Surely You Nest

Carnival of the Green #181 over at Green Phone Booth

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Hullo, all, I'm hosting the Carnival of the Green over at Green Phone Booth today. Enjoy!

Green Phone Booth: Hannah Montana Bananas

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Y'all catch the spectacle of Disney-branded produce? Read all about the hubbub over at Green Phone Booth.

Green Phone Booth: Fresh Strawberry Cake

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Wanna see EGirl's fresh strawberry birthday cake? Complete with the fruit rainbow? Head on over to the Green Phone Booth and take a gander!

Updates for Green Phone Booth

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Hola, friends! Today I'm musing at Green Phone Booth about nature, for the APLS Carnival. In the last week, I whipped up some moisturizing bath hearts for Valentine's Day, and reflected on how getting fit may be good for the planet.

Updates for Green Phone Booth

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Hey there! Check out Green Phone Booth for the yummy black bean burgers we've been eating, musings about Gunilla Norris' idea of stretching your aspirations while you're kind to yourself for your achievements, and a smokin' new blog design courtesy of Melanie from Beanpaste Creative.

Welcome to EcoWonder

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Check out EcoWonder's first post over at Green Phone Booth today (I welcomed her yesterday if you want to read my musings about the riveting Devra Davis work When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution). Head on over and give her a hearty welcome - she's a working mom of four and gives us the lowdown on how she brings home the (free range, humanely raised and locally processed) bacon and fries it up in a (Teflon-free, thrifted cast-iron) pan. I'm thrilled she's joined the 'Booth -- I loved her former blog (Eco 'Burban Mom) and can't wait to hear her perspective on all things green in her corner of the world.

Obamas: Make Our Lives Safer and Easier, Please

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:12:00 +0000

I'm musing about Michelle Obama buying organic produce and whether or not the new administration will tackle a prevention agenda over at the Green Phone Booth today....

From Freecycling to Savoring the Present

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:02:00 +0000

I've been pretty quiet lately but did post on DC Metro Moms a couple times over the holidays, about Savoring the Present and the kindness of strangers in DC, and wrote today at the Green Phone Booth about the freecycling frenzy that's been keeping me busy! Hope your new year is peaceful.

Let's Keep Handmade In Business

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:14:00 +0000

I'm musing at the Green Phone Booth today about the new craft and toy safety regulations that may put lots of independent artists out of business in February if we don't speak up. Check out my post - I link to some great background reads on the issue and to ways take action to keep our kids' toys (and one-of-a-kind clothing) safe and unique.

Organizing Myself (and not in that gauche community organizer way)

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:58:00 +0000

Check out my post over at the Green Phone Booth about my latest efforts at simplifying....

Little Alouette Discount Today (Sunday)

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:47:00 +0000

If you're in the market for a baby gift, check out Little Alouette this weekend for some simply, beautifully made wooden toys. I met Ms. Turn Sharp in San Francisco last summer and she's as warm and sparkling in person as her toys. Love the wooden keys (you know how I feel about the real ones as a toy) and the new tagline for the store:

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood."

Little Alouette's offering 10% off with the code "Mamabird10" if you shop today (Sunday, Dec. 7) -- Happy Weekend!

P.S. This store's in Ohio - if you're looking to support independent artists in your area, check out Etsy's Shop Local feature. If you're in the DC Metro area, check out CREST, a consortium of local etsy artists.

Solstice Activity: Sun Bread

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:32:00 +0000

Check out the Green Phone Booth today for a bread-and-butter children's holiday activity featuring my mom.

Green Beauty Guide - Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:02:00 +0000

Hey, go check out my review of The Green Beauty Guide over at The Blogging Bookworm. It's a great book -- and, if you live in my neck of the woods, I'm thinking you'll need to borrow it!

Writing Your Way to Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:15:00 +0000

A research study on expressive writing caught my eye - check out my post at the Green Phone Booth and see how you can use your gift of (written) gab to cheer yourself on up.

