It’s not easy being Green.

Feeling-Green.jpg I know you’re sick of hearing it, but it is what it is. I’m sick. My head feels as if it’s the size of Barbie’s, the right side of my throat (if not constantly lubed up with scorching hot tea or ice cold water) feels like I swallowed a cup of glass shards, and the right side of my neck and ear are sore.

I should probably go to the doctor, but I don’t think I have one. I sort of got one a little more than a year ago when I was desperate, and then when I decided that the COBRA payment on our medical insurance was highway robbery, purchased Blue Cross, which is just legalized highway robbery. You know, make your monthly payments, and at the same time, put money in an account, so when you go to the doctor and pay for the visit you can get a tax break. Who thinks of this malarkey? So I haven’t figured out who our doctor is or whether she takes Blue Cross. And no, we haven’t gone to the doctor. We have paid eight trillion dollars for the insurance in the last year, however. You know. Because we have absolutely nothing better to spend the money on. But I tell you, I truly sleep well at night knowing that we’re helping support the payroll at Blue Cross. There’s nothing like giving back. Bleary-Eye.jpg

Where was I on my suffering and pain…

Oh yes, and then there’s this goop thing. How is it possible to breathe out of both nostrils, yet detect swamp remnants somewhere behind my face, causing me to make persistent noises at night when the MoH, who is the world’s worst sleeper, is trying to act like he can pretend as if he’ll ever go to sleep. Ever. It just gives him another reason to not sleep, which I wouldn’t wish on anyone. So to be THE reason he’s not sleeping is humiliating.

He said to me this morning as I was surveying my puffy unloveliness through bleary eyeballs in my bathroom mirror:

“Do you know how loud it was last night?”

“No,” I answer, not really wanting to know.

“It was so loud I could hear it downstairs over the radio.”

Puffy-Unloveliness.jpg Now, I’m wondering what radio because it’s easier to think about that than what he’s describing, and am trying to picture him down there in the middle of the night. Well, actually, I think it was a bit after twelve. Is that the middle of the night?

He continues, “You really sleep soundly. I even tried kicking you.” I’ve invited him to try and wake me up by nudging and shaking, but kicking? I should check my legs for bruises. I did volunteer to sleep on the couch tonight, however. True love and all that sort of thing, you know?

Clearly, I’m not running on all cylinders, but I’m still aware of a few things that are going on out there through my haze of swamp residue and general disgusting grossness:

Like Earth Day. Being green. Saving the planet one curly light bulb or ugly Prius at a time. I’ve started our transition to those curly light bulbs for more than green reasons. They’re beyond cheap at Trader Joe’s. But we have a ton of those recessed lights whose brightness rivals that of approach lights on a runway, and I haven’t quite gotten around to figuring out what to do about those. Our telescopic light bulb changer isn’t designed to hang on to those curly light bulbs and I’m not thrilled about getting up on our extendable ladder. It’s a bummer, because I just can’t wait to see what it’s going to look like with a bunch of pig tails protruding from our ceiling. In the meantime, we just don’t turn them on. Does that count? Green-Light.jpg

It should count that on trash day, our recycler is beyond full. I need to receive an award for this. Of course, much of it is wine bottles, but the paper takes up quite a bit of space, too. Junk mail should be outlawed. Not the email kind. The snail mail kind. There’s tons of it and I can’t begin to find out how to stop receiving it. Junk-Mail.jpg The unwanted magazine subscriptions that feature plastic surgeons and society events are an easy phone call or email. But the election crap, and the charity organizations asking for money? It’s ridiculous. At least it gets recycled.

We keep our cell phones way beyond what’s fashionably correct. But that isn’t because we’re being conscientious, it’s because we just don’t care that we are carrying fat, heavy phones that are banged up beyond all repair. What? Worry about the looks I’ll get the next time my clunker crashes to the floor in the grocery store bringing looks of disdain from those who have surgically attached the latest RAZR2 to their ear? Feh. Ours work just fine.

Disposal-or-Trash-.jpg I rarely put anything down the garbage disposal any more. It’s a toss up whether putting food in the land fills or out to sea is best, and it sounds noble to even consider it, but I have to be honest. Our plumbing sucks. And since we’ve had a few back ups in the last year, I try to keep the ol’ disposal’s running time down to only when necessary. That means if anything stinky is going in the trash, it has to be orchestrated with trash day. Do I need to explain how many things are in my freezer that are headed for the trash because I couldn’t leave them to rot for a week before the garbage truck came? What. A. Pain.

