MEGAN RAMEY

Sugar Free Challenge - Day 3

2009-06-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Doing well now with the challenge, but the evening of the first day was ROUGH. Kyle and I walked to Whole Foods to partake in the bar extravaganza because all their food ingredients are labeled so well. I could barely finish my meal because all I wanted was something sweet. I had the shakes like a crack addict. When we got home, I made myself some raspberries with yogurt and honey.

Day 2 - Breakfast - eggs with prosciutto and parmesan.
Lunch - fruit smoothie and potato chips
Dinner - homemade hamburgers with garlic, onion and colby cheese with cottage cheese and an antipasto salad.
Snack - grapes

Day 3 - Breakfast - gluten free banana / blueberry pancakes with peanut butter & honey, bacon
Lunch - pear, orange, pistachios
Dinner - seared tuna and broccoli

Sugar Free Challenge

2009-06-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

In talking with my Mom about what her and my Dad could do to adjust their diet (because they're not really doing anything wrong), I challenged her to go sugar free for one week.

Then yesterday I realized that I needed to take the same challenge. So starting today, both Kyle and I will be reading labels and staying away from sugar from one week.

The hardest part will be abstaining from coffee (because I add sugar and soy milk) and after lunch and dinner when I crave sugar.

Today's Breakfast - plain yogurt, banana, strawberries, grapes, gluten-free granola, honey, and dried cranberries (as I type this I realize that there might be sugar in the cranberries so I just ran to check the label and sure enough, evaporated can juice - SHIT!), and green tea

This is going to be hard.

Livable Streets Alliance Street Talk

2009-06-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

LivableStreets Alliance to host Street Talk by Marius Navazo on What we can learn from Spain: urban mobility planning in Barcelona.

When: Thursday, June 25, 7 - 9 pm
Where: 100 Sidney Street, Central Square, Cambridge

*This event is free and open to the public. donation suggested beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery and delivered thanks to Metro Pedal Power!* What are the results of impementing better transit networks, traffic calming zones, and a bike sharing program? Are these measures always environmentally-friendly? Are they enough to create better places to live and enjoy? Learn about the development of urban mobility plans in Greater Barcelona and Catalonia, Spain. See what the Catalan Government is encouraging municipalities to do.

Marius Navazo is a geographer who has been working for the last 10 years in town and regional planning, focused on transportation and its impacts to improve cities from a social and environmental perspective. He has been working at the Catalan Government for the last 4 years, and now he is a freelancer working for different municipalities in the Barcelona area.
For more information, click here.

Livable Streets Alliance Street Talk

2009-05-20T06:07:00.000-07:00

LivableStreets Alliance to host Street Talk by Noah Budnick on The Changing Streets of NYC: an inside view.

When: Thursday, May 28, 7 - 9 pm
Where: 100 Sidney Street, Central Square, Cambridge

*This event is free and open to the public. donation suggested beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery!* Learn about the political and physical changes that have come to NYC in the past few years. From the campaign for congestion pricing to European-style bike lanes, civic groups and City Hall are embracing green transportation like never before. Transportation Alternatives helped usher in this sea change and now they are working harder than ever to help educate the public and build support to cement the mind shift that’s taking place. Noah will show photos of NYC’s most notable improvements and events, and tell the behind the scenes story that made them happen.

Noah Budnick develops political and media strategies for Transportation Alternatives' work to win biking and walking improvements, to reclaim public space for pedestrians, bicyclists and mass transit, to reform government transportation and street safety policy to discourage driving, and win more funding for biking and walking projects in New York City.
For more information, click here.

Making Our Nest

2009-04-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

The combination of our new living situation and a recent article in Dwell article called "At Home in the Zone" about practicing sustainability like you preach inspired me to start blogging again. This post is going to show pictures of our new place along with what sustainability means in our lives.

