Make Everyday Earth Day

Earth Day 2006

My first job as a kid was going door to door collecting donations for PennPIRG and their reduce reuse recycle campaign. I was 17, and at the end of that summer I went off to college. Its funny how you are so often formed by the experiences of your late teens. I'm still a vegetarian because a reading of Anne Lappe's, Diet for a Small Planet. I just never learned to cook meat.

So,  I'm a life long greenie, but Earth Day often goes by unnoticed.

Holiday Pop-up Market at the Rose Garden

This Saturday (November 19th) I, and some great local Western New York Crafters and Artist will be at The Rose Garden Early Childhood Center for their First Annual Holiday Pop-up Market.  I'd rather do my shopping here  than at the mall, or having to get up at 4 am just to be trampled at some big box chain store. Here you'll find local, and handmade items right in our neighborhood.  I'll be bringing some of the items listed in my Etsy Shop, some never before seen items & maybe a paintings. ;) Holiday Pop-up Market November 19, 2011 ~ 12-4pm Rose Garden Early Childhood Center: 257 Lafayette Ave. Buffalo NY, 14213

The Search for the next CW Star is here! | CW23.com Shayna Richilson-Zadok

What I love about this local TV hopeful, is that not only is she a dear friend, but she's a real grown up Buffalonian with an unmatched passion for Western NY, love for her family (she's got a great husband, two little kids and huge dog), and a kind of infection enthusiasm. I'd love to see her on TV because it would be a little reflection of me and real-life moms in our area! He maybe she could help me out with my "You Still Have Time To Make This For Diner" series

The Search for the next CW Star is here! | CW23.com

I'll let everyone know when voting starts.

Wordless Wednesday: summer back yard

Laundry

from my local Wegmans

I've been making my own laundry soap. Some combination of sensitive skin and noses in my family means we are very picky about laundry soap. But I never really added it up, as it turns out: $9.36 = FOUR MONTHS of laundry for four with cloth diapers. Click here to visit Kelly's Closet for more about cloth diapers and diaper care.

Our old liquid cost $8-$11 for about 3 weeks worth and DIY means no plastic containers to throw out.
Win

(from my friend Cynthia)

2c washing soda
2c borax
1/3 - 1/2  grated bar of soap (I use Fels-Naptha)

Mix together and use 1 tablespoon per load (yep, that's all 1 tablespoon)

Here's the recipe for liquid in the past but I prefer the powdered just because the prep is easier:

1/2 - 1  grated bar of fels naptha soao

2 cups borax

2 cups washing soda

3.5 gallons of water

Melt grated soap in a pot with about half a gallon of water.....stir until dissolved. Pour into a 5 gallon bucket (or recycle a cat little bucket with lid)

Add borax and washing soda and stir until dissolved. Add the other 3 gallons of water and stir. Once it cools it will look like a white lumpy gel.

Use 1/4 cup per regular load and up to 1/2 cup for extra large loads. It's safe in all washing machines.

One batch costs roughly $3.20 to make and lasts about 6-7 months.
••••••

I understand that you can add a few drops of essential oils if you feel like having a fragrance.

[This post includes an affiliate link, see my PR/Advertising page for more information]

Fwd: Rebekah Williams Announced Candidacy For Buffalo School Board

Wheather or not you have school aged children, our local schools are important to our community. Rebekah is a long time friend of mine, and the kind of person who really understands why children should come before politics.

