How will they decide this Tuesday?

by | Feb 7, 2011 | Red Wiggler World

Legislators in Oregon will have a hearing on Tuesday to decide the fate of the plastic bag!  I am in favor of banning the bag and being charged 5 cents for using a recycled bag.  I have been using my own store bought bags for 2 years and have significantly reduced the amount of times I’ve had to use a plastic or paper bag.  Occasionally, I do forget to bring in my bags when I go shopping and kick myself for forgetting them!  With this 5 cent fee, I think I will force myself to bring in the bags!  5 cents add up!

Many of the naysayers believe banning the bags will result in the loss of jobs.  What are your thoughts?

Is it possible for a Vegas Spa to reduce it’s carbon footprint?

by | Feb 4, 2011 | Sidetracks

Last week, to the day, I was off to Las Vegas with some really awesome girlfriends from college. Yes, we whooped it up…BIG TIME.  Those times will be stored in my “Absolutely Fun Time” section of my brain.  Everything worked out perfectly!  We had the ultimate Vegas experience, including a show, great dinners, great drinks, great clubs, and a fabulous spa!  We visited old, historic Vegas and the bright, glitzy new Vegas.  We saw the chapels and even a commitment ceremony!  Yes, there were crazies and people soliciting naughty things, but that’s all part of the experience.

We laughed so hard…some of us peed.  We danced so hard…many of us got blisters.  We drank so much…some of us spilled drinks on each other.  We talked so much…some of us had “smoker’s voice”.  We embarrassed ourselves….one of us had toilet paper hanging from their bathing suit on the way to the hot tub!  We gambled so much…one of us bought a Gucci bag!  It was a perfect 3 day vacation.

The highlight was our 6 hour Spa Event.  (Yes 6 HOURS, and you’ll realize why in just a moment)!   After two nights of dancing, we were all looking forward to our day at Canyon Ranch which is shared with The Venetian and The Palazzo.  Our massages were scheduled for 1 so we made sure to get there 30 min early to get settled in. Upon arrival, we knew we were in for a treat!  The colors leading to the check in desk were amazing.  Hughes of the rainbow drenched each wall.  It was wickedly cool.

I can’t go into every detail of this Breathtaking Spa because I would be writing a post with no end.  It was just freakin’ amazing. Here’s a tidbit of what’s offered!

•  one fabulous hot tub with a volcano floor, yes a volcano floor

•  six heated loungers by the hot tub, unbelievable

•  an Herbal Lanconium, basically it’s a really warm room with 4 heated chambers pumping Eucalyptus!  Incredible

•  an Igloo room, yes an igloo room!  Amazingly chilly showers pumped with 4 different aromas

•  a sauna, eh really not into that

•  a  steam room, even the tile was HOT!

•  a Salt Grotto, a relaxing room with tiles benches and salty air

•  a Wave Room, a quiet room with water being reflected on the ceiling, while you are in awesome recliners…we didn’t last too long in there cause you had to be silent.

•  2 experiential showers, totally over they top!  I was whisked away to the Caribbean and then to a tropical rainforest!

So yes, this Spa is excessive in every single way possible, but they are working on many ways to reduce their carbon footprint while keeping up with the Vegas experience.  Here are the ways.  This is taken directly from Canyon Ranch Connection Winter 2011 Edition.

“At Canyon Ranch SpaClub day spa in Las Vegas, recycling is the norm, while larger sustainability efforts are driven by The Venetian and the Palazzo (the hotels that house SpaClub).  The company that own the hotels is considering installing solar panels to offset energy demands.”

The Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona has the largest solar installation and sits on top of the Spa.  They have reduced the resort’s carbon footprint over 9,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a month.

After seeing the savings in Tucson, I do hope they follow suit in Vegas….Yes Pun intended!

Slow Food….Pot Roast

by | Feb 3, 2011 | Worman Cooks

Yesterday, I made pot roast in The Original Slow Cooker…Crock Pot. Carlos bought this for us 2 years ago.  Unfortunately, I don’t use it that often maybe 4 or 5 times a year.  The recipe booklet it came with is limited so I need to explore some others.  That may be why I don’t use it that often because other than the limited recipes, the pot is AWESOME.  Using a crock pot is sooo easy.  Just throw everything in, set it to low, let it cook for 8-10 hours, and you’re done!  If that’s too much time, you can blast it on high for 4-6 hours!

This recipe is taken directly from the booklet.  I modified it a bit because my kids don’t like the potatoes cooked this way and would prefer them mashed!  I need to clarify that: Max loves them and Little a not so much!

So here goes:

2-4 pound beef chuck roast

1/2 cup flour

salt and pepper

3 carrots, sliced

3 potatoes, quartered (I left this out and saved them for mashed potatoes)

3 onions, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 cup mushrooms (I omitted this…kids hate mushrooms..I kinda do)

1 cup beef broth (I didn’t have any so I used chicken broth)

This part is so cool because it’s SO FAST and SOOOO EASY…I love fast and easy! lol

1.  Coat roast with the flour, salt and pepper.  Sear roast in a pan on the stove.  They say this is optional, but I do this to seal in the flavors and make the meat moist! This is funny! I cooked bacon this morning and left some of the grease in the pan, hoping it will make the meat more flavorful :^)

2.  Place all veggies in the crock, except the mushrooms.  Add the roast and spread the mushrooms on top. Pour in broth.

3.  Cover and cook on Low for 10-12 hours or on High for 6-8 hours, or until tender.

There aren’t a lot of scraps for the Red Wigglers, but they’ll be happy with the carrot peels!

The Adventures of the Recycled Paint Cans!

by | Feb 2, 2011 | Less in the Landfill

Intro: This is Part 2 of the 2 Part series.

Yesterday, I dropped off this trunk load of paint cans at the Bend Garbage and Recycling Center. When I left, I felt good.  I was happy that these cans were not going directly into the landfill.  But on the drive home, I started thinking….  I had no idea where they would be off to next.  What would happen to the rainbow of colors?

So this morning, I called Bend Garbage and Recycling and chatted with a really informative, Mr. Brian.  He actually told me he had to conduct some research because he didn’t know all of the answers. I listened intently as he shared what he learned.

They are really off on an adventure.  An adventure to save the earth and be put to good use!

1.The cans are sent to a Metro Facility in Portland where they are sorted into Latex and Oil Groups.

2.The latex paints are recycled into more latex paints and some of those paints are used to paint over the graffiti…Good Job!

3.The oil paints, like linseed, are made into Bio Fuel….Very God Job!

4.The metal cans are shredded and then used as scrap metal.

5.The plastic cans are recycled into more plastic cans, tubs or containers.

There’s one bummer to this recycling program, though!  The shredded scrap metal from the metal cans is sold over seas.  Fossil fuels are being burned to transport these metals to countries who will produce a product that will then make it’s way back to the U.S. Just wish we could keep it on our soil.

At least there is less in the landfill.