I am copying Dwell's article format where they break down a households' zones and give tips on how people can be more sustainable.
Location has so much to do with sustainability. Whether you can walk or bike to grab your basic necessities affects your carbon footprint dramatically. Additionally, do you WANT to walk or ride your bike in your neighborhood. Walkscore.com gives a good indication of how easy it will be to buy groceries, visit the library or park, go hang out at a coffee shop all by foot. There are 2 faults with this website, though. Fault 1 - The website uses google maps to calculate a walkscore so any business or other registered with google will appear...even if the info is outdated. Fault 2 - there is an emotional factor that is pretty impossible to calculate and that is the general feeling of a neighborhood. For example, our condo in Madison on Willy Street has a walk score of 89 out of 100 and is located in a fantastic community where you want to walk or ride your bike. Our first house here in Boston in Southie had a walk score of 88 and a terrible sense of community. There was trash and dog shit on the sidewalks, lack of trees, shady people walking around, Kyle was jumped by high school age kids and badly beaten up, and our bikes were stolen from right under our noses. Totally different than Willy Street even though the score only differed by 1 point. Lastly, our new place in Cambridge has a walk score of 80 and is pretty par with our place in Madison. The dog park, fresh pond, that I will reference later, is a huge plus!
Last month, Livable Streets Alliance held a Street Talk on Urban Health where Russ Lopez talked about how our built environment shapes ourselves like proximity to necessities like grocery stores effects a person's health. He brought up the conflict between environmentalists and urbanists. Here I thought they could be the same? Apparently environmentalists don't like cities because they're dirty. Russ disagrees with teaching inner city children to respect their environment because, really, what is their environmental impact? They take mass transportation, don't consume much... This is the only thing that I very much disagreed with Russ on. If children were taught to respect their environment and community, maybe there would be less trash on the streets and sidewalks. After living in Southie and experiencing a community first hand that does not respect the environment nor their community, I wanted to run for the suburbs. I was so sick of city living that I was willing to compromise our car free life. If I, who am a pretty staunch urbanist, want to flee for the burbs, how does a normal person feel about living in the city with communities like this? Inner city communities don't have to be gentrified to feel great; neighbors just need to respect one another and their living space.
Transportation, part of location, has a direct effect on your lifestyle. We will not live anywhere where a car is a necessity. We have a motorcycle and 5 bikes. To get to work, Kyle takes 1 of 3 buses that regularly run by our place and then he takes a free shuttle from Genzyme corporate headquarters out to the Framingham burbs where he works. When the weather is nice, he commutes via motorcycle. I do all the errands and go to the gym on my bike. We are members of Zipcar for the times when you REALLY need a car like escaping the city for the weekend or a trip to IKEA.
Parks, Cambridge's Fresh Pond is literally out our back door. We exit the loft, open a fence door to a walk down abandoned railroad tracks (that I think will soon be a bike path), and 200 ft. to fresh pond. The dogs can leave and return from the loft leash-less if we like. Fresh Pond is a large reservoir that is surrounded by a golf course and limestone path with periodic doggie bag / trash stations. There are no fences and the whole park is considered off-leash. There's even a side pond / dock / wading pool for dogs. Too bad both our dogs are not water loving. The best part is that it's a shared space between bicyclists, walkers, runners and dog walkers. Everyone is so happy to be there. I've run around the pond and it's a 2 mile loop. Animal Planet was there a couple weeks ago shooting a special so look out for that. I can't wait to take the stroller and baby to the park and do the walking loop every day.
Memorial Drive along the river, is closed to cars on Sundays and it's super close by. Here's a video about it:

Grocery Stores, a large chain store with organics and a pretty big micro/craft beer selection is a 5 minute walk across the parking lot from us. Plus, we're lucky to live across the Fresh Pond from the largest Whole Foods in Boston. The bike path connects us there.

Inside the Loft
Space and Design, only 750 sq. ft. so we had to sell 3/4 of what we owned before on craigslist and ebay. Now we have no clutter and nothing that we don't need or use on a regular basis...except for some scrapbooks, memorabilia, comic books, and coin collections. The unit has 16 ft ceilings, bamboo and rough pine floors, clean, white walls, and the outside wall is one large brick/warehouse window.
Furnishings, not only did we have to sell items on craigslist, but we had to replace a few. I found a west elm sofa, crate & barrel chair/ottoman, and west elm media stand all used on craigslist. We needed a few new storage items to help us get organized (container store and IKEA are great for this), plus I wanted a new duvet and rug. We hung all of Kyle's guitars on the walls as well as my bike. Our other three bikes are kept in a special bike storage shed outside.
Baby is coming, so how is a baby fitting into this small space equation? I have our back storage space by the bathroom equiped with baby personal care. The washer/dryer is also next to the bathroom to make washing the diapers easy. The shelves in our living room are filled with boxes for toys and other accessories. We're going to find a pack-n-play for the living room to double as a changing station and crib. Otherwise, the baby will sleep next to us in a hanging crib like a Kanoe. Obviously, this is idealistic and things will change, but it's definitely possible to raise a baby in a small space. Think of how moms in Manhattan, Japan, and even Africa cope with space...I feel pretty lucky.

Livable Streets Alliance Street Talk: Urban Health

2009-03-25T04:45:00.000-07:00

LivableStreets Alliance to host Street Talk by Russ Lopez on Urban Health: How shaping our built environment shapes ourselves.

When: Thursday, April 2, 7 - 9 pm
Where: 100 Sidney Street, Central Square, Cambridge

*This event is free and open to the public. donation suggested beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery!* "If there’s a supermarket in your zip code, for example, you’re 10% less likely to be obese. If there are a lot of intersections in your neighborhood - a sign of street connectivity and continuity - you’re less likely to be obese. And, not surprisingly, the more time people spend in their cars, the more likely they are to be obese” says Lopez. Come hear Russ Lopez speak about how our built environment – from playgrounds to fast food chains – shapes ourselves.

