No Impact Week

Have you read about No Impact Week? It's starting on Sunday and it reminds me of things I want to be improving on. There's a downloadable guide here.

I've been driving way more than is healthy for the environment or me and I feel really wasteful, but it's hard not to just follow those patterns of consumption living in the suburbs of a huge city with people and places all spread out and no real option for public transportation. So, I'm going to try to re-think a few things to see how I can be less of a consumer.

I am taking a few steps:

• I asked if our small group could use real plates and silverware instead of disposable ones. I volunteered to put them in the dishwasher and then put them away afterwards.
  
• I use re-usable bags when I go to stores. (I've been doing this for a while, but I just started carrying a small bag in my purse to always be prepared!)
  
• I started carrying around a stainless steel container instead of using the styrofoam ones for leftovers at a restaurant. I haven't actually used it yet, though.
• I've been to three local Goodwills in the past week for furniture and dishes to get set up for the new apartment. I also got a few bottles I plan on using as centerpieces for the wedding.

I'd love to hear ways that you are being good to the environment! I've got a long way to go.

a month already!

Wow. I can't believe I've been in California for a month! Sorry about not actually living up to my promises of updating this more often.

I don't have a lot to show for this month that's passed, but here's what's going on. I got a part-time job tutoring math at a Korean owned after school academy. Next week, I'm going to also be teaching English language learners debate. That should be fun! I realized one day as I was helping a kid solve a math problem that I was really happy to be working. It gives me a little structure and makes me feel useful.

I volunteer at the church one afternoon a week. One of my regular tasks is to update the photo section of the website. The first time I tried, I thought I almost shut the website down, but it turned out to be OK.

A few weekends ago, I swam and ran in the Oasis Aqua Run! The day after I got here, a friend of mine asked me to do it with her, so I had two weeks to get ready. It was fun and felt so good to finish.

Last Friday, I went with two friends to the beach, which was great. That night, I went to Big Bear Lake in the mountains! That's a Texas girl's dream - to go to the beach and mountains in the same day.

This week, I've been getting a little stressed about wedding stuff. I was spending a good amount of time looking for another job, but this week I decided I was going to focus on wedding stuff until at least the invitations go out. Argh. It's more work than I thought it would be and I have become a different person than the normal laid-back Lela who lived in Texas. Hopefully I can return to my former self at some point in the future.

The Amazing Road Trip ends: Hoover Dam and Las Vegas

On Saturday, we drove to Hoover Dam on the way to Las Vegas. I suggested it since my Dad had talked about touring it earlier this year and Colin kept telling me what an engineering marvel is.


We took a tour of the insides. It was pretty huge and impressive.

They're building this bypass bridge, which Colin volunteered to hold up for a while.

On to Las Vegas, where we spent the last afternoon and evening of our road trip. Colin won about $25 on the slot machines "teaching" me to play. (I contend that he only left that much ahead because I encouraged him to take the money and run.)

He used his winnings to pay for part of our yummy buffet at the Wynn that night. We ended our evening in front of the Bellagio watching a famous fountain show, which was a perfect end to a wonderful trip!

(If you want to see all the pictures I took, you can go to my Picasa site.)

The Amazing Road Trip: The Grand Canyon

We got to watch two sunsets at the Grand Canyon: from Hopi point the first night and Yavapai the second night.


In between those two sunsets, we did a little stargazing, slept at Bright Angel Lodge, took a short guided fossil walk (you can see some really cool fossils right off the rim trail!) and hiked down a few hours into the canyon on the Kaibab trail to Ooh Ah Point and Cedar Ridge.




The Grand Canyon is truly amazing! No words or pictures can describe the feeling of standing on the edge of it and looking into what seems to be forever.

The Amazing Road Trip: Sedona and Palatki

Thursday, we made the beautiful drive from Flagstaff to Sedona. It turns dramatically from forest into expansive red rock formations. I'd heard about Sedona before, but didn't realize how beautiful it would be.


We visited the Palatki Indian Ruins found in the cliffs of red rock. It's staffed by volunteers who tell you what you're seeing at each site. There are remnants of dwellings and rock art on the cliffs.The weather was perfect - sunny turning into overcast with a surprise thunderstorm as we were hidden in the cliffs. When we drove back through Sedona, we realized we'd just missed a flash flood!

We drove to the Grand Canyon Thursday night, making it just in time for sunset...pictures in the next post.

The Amazing Road Trip: Saguaro and Lowell Observatory

Wednesday, we went to Saguaro National Park.

It was an interesting contrast to the day before because in Carlsbad, we didn't want to touch the formations because it would hurt them. At Saguaro, we didn't want to touch the cacti because they would hurt us. Colin and I both got a few pricklies in us before we got out of there.



We were excited to see this one, because we'd seen one on a postcard before we went in the park. Colin apparently likes the thumbs up sign a lot.

We got so carried away (okay, we probably got a late start too) at Saguaro that we just barely made it to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff (what a great city! a nice cool break from the heat earlier in Tucson) before they closed. When we got there, it was just clouding over, so at first we couldn't see anything. But right before they closed, the clouds in front of Jupiter cleared up and we saw Jupiter and her four moons through two different telescopes. We could even see the stripes on the surface. We also got to see the Andromeda Galaxy, which I think they said is the farthest thing the human eye can see. Amazing! I think Audra recommended this place. Very much worth it.

The Amazing Road Trip: Carlsbad Caverns

On Tuesday, we were sent off early in the morning by my parents with omelets, biscuits, and coffee. We made it to Carlsbad Caverns in time for a picnic lunch before we met our tour in the cavern.


Colin had signed us up for a tour of the lower cave. We donned gloves and headlamp helmets then went down a rope and three ladders to get there.


We were instructed to stay between the orange tape to keep from disturbing too many of the cave formations.

We were told this tour is one of the few where you can see cave pearls, which are formed around bits of sediment or bones.

I took my little camera and the only light we had was the light on our headlamps, so the pictures aren't all that great, but if you're ever at Carlsbad, I recommend this guided tour!


After our tour, we drove through El Paso to Deming, NM where we spent the night.