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Why You Should Be Following @robinelton on Twitter

Thanks to The Bloggess I spent an embarrassing amount of time playing on this website called That Can Be My Next Tweet, which makes predictions based on what you’ve tweeted in the past. If you do follow me on Twitter you’ll mainly find me passing along links about green, parenting, education, and play (Philly sports tend to sneak in there too).

But according to That Can Be My Next Tweet any of these are just as likely to appear:

ModCloth. Shabby Apple I ain’t even drunk yet.

I want to laugh, shout and NEVERWHERE Nature is SUCH A flash mob? Yes, and times are you?

I have been pretty much better than any volume. Sophisticated for Letting Teen Son Babysit!

Holy crap, I donated, will you?

Five Ways Libraries Can Apply the FINALLY?? Kicked the week is unparalleled.

I LOVE THIS Always a bill allowing citizens under six to the Wind,’ illustrated by entering to the World.

I WANT TO THANK YOU LIKE AN ANIMAL I was FABULOUSLY British I’m paranoid the same day.

Who were those men, & all-girl schooling.

Ouch, too classic & wait until tomorrow!!! The Headwear Association When 99% of!

Kicked the kids clean.

Dusting off everything! ME ME!!! Ladies we can’t wait until tomorrow!!!

Hugh Grant is out!

New Research Ties Second Hand Smoke To Mental Disorders I would’ve been had I might?

Stop saying I did enjoy Inception. 13yo old was still pulling for stutters!

Fly your little citizen scientists outside! I might have a few minutes!

People are strange I’m locked in gear, follow-up to… well, follow. I would die —-Google Confirms?

Stop saying I existed solely on hail. {snort}

Bill Nye Encourages University of frustration for stutters!

New Worldchanging book is technically illegal. Who were those kids outside!

I love this membership & Taylor Swift. It’s Alright’.

New Worldchanging book has lost its damn mind. Never change. THAT’S THE MAN SPEAK.

Scary -experts say pregnant moms must get out with Honey Badger don’t know that I feel about that?

Michael Vick cancels appearance on Specialty Cheeses & Prejudice. Sexy sexy.

You never seen him yell, ‘I’m a quiet morning : You’re the kids outside!’

Still haven’t recovered from your house, schedule & grace. & Taylor Swift.

No, I’M Banksy. So powerful. Deep linking: not 100% certain how I can’t WAIT to be wild ponies too.

I expect bird counting! Get those men, & Teddy Roosevelt.

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Sold? Follow @robinelton on Twitter.

You KNOW you wanna 🙂

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Try out That Can Be My Next Tweet (WARNING: it’s addictive) and tell me what you might be tweeting next!

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May 1, 2011
Seven for Saturday: News You Can Use 4/30

The wind doth shake the boughs, causing the petals to snow down

I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart:

I am, I am, I am.

-Sylvia Plath

My top stories for the week:

1. 50.3% of Americans live in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution.

“The [American Lung Association] State of the Air 2011 shows that the air quality in many places has improved during 2007-2009. Still, over 154 million people—just over one half the nation—suffer pollution levels that are too often dangerous to breathe.”

I can’t get over the fact that half the nation breathing dangerous air shows improvement.

2. New York City Council Considers Banning Happy Meal Toys

Only, they’re NOT: “New York City Council member Leroy G. Comrie Jr. of Queens is leading the charge to ban kid-friendly toys from any fast-food meal that doesn’t meet certain nutritional standards, arguing that the plastic playthings serve to reward children for making poor food choices and undermine parents’ attempts to steer kids toward healthful options…Predictably, McDonald’s condemned the proposed measure. An executive for the company’s New York region said: “Taking away toys from kids’ meals won’t solve childhood obesity.”

What they’re trying to do is lean on McD’s to sell Happy Meals— with a toy, dammit— that meet certain nutritional standards. So that parents can reward kids for eating a good dinner, not saying, “You can’t play with your cheap crappy plastic toy until you eat ALL YOUR FRENCH FRIES.” Why is this such a difficult concept to grasp?