Going Solar in DC

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:20:00 +0000

I got to interview a superhero neighbor of mine about her successful quest to go solar in a DC rowhouse. Check it out!

Ruminating About Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

It was super, wasn't it? Head on over to the Green Phone Booth to give me your impressions.

Birth Control: Voting Green

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Have you all been following the races around the country battling it out over basic access to birth control? Sheesh! Follow the links in my post over at the Green Phone Booth to learn about how the extreme, extreme right (not the vast majority of our country including pro-life voters who think we should have access to birth control) is trying to equate being conservative with telling pharmacists not to stock the little clamshells.

Makin' the First Move

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:08:00 +0000

I'm writing at the Green Phone Booth today about makin' the first move! You know, those little steps you take in getting green that just make you want to click your heels in the air while you walk? Nothin' huge, just little happy-making shifts. Tell me yours!

Green Phone Booth: Simple Halloween Party

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:45:00 +0000

Hey, I'm planning EGirl's kindergarten Halloween Party and need some help keeping it simple and easy, capiche? Head on over to the Green Phone Booth and give me some advice. Thanks!

Green Phone Booth: Locavore Fairy Godmothers

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0000

In case you haven't switched your subscription yet, head on over to the Green Phone Booth to read all about the wonderful women in my neighborhood who hooked us all up with farm-fresh veggies for the season. A great how-to on getting a CSA delivery to a location near you!

Testing Toys for Toxins

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:34:00 +0000

I had great fun with a lot of green moms at BlogHerDC yesterday! I can't wait to tell you all about 75,000 things that I learned but I have to start somewhere. So go check out my very first GreenPhoneBooth post about The Smart Mama's XRF analyzer and my kids' (arsenic, chromium, phthalate, and lead-laced) toys.

The Green Phone Booth: Where Ordinary Women Go to Become Superheroes!

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0000

So, I've been pretty busy lately (haven't we all?) and part of what I've been up to is plotting the launch of a phenomenal new community blog called the Green Phone Booth. I could not be more excited to report that I will be abandoning this blog flat on its arse and happily taking up residence at a new site. Our new gig will be a group blog, and my fellow writers are a pretty amazing lot: Green Bean Dreams, BurbanMom from Going Green, and the Purloined Letter.

Dontcha want to meet the Bulk? Olive S. Oyl? Green Bean? or the Green Raven?!

I'm tickled pink to be writing with these women, and even more thrilled that we will be able to not only take on issues dear to our green mothering hearts, but to do so in a nurturing community. Put the Green Phone Booth on your speed dial! We're live today and will be posting daily starting one week from today.

If you're going to BlogHer DC, hope to see you there - please find me via Twitter.

Alternatives to Neon Electrolyte Drinks

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:30:00 +0000

In case one of your tiny loved ones gets the barfing flu this winter (can you believe I just wished that on you?!), I thought I would pass along my recent research on non-neon electrolyte beverages. When EGirl was feeling terrible recently, I decided that the last thing her system needed while it was down and out was a whole mess of artifical colors, flavors, and sweeteners. Naturally, I turned to twitter for advice.

Thanks so much to the many people who helped me out. It turns out that you can make your own electrolyte concoctions, or purchase coconut water at Whole Paycheck or find this premade organic electrolyte drink. I did the first of the two options. I will have to admit that EGirl has tasted Gatorade before so she looked at these drinks like they were rat piss after one sip. I figured she was fine with just water, a little of the electrolyte, and some banana for potassium. Maybe the premade will help us out in the future! Worth a shot with your own kid, though.

Also, you should know there is a natural version of jello (anyone know how to make it with gelatine and fruit juice?), and we always hit up the probiotics for tummy troubles. Now to 'splain to CBoy that the white flour products in the house aren't coming back for awhile. His refrain of WANT COOKIE (animal crackers) is going to get ignored for a bit while we move back into the land of fiber. Hope you and yours are transitioning to fall with happy tummies.

