I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas...

For years, I've been trying to get my family to have a "greener" Christmas- and for years, I have failed. But I will never give up! (I think they secretly enjoy my tears...)

My biggest request: stop it with the wrapping paper! There is zero reason to go out and buy wrapping paper. Get creative! Use fabric, or newspaper, or old shopping bags. Or... in case of an emergency (a fancy wedding where fancy wrapping paper is a must)- get pretty 100% recycled paper. Trust me, it exists.
And then... if none of that does it for you, this year I discovered a new option--

SNACK BAGS!! See that little guy there in front? He's wrapped in a Quakes bag! And turned inside out, the shiny silver part makes for a lovely little homemade bow. (The larger ones are wrapped in old shopping bags.)

I'm all about Christmas spirit, but don't really see why all the "stuff" needs to come along with it. I found this awesome website that agrees... a great place to get some green holiday motiviation!

He liked it, so he put a ring on it!

Yep- it's been a YEAR! A year since we said our "I do's," became husband and wife, and started this adventure...

 

We hit the ground running and have been going ever since!

New Orleans Honeymoon

 

Leo with his work permit, social security card, driver's license & green card!

Obtaining all 4 (and not murdering any government employees in the process), was such a big deal that we decided to go to Las Vegas to celebrate--

 

Then onto California! (San Francisco & Yosemite National Park)

And then Washington DC!

It's been one heck of a year. Lots of travels, lots of fun, and even more love. I can't wait to see what the next one brings! 

Recall Schmecall.

I was off work on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and blew my extensive to-do list out of the water! But in order to achieve that, more than 2 hours of my Thursday were spent at the Honda dealership…

And here’s why:

One night last week, I came home and had Leo inform me that my “car had been recalled.” Of course, I immediately blew this off and explained to him that things are recalled all the time here, and it’s rarely the year or model or type of something or other that you actually own. But just in case, I did a quick google search the next day and found out that Hmm- 2001 and 2002 Honda Civics had truly been recalled for something related to their airbags and that yeah, maybe I should call a professional just to double check.

A short phone call and VIN check later, and I officially owed Leo an apology. He was correct and my car needed to get to a Honda dealer pronto to make sure the airbags wouldn’t kill us. (After 10 YEARS on the road, and 3 DIFFERENT OWNERS, they’re just now figuring this out?? I was particularly tickled by that.)

So to Honda I went. And it took FOREVER. Fortunately, they had free coffee and a big-screen TV, and the service guys were really nice and honest about how long it would take… but that didn’t make up for the fact that it took 2 HOURS. I went walking around the showroom for a few minutes, but decided quickly that was attracting too much attention from eager salespeople. When I told them my 2002 Civic (which still works wonderfully) was being checked for deadly airbags, they tried to convince me to trade in for a newer model. And when I put my cards on the table and told them I was only interested if they could get me in a brand new one (with a sunroof!) for only the value of my trade-in… they walked away.

But eventually Adam, my friendly service representative, came out and called my name and informed me that I had escaped danger. My airbags were perfect and would surely save our lives in a crash- instead of forcefully pushing us toward the light.

AND- the 2 hours turned out to be completely worth it because he had another bit of good news. The “SRS” light that’s been lit up on the dash for a year now is related to a faulty passenger side belt buckle.  (I already knew that- hence my lack of concern. It's only the sensor and doesn't affect the function.) This model Civic is notorious for having that buckle do weird things… BUT- he did let me know that it’s covered by a lifetime warranty and he can replace it for free and get the light to go away! Yes, that means another trip to see the Honda people… but it’s free and that light will be out again for the next 200,000 miles or so.

Score.

14% finished!

I haven’t blogged in a month? A MONTH??

Well never fear- I’m here now.

This Wednesday marked my last day of class for the semester… and oddly enough, I had no idea! See, according to the calendar, the last day is Dec. 7^th, and I always had that in my head. But apparently only those doing final presentations have to show up on the 7^th, and since I presented on the 30^th… I’M FREE! My lack of paying attention to the fine details got spun into a nice little surprise for me!

I am officially finished with 1/7 of my overall program-- And while that may not seem like much, it's a lot better than 0/7!

Grades aren’t posted yet, but it’s good to know that all the assignments are a thing of the past and I can get to work selling back books to Amazon and partaking in fun Christmas times. Let the baking commence!

And… only 15 days til PUERTO RICO. Methinks this will be a good break.  :)