Love To You

I know my mom does VTT every week and last time i posted for Love on Wednesdays and surprised her and she was overjoyed, so I decided to surprise her again. I looked around my room for something vintage before running off to class this morning, but could not find much. The only thing I found that was semi-vintage was this:



My mom had sent this to me in the mail one day saying she got it from an antique store, here is the back view



I am so happy that my mom finds small ways to think of me and make me smile!

Love on Wednesdays

Going Green

1. Change a bulb.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use about 65 percent less energy than regular ones—which explains why a big government campaign, “Change a Light, Change the World,” is pushing for them. CFLs cost about 30 percent more but last up to 10 times longer. Buy a “warm white” kind, and the light should look the same as usual (stores like Wal-mart and Kmart have them). If every Glamour reader switched just one bulb, it would prevent major pollution—the equivalent of taking 82,000 cars off the road a year. Speaking of which…

2. Drive a fuel-efficient car.
“Driving a gas guzzler (as many SUV models are) for a year produces 95,000 pounds of global-warming pollution,” says Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network. Hybrids use less fuel and don’t muck up the air as much.

3. Even better: bike or take public transportation.
And best of all: Walk! It’s good for you and the environment.

4. One word: recycle.
You’ve heard it a kajillion times: Recycle plastic, glass, paper and cans. It keeps them from filling up landfills and saves trees and energy. “It takes 20 times more energy to make an aluminum can from scratch than from a recycled one,” notes Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense. But there are other things to recycle, including “e-waste”—electronic goods like phones and laptops (for info, see rethink.ebay.com). You can also recycle shampoo and lotion bottles; look for the triangular recycling label.

5. Clean green.
Ordinary household cleaners tend to have potentially toxic chemicals; pour them down the drain and they can make their way into groundwater (buh-bye, clean drinking water). There are lots of effective eco-versions out there, like Seventh Generation and Mrs. Meyer’s.

6. Eat local or organic.
Getting veggies from a farmers’ market saves fuel, because produce isn’t transported long distances. And organic farming keeps chemicals out of the soil and you. “It’s win-win,” says Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance. “You get better food and protect the environment.”

7. Buy energy-saving things.
Look for the “Energy Star” label on everything from computers to air conditioners.

8. Conserve water.
It’s in more limited supply around the world—including in the Western U.S.—due to increasing pollution and drought. “Fixing leaks can save hundreds of gallons of water a month,” says Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Also, try shorter showers.

9. Adjust your thermostat.
Move it down a degree in winter and up a degree in summer, and you’ll spare the air 500 pounds of carbon dioxide—and save up to 15 percent on energy bills.

10. Speak up!
Send an e-postcard to your Congressional rep at nrdc.org/action asking him or her to back legislation on global warming. Mention tips you liked from this piece to a pal. Tell Mom to buy a CFL bulb. But whatever you do, don’t get paralyzed by the enormity of the problem. “It’s not about doing everything,” says Laurie David, author of Stop Global Warming: The Solution Is You!. “It’s about everyone doing something.”

Honey, hold my hand

Essential Dating Lessons from Sex and the City

There is no denying the impact that “Sex and the City” has made on the contemporary dating scene. Just ask any single, cosmopolitan woman and she will undoubtedly be familiar with the many adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. We
could all learn from the show, as it bravely unmasks every dirty detail of finding love in the modern world. Below are the 10 most essential dating lessons from “Sex and the City.”

1. It’s Okay to Be Single-This was perhaps the most important lesson that “Sex and the City” bestowed upon the world, particularly where women were concerned. Although singledom didn’t always bring happiness to the four main characters, the ladies sure made it look like fun 90 percent of the time.

To be single means to be independent, and with a fairy tale-like Manhattan glittering in the background, the show made us all feel okay with the idea of being single. These women were not spinsters - they were cosmopolitan sexpots. Refreshing, indeed.

2. Sex Can Be Healthy-Let’s face it: sex changed for us all when the AIDS virus started taking lives in the 1980s. Although we learned more about the disease and how it is contracted by the time we entered the 1990s, this association between sex and death still permeated the single community. With that came guilt for those who still enjoyed casual sex from time to time.

Enter “Sex and the City” in 1998 and we all breathed a sigh of relief - people were still having sex! Safe sex, in all its full-frontal glory, was a huge part of the television series. Although this probably didn’t endear the show to religious fundamentalists, most people applauded its candor and a wiser, safer sexual revolution was born.