Russ Lopez, a native of California, is an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. Past employment includes working on urban and environmental issues for then Lt. Governor John Kerry. He also worked for ten years in various positions in for the City of Boston on housing, community development and environmental concerns. Dr. Lopez was the first Executive Director of the Environmental Diversity Forum, a coalition of environmentalists and community activists advocating for environmental justice issues throughout New England.
This event is sponsored by LivableStreets Alliance.

For more information, click here.

Enrique Peñalosa speaks on Urban Vision tomorrow

2009-02-04T05:11:00.000-08:00

LivableStreets Alliance to host former Bogotá, Colombia mayor and urban visionary, Enrique Peñalosa.

When: Thursday, February 5, 6:30 pm
Where: Boston Public Library, main branch at Copley, Rabb Lecture Hall.

*This event is free and open to the public* An accomplished public official, economist and administrator, Enrique Peñalosa completed his three-year term as Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia on December 31, 2000. While mayor, Peñalosa was responsible for numerous radical improvements to the city and its citizens. He promoted a city model giving priority to children and public spaces…read more.

My Bicycling Scheme for visiting friends in Atlanta

2009-02-02T06:53:00.000-08:00

Visiting my family and friends in Atlanta is great, but nothing offsets my fun index more than having to drive EVERYWHERE. When you live in Atlanta, you don't know any better and the 45 minute drives seem like nothing. On the flip side, when you have lived the past 8 years riding your bike, walking or taking mass transit for transportation, you get extremely spoiled.

You see, unlike traveling by car, when you bike, walk or use mass transit, the time is your's. No worries about traffic jams and even if there is one, there's always a book to keep you content on a bus or subway. Additionally, there's the health benefits, sense of community and opportunity to be outside....not to mention the environmental impact.

Kyle and I are renting a Prius to drive down to Atlanta from Boston, mostly because we want to bring the dogs, but even more because we get to bring our bikes and his guitars.

I cannot wait to visit the city now that I know I won't be held hostage by our car. Especially in Newnan, GA.

Towards the end of our week there, Kyle is driving down to Mobile, Al for a wedding and I get to go see my friends, Sara, Julie and Tracy. Like any big city, they live pretty far from one another. Unlike other big cities, the mass tranportation system (MARTA) is underutilized. This is my perfect opportunity to ride my bike, use the bus and ride the subway in Atlanta.

My trip is as follows:
1) Ride my bike on Thursday from Newnan to Palmetto (13 miles)

Newnan to Palmetto MARTA Bus
Find more Bike Rides in Newnan, Georgia

2) Ride MARTA bus #180 from Palmetto to College Park train station (35 minutes)
3) Ride MARTA subway from College Park to North Springs (30 minutes)
4) Ride Marta bus #85 or 185 from North Springs to Roswell Shopping Center (15 minutes)
5) Ride Bike from Roswell Shopping Center to Sara's (8 miles)

02/02/2009 Route
Find more Bike Rides in Roswell, Georgia

6) On Friday, Bike from Sara's to Julie's (19 miles)

Sara in Woodstock to Julie in Norcross
Find more Bike Rides in Woodstock, Georgia

7) On Saturday, Bike from Julie's to Tracy's (20 miles)

Julie\'s to Tracy\'s
Find more Bike Rides in Norcross, Georgia

Woo-hoo, then Kyle picks me up from Tracy's on Sunday to make the road trip back to Boston! Now I will be relaxed with my friends.

First Annual "Boston Bikes Update Report"

2009-01-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

LivableStreets Alliance will host the 1st annual "Boston Bikes Report" by the city's Director of Bicycle Programs, Nicole Freedman.

When: Thursday, January 29, 7 pm
Where: Boston Public Library, main branch at Copley, Rabb Lecture Hall.
*This event is free and open to the public* The focus of the meeting will be on future steps needed to create the "world class bicycling city" that Mayor Menino has promised. There will be additional discussion about what could be done to significantly expand the cycling population -- and its political influence -- by attracting "traffic intolerant" bicyclists, read more.

Two Boston Events by Next American City Magazine

2009-01-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

the LECTURE: The Real State of Housing
January 21, 5:30-7:30 PM

Boston Room, Boston Public Library

700 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston, MA

Join Next American City at the Boston Public Library for the second talk in our URBANEXUS lecture series, featuring Angus Jennings, principal planner at Concord Square Planning & Development. Are you young, eager to buy and finding yourself priced out of Boston’s desirable neighborhoods? Join Angus as he breaks down Boston’s current real estate market and introduces smart growth zoning as as an affordable solution.
Admission is free. Find directions and RSVP at americancity.org/urbanexus/boston.

