Oh, Nuts!

So it all started with the peanuts.

I am my father's child. Like a little squirrel, how I love nuts. Almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts, the whole lot of them. If I follow in my dad's footsteps, people will start giving me those neatly divided plastic trays of assorted nuts as Christmas gifts and I will be just tickled with that. Did you hear that? I'd be really happy with that.

Anyway, as protein packed and heart healthy as they are, nuts also pack a significant calorie punch. I was thinking about this the other day as I reached for yet another handful of peanuts, definitely the least healthy of them all. Considering I got them from the bulk goods section of the co-op, I didn't have that little square of nutritional information handy. (And I should add that I really have no business buying anything in bulk since I can never judge quantity which results in checking out with $14 worth of peanuts. For the love of God).

Maybe I should see how many calories I'm actually ingesting with these little buggers, I thought. I hopped online, did some searching and found this wonderful website, calorie100.com. I'm a super visual person so the cantaloupe to remote/Sun Chips to IPhone (7.5 chips equals 100 calories??) photos are very useful. Plus, I realized that I wasn't doing too bad with the ole' peanut intake. Hooray!

Yes, pictures are good, no? Even when the visual is just mentioned, it can really have an impact. A while back, I had read that your protein at a meal (for most people, this means meat) should be no bigger than a deck of cards. Well, la-di-da, that queen of diamonds visual has really stuck with me. It's also a good reminder just how out of control the American food industry has gotten with its portion sizes. Hard to blame the typical American for gaining weight when "normal" eating habits and food portions have been so horrifically skewed. I will now NOT talk about how Europeans really seem to have it together when it comes to forming a perfectly satiating, one scoop ice cream cone or a respectfully caffeinated, yet non-Venti cup of coffee.

But I will stop. You and I know better. But of course, engraining that image of your IPhone or TV remote into your brain can't hurt either.

Thank You, Mr. President

I've got to admit that I've been pretty disappointed by Obama's lack of aggressiveness in regards to environmental issues. However, this is pretty darn great.

Come On, Wisconsin! REALLY??

I thought Wisconsinites were too frugal to fall into this trap. Must be all those darn UW students.

I Am Totally Justified in Feeling Sorry for Myself

Act of Torture #1: Here in the Midwest, Mother Earth has decided to give us a good five day stretch of record breaking heat. Tomorrow's heat index is predicted to reach 110 degrees. We are only winding down Day Two. However, by some wild stroke of luck, a relative gave me an extra window a/c unit which is now churning out enough cool air to make me stop sweating. (Trust me, my environmentally guilt ridden self will assure you that it's on the absolute lowest setting, "cooling" my entire apartment.)

Act of Torture #2: Due to the insane humidity, I cannot hang my clothes to dry like I usually do. I must use the despised dryer. Do you know what it's like to take hot, piping clothes out of the dryer when you are already covered in sweat in your claustrophobic basement?

Act of Torture #3: There is no ice cream in the house.

Act of Torture #4: Hot laptop on well...lap.

Act of Torture #5: I already need a haircut. Now we have a dew point of 70. Guess what my hair looks like. Baxter the Cat's mane is looking better than mine. And he licks his.

Act of Torture #6: I cannot bake that rhubarb pie. Well, I could but I might as well just light myself on fire.

Act of Torture #7: My summer long ice cream addiction (all in the name of cooling off, mind you) has now resulted in me only being able to fit into a quarter of my summer wardrobe. Thank God for skirts with elastic waistbands.

Act of Torture #8: The mass quantities of water I am consuming is now resulting in pee breaks every 30 seconds opposed to the usual ten minute intervals.

Torture #9: Heat like this makes me crabby and sort of hate people. You gotta problem with that?

Torture #10: Heat also makes me incredibly lazy. I am literally staring at a to-do list a mile long. Yet, all I do is stare at it. It is an absolute wonder that I am typing.

And a Masochistic Act of Torture: Back to the hair subject. Is there anything worse than a hair dryer? Wait...I'm not quite hot enough, let me blow hot air directly onto my scalp. And let me do this while I sip my morning coffee. I am so, so stupid sometimes.

I may not be justified in being stupid but I am in feeling sorry for myself, right? This, coming from a girl who slept with a bag of (initially frozen) peas the other night. You are welcome to feel sorry for me, too. I never turn sympathy away. Or a turtle sundae. Just sayin'.

Brooklyn, Don't Make Me Miss You Any More Please

Ick.

It's something like 91 degrees outside right now and my hair has been doing crazy things, mostly laying very unattractively flat to my head. 'Tis the season for people to either be holed up in their homes in front of the A/C or sitting on a patio somewhere, sucking down a few. I live in Wisconsin where beer is regularly consumed no matter what the season. However, I'm thinking that it's probably on the rise on a day like today. So have you ever wondered which breweries are doing the best on the sustainable front? Me neither. (I know, for shame.) But I came across this article and I will give a major "WOOT, WOOT!" to Brooklyn. I never knew that the Brooklyn Brewing Company operated a 100% wind operated facility. How cool is that? And there are several other companies doing awesome things. Click, learn, and drive safely, my friends.

Good Lord...

I understand how the financial challenges of taking the environmentally friendly route can sometimes cause one to hesitate before making that decision. But who in the world is seriously against doing good for the environment while also saving money? Well, apparently there are those proposing the BULB bill. Again, I shake my head..

Hot Damn, Do I Love the Internet!

I've had a hair dryer in the trunk of my car for about six months now. Of course, I keep forgetting about it until I do some massive Target run and then as I'm throwing all my crap into the back, I scream to myself, "For the love of God, just DEAL with this!"

So I don't normally play taxi for my small electronic friends. After having my super handy, engineer/carpenter/electrician father look at it and deem it dead, I've been trying to figure out where I can recycle the darn thing. I refuse to put anything electronic into my regular garbage. After watching No Impact Man months ago, I still feel immense guilt for the teeny bag of trash that leaves my house every week.

But anyway, I was just hopping around some of my favorite eco websites and look what happens when you jump on earth911.org. You're instantly greeted by a "Find Recycling Center For..." tab! I almost smooched my screen. (I have the feeling that the folks in this coffee shop wouldn't even notice either). Unfortunately, my friends at www.earth911.org didn't have an exact match for my hair dryer situation but they kindly offered me other possible solutions which I play to explore.

Oh, internet, how I love thee.