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Rebekah Williams <bekahswork@yahoo.com>
Date: March 5, 2009 12:26:30 AM EST
To: kisha.Lynn@gmail.com
Subject: Rebekah Williams Announced Candidacy For Buffalo School Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 3, 2009 Rebekah Williams Announced Candidacy For Buffalo School Board Rebekah A. Williams, an Allentown resident, announced today that she is seeking an at-large seat on the Buffalo School Board. She is currently employed as the Finance Manager at Buffalo ReUse, and has local and national nonprofit board experience with the WNY Peace Center, Nickel City Housing Corporation and North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO). Rebekah has worked as Program Coordinator and Educator for local nonprofits including the Niagara Frontier Council of American Youth Hostels, Massachusetts Avenue Project, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Wellness Institute for Greater Buffalo, and as a grant writer at Buffalo Inner City Ballet and for a grassroots project called the Community Market Garden. She is a life-long City of Buffalo resident, graduating City Honors High School in 1996 and Empire State College in 2004. Rebekah's son, Bhakti, is currently in the 4th grade at Bennett Park Montessori Center. The following is a statement from Rebekah about her candidacy: "I am running because I believe the Buffalo School Board is out of touch with the needs of its students. In recent years, I have witnessed the district make drastic decisions regarding my son's school without soliciting the input of parents. The results of these actions have been a less comfortable and less productive learning environment for Buffalo students. Many parents have subsequently opted to transfer their children into charter and private schools. If elected to the Buffalo School Board, my priority will be enacting policies that make parents an equal partner in their child's education. "If elected, I will not engage in the factionalism that has made the atmosphere of the Buffalo School Board toxic. I believe the role of a School Board is to work cooperatively to determine the policies of the district, while it is the duty of the Superintendent to administer said policies. I vow to work with fellow School Board members, Administration Officials, Union Leaders and Parent Organizations in order to make our district one that meets the academic, emotional and physical needs of all children. I hope to create a coalition that recognizes that while it may disagree on many issues confronting the district, it is willing to work together for the common purpose of helping our children grow into happy and healthy adults." Any questions or inquires related to Rebekah's bid for an at-large seat should be directed to rebekahforschoolboard@gmail.com.

The World is Opening Doors to Higher Education, what about Buffalo?

NPR and the Global University:

I have really enjoyed Joyce Kryszak ongoing articles about the University at Buffalo, and how international students and even offshore campuses have expanded our local university, I think for the best. However, last week you segment (or an ad for it) was closely followed by coverage of Buffalo Schools Superintendent James A. Williams’s convocation for this year’s public school session. He commented on the lack-luster high school graduation rates across the city and the down right deplorable odds for African-American boys in our city schools. Is it possible that a UB student is more likely to encounter someone from Singapore than a black person from University Heights neighborhood? While I am glad that UB has made the effort to distinguish itself as a diverse international institution; I am saddened that the impenetrable heart of intellectual darkness may be right across the street. I wonder what the University had done about attracting and retaining racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse students from the Western NY area and Buffalo specifically. Especially when these students may be the ones who will want to stay here, to attract employers, or become employers themselves. They could become human capital investment that Buffalo has longing for.

I did not grow up in Buffalo, but I am a UB Graduate, and UB’s graduate architecture program is one major reason that I decided to stay in Buffalo. The field of architecture is not known for its diversity, and has long been the purview of old white men. This is changing, and nearly half of my classmates were women. Because UB attracts so many international students, I had the benefit of a studio environment that included European, Canadian, and most notably Asian students. In many ways, this enriched our learning environment. However, as an African-American woman, I was nearly always the only representative of this group. In my first year, many students and sometime professors referred to me by the name of the only other African-American woman who was there, we shared no classes, and really do not look anything alike. When she graduated, at least people knew who I was; or should I say EVERYONE knew who I was, I wasn’t famous, I just stuck out. Why were there be more international architecture students than black, Hispanic, Native American, or even White students from Buffalo. This always seemed particularly hurtful to me just as I would leave south campus; I would drive through hurting neighborhoods that are in such dire need of design and of the designers who are intimate with and invested in them. I knew that many of the talented students I went to school with were going to leave not only Buffalo, but also the country when they graduated.

This is not just UB’s problem; they cannot enroll students that are not ready for higher education, nor is it just the problem of Buffalo Public schools. As we know, Buffalo is a poor city, and not yet healed from the scars and scrapes of its industrial history. The high school and college education of the not-so wealthy, and minority student is a looming community and national issue. It is be unfair to portray these students as any less hungry or knowledge than their Singaporean counterparts. Why do not UB’s globalization efforts start by reaching across Bailey Avenue? If culture, national origin, religion, even language are bridged, why not race, neighborhood, and socio-economic status? I cannot say I have an immediate solution to this complex problem, but I am interested in raising awareness, and doing what I can to contribute to its long-term solution. I think that UB has and will be a key to that solution. UB should continue to distinguish itself as a Global University, but it should also look towards the world away that is at its front door.