3. Test the Waters Before Marriage -Who can forget Charlotte’s doomed marriage to the seemingly perfect Trey? After meeting what she thought was the perfect man, the ever-romantic Charlotte decided to wait until marriage to consummate their love, only to discover later that he couldn’t be intimate with her.

Of course, some people still believe that sex before marriage is wrong. Those same people probably don’t watch “Sex and the City” for love lessons. Most of us need to test the waters before marriage, as intimacy is an integral part of a healthy relationship. Even if you plan to save sex for marriage, it’s important that you ask questions about your partner’s sexual health.

4. You Can Score Outside of Your League -Never underestimate your ability to find love with someone who is seemingly “out of your league.” Is someone you are interested in really good looking or in a higher socioeconomic class? This doesn’t mean you weren’t meant to be. Chances are, the idea that you aren’t good enough is just your skewed perception. Believe it or not, true love transcends superficiality.

In a Season Three episode, Miranda begins dating a hot NYPD detective and subsequently ruins the relationship because she is so self-conscious about her own looks. Of course, he finds her very attractive, but her insecurity gets in the way of what could have been a great thing. Charlotte, on the other hand, learns that looks and WASPy status isn’t nearly as important as her love for second husband Harry.

5. Don’t Change Who You Are -This is a constant theme throughout the show, which only supports the girl power vibe for which “Sex and the City” is so well known. Never lose yourself in a relationship in order to conform to the other person’s life or ideals. Carrie found herself changing for a few men in the show. Although Aidan was seemingly the perfect guy, he wasn’t perfect for her.

One of the more hilarious episodes showed Aidan unsuccessfully introducing the great outdoors to Carrie, a concrete-loving New York City girl. Towards the end of the series, Carrie again found herself lost in a relationship with a man: Russian artist Aleksandr Petrovsky. After pushing her best girlfriends away and moving to Paris with Aleksandr, she soon found she was unhappy because she was living his life instead of her own.

6. Your Friends are the Best Sounding Boards – Not only did "Sex and the City" teach us that being single was okay, it glorified the tight bonds between friends. The ladies on the show shared every detail of their romantic lives with each other. Not sure what to think of your current love interest?

Your BFFs could impart some valued, third party opinions. Of course, not all of us listen to sound advice, which was the case many times on the show. Charlotte was warned that she was moving too fast with Trey, and how many times was Carrie reminded how difficult Mr. Big could be?

7. Don’t Drag Out a Doomed Relationship – If the signs are there, don’t ignore them. Carrie found a very nice guy in Aidan, but she knew he wasn’t right for her. Still, she persevered, even sharing her coveted Manhattan apartment with him. Never mind her refusal to wear her engagement ring on her finger — when Aidan started messing with her apartment, we all knew there was trouble.

Of course, the most painful attempt to "make it work" on the show was poor Charlotte and her unwavering devotion to Trey. Yep, a grown man who bathes with his intrusive mother in the room is probably one to avoid. Still, Charlotte agonized as she tried to be the perfect wife in an imperfect relationship.

8. Learn to Accept the Other Person’s Disinterest – One of the most memorable phrases ever uttered throughout the series was "he’s just not that into you." After a flirty Miranda asks a date to come upstairs to her apartment, she is bewildered when the guy blows her off. How could he possibly decline what was a thinly veiled invitation for sex?Carrie’s boyfriend Berger informs Miranda that, "he’s just not that into you."

Sometimes, it is as simple as that: he or she just isn’t into you and you need to move on. Don’t overanalyze it — just simply find someone who is into you. Yes, it might hurt your ego a little bit, but Miranda didn’t let it bother her that much. In fact, the always-logical lawyer reveled in its simplicity.

9. Stop Waiting for Perfection – Are you looking for that fairy tale romance? Do you believe in that one true soul mate who will enter your life in cinematic bravado? Then wake up now and realize that perfection rarely exists. Relationships are messy and loud — even the good ones. You really do have to work at it.

Charlotte was almost childlike in her expectations of a "perfect" relationship. This would result in a lot of disappointment. Likewise, Carrie and Mr. Big would experience a cavalcade of break ups before they finally realized that they loved each other despite the fact that their relationship was far from perfect.

10. Opposites Can Attract – This isn’t just about someone who is out of your league, but someone who is your complete opposite. Although you may be looking for love in someone similar to yourself, you just might your soul mate in a person who is totally different.

Would the work-obsessed and overly responsible Miranda ever dream she would marry a childish bartender? Surprisingly, it actually worked once she finally accepted that opposites really do attract, and can work to balance each other.