To paper plate or not to paper plate...

... that is the question.

I'll be honest. I hate doing housework, chores, getting dirty, what-have-you. I prefer the easy no muss no fuss methods of keeping everything clean and tidy. I have better things to do than clean and tidy up all the time. Don't you? So I'm always looking for ways to make the whole bit of cleaning simpler. One way has been using paper plates at home for casual every day meals. The use of paper plates made cleaning up after meals much quicker. Just throw it away - voila - done!

And before you go there, yes, I do have a dishwasher and it does get used. But for some reason the use of paper plates just seemed so much easier and quicker. There were the occasions when a paper plate would be reused, perhaps after having just toast or non-messy sandwich on it. I was doing my part of recycling. And each paper plate, when used beyond reuse, would be tossed in the recycle bin. I would never use the styrofoam products, never have and never will, they are so bad and although they are cheaper I just cannot bring myself to use them (just like I will never buy another non-cage-free egg again, chickens deserve to frolic around too).

So, in the past several months I have been making an effort to save money and be a little more green and I stopped buying paper plates for home use and figured we'd just use the dishwasher more. The dishwasher option is fine but does take the time to rinse plates, then you have to run the thing (which the sound freaks the dog out and that is a whole 'nother story), then the worst part is putting the dishes away. I really hate that job. I know, it's so simple, right? but I hate doing it. I'd prefer to clean our dirty fish pond. And then I noticed we were using a lot more dishwasher soap and using more water running the dishwasher more often. But I kept on with this new method of kitchen cleanliness.

Then one day we were going on a picnic and I bought some paper plates at the Dollar Tree. There were plates left over that I brought home to use for casual meals at home. And then I remembered my fondness for the paper plate again. So simple to use, so simple to clean up afterward. Why did I stop using them? Oh yeah, saving money and being more green.

But which option truly is more green and less expensive?!? I have been pondering this question for a week or so. Paper plates cost money to buy and then they create trash (ok, in my case recyclable trash) and some trees were cut down to make the paper plates. Paper plates are not as pretty or sturdy as regular plates but I can live with that. Using stoneware plates is much more aesthetically pleasing and holds food better and does not cost any extra money, they are reusable. But then they have to be rinsed, washed and put away which uses more water and makes me buy more dishwasher soap.

So I'm torn between the two options... for now I have not purchased more paper plates and continue to use traditional plates that require more effort but make my meals look that much more tasty and promise not to let food fall in my lap. All the while I write this I am dreading the dishwasher cycle ending, signaling time *yet again* to unload and put dishes away... there's got to be some other activity I can find to do to put off unloading that thing again...

5 Surefire Ways to Offend the Locals - Budget Travel

5 Surefire Ways to Offend the Locals - Budget Travel

INNOCENTS ABROAD

5 Surefire Ways to Offend the Locals

Body language that's harmless at home may be outright insulting abroad. Here are five gestures to avoid.

By Sean O'Neill, Monday, July 12, 2010 Budget Travel Magazine

GREECE
DON'T: Thrust your palm, fingers extended, toward someone in a downward swat.
THE MESSAGE: Called the moutza, this crude hand signal is a holdover from the Byzantine era, when judges ridiculed guilty people by wiping ash on their faces. Nowadays, it means "Screw off!" or "That's ridiculous!" The message comes across as serious and offensive, not playful.
DANGER ZONE: You may instinctively make this gesture when refusing something, such as a shot of ouzo in a bar.
WORK-AROUND: Say óchi ("no") and efharistó ("thank you") or make a blocking motion instead. If you are declining the offer of a drink, for instance, cover your glass with a hand. And if you're really trying to make friends, just accept the drink.

SOUTHERN ITALY
DON'T: Point your two hands toward the ground as if you're holding two pistols, with the back of your hands visible to the other person.
THE MESSAGE: You're threatening to beat the person up—or saying you could beat them up if you wanted to.
DANGER ZONE: Gesturing toward a spot in front of you, such as a place where you want a bellhop to drop your luggage.
WORK-AROUND: Wave your hands toward the spot instead.

YOU DID WHAT?! See illustrations of the gestures that could get you in hot water on your next trip. • Launch the slide show

THAILAND
DON'T: Point your foot at a person (especially someone older than you) or at a religious icon, such as a statue of the Buddha.
THE MESSAGE: Feet are the "lowest" part of the body, according to the spiritual hierarchy of Thai Buddhism, so you're basically insulting someone or something as the lowest of the low.
DANGER ZONE: At a temple, where visitors often pause and sit on the floor, you may be tempted to stretch your feet outward after a long day.
WORK-AROUND: Sit cross-legged, you farang.

UNITED KINGDOM
DON'T: Create a V shape with your index and middle fingers, with the back of your hand directed at the other person.
THE MESSAGE: Winston Churchill may have popularized the "V for Victory" symbol worldwide, but this gesture, performed in reverse in England, Scotland, or Wales, is similar to giving someone the finger in the U.S.
DANGER ZONE: Requesting a table for two at a restaurant or ordering two drinks at a bar, you may unconsciously flash two fingers this way.
WORK-AROUND: Say "two" instead, or remember to raise two fingers "peacefully," in the palm-outward way a hippie would flash the peace sign.