ANGUS JENNINGS is the Principal Planner for Concord Square Planning & Development, a firm dedicated to working with both municipal and development partners who share a commitment to smart growth. Angus manages most of the firm’s public sector contracts, including planning, zoning and public facilitation. He has served as the Town Planner in Marshfield, where he received the 2005 Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors Chapter Award. He served on the state committee to draft regulations for the 40R legislation, led two statewide workshops on form-based regulation supported by a grant from the American Planning Association and is active in several statewide planning organizations including the Zoning Reform Working Group. Upon receiving his master’s degree in City & Regional Planning at Cornell University, he received the American Institute of Certified Planners student award for promise of success as a professional planner.

the SALON: Urban Art in Public Spaces
January 22, 6-8 PM

Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts

539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

Join Next American City at the Mills Gallery for our URBANEXUS salon. Guests of honor include Janet Echelman, sculptor of large-scale public art; Ricardo Barreto, director of the UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art; and Sarah Hutt, artist and business consultant focused on integrating art into landscape. The night will feature food, drinks and a salon-style conversation on the physical and financial challenges artists face while creating urban art in Boston. NAC limited edition artists Rachel Barrett and Neil Freeman will also introduce their art.
Admission for non-subscribers is $15 in advance or $20 at the door and includes a free one-year subscription to Next American City, and entry to all NAC events & free food/drink. RSVP and subscribe at americancity.org/urbanexus/boston.

JANET ECHELMAN uses her art to reshape urban airspace with monumental public sculptures that respond to environmental forces like wind, water, and sunlight. In 2009, Janet inaugurates two major art commissions in North America. Exhibitions of her painting, prints, and sculpture have been held in Venice, Madrid, Bombay, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Kyoto, and New York City. After graduating from Harvard College in 1987 with Highest Honors in Visual Studies, she received graduate degrees in painting and in psychology.

RICARDO BARRETO is the Director of the UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art and Design which is dedicated to the facilitation of public art projects in the region. Prior to that he worked for the Massachusetts Cultural Council where he was initially Program Coordinator for Individual Artists and then Program Officer for Organizations. With degrees in art history (BA and MA) from Oberlin College, Barreto has a long track record of managing art projects, and as a curator of many shows in the United States, Mexico and Europe. He has written numerous exhibition catalogues and has published essays on a variety of arts related topics.
SARAH HUTT is a multi-media artist and arts advocate living in Boston. Her work is included in numerous private and public collections, including those of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge; the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts; SUNY-Potsdam, Potsdam, New York; and Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA. Hutt has perviously served in the Mayor’s Office in Boston as Director of Visual Arts Programming and as the Director of the Boston Art Commission.
RACHEL BARRETT uses her work as an investigation into the everyday, an effort to connect with and memorialize the world she encounters and the disappearing city of New York that has been her home for nearly a decade. Her photographs have been widely exhibited in both solo and group shows, featured in the New York Times and various private collections. She was raised in Cambridge, but is currently based out of New York City.
NEIL FREEMAN is an artist and urbanist whose work has been exhibited at the London Design Museum, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Flushing Town Hall. He currently lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Request to come see us in Boston

2009-01-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

We would love to have visitors in Boston, so here's our invitation to anyone (it gives me a reason to post pictures of our place, finally). We're a half mile walk from a major subway station, 1.5 mile walk downtown, and .8 mile walk to the beach!
This is our basement with a nice wet bar / wine fridge, dart board (courtesy of Kasi & Eric). We have a nice terrace out back where the porch swing that my dad made us for our wedding will hang. Note the dorkery hanging above the wet bar...our diplomas in sequential order from McIntosh High School, University of Georgia and University of Wisconsin.

Other half of our basement. This is where we watch the really good flicks. You can also see this is where we store our bikes.

Kitchen that's nice to cook in and we managed to fit our dining room table in.

Our living room next to the kitchen.

Deck off the kitchen. The freezing rain blanket doesn't help me dress it up, but it will be nice during the warmer months.

Main floor bathroom /laundry. Hard to come by laundry in unit in Boston.

Upstairs foyer where we're slowly building our wall family and friends pictures.

Our bedroom that gives us lots of sunlight and views of the illuminated Boston night sky (it's orange / yellow when it's cloudy).

Office that provides a nice view of Tudor Street where I 'work'.

Guest Bed for visitors ;)

Upstairs full bath.

E-Waste Photography

2009-01-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

I'm attending the Greener Gadgets conference in NYC on Feb. 27th and couldn't be more excited after seeing this video. It took me 5-6 years to buy another cell phone and I'm glad I waited so long after seeing this.

Maybe Verizon and other cellphone companies should rethink their 'new every 2' promotion?

Please check out Chris Jordan's photography of beautiful ugliness.

Christmas Trees in Garbage Bags and Doggies on the Bus

2009-01-05T06:27:00.000-08:00

The Christmas garbage was collected this past week and before it was, we had the displeasure of viewing skyscrapers of gift boxes, unrecycled bags of wrapping and Christmas trees in garbage bags on our dog walks. Even though all the trash bothers me, the tree in a bag is especially disturbing. To cut a tree down for a couple month's use and then dispose of it in a garbage bag seems really perverse. But like always, I feel like I'm not the norm and these thoughts are unreasonable.

