We spent last week on an utterly exhausting house hunting trip in Detroit.  We looked at dozens of homes and were ultimately faced with the very difficult decision of size versus schools.  So many of the houses were huge and utterly gorgeous – nearly mansions (or manors, as MacGyver liked to call them), but the schools in these areas were questionable at best.  Ultimately, we made the grown up decision (which was more painful for me than I’d like to admit), and put an offer on a normal sized house in the very best school district. 

      It is not the Tudor style manor I had been fantasizing about, but I am absolutely happy with our choice.  It may not have 6 bedrooms and a maid’s quarters (as most of the other homes we looked at had), but it is still bigger than our current house, more than big enough for our family with room to spare.  And even though one of the biggest perks of this house was that it needs no work at all (most of the others we looked at needed at least one major repair – my favorite needed a complete roof overhaul), we are already hatching huge plans for additions and renovations (see some of our anticipated schemes here).

      First scheme on the list: fencing the whole thing so that the dogs, kids, and gardens can have free run of both front and back yards at once.  Then we’ll start planting.  The bigger renovations will have to wait a year or two.

      This is all, of course, so long as I get a job.  Prospects are looking very good on that front, but I don’t want to say too much until I know for sure.  One thing I will say though, is that I have never felt more grown-up or fancy than when a prospective employer wants to pay for my flight and lodging for an interview.  I am very good at my job, but when I think about myself from others’ perspectives, I still feel like a pretend adult a lot of the time.  I am confident in my work when I’m doing it, but when I hear praises of said work I chuckle inside because deep down I’m still a 19 year old waitress from a small town.

      So wish me luck on the job front.  It is the next big step.  Actually, as huge as it is, it is only one part of an entire life change for our family.

      One summer 5 years ago I graduated from Law School, took the New York Bar exam, MacGyver and I were married in a torrential downpour, I came on active duty with the Marine Corps, and we moved to Virginia.  The whole summer was one major life change, and the beginning of a whirlwind of training and travel, growing and learning for our family.  Three years ago, we finally reached my permanent duty station (permanent is Marine for “three years”), and actually got to “settle down” a bit – though we never really slowed down.

      This summer is the next big change: Leaving the Marine Corps, moving to Detroit, embarking on a new career, becoming a civilian (a much more challenging and intimidating prospect than one might think), and – with any luck – adding to our family (though that won’t happen until I’m stable at a new job).  Our wedding 5 years ago was essentially a kick off for that stage of our lives, and as such I think that it’s only appropriate that this summer include such a kick-off, too.

      Even when planning our first wedding, I was already plotting having another.  Limits in time, distance, and finances had me set on doing a bigger and better renewal somewhere down the road.  When our outdoor wedding turned into a monsoon (which sounds bad but was actually amazingly awesome), it cinched my resolve on the matter.  There would be a vow renewal, probably at 5 years.

       As our 5 year anniversary races up to us, my thoughts on the event have evolved:  Faced with the purchase of a new home, a relocation, and a career change we’re in very much the same position as we were five years ago (and one completely different all at the same time).  I still plan to do a vow renewal.  I still plan to wear my wedding dress again – how could I not?  But this will now be in the context of a 5 year anniversary party/Next big step party/possible housewarming.  It will probably be a smaller event than our first wedding, and it won’t be a wedding since the vow renewal will be a very small part of it (maybe even a private part before the party part), but I would like to see some of the fun touches that come with a wedding or formalish party.  And the theme, of course, will be something Green or Sustainable.  And the food, of course, will be Ethical.

