simple summer pleasure

Happy to report that my first-ever attempt to grow something (elementary school aside) is a success!
That first tomato was sweeeeeet.

summer kick-off

bbq. bocce.
charleston. cartwheels.
dips. darts.
fireworks. freestyle.
hulahoop. headstands.
piggybacks. pimms.
seesaw. swing...
...summmmmmer!
(and that was only day 1)

ten-NINE-eight-seven-six-five.....

the summer countdown is on... the day began with 10 teaching days left, now there's only NINE! So, the question everyone's asking is: What am I going to DO this summer? I think I need to get comfortable with the true answer --- I DON'T REALLY KNOW. Really. I just don't know how the summer is going to unfold. I typically get a summer job, expend a lot of creative and mental energy on it, feel good that I'm being "productive," and then allow myself to play for the rest of the time. This summer, I'm swapping work first, play second for play first, play second. Isn't two uninterrupted months of free time what people dream about?! I know my blog is called The Part-Time Life: Working Less, Living Creatively but I too need to remind myself to shush the this-is-so-indulgent voice in my head and embrace my blank canvas summer!!

cut catalog clutter

Talking on the phone today with my friend about opting out of the Yellow Pages motivated me to further reduce the endless flow of paper into my home. I'm not a huge catalog person and don't I use them more for collaging than for buying anything from them?! So, I went to www.catalogchoice.org to change my "subscription" options. No more Pottery Barn. Crate & Barrel only twice a year. My weak spot - Boden.

green pages

I arrived home from work the other day to find two of the latest versions of those big books of names & addresses sitting on my doorstep. Aren't the yellow pages obsolete yet? With the internet at our fingertips, I find it extremely rare that I ever crack one of those suckers open. Since I'm not using them as booster seats for anyone's kids, they just take up space on top of my fridge. So, today, I opted out of having the yellow pages delivered. I went to http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/ and filled out a short form which took all of 30 seconds. I encourage you too to "OPT OUT and Stop the Delivery of Unsolicited Telephone Books" as the website promotes. Less paper waste, less clutter in your home.

g'nite computer

Leaving computers on overnight costs $2.8 billion a year
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/130078
not to mention the energy wasted...

Sweet dreams laptop.