3. Sleep-deprived brains turn themselves off

“The research could mean that the 35% of Americans who told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they routinely sleep less than seven hours a night are also having portions of their brains go off-line even though they’re still awake.” In rats kept up 4 hours past bedtime, the brain went on strike, shutting down neuron by neuron. Which means that by the time you’re sleepy, your most-used neurons are already impaired.

This frightens me because 1) I rarely sleep more than five hours during the week and b) I drive. Best not to even think about ER doctors, ambulance drivers, truckers, air traffic control…

4. Pantene Rolls Out First Sugarcane-Based Plastic Packaging

“(T)he new packaging is expected not only to slash P&G’s fossil-fuel consumption by 70 percent but also to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 170 percent, according to Len Sauers, the company’s vice president of sustainability.”

You can recognize the sugarcane packaging by the green label of the Nature Fusion line, which scores pretty well as far as ingredients go. Pantene is still on the list of companies that tests their products on animals, though (seems strange that this is a battle I’m still fighting 20 years later).

5. Study: 4-H Students Make Better Decisions

“Young people who participate in programs through 4-H, the nation’s largest youth club, are less likely to do drugs, drink alcohol, and smoke cigarettes and are more likely to be civically active than kids who don’t participate in its programs.”

My fascination with 4-H comes from the Trixie Belden series of books. I had wanted to sign the kids up before, and now I’m thinking of actually doing it (not so much because of what this study claims to reveal, more because it reminded me). If anyone has any experience with 4-H I’d love to hear about it.

6. The 30 best obnoxious responses to misspellings on Facebook.

This is fantastic. Period.

7. Karl Lagerfeld to create fragrance that smells of books

“Paper Passion.. will be sold inside a hardcover book with the pages hollowed out to hold the flacon.” Yes please!

I think I might love Karl Lagerfeld. Have you seen his library?

via The Hairpin

VIDEO:

I just can’t get this song out of my head.

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Happy weekend, ya’ll!

What good reads did you see this week?

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April 30, 2011
Local Family Fun This Weekend: 4/29- 5/1
I think this photo accompanied my very first blog post here at simple.green.organic.happy. (April 13, 2008). Look how little Cass is! Where does the time go?!

It’s shaping up to be a bee-yoo-tee-ful weekend here in the Mid-Atlantic! My top picks:

Arbor Day Festivities:
- Arbor Day Adventure Treasure Hunt
  
  Saturday April 30th 1 – 3pm, Morris Arboretum. This interactive family event will begin high in the tree canopy on Out on a Limb, where they’ll experience trees up-close and learn about the many reasons we need trees. The trees of the Arboretum will provide the basis for a tree adventure treasure hunt including four Tree Activity stations. Interactive activities will focus on tree care, tree protection, where trees come from, and what trees give us. Visitors who complete the exploration will receive a seedling to take home.
  
  ** Please note the description for Out on a Limb: “a striking new 450-foot long walkway that soars 50 feet above the ground, and gives visitors a bird’s eye view of the forest. From Out on a Limb, visitors will cross a Suspension Bridge to a giant Bird’s Nest (where they can sit on huge robin’s eggs), scamper onto the Squirrel Scramble’s rope-netting skirting two towering trees, head to the top of the Wissahickon Vista platform for sweeping views, or just wander along the Canopy Walk rising high above the forest floor.” Why have I not gone to see this yet? **
- Celebrating “Roots” at Longwood Gardens
  
  Saturday April 30th 12-4pm. Guided Flower Garden Walk tours, arborist demonstrations and informational sessions. Kids aged 6-12 can put on climbing gear and join Longwood’s arborists climbing into Longwood’s trees. Climb the bird house treehouse to learn about local birds and find out what you can do to take care of birds at home. Make sure to get a voucher for a free tree sapling and pick it up at the Gardens Shop, located in the Visitor Center, on the way to your car. Free trees are limited to the first 350 guests.
Tea Parties
- Teddy Bear Tea
  