      Of course, I should probably get on the planning for that…

      Just like I should probably be posting to this blog at least once a week…

      But I’m also working furiously to finish up three major projects at work that will substantially change the functioning of our office and will be my “legacy” as I step down – on top of all my regular responsibilities, clients, and cases, and an article for publication.  Oh, and I have to stay in top physical shape and get out to the ranges to qualify (expert again, of course) on rifle and pistol.  Then all my non-working hours are carefully divided between family time (we still sit down to family dinners cooked from scratch, mostly vegan, 5 nights a week) and our myriad community involvements.  At this particular moment, I am on the Board of Directors for our church, President of the Parental Advisory Board (similar to a PTA) at Flintstone’s school – both positions I was elected to even though I made it known I would be leaving before the terms were up; leader and founder of the Lowcountry Ethical Eaters; co-organizer (with MacGyver) of Lowcountry Vegan Love; an active and founding member of the Ancient Sea Island Continuum, our local UU Pagan worship group; and the organizer and coordinator for the Northwest Earth Institute Menu for the Future Discussion Group.  On top of that, we continue to volunteer as often as possible with Family Promise as well as various events like highway cleanups and river sweeps.  MacGyver is the Project Manager for a massive Earth Day event bringing together the community (an event he also came up with and designed) – in addition to his countless committee memberships and presidencies and his Master course.

      We. Are. Busy. 

       I am not bragging.  I do not support the glorification of busy.  I think over-extending oneself is counterproductive (that doesn’t mean I don’t do it, but that’s not the point).  I am simply making excuses for why I’m a sub-par blogger – ha.  The point is we have a whole lot going on.  This is our life at the moment, and it is wonderful.  It is full and fulfilling, but it is not really sustainable.  Everything is sort of building to a head as we approach the next step.

       I felt I should provide an explaination to you, my wonderful readers, so there you have it.  I’m still here.  I’m super busy, but I have every intention of getting more posts up when I have the opportunity.  And once we move, we will have more time by default because we will not have had the opportunity to volunteer for six dozen things yet.  (Ok, that’s not true since I’ve already volunteered for a couple things in anticipation of the move…)

      If you’re really missing me, you can keep up with me and my green blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram – all accounts that see more posts from me than the blog because 140 character quips are a little more time effective than informative and researched blog posts.

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But balloons are not environmentally friendly.  Helium balloons that get loose in the atmosphere and suffocate wildlife and pollute fauna  and deplete world helium reserves get the most negative press, but even your standard “breathe filled” party balloon can also be a bane to the environment.  If not properly disposed of, balloons create more litter and contribute to landfill waste.  They also pose a choking hazard to small children and pets (in addition to wildlife).

Many balloons are made out of pure latex, which, as any balloon manufacturer will tell you, is biodegradable.  There is actually an “ideal” model put out by balloon companies justifying why balloon releases – into the atmosphere and nature – are A-ok.  This plan basically posits that so long as balloons are filled to the correct pressure with helium and have no strings attached to them, they will fly up 5 miles, shatter, and come down in tiny, biodegradable pieces.  Which may be perfectly fine.  But I know of a heck of a lot of balloons that are not “properly” inflated, or are played with a lot, or otherwise don’t make it to 5 miles to “shatter” into “harmless” pieces.  And those balloons still end up polluting, killing wildlife, and posing other threats.

So helium balloons – any balloons that might “escape” (to include, in my opinion, balloons outside), are a no-no.  But I don’t think I’ll be giving up balloons completely just yet.  After doing a bunch of reading, it seems to me that balloons made of pure latex (as most are) can be safely used indoors and the COMPOSTED.  Seriously.  I can’t believe I didn’t know you could compost balloons.  (and condoms, by the way).

I’m a little on the fence about the dyes they use to color balloons, but I’ve run out of research steam.  For now, I’m happy to let my kids play with non-helium filled latex balloons and safely dispose of them in my compost bin.  They should take about 6 months to biodegrade.

Now, if you’re not as easily won over as I was.  Or if you have other pre-existing balloon prejudices, there are always alternative to be had:

–  Beach balls – they are still cheap plastic, and have all the issues that come with cheap plastic, but they are at the very least reusable.

– Pinwheels – again, cheap plastic, unless you can find some quality ones or make your own.

– Ribbons on stick – to dance around with!

– Bubbles

– Craft things – like origami – from old newspapers and magazine pages

– Musical Instruments from recycled materials.

What’s your take on balloons?  Environmentally friendly, neutral, or bad?  What alternatives to balloons would you propose?

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