CBS Sunday Morning episode yesterday contained a small segment narrated by Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer, about his lament over seasonal garbage, especially the trash produced by Christmas. I was happy to learn that I was not crazy in my ill views. I wish I could post a video of this segment.

On a happier note, we took Gordo and Carmelita to the Commons yesterday on the bus! Gordo was such a good boy, sitting on the bus seat and Carmelita tried to seduce all the riders she could. We finally got Gordo a harness (so he doesn't choke himself) at Four Preppy Paws on Charles Street. They were really nice to the dogs, giving them treats and letting us wash the salt off their feet.

Then we walked the dogs through the Commons along the Swan Pond before the bus ride home. Walking on the frozen pond with the dogs was fun and Gordo found a black puggie to play with.

Car-free = Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to me

2008-12-24T07:02:00.001-08:00

My 32nd birthday present to myself was selling our car. Kyle and I sold our '97 Honda CRV within 4 days of listing it on Craigslist for the asking price and now we are officially car-free! Kyle still has his motorcycle, but it's not used for necessary travel, but leisure during the warm months. It has been a dream of mine to be car-free for 5 years and the dream came true a day before my birthday.

We have barely touched the CRV since moving to downtown Madison in 2005. Additionally, since we have moved to Boston, we have only used our car to move and for unnecessary trips. It was definitely time for that car to be sold. All of our errands and trips to work are done on bike, foot or mass transit (Kyle's company subsidizes part of his subway card and the rest is taken out of his paycheck pre-tax). I was a little nervous this past week with the huge snowstorm we got, but I found out our lifestyle is still doable.

On the night of the huge snowstorm, Friday, we bundled up with our ski goggles and walked 40 minutes to a friend's cocktail party and then walked home. There is no feeling like layering on the winter gear and walking through snow and wind - the weather lets you know you're alive.

We pretty much stuck close to home on Saturday, but had to get groceries while it was still snowing, so we got bundled up again and loaded the milk crate and canvas totes on the back of my bike. With all the double parking in Southie, the ride was pretty miserable, but we effectively loaded $150 worth of groceries on my bike and Kyle's back and got home with no worries of finding a parking space.

Monday was an adventure and I'm still sore. We received a rainy sleet mixture on Sunday so I knew the roads were unbikable, so I decided to literally run my errands in the 15 degree chill. Everything would have been fine except for two things: 1) unshoveled sidewalks that even the walkers chose the road instead of and 2) being hard to breath because of the mucus factor...I was spitting every block. So I accomplished going to yoga, running to the post office to get stamps for Xmas cards and running down to office max to get printer ink. All in all, it was a 3.5 hour work-out.

Tuesday, I did not want to run, so I used Kyle's mountain bike that has burlier tires. I dropped off a deposit at the bank, went to the gym and rode to Newbury street to get more ink for the printer at Best Buy. All of this while spraying gross brown and salty slush up my back and on my shoes, competing with double parked a-holes, and walking my bike on the unwalkable sidewalk.

If all of this sounds exhausting, it kinda is, but guess what? I have no stress, I sleep well at night, and besides my gluten intolerance, I can eat whatever the hell I want. Plus, I get to SEE and interact with people, not get frustrated with their driving styles and honk my car horn.

An article from the AP came out on the day after my birthday entitled "Leaner nations bike, walk and use mass transit." The secret that all of us lifestyle bicyclists and alternative commuters share is no longer a secret. We're happier and healthier. For me, the car-free life happened without choice when I was 20. I totalled my car in college at UGA in Athens and was forced to ride my dad's awesome Trek bike. That was the beginning of the rest of my life and although I succumbed to buying a car again (because that's the American way of life), I am living the car-free life again.

Today's agenda- buy Christmas tree, last minute groceries, yoga, gift for my husband, Christmas service, dinner and a movie...all on bike and foot. I hope your holiday is as blissful as mine.

Birthday Weekend and Event for Tonight!!

2008-12-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

After getting my grocery shopping done on my bike on Friday afternoon, I cooked dinner for Kyle and I and we lazied at home with episodes of Californication to entertain us. Love this show and have a super crush on David Duchovny now...one of the funniest characters ever.

Saturday morning we officially became car-free, selling our Honda CRV to a very nice guy. I was sad because of the camping / road-trip memories but am very relieved and feel free. We rode our bikes to do some last minute grocery shopping and I popped a wheel. We decided this should be an excuse to get the marushi a new set of tires which turned out to be my birthday present. Spent the afternoon prepping for Sunday's brunch of Swedish meatballs, Scotch Eggs, Glogg, Fruit Compote and Pancakes.

