Wine Tasting and Swap Party

Once upon a time (and by this I mean a month or two ago), in a place not so far away (at work), I noticed a trend.  My coworkers were cleaning out their closets while trying to save money for Christmas. I also not had my turn at inviting the colleagues over to my place for fun hang-out time... My work buddies are pretty good about getting together outside of work for nonprofessional friending time.


But I digress. Observing these trends, I thought we should have a swap party! One of my coworkers suggested we add wine tasting to the event, and the inspiration was born. Due to the theme, it was a girls' night in. Due to the timing, it was extra fun to swap items with one another when we were not spending money on ourselves. A bit of a treat in the midst of frugality. (And of course, reusing is one of the green R's.)



The rules:

• If you have any clothes, shoes, jewelry, or handbags you don't want anymore, bring them!
• Optional: bring a snack
• Optional: bring a bottle of wine for the tasting
• You don't have to bring swap items in order to take swap items home
• You don't have to bring food or beverage in order to taste food and beverage
• First come, first swap! 
• Take as much home as you like.
• You may try on clothes in the bedroom or bathroom before you take them home. 
• Leftover items either go back home with the person who brought them, or left behind for me to donate to Goodwill.

I provided cheese, crackers, water and tea, then added my own bottle of wine and castaway items.  I placed my table in the middle of the room and arranged chairs in a circle around it; the kitchen was set up buffet style. I had considered stipulating that everyone bring an Oklahoma wine, but decided (wisely, I think) not to be overly controlling.

The ladies began to arrive at 2:00. Slowly, a pile started to grow. Like magic, an array of snacks and wine bottles appeared. Much to my pleasure, most of the wines present turned out to be local Oklahoma stock, after all! AND there were no duplicate flavors. By the time everyone arrived there was the perfect amount of food and drink for all and a very large pile of swap items in many different styles and sizes. Because so many women were able to show up (I think we had about 12), nearly everyone had at least some clothes in their size to select from.

In the end, everyone found something they wanted to take home (except for one friend who was purposefully downsizing her stuff).  I personally scored, among other things, my new favorite bracelet and a nice leather jacket.

When everyone had left I had only one not-quite full trashbag of donation items, and just half a bottle of wine. Everyone agreed it was a fun event, something a little different and laid back. We might have to make it an annual gig!

Governor's Energy Conference Summary and State Energy Plan

Last week I was able to attend the Governor’s Energy Conference at the Cox Center. I found this to be an informative event on various levels; aside from being a good source of information, I was also able to hear the Governor, the Secretary of Energy, and CEOs from Devon, Chesapeake, OG&E, PSO, and GE speak – among other notables. Seeing as these are some of the people shaping the policy and economy of the state, seeing their personalities interplay on stage was interesting to me. I imagined I was glimpsing futures to come as I listened to them banter and present their sides.

In addition to these, Governor Fallin and the Energy Office revealed two policy projects. The first was the commencement of an agreement between Oklahoma and Colorado to procure more CNG-fueled vehicles for state fleets. Other states are also expected to join this initiative, which is designed to trigger a top-down effect to speed up the infiltration of CNG vehicles into the market as well as the expansion of fueling infrastructure. The word around the water fountain is that, because states have the ability to order vehicles to spec directly from manufacturers, they are in a unique position to influence the production of alternative fueled vehicles.  So there’s that.

The second policy reveal was the online publication of the State Energy Plan, which covers the major arms of the energy industry in the state and aims to describe Oklahoma’s current situation and lay goals for the future direction of energy development. If you live in Oklahoma and have ears and eyes, you can probably take a guess that the plan would contain a major push towards the development and use of natural gas in every way possible… and you would be correct on that assumption. There is also a smaller push to enhance Oklahoma’s renewable energy portfolio, particularly in the wind sector, and to continue to pursue more effective use of energy efficiency.

The plan touts Oklahoma’s potential to become the country’s energy capital for a second time in upcoming decades, and the conference described how natural gas reserves have significantly increased in recent years due to advancement in cost-effective technology (from what I gleam said technology consists mostly of hydraulic fracturing techniques and equipment). The conference also featured debates over the definitions and benefits of renewable energy (I know! Really!) and whether or not wind and natural gas complement or detract from one another.

The energy plan is a very manageable length for a read; not overly long or academic yet still hefty enough to be educational and substantive. If you are interested in Oklahoma’s energy future (or even energy now) you may want to consider giving it a flip through. You can find it here. 

Moving Planet Report

Moving Planet went off well this morning! It was an absolute beautiful day for a walk. Jenny had been itching to go, but I left her at home so I could walk with my husband (who has no bicycle to ride). I'm sure she understands!

I was finally able to see the awesome art display inside the Womb Gallery (I had gone by several times but it was never open!). We enjoyed some donated fruit, lunch from Quizno's and Coop Ale Works (Thank you, JD Merryweather and crew) while listening to a band. Saw some nice displays and acquired some more seed for the fall garden...

Slow Food Picnic

This looks like a fun event: Slow Food OKC's Annual Picnic on October 2nd. 

I have an idea to host a calendar on here somewhere that I can upload sustainability events to, similar to Outlook and Google calendars, where you can have a peak at it. Any thoughts as to how a non-techy could best and most easily do this? Think it might be useful?

Alien Mind Girl...

is about to watch the Climate Reality Project!
But not all of it. Because I cannot humanly watch anything for 24 hours... but it's a neat idea, no? A different show about climate change as it affects different time zones, one for every hour? With all the new things we have learned? How exciting!

And although I thought An Inconvenient Truth had it's pros and cons (and likewise that Man Bear Pig is hilarious), I'm eager to see Gore's progress as an informed environmental activist since then. Climate science in and of itself has grown, and so have I; of course I expect nothing less of Gore.

Moving Planet Oklahoma

So a quick rewind to last year... I had the great good fortune to attend this conference, one of the best (and most tiring) that I've been to. At this conference, another stroke of fantastic coolness, I was able to hear inspiring presentations by representatives from some unique activist organizations, 350.org and Carrotmob, and have been following them since. This year, 350.org has declared Sept. 24 to be Moving Planet Day! A day to bring fun and peaceful awareness to moving away from fossil fuels. 

350.org is an interesting NPO in that, rather than doing all the work themselves, they reach out to people all over the world, offering education on issues and acting as facilitators to help guide others on organizing their own grassroots campaigns. Acting in this way, they've been able to pull off some creative large-scale efforts and global demonstrations...  like this one, where people in different countries created huge works of art that were photographed from space! But I digress. That's just a little background on the parent organization for this event, and why these events are both locally sponsored and part of a global initiative.

Oklahoma currently has two registered Moving Planet Day events, one in Oklahoma City and one in Norman. The OKC event looks pretty fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing more details on it. For this one, they ask that you sign up if you are participating in the walk/run/bike/skate part of the event and sign in at 9:30. At 10:30, everyone gathered will travel from the coolness that is Womb Art Gallery (approximately NW 9th and Broadway) to City Hall (2 miles distance). After this, there is a festival in Automobile Alley featuring free beer, not-free food, bicycle workshops, and music. The Norman event starts at ten (no sign-up necessary) and moves from the OU Energy Center to the Severe Storms Laboratory.

I think it sounds like a fun way to show your support for clean transportation and whatever other eco-agenda you have, as well as a good way to enjoy a Saturday morning outdoors!  Watch the promo video for Moving Planet below. And if you are outside of Oklahoma, you can find your nearest Moving Planet event here, and if there are none near you and you feel inspired, you can start your own event here.