog and decide how you would rule the world.

Get your scrub on

Instead of using paper towels* for cleaning, drying your hands, etc. go green by using dish towels and/or wash cloths when possible. This will eliminate unnecessary waste, and it will help you save on your monthly expenses (yes, just a small amount, but every penny counts). I actually prefer wash cloths to paper towels when cleaning because they work better for me...especially when it comes to dusting, one of my least favorite activities.

You can find a pack of 6 wash cloths for around $2.00-$5.00, and they will last for years. All you have to do is rinse them out when you are finished and wash them with your towels in warm or hot water. It's easy, better for the environment, and extremely inexpensive. Grab a wash cloth today and start scrubbing!

*If you've been to my house before, you know I still use paper towels. I just don't use them very often, and I buy paper towels made from recycled paper.

And the Golden Globe goes to...

Zoe Saldana for Best Dressed

Ms. Saldana looked radiant in a fiery, flamenco inspired gown

by Louis Vuitton. For me, she stood out the most on the red carpet

in a sea of neutral colored dresses.

(photo courtesy of JustJared.buzznet.com)

(photo courtesy of JustJared.buzznet.com)

(photo courtesy of the AP)

Honorable mentions go to the lovely Toni Collete and Drew Barrymore

who both took home awards at last night's ceremony.

Congratulations to both women on their performances,

their graceful and humble speeches, and their incredible sense of style.

Proud as a peacock

Isn't this the most uniquely beautiful cake you have ever seen? I spotted it last night at Atlanta magazine's bridal event at the Georgian Terrace Hotel. The talented chefs at Highland Bakery assembled this stunning piece of perfection.

Check out their Web site for more pictures of their fabulous work at http://www.highlandbakery.com/#

Get your swap on

Tired of your wardrobe but unable or unwilling to buy all new clothes? Go green and hold a clothing and accessories swap. Having attended one before, I can vouch that they are a lot of fun. All you have to do is get together with a group of friends and tell everyone to bring any gently used clothing, accessories, home decor, etc. The host will hand out tickets for each item you bring, and then you get to use your tickets to "purchase" other people's items. It's a win-win situation because you get to clean out your closet AND bring home new items...all at no cost to you.

Make the evening even more fun by having each person bring some food or a bottle of wine. You could give an extra ticket or two to the person who brings the greenest food/snack. All leftover items can be donated to charity. This idea is not new by any means, but I am starting to hear more about people doing this type of event. I love it! One person's "trash" could be another person's next favorite treasure. Now get ready to get your swap on!

(photo courtesy of Jan Stromme/Getty Images)

Come on baby, light my fire!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that 2010 is a fantastic year for all of us. Let's start the year off in a positive way with an easy go green step. Instead of automatically turning the heat up every time you get cold, try putting on an extra layer of clothes or wrapping up in another blanket. I know this might get cumbersome, but it's what people did before they had electricity. If you are lucky enough to have a working fireplace, by all means use it. I would LOVE to have a fireplace in my condo. Keeping your blinds open during the day can also raise the temperature in your house.

There's just no need to make a habit out of always turning the thermostat up when you are cold when they are plenty of other ways to stay warm this winter. I am blessed to live on the 20th floor of a high rise and have not had to turn on my heat so far. Don't you just love when warm air rises? I know I will pay the price during the sweltering heat of summer, but for now, I am staying toasty warm inside.

If all else fails, cozy up to a loved one and use body heat to stay warm :)

(photo courtesy of SouthernLiving.com)