Saturday evening we got ready and formal for the Genzyme Christmas party at the Museum of Science. I wore a dress that I never thought I'd have an event to wear to again. It was so nice to get dressed up with Kyle and walk to the T station...even though my poor toes froze! I had never been to the museum and it was super cool. There were 3000 employees and we were the only ones in there free to roam the exhibits. For food we had crab legs, mussels, sushi and filet - yummy! There were three bands: a big band featuring John Stevens from American Idol, a three piece cello / drum ensemble and a wedding-esque band specializing in R&B. After the wedding band left the stage, the dj began the top 40 routine and we had to leave the room when Britney Spears "gimme" started. God, I used to love her, but the song was way too inappropriate for the atmosphere. Finished the evening off listening to the big band and was surprised when John Stevens walked up to sing. Kyle and I danced to a few songs as the clock struck midnight and I turned 32!

On the T ride home, our transit collided with the Bruins patrons post game. Lots of obnoxious, drunk frat boys were in the station and actually started a fight...super annoying. Finally got home to Broadway station and decided to have a birthday drink at Franklin Cafe. The developer of the Macallen building just happened to be at the bar with his girlfriend, Jess Meyer. I had to profess my love of his work. Both were lovely and it turns out that Jess runs an apparel company called Myre (short for my redesigns) that re-uses fabric for unique, architecturally inspired pieces. Love it.

In the morning, we watched Sunday morning like always and began cooking for brunch. Jen, Ryan, Ben, Laurie, Becky and Chris came over and we drank lots of Mimosas, Bloody Marys and Glogg. Perfect birthday meal. Even though Kyle and I were exhausted and slightly tipsy, we went ice skating at the frog pond in the Commons and had dessert and drinks at Finale. Not a fan of that place...is kinda like an Olive Garden with desserts.

Jess tipped me off to an event that is happening tonight at the Artist's For Humanity building at 100 W 2nd Street in South Boston. It's a Holiday Bazaar featuring art from the teens who work there. For more information, look here.

New Responsibility & New Blog Focus

2008-12-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

Jackie Douglas and Charlie Dennison have offered me the position as Blog Ambassador for Livable Streets. I gladly accepted. I will be responsible for connecting with other Boston and National bloggers to create awareness about our events and efforts. Additionally, I'll use my PR talents to generate press for Livable Streets. This should be fun!

My personal blog is also going to take a different focus. Because of my interest in LEED certified (and designed to standard) buildings in Boston and the mayor's request that all new large construction be designed to those standards, I will be writing about existing and future designs in Boston. The sub-focus will be residential. I will still write about urban planning, alternative transportation and other aspects of sustainable design, but hope to be the 'LEED Girl' for Boston.

I welcome any leads or contacts regarding this subject matter.

Greenbuild and Reusing Historic Commercial Building for LEED Apartments yields applause

2008-12-10T05:55:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago I was fortunate to volunteer just 8 hours of my time in trade for attendance to the Greenbuild Expo in Boston. Normally an $800 ticket, my attendance was free. Additionally, many of the volunteers had to foot the bill for travel related expenses including transportation, accommodations, food and leisure.

Not me. I guaranty that I incurred the least amount of expenses (whether or not your participation was paid for by your company) and had the shortest, carefree commute and I welcome any challenges to this. Six months ago when I closed my business, MoCo Market in Madison, I blissfully dove into the Internet(s) and was happy as a clam turning my brain off to indulge in blogs, news, youtube, facebook... In addition to my addiction with the election, I stumbled upon Greenbuild's website about the expo being in Boston this year. I was a little excited because 1) I was about to move to Boston to live with my husband again and 2) my architecture friends have previously hyped the event up to me. Volunteering for the expo was conditional on whether I was under 25 (not) or whether I could show proof of being a full time student. So I dusted off the University of Wisconsin student id and registered as a volunteer.

Moreover, my husband and I just started renting a house in South Boston, which yielded a 5 minute door-to-door bicycle commute. While everyone complained about the cold, I relished bundling up in my Sunday best to hop on my bike every morning.

So, how was my experience at Greenbuild? A few moments were fantastic and a couple were duds.

Fantastic moments:

1) realizing that 29,000 (more than the DNC in '04) people attended the expo from backgrounds in architecture, engineering, design, urban planning, product development, marketing, public health and others were there because of one thing - the environment.

2) Volunteering to usher attendees into a workshop entitled "LEED for Retail". After all the attendees were seated and the educators began their instruction, I was able to participate in something that normally costs an extra $450 for FREE! A little background - my best friend, Mary Ostafi, is an architect and she designed the commercial interior for my store, MoCo, where we planned for LEED-CI Silver rating. Because the construction expense exceeding our budget by $30K, we were unable to apply, but designed to the standards regardless. During the workshop, I found myself nodding constantly at the instructors...especially throughout the Alternative Transportation portion because without this initiative, my business would have never been conceived. I started MoCo because I genuinely wanted to change the transportation habits of America - less car, more life. Needless to say, I was was giddy with the new LEED point system for retail that promotes my self interests. Malls be damned!