*Photo courtesy of sxc.

Moving Away From Teflon: Sticky?

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:03:00 +0000

So, I make one of my kids scrambled eggs a lot. I got rid of our Teflon pans a while ago because of health concerns. And I pretty much hate doing dishes at all, but the daily layer of impossible-to-remove-scrambled-egg gunk was pretty much making my head split right down the middle. Does *everything* healthier have to be a PIA, I wondered?

Actually, it turns out I am just a lousy cook! What I needed to be doing was to heat up my pan super hot and then add the olive oil (if I used butter, it would stick even less). Who knew there was a different way to cook to keep the horrid scrambled-egg crust from bonding like SuperGlue to the bottom of my pan?

Apparently, Ask Metafilter (thanks to not martha) and Harold McGee knew. I love the way the interwebs make me a better ~~person~~ cook.

*Photo courtesy of sxc.

DonorsChoose - Targeted Gifts to Public School Class Projects

noreply@blogger.com (JessTrev) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:24:00 +0000

So, I may be a giant, bleeding heart but I think we can all agree that the crazed roller coaster our economy's been on over the last couple weeks does NOT mean that the public school systems have won the lottery. I'm just sayin'. Anyways, just because none of us will ever be able to retire doesn't mean that we have nothing left to give! Check out the widget on the sidebar of my blog (top right) and click through if you are so inspired. Give a buck, give a couple thousand, whatever it is, I know it will help. This organization seems pretty cool. They ask teachers for projects and then - without having to funnel the money through some giant Kafkaesque bureaucracy !cough! DCPS - they send the materials right on over to the schools.

Those of you who know me in real life know my dad's a huge birdwatcher and naturalist. That's why this program description pretty much made my heart go pitter-pat:

"I'm the visual arts teacher at a Title I elementary school in southeast Washington, DC. I currently teach visual arts to over 400 students in grades ranging from Head Start (two-year-olds) to 5th grade (twelve-year-olds). I have been teaching in the same school for the past ten years.
Our local park is truly a gem in our Nation’s Capital. It offers visitors an opportunity to reflect and soothe their spirits through the beauty of nature. Fresh air, majestic trees, wild animals, and the ebb and flow of the creek emanate the delicate aura of the forest. It is the home to over 200 different species of birds.
Birdwatching means learning to identify the birds and understand what they are doing. Life suddenly gets more interesting when you become aware of the varied bird life all around you. To do this effectively the naked eye alone is not sufficient enough, in order to do it efficiently the students will need medium powered binoculars to explore the nearby park habitat and find the various birds in their natural habitat and the notebooks so the student can be effective recorders. The books would let the students match their birds with the correct species that are commonly found in North America, more specifically Washington, DC.
With your help my students will have the opportunity to further their experience in life science while exploring a new lifetime hobby. Research has shown that children who do not regularly encounter wildlife, develop unreasonable fears. Everything wild becomes strange and scary. Studies also suggest that unless these personal connections are made in early childhood, they may not be possible on such a deep, meaningful level.

My students need 20 pairs of binoculars, steno pads and 2 Birds of North America resource books. The cost of this proposal is $1,129."

Imagine being able to give a child something tangible that might kindle in him or her your father's lifelong passion. Sold!

There are projects of all sorts, something to tug at your personal heartstrings no matter their flavor. I wrote about the details to kick off the month-long DC Metro Moms Challenge if you want to read about more unbelievable reqests (like from a PE teacher who has no equipment and all he's asking for is hula hoops and bean bags. Sigh. Banging head on keyboard). What an inspired idea to give teachers the power to instantly make their students' lives more fulfilling.

Thanks for reading, folks, and if you're a blogger and feel so inclined, spread the word! If you're a person with a change jar you can swing into action, do it! I appreciate your generosity from the bottom of my heart.