I usually don’t like to post about stuff from HuffPo, simply because they’re almost radical left and my husband’s redneck ways still cling to me in a sort of affectionate kind of way. (We kill rodents [read: jackrabbits], love to shoot and drink and drive our truck – it’s our only vehicle, though – and not necessarily all at the same time, but catch us on the right Friday.) And a lot of the comments on this article were really rather venemous toward the girl who is doing this.

But really, let’s drop the snark for a second and evaluate. Most of the comments revolve around how the commenter didn’t have a car in college and if they did it wasn’t til right before they graduated, on and on. Maybe that was recently, maybe that was ten years ago. The fact of the matter is, giving our teens their very own form of transportation seems to have become the norm. Even just five (or is it six now?) years ago when I was in highschool, the student parking lot was jam packed with everything from Lexuses (Lexii?) to a really awesome Rabbit – tricked out in hippy like spray paint with some mushrooms and the like.

Now that we’ve dealt with that point, let’s move on to the next point. Whether or not public transportation should count against her one tank of gas goal. If she had driven her car, would the buses not have run? Would the trolley have stopped entirely? From my (somewhat) logical viewpoint, she’s riding on transportation that would’ve run whether or not she was using it, therefore, it was fuel already predetermined to be used. I don’t think that counts. In fact, if we’re going to get so darn nit picky about it, what’s the point in having read the article, or watched the interview at all? (In order to get to the mention of public transportation, one would have had to watch the interview, and if a person is that nonplussed about this whole endeavor, then why watch the video?)

When you boil it down, she’s doing something that’s, really, out of the norm. She’s using public transportation, she’s riding a bicycle, and in a time when most teens would scoff at the idea of being caught dead on the bus system. We’re not talking about preaching to the choir, here, we’re talking about spreading the green news, people!

And for the commenters that failed to see it as news – it was actually inserted as a fluff piece between news stories. The bit about “all this breaking news” was actually the reason why he had to cut the interview short. The impression I got from Danni was that it was simply a challenge she’d made for herself, she started blogging about it, and then it grew from there.

Now, mind you, I should probably pause here to illustrate our income standing at this point. Marv is an E-5 in the Navy. (I don’t mind sharing this information because it’s easily accessible on the internet and you can always Google how much he makes.) We make what we like to call “enough money”. We’ve busted our butts and gotten ourselves clear of some pretty bad financial nastiness we’d gotten into and now, we’ve got enough to pay our bills, put into savings, plus some extra for fun stuff and unexpected necessities. That said, it’s not like we go on shopping sprees every day either. We’re careful. Especially in today’s economy.

So when I tell you that I almost fell out of my shopping chair (read: desk chair) while surfing online for green, organic, and fair trade clothes, I tell you this as someone who does have money to spend, but whose money also has a pretty tight leash.

Some organic jeans run you an average of $140 a pair. Yeah, I said that right. One hundred and forty dollars. Never mind organic shirts that are cute and maybe have some really cute designs on them – $32. I had to hide my wallet from the computer screen so it didn’t go into shock. Poor thing. It’s been used to living on a budget that can really only afford Wal-Mart and outlet store price tags.

There are some options, but they’re few and far between, and most can be very plain. Should you expect that a pair of organic / fair trade jeans or a couple shirts to be as inexpensive as something you might pick up at your local department store? Probably not. The whole gist of the movement is to ensure people are getting their fair share for the work they do in bringing these clothes to life. And it’s a beautiful thing.

But in a down economic environment living here in the States, what’s a lower-end middle class military wife to do?

Thrift stores. They’re amazing treasure troves of brand names, names you’ve never heard of, and ultimately cool stuff and stupendously low prices. If you look hard enough, you can find lots of clothing items with the tags still on them, and tons of brand names that you might not have been able to afford were they in a regular retail store.

Added green bonus about shopping thrift stores – you’re giving clothes that would otherwise have been thrown out a chance at a second life.

Another option is, of course, Ebay. Quite frankly, for someone like me who’s an online shopping addict, Ebay is a beautiful place. Just add NWT to your search. NWT stands for New With Tags. If you’re searching for shoes, add NIB, which stands for New In Box. It might have been worn maybe once or twice (if you’re looking for a formal gown or something) but the tags are still on that bad boy.

Also, you actually might want to check out Wal-Mart. They’ve started to stock organic clothes, towels, and bedding. Some is also listed as transitional cotton, which means the cotton for the item was purchased from a farmer who is transitioning their farming practices to become a completely organic establishment.

Does all this mean I’m against buying new organic / fair trade clothes? Certainly not. If/when I have the money to splurge, you better bet your bottom I’ll be the first in line to treat myself to some of that yummy new stuff. But for now? Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Instructional Breast 1

Project Notes:

• 100% Cotton yarn, stuffed with rice for weight and polyfill for squishiness
• other colors can be requested, these were just the “fleshiest” I had on hand

I should probably backtrack a bit and explain, hm?

See, the past two days, I had been watching a friend’s daughter for him. Every five to ten minutes I was up refereeing who got to play with what, when, and who needed to give who some personal space. It was quite the project. I know, I know, there’s some of you who would say, “C’mon, Lin, it was only two days! You couldn’t keep up for only two days?”

My answer? A resounding no.

I honestly don’t think I’m made to do day care or things like that. I love my kids and have this amazing admiration for people who are able to keep up with a whole passel of kids. (And hey, getting paid for it is the shiz, yo.) But oh my goodness, I am entirely too anal about the cleanliness of my house and having my to do lists to even consider letting kids run rampant in my home. Marv told me last night I take the term Domestic Diva to a whole new level.

And I probably do. I rock at organization (ignore my desk…) and keeping my household running smoothly. When it comes to things that disturb that balance, unless it’s my own kids, or other kids who are only visiting for a very short period of time, I really can’t do it. Call me OCD, but the lack of cleanliness and a smooth running ship drives me up a wall!

All that said, I hope everyone’s settling in to my new web home with me. I’m finding this to be very easy to use. Tomorrow I’ll hopefully have previews of some items I’m planning to stock and, oh! Right!

I’m re-opening on July 15th! 

I thought about doing it at the beginning of this month, but I figured I would’ve really worked myself out for nothing, with the holiday coming up. So stick around, get some previews, and I might even have a blog contest! Oooooooooo!

One last thing before I go:

Happy belated Canada Day to the Canadians out there!
Happy Independence Day (soon!) to the Americans! 

It’s my hope to expand this blog into other topics than just the my shop. I think it’s important people get to know the woman behind the creations and, well, when I’m really honest with myself, I’m a jabber jaw! So get ready for a lot of posts!