Paul Hawken's defintion of GDP

“We have an economy where we steal the future, sell it in the present, and call it GDP"

- Paul Hawken

Whole Wheat Banana Flax Muffins

I made these yummy banana flax muffins from mjmuth today:

1/4 cup milled flax seed
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
2 T veg. oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla
dash nutmeg

Blend dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center, and combine egg, vegetable oil, and milk. Stir until just blended. Fold in bananas and nuts. Fill well greased muffin cups or papers. Bake at 400* for 18-20 minutes or until muffin top springs back when touched. Yield: 12 muffins. You might want to double this recipe...


Next time,
- I want to substitute apple sauce for the oil in some proportion
- Go nuts! I want to try it with nuts (which I left out this time because we don't have any. Also I don't really like them in baked goods....which is probably why we don't have any!)

Dash between Downpours

The weather has been rainy recently, even by British standards!

But J and I have been determined to get out for a short walk and some fresh air. Yesterday we put on our Moby wrap and rain gear and headed out! J napped while I mailed her birth announcements; 4 months from the day she was born!

Really digging my Moby wrap! It does take longer to put on than some others but J loves it and naps while she's in there. I am a little cautious of holding her head up but that will stop once she has better control over the muscles in her neck. I think we will get many quality hours of use out of this!

Now just to get DjD to wear it!!

Baby Duran is a.......GIRL!!

April 18th started like an normal Monday. Well, as 'normal' as possible when you're 39 weeks and 40 days pregnant! DjD drove me to my doctor's appt at 3:15 where we got some *?!!* news ~ Julianna was breech!!

If you don't know; 39 weeks preggers + breech = c section!! (and birth plan out the window!)

What a whirlwind it's been since then - literally, it's been a month!!! A MONTH!!!
My grandmother used to say that 'the older you get, the faster time goes' and was she ever right!

As for us,
Julianna doing really well - she is pushing 10 lbs and slept for 5.5 hours last night, and is napping as I type this and drink my hot coffee. A new mom's idea of bliss.

As for me, recovery has been going better than I expected it to after the pain meds wore off in the hospital...I'm within 10 lbs of my pre-preggers weight and on a mission to get back into my normal jeans! Julianna and I have logged over 25 miles with Nike+ GPS and after I get clearance at 6 weeks I'm getting back on the bandwagon!

Halfway!

20 weeks down; 20 to go!

David and I are getting so excited to meet you!!!

It was great to see more of the baby at our 20-week ultrasound and such a relief to hear that all is well.

We decided not to find out the gender until birth so the suspense is starting to build!!

My bump is finally starting to show and I’m really looking forward to going home for Christmas and getting to spend some quality time with the family.

Grow, Baby, Grow!!

Baby oh Baby!

Baby oh Baby!

Due: 21 April 2011

Baby Duran's 12 weeks scan photo and is already the cutest baby I've ever seen!

Planes or Volcanoes: Which emits more CO2e per day?

via Information is Beautiful

Nothing like a natural disaster to highlight an unnatural one!

David MacKay USA Lecture Circuit

David MacKay, author of Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air is giving a series of free talks around the USA.  He's a really engaging speaker and I recommend checking one out if you're able!!


30-Mar-2010, Tuesday, University of Toronto

       J Tuzo Wilson Lecture
       Time: 8:00 pm
       Venue: Isabel Bader Theatre, Victoria College,

1-Apr-2010 Thursday. MIT, Cambridge, MA.

       Goldstein Lecture
       Time: 6:30 pm
       Venue: MIT, Room 34-101

2-Apr-2010 Friday.  Harvard, Cambridge, MA

       "The Future of Energy"
       Time: 4:00 pm
       Venue: Northwest Labs B103
          52 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA

5-Apr-2010 Monday.  Caltech, Pasadena, CA.

       Time: 4:00 pm
       Venue: Hameetman Auditorium, Cahill Centre for
          Astronomy & Astrophysics, Caltech.

6-Apr-2010 Tuesday.  UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA.

       Energy Leadership Lecture
       Time: 3:30 pm
       Venue: Kohn Hall, UCSB

19-Apr-2010 Monday.  Stanford, CA.