3) Session - Why Diversity Matters: Sustainability Depends on Inclusion and a Commitment to Design for All. Very inspiring session including moderator, Kira Gould and speakers, Betsy Hands of William McDonough + Partners, Brandy Brooks of Community Design Resource Center in Boston, Valerie Fletcher of Adaptive Environment and Susan Szenasy of Metropolis Magazine. I was mainly interested because of Ms. Szenasy being the editor in chief of one of my favorite magazines. But I was caught off guard by content that previously wouldn't have been given a second thought to concerning sustainable design and construction. Three biggest takeaways were:

Szenasy's commentary regarding a eco-boutique hotel in South America that was originally slated to become a luxury golf course resort. Her brutal rhetoric confronting the idiotic idea of placing a golf course in the middle of the rain forest was hilarious and refreshing. She then went on to plea to us to consider staying at boutique hotels, local b&bs or vacation rentals instead of the monotonous and "I don't know what city I'm visiting" chains like Marriott and Sheraton. Brilliant!
Brook's summation about the role of the designer in poorer communities including how it doesn't matter how many million dollar LEED buildings are constructed in a neighborhood where vacant garbage lots, condemned housing and slums still exist. The failure or success of a project is measured by the 'health' of all buildings in a neighborhood.
Fletcher's summation about the role of the designer in adaptive environments and accessibility for handicapped individuals saying that you cannot measure the impact on a disabled person's dignity regarding rolling their wheelchair through the main entrance or having to proceed through a side alleyway and enter through a ramp in the back, but you can imagine how they would feel and design accordingly.

4) Session - Green Blogs and the Built Environment. Moderator was Leigh Stringer with HOK and the speakers were Willem Maas of GreenHomeGuide; Lloyd Alter of Discovery Network: Treehugger, Planet Green; Stephen Del Percio of Green Buildings NYC; and Preston Koerner of Jetson Green. As someone who blogs somewhat frequently, I found it pretty cool that all these gentlemen (excluding Leigh) write for largely read sustainable design blogs and also have full-time jobs. What a dream life they have!

The charts they showed regarding readership stats like what blogs were read most, demographics and such were effective, but I mostly enjoyed that this session mimicked an online forum in that the speakers candidly spoke to one another instead of the normal question, answer, next timetable. They were humorous with dry wit and poking intelligence and I loved it.

My question of them was "did they think that the reason blogging has become such a contagious phenomenon may be in part due to the doom and gloom of the Bush administration?" like the avoidance of the national media to report on controversial subjects in the early 2000s like global warming, misconduct of the war, torture, etc. My reasoning behind this question is that I think people wanted answers and solutions for the tom-foolery that was occurring. Since the media was not providing coverage nor was the administration providing solutions, the average person took it upon themselves to step into this role and I'm so glad they did.

And now for a couple sessions I did not exactly enjoy:

1) Affordable & Green: What Difference Does it Make?

2) Taking it Mainstream: Pioneers of Green Apartment Communities

Both of these had great potential for wowing me. I was envisioning community organization, urban farm-to-table gardens, docking stations for alternative fuel cars, collaboration with local mass transportation planners. However, we were bombarded with economic statistics about feasibility and payback of energy efficiency. To give the affordable housing session credit, they are answering to the government, so I understand the need for 'proof'. But, the green apartment community session was less than inspiring for title that included the word 'pioneer' as a precedent. I found one of the developers /speakers smug and very uncomfortable with his presence at Greenbuild. You see, it's not in his best interest to develop green rentals because this benefit helps the renter save money, not them. I wanted to run on stage and squeeze his ear. They spoke of changing light bulbs and installing programmable thermostats when I wanted to hear about urban, density, historic rehab projects. The man sitting next to me felt the same and whispered his discontent, 'this is going to be about economics!' Not inspiring, so I left within 15 minutes.

So I thought I'd offer an example of what I wanted to hear about - a nicely packaged sustainable, affordable, apartment bundle in one: The Hollander Foundation Center. They used an existing historic bank building in downtown Hartford and are in the process of transforming it into affordable rentals. Oh, and by the way, they are applying to be the first LEED certified residential building in Connecticut. Now, that's a cool project. You can read more about it in this article here.

Greening of Southie Screening - this Saturday!

2008-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

Where: Livable Streets office, 70 Pacific Street, Cambridge

When: Saturday, Dec. 6th at 6 pm

What: Greening of Southie film screening by the Planners Network Boston Chapter

More: afterwards, the group will head to Tavern on the Square in Central Square for drinks and discussion.

