The "Price" of Being Environmentally Friendly

So, as you can assume from looking at my profile, I'm a student in Environmental Management. I'm looking to go into consulting, and a potential minor of mine is accounting. Why? Numbers fascinate me, especially when they tell you things you ought to pay attention to.

Well, I recently lost my Sigg waterbottle, and have spent the first week of classes without it. Instead, I've been using all debit and buying plastic waterbottles, under the assumption "It's too expensive to buy a new Sigg, I'll wait until the end of the month until my mother comes up with it."

Well, before class today, I did some number work. I've purchased an average of 4 20oz bottles everyday (I drink mainly water.) I reuse them once, then recycle them. Each bottle of water costs $1.75 from a vending machine- that's the cheapest way to get them, since I'm on a college campus and can't go off to buy bulk or on sale at Wal*mart. If you buy bottle water from the cafeterias, you'll be charged about $2, with tax.

Let me explain the math. Four water bottles each day at $1.75 each is $4.50 each day off my student debit account, about the price of a strawberry parfait, my favorite dessert. So, every day, I'm giving up a strawberry parfait. I'm fine with that. But spending 4.50 every day adds up to $31.50 each week, just on water.

Here's some more perspective: I go school in New York, where the minimum wage is $7.15. I have to work 4.41 hours every week to pay for the water I'm drinking. Since I'm a full-time student living on-campus, I can only work 10 hours each week at my job. That means that 44% of my income from my job this week will go to buying water.

Water, people. Something that I could have just gotten for free out of a fountain. Something that the United Nations deems a right. A 16oz water bottle costs about $16.00, meaning it will pay for itself before the first week is over. If you actually use it, you'll end up saving yourself a pile of money in the long run, not to mention make your life a little greener.

Kitten Mittens

Kitten Mitten
I will not hesitate to admit it: this started out as a joke. I wanted to make a cute little kitten, but someone scoffed and said I should make it “at least useful.” Well, here you go! They’re mittens, shaped like kittens, ready to smile at you while you play in the February snow.

Although they have a distinctive look, these mittens aren’t a pain to knit up. If the snow gives you a long weekend, you’ll be ready to rock these at the bus stop on Monday. If your intuition says there’s a good chance of a snow day tomorrow, you could probably whip these up for a little one in an evening of work.

Update

I feel pretty sick and depressed today. It's strange going from a noisy dorm to the sleepy-quiet house.

Anyway, the humidifier and tea are helping a bit, along with freezy-pops. I missed freezy-pops!

I'm also watching reruns of America's Most Wanted. I didn't even know that had that. It's actually pretty surreal, but I like it more than the normal AMW. Normally, America's Most Wanted makes me a little scared, I've been creeped out by it since I was a child. But this show always has a "happy ending." Well, a happy ending karmically.

Example:
TV: Update! Since the original airing of this show, the rapist was sent to prison where he was gang raped and is now serving life... in prison, as well as in the bed of a man named Bubba.
Me: :) I love happy endings!

Meow Meow Meow Mix <3

So, I finushed this cute little guy, but I don't really want to make his mate right now, because the chilly Rochester weather has turned to a warm and happy spring weather. Who says groundhogs are right?

Why aren't I typing up a chemistry lab?

Anyway, if the people speak I will probably post the pattern up, as I am in love with him and would like to see an army of kittens... mwahahaha.

I feel like I'm stating the obvious, but the thumb is supposed to be his tail <3

BLARGMONSTER.

I finally got off my butt and got myself some polyfill to finish the panda! Isn't he adorable? I've also spent way too much money and yarn as well, but I've yet to think up anything awesome to make with it :( Oh well, I have yarn, so whatever!

I've also made another hat, but I want to photograph it on the person I made it for! It's out of Twinkle <3

In other news, I put off chemistry to make this tiling pattern. Sex much? I love it, I think I might put it on a sock or something some time in the future...

Here's the problem with me. I make all these designs, I think up cute things, but I get lazy and never actually knit them! I could probably write up the pattern without actually making them, but I just never get around to it. Mayhaps I could get some sort of person to knit things for me, and have their credit in the pattern. *COUGHSAUCE* Oh, my email is lynough@gmail.com by the way. Just thought I'd make that clear.

Anyway, it's my first Winter Quarter Week 9, officially. I'm not happy. I have too much to worry about.

Beret-ness

I finished a super adorable beret for my super awesome room mate. We're plotting fingerless gloves with INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS doodle colorwork. Ooohh, I need to put a pin in that. "Doodle Colorwork." You're going to see that later.

ADD aside, this beret came out totally awesome! It was easy to knit up, and looks so pretty. It's like, lacework for dummies. If you can YO and work a magic loop, you're pretty much kosher to do this. GO FOR IT.

Anyway, the pattern is from knit therapy. Just thought you'd like to know

Productive Start

So, I finished a little piece of a big afghan that may eventually warm someone. Potentially. It took a week to make, and is roughly 6 x 6, so, it would take about 50 weeks to make an afghan that... would be suitable for a child or wheelchair. According to certain sources. DAYAM.

So, I decided to not think about this depressing thought while making a bear for the Mother Bear project. I have to say, it's incredibly awesome; quite possibly the best bear in the history of bears. And he has no clothes. I don't know if that will keep him from the hands of young Africans or if his naturalist charms will be a selling point.
I want to finish him by the end of the week! Wah! There's so much finishing to him, too, because I want to make him just perfect.

In other news, it snowed today! In Rochester! I know... don't laugh at my naivete. Or my inability to use accents on my mac.

Loving the two hears at the bottom of the image: do you see them? :) That was after my 8 AM class, I saw that and thought that maybe today will be good. Below is a close-up of the snow molesting a certain knitter as she walked to class.

Even the Tiger was overcome! Really, I don't think these photos do justice to the fluffy snow. As I came back to my dorm, I looked down, and it looked like that fake snow made out of spun felt that my grandma used to use to put expensive replicas of a small town on during Christmas.