  Saturday April 30th 10:30am – 12:00pm. Explore the Brandywine Zoo together and participate in various fun, animal-related activities. Just like zoo animals have a veterinarian to care for them, “Dr. Moose” will be available to perform a check-up & simple medical administrations on your stuffed animal! End the program with a sumptuous treat in celebration of animals! Program begins in the Education Building and concludes in the main zoo. Registration strongly suggested, walk-ins welcome if space available. $8/person; $6/Delaware Zoological Society Members.
- Princess Afternoon Tea
  
  Sunday May 1st – Tuesday May 31st, 3pm – 4:30pm daily. Princesses of the Brandywine Valley are cordially invited to The Green Room & Brandywine Room at the Hotel du Pont for a exquisite and elegant Afternoon Tea Service. Attendance in appropriate princess attire, gown and tiara, is encouraged. $24 per person, not including gratuity. For reservations, call 302.594.3154.
Ag Day

Saturday, April 30, from 10am- 4pm at Townsend Hall (down by the Ice Arena & stadium). Pony rides, hayride farm tours, a petting zoo, YoUDee, face painting, and food; variety of educational workshops and live entertainment. Along with educational presentations and demonstrations about gardening, sheep shearing, stink bugs and bees, there will be two free-flight bird shows presented by experts, including UD CANR alumnus Phung T. Luu of Behavior and Training Solutions, LLC. AND, some of the cheapest annual/ perennial/ veggie starters around! DO NOT skip the plant sale.

Fred Comegys Photographs

Exhibit ends May 1st at the Delaware Art Museum. For more than 50 years, photographer Fred Comegys has captured international celebrities and local kids for the pages of The News Journal. His distinctive images present national news and local interest stories, and perhaps most memorably, the intersection of the two. I used to work at Lincoln Camera and nearly all the photos I own of myself from that time were snapped by Fred Comegys, finishing out a roll of film. He’s a wonderful photographer and a very nice man, as I remember. While at the museum, make sure to take the kids to visit the Crying Giant sculpture and the labyrinth!

Annual Wildflower Celebration

Sunday May 1st from 10am-4pm at the Mt. Cuba Center. Stroll the gardens at your leisure during this fun and festive celebration of Spring! Enjoy live music, learning stations, and activities for the whole family. Take the Wildflower Challenge and win a prize. All parking for this event will be at Red Clay Reservation at 1003 Old Wilmington Road, just east of Brackenville Road.

Newark Co-op Outdoor Farmers Market

Sundays from 10am- 2pm rain or shine, Newark Natural Foods parking lot. Whoop whoop! I’ve spoken about my great love of the Newark Co-op Farmers Market before and I’m so happy that I can start planning local meals around my market hauls again. According to their Facebook page: Opening Day will feature an asparagus recipe demonstration and tasting by Chef Lisa Brisch of Orange Pomegranate!

Wild Mushroom Hike

Sunday May 1st 1pm at White Clay Creek State Park. Intermediate-level hike to learn about the wild mushrooms in the park, accompanied by mushroom enthusiast Glenn Cote. Call the Nature Center (302)368-6560 for meeting location.

And while I’m thinkin’ about it…

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Saturday April 30th 10:00am – 2:00pm. Dispose of unused or expired medications safely (so they don’t poison the soil, water, or any people or animals). Locally, the most obvious take back drop-off locations are at Frawley Stadium and the UD Police Department Public Safety building, but you can input your zipcode here for the most convenient location near you. Can’t make it? Find out how to dispose of your meds safely (and why it’s so important).

Flip-Flop Brigade

Until May 21st. Got old flips? Gather up your foot thongs (regardless of condition) and bring them to Old Navy. Each store will have a collection box located near the entrance where you can drop off your flip-flops. TerraCycle will repurpose the flip-flops into playgrounds that Old Navy will give away to a few lucky schools or community organizations. Is that cool or what? (Then, maybe treat yourself to some nice flips that will last a few seasons, huh?)

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That’s all I got! What else is happening this weekend?

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April 29, 2011