      Time: 4:15 pm
      Venue: Hewlett Teaching Center
                 370 Serra Mall
                 Stanford, CA 94305

I hope to look this good at 80!

Happy New Year!!!

2010

Year of the Tiger

I will turn 30 years of age and celebrate my 4th wedding anniversary.

David and I will each compete in a triathlon and hopefully travel to Greece on holiday.

I will read Martha Stewart's Cooking School textbook and continue practicing yoga.

I would like to buy a road bike and get comfortable being 'clipped-in'.

I will maintain my weight and increase my fitness level.

Que Sera, Sera!

ecoSENSE: Arniston Bay Wine Pouch

Ask anyone who knows me - they'll tell you I love to drink wine.
Not really in a 'snobby, expensive-is-better' kind of way but instead a 'tastes-nice, reasonably-priced' kind of way.

At £9.99 for 1.5L (2 bottles), the Arniston Bay Chenin Blanc wine pouch hits that sweet spot ~ with a twist of ecoSENSE.

This wine pouch - called Astrapouch - weighs about 20 times less than glass bottles. And since the wine is made & packaged in South Africa and then shipped around the globe, the weight of the package makes a big difference to the eco-impact. (Trust me; this phenomenon is easily detectable on recycling day!)

The best way we scientists have to measure, or quantify, eco-impact is a life-cycle analysis or LCA. (more on that soon!) The folks down at Arniston Bay did an LCA and they are sharing the results:

* 80% lower carbon footprint
* 90% less landfill waste compared to a glass (okay but NO excuses for not recycling glass!)

The light package is also perfect for picnics, tailgating and pretty much any other time you're carrying alcohol around - and the wine stays fresh for a month (not that it's ever around my house that long!)

US EPA Green Chemistry Program calls for interns

The US EPA in Washington, DC has openings for 4 undergrad student interns to join its Green Chemistry Program during the month of January. The position is volunteer but offers a unique opportunity for training in green chemistry.

During December, the EPA will receive nominations for the 2010 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards; during January, EPA staff and interns will read all of the nominations, write brief reviews of each nomination, discuss the nominated technologies in multidisciplinary group meetings, and prepare the nominations for the anonymous judging panel convened by the American Chemical Society. This work is highly technical and so applicants need to have a strong science background (i.e. at least one year of organic chemistry).

Interested? Contact greenchemistry@epa.gov for more details.

Far East, here we come!!

DjD & I are heading to Thailand & Malaysia in 5 days and I can not wait!!  This is going to be the trip of a lifetime and I am looking forward to experiencing it with my wonderful husband!!

Photography

DjD & I recently visited Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, UK which is just north of Harrogate.

We could not have asked for a more beautiful spring day to experience the setting.

DjD took some great photos but I also managed to get a good one of him!       

Hot Date Night = HDN

I absolutely love HDN.  This has been a tradition between my husband and I for over 5 years now. 

Typically on a Thursday night, we go to dinner.  Just us.  

No work, no issues, no finances; Just US.  Our dreams and ambitions together. 

It's amazing!!  I hope we continue to celebrate HDN for decades to come.

Happy New Year!!

2009.

Wow - I can't help but be reflective on the blessings in my life.

Namely, the love of my life, David Duran.  

DjD & I grew up 8.4 miles from each other but in two different US States (DjD - Ohio, me - PA) so we didn't meet (?) until chemistry brought us together at Carnegie Mellon University in '03.  Literally - Chemistry.  

In the last 5 years, 

we've gotten engaged at Machu Picchu, Peru in Sept'05, 

married in the Bahamas in Nov'06, 

and moved to England Dec'07 where we currently live.      

Life is good.

 

DjD & 26.2

Earlier this year David set a personal fitness goal to run a marathon.

True to form, he set his mind to training; setting goals and tracking his progress.

And progress he did ~ over 600 miles logged and 20 lbs lost, David ran an awesome race in 4:02:14 in Odense, Denmark this past Sunday.

His parents & I were proudly providing support & taking photos from the sidelines.

 

Loosing my Blog virginity...

...wasn't nearly as painful as I expected it to be...

thanks, DjD, for the tips & tricks.