Full-Fridge.jpg But hey! Did you know that having a full fridge helps keep energy costs down? There’s less space to circulate the air, so the motor doesn’t have to work as hard. I wondered why I kept all that food in there. It couldn’t possibly be that I have deep-seated problems relating to hunger or neglect from childhood. Just kidding, mom. Really.

Sticking with the food theme, my coffee grounds go out to the flowerbeds as much as possible. And I’ve thought of taking the leftovers that Starbucks puts out each day, but I just don’t have that much dirt to plant in anymore.

And I bought those grocery bags that are reusable. Ten of them. I’ve actually used them three whole times since I got them. Of course carrying them in the trunk of my car doesn’t exactly help me remember that I have to use them every single time and it’s hilarious when I pop the trunk after leaving the store and see them unused. Dork. Reusable-Bags.jpg There is another problem: without the plastic grocery bags, the RTR is concerned that he’ll have to use the clear thin plastic bags the newspaper comes in to scoop the dog poop when he’s walking Miss Big. The horrors of carrying doggy poop are bad enough, let alone doggy poop that you can actually see. But I’ve got that covered when the time comes.

I haven’t figured out what to do about the kitty litter, though.

Any ideas out there?

No, the cat is staying. Besides, she’s adopted and fixed.

So happy almost Earth Day, all. Aren’t you exhausted now?

P.S.  I had absolutely NO idea my nostrils weren’t perfectly symmetrical.  Go figure.


Posted

in

, ,

by

Comments

9 responses to “It’s not easy being Green.”

  1. Melissa

    I have switched to the new bulbs. They now come in different styles,
    the pig tail is not visible. Sometimes they take a minute or two to fully come on.
    I also have some cool nylon bags and tote I ordered from Surlatable.
    I still get strange looks from customers as well as the cashiers in my
    grocery store. I don’t see anyone here bringing in their own bags..I’m sure someone beside me is doing this… but I have yet to
    see them in the store.
    As for the kitty litter, I use a natural wheat litter and have also used a natural corn litter..( I like the wheat best) .. all I do is
    scoop and flush… but I think the bag states that California doesn’t
    allow flushing of cat poo..
    It sounds like you are on the ball with going green.. what about
    cleaners.. are you green? They have some terrific products out
    there… I love Caldrea products.
    We always use cloth napkins in my house because we are so
    messy.. paper napkins just don’t get the mess off your hands..
    My mom says I’m creating more laundry and therefore wasting water.. Maybe she’s right.
    I’m sure there is more I be doing to conserve our resources and
    cut out unnecessary waste in our family..

  2. earlene

    Hahahaha! Even sick you are funny! Childhood. It does have a lot to do with your adult life. When you were a child you had to be very ill before I took you to the doctor. Sorry. I was such a penny pincher. And I guess I starved you also. JK. See you soo n.

  3. I hope you found a doctor by now.

    I missed earth day due to immersion in school. I do have an apartment full of curly light bulbs, though the last batch I purchased were natural light and I don’t care for them.

    I use my coffee grounds for Rose bushes, I recycle and would walk to school but forty miles is too far and I think it’s illegal to walk on the beltway.

    If I filled my fridge the food would rot.

    My face is asymmetrical, so a couple of disproportionate nostrils is nothing.

    Maybe you need a neti -pot
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7108546

  4. Melissa

    Neti-pot gets my vote… it works wonders… it is a little weird at first, but it will work wonders…once you get the hang of it.

  5. Your hawt glasses distracted me from your illness. Feel better.

  6. I also bought the reusable grocery bags including one for frozen foods. Just like you, I have only used them three times.
    Maybe instead of keeping them in the trunk(out of sight out of mind) I should move them to the inside of the car.
    Worth a try.

  7. Hey Melissa — I have used the cedar/wood litter. It was met with mixed reviews. Go figure. But now that I only have one cat, I’ll check it out again. Her Fresh-ness will most likely complain!

  8. I try, Mom. I certainly try.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.