BANGLADESH AND IRAN
DON'T: Flash the thumbs-up sign.
THE MESSAGE: It means about the same thing as flipping the bird in the U.S.
DANGER ZONE: Without thinking, you may give someone a thumbs-up when you're eager to show your approval but don't know how to speak the local tongue.
WORK-AROUND: Learn how to say "yes" in the native language instead.

Influence Project Results

Well, after a month and a half of testing my social media know-how, Luxe has come out looking not too shabby. A total of almost 33,000 people and companies signed up to take part in the experiment called the Influence Project. Basically it was an experiment to see how influential you are through your social media efforts. The first step was to sign up and then promote yourself to anyone who would pay attention and see if you could influence them to click on your link. By clicking on the link, one vote for you was registered. People could also sign up for their own account under you and then you are credited with their sign up as well as their "downline" of their clicks. You could earn partial votes for people who signed up or clicked on people who signed up under you. And believe me, it really adds up.

Curious about my results? Wonder no more, here are all the stats for Luxe:

1. Luxe ranked in the 97th percentile out of nearly 33,000 participants. This means I had more votes (or clicks) than 97% of those participating in the experiment. Not too bad!
2. Luxe had seven first level signs ups and four second level sign ups. So we got partial votes from everyone who clicked on or joined up under those people.
3. We utilized Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, and blogs to promote the Luxe influence. I believe the most effective methods included Facebook and email.

The official results will be posted in the November issue of Fast Company magazine. Fast Company is the sponsor of the experiment and offered a great draw of promising to include the photo of everyone who participated in the magazine - well, they had me at free publicity! With just a few minutes of effort each week I felt it was well worth the effort and reassured the usefulness and reach of social media!

Twitter Movie Trailer: Rated Awesome

Things that taste like foot, - like jackfruit

Ok, so we had lunch at Thai Dheva for lunch yesterday. (BTW Thai Deva is my favorite Thai in our area, so flavorful and fresh and NOT dry, I hate dry Thai food and believe me, it's out there and it's not tasty). I always judge a Thai place by my two favorite entrees: pad thai and pineapple fried rice They may not be the most exotic of Thai dishes but they are so good. It's just like I judge a good Mexican place by their refried beans, not the most Mexican of Mexican foods but they're my favorite. And that's just fine to have favorite foods that aren't all exotic and stuff. I'm not a foo-foo food person anyway.

But, back to the topic at hand - our Thai lunch. So as we were enjoying our Thai lunch we decided to not gobble it all down and to leave some to take home. But this left us a tad hungry still and decided to try one of the specialty desserts. But how to decide when everything is so different and sounds so tasty?!? Well, I was sold at "homemade coconut ice cream" and Ryan was sold at "fried banana". So it was decided, we'd have the FBI as our waitress called it as she hollered back to the kitchen (fried banana with ice cream). However, we were still curious about the "jackfruit with sticky rice". Our waitress kindly told us that it was sticky rice topped with coconut milk and sugar with jackfruit on the side. Jackfruit, huh? We did not know what that was and asked her to explain. She did an excellent job of explaining this tropical fruit and said that they had already cut the fruit for the day otherwise she'd show us a whole one (which is large and spiky). She actually did one better, though, and brought us a sample of the edible portion of the fruit itself.

We both peered in the small white bowl and found bright yellow-orange slices of of something that kind of looked like sliced bell pepper. There were also two tiny forks with which to taste the fruit. I loved those little forks. Anyway, we each stabbed at a piece of fruit and at first all I could do was smell this fruit, I swear it smelled like foot. Not sweaty, been in socks all day foot, more like well walked on in dirt and lake water foot. I tried to ignore the foot smell and focus on the fruit. The exterior texture was like bell pepper but not the inside portion. It was neither slimy nor mushy but it was not super firm. The flavor was extremely sweet, so much so that I had to eat it with water to water the sweetness down. I cannot tell you what it tasted like, it's its own flavor but it is very sweet with the faint taste of that foot I smelled on the fruit. I wanted to like fruit, I always enjoy trying new things but this just will not be added to me "like" list. Ryan loved it and would have it again. All I could think of was the foot smell coming out of the small white dish it had been.

And then this smell got me thinking of another thing we had a while back that was reminiscent of foot... a local winery has wines that taste like (and smell like) foot! Ick! I cannot imagine how people like their wines. I can understand stinky cheeses, at least they taste good, but this wine actually tastes like foot. Ugh. And the funniest part of it is that it was my mother-in-law who was able to discern the foot taste/smell out of this wine. And it's not just one of their wines, it was all of the wines we tasted at their tasting room. We still laugh about "foot" wine.

Anyway, on with the real dessert, fried banana with homemade coconut ice cream it was delicious and delightful in so many ways. We will be returning to Thai Dheva but not for the jackfruit!

Interesting Thoughts about Perceptions and Not Rushing Through Life!

THE SITUATION

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About 4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

U.S. airports told to install doggie bathrooms

Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, Postmedia News

Some airports are offering "relief" areas for dogs, a move that has been advocated by groups representing blind people who use guide dogs.

Dogs need to go, too. So airports are adding doggie restrooms.

Check out the whole story here:

U.S. airports told to install doggie bathrooms