Kyle has seen this film on the Sundance Channel, and I as a new resident of Southie and an appreciate of the Macallen Building, I cannot wait to see the film

Three Points of Happiness

2008-11-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

I finished watching Sunday morning 10 minutes ago and was struck by one of the themes, 3 Points of Happiness. The first was a high school academy in Cleveland, the second was an 80 year old man who had found the inner artist while in a homeless shelter, and the third was a young and famous violinist who had single handedly set up a foundation for children.

Here are my 3 points of happiness for today:

Walking to Lunch yesterday - Kyle and I walked to our new favorite Mexican restaurant, El Pescador, which took 35 minutes. The food was amazing as always and then we took the bus home. Walking to dinner makes me happy because we get to see all the changes to the streets and home up close and it makes me more hungry.
Moving day - today we pack up our Madison condo into a 22 foot Penske truck and tow our CRV to Boston. I am optimistic that we'll be able to modify our condo mortgage with Chase and find a renter. My happiness is founded in moving and exploring a new city while still keeping our security blanket here in Madison.
Motorcycle Sidecar - kind of a trivial point of happiness, but Kyle and I have been talking about this and doing some research. I really want something vintage looking and an added bonus would be a luggage rack so I can tie down my leather suitcases. The thought of taking weekend trips in the Northeast with the dogs (Gordo complete with goggles).
Oh, and a fourth bonus point of happiness is that I am happy to be posting this entry while riding passenger on I-90 between Albany, NY and Boston with the help of some redneck technology.

Thanksgiving - Thankful for Beautiful Walking Scenery

2008-11-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

Today on Thanksgiving in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, it's a lovely 40 degrees and sunny...perfect for a walk along the Milwaukee River with two curious doggies. I am thankful that we are able to spend the holiday with Mike, Christen and Joe in a beautiful and walkable area that just happens to be next to an undeveloped river's edge.

The Scariest Thing Ever

2008-11-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

After accomplishing some life adventures that may make some people uneasy:

Taking a year off of college to road trip the United States
Living in London for a couple months
Camping in the Grand Canyon
Scuba diving in Fiji
Canyoneering in Escalante, Utah
River Boarding in Queenstown, NZ
Emptying my 401K to start a business

Some of these things are exciting to people, some are scary (especially the last one), but nothing scares me more in life than having a child...both the birth and the responsibility.
Even though I'm not pregnant yet, like a good planner who values strategery, I have begun to research the birthing process and alternatives.
All the stories, movies, imagery about women having babies is SCARY!! But, I have known women to exaggerate sometimes. Take planning a wedding for instance. To some, this was hell. For me, planning a wedding was one of the least stressful, fun things that I've done. You pick what's important to you and you get it done.
Since I will be 32 next month, I have the liberty of having friends who've had babies. It's hard to put this into words, but two of my friends have gone above and beyond their motherly duties in paying just as much respect to the birthing process as to the responsibility of taking care of the child afterwards. They talk about the birth of their children in a positive light. Both of them were in control of their bodies (instead of surrendering to the hospital) and had their second babies naturally. I very much respect Tracy & Julie for this.
Therefore, Kyle and I have come to an agreement that we're having the baby at home with a midwife. Thank-you, Tracy, for tipping me off to "The Business of Being Born" (that can be watched instantly on Netflix). Ricky Lake directs this documentary about what has become the norm in the birthing process of the United States. She was very courageous in showing her own home birth!
Now that I've made this decision, I am a lot more at ease. Going to keep up the yoga routine, gluten-free / blood type A diet and take care of my body. As someone known to be a control freak on occasion, I can rest knowing that I am in charge of mine and my baby's health.

Week for Celebration

2008-11-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

Most Importantly - HE WON!!!!

The pic to the left is Kyle's ballot. Every good line has already been used by celebrities, pundits, friends and media in general, so here's mind, WOWEE KOZOWEE, it feels good to be an American again.

Kyle and I had a nice election day:

1 - walked across the tracks to Boston proper to our polling location and I put him in line.

2 - grabbed tea, coffee, and a ham & cheese croissant for Kyle from Flour.

3 - Got back in line and excitingly talked to neighbors about the day

4 - Voted for a black man...deep breath.

5 - Put Kyle on a bus to work.

6 - Listened to Elizabeth fight Sherri, Whoopi and Joy on the View.

7 - took a nap

8 - took the dogs on a walk

9 - took a bath and biked both mine and Kyle's bikes down to the South End. That was an interesting ride. Went down to Back Bay for my free scoop of Ben & Jerry's Ice cream and Starbucks coffee

10 - met Ben, his sister (Gretchen), Kyle, Chris, Jen and Ryan at JJ Foley's for trivia.

11 - cheered as results came in

12 - left the bar at 10:45 to bike to Dorothy's in Cambridge.

13 - On the bike ride to Cambridge a bunch of young black girls ran out into the street cheering and dancing yelling, 'obama, obama'. Kyle and I knew that he had been declared winner.

14 - Watched McCain's eloquent concession speech and Obama's moving victory speech at Dorothy's.

15 - Biked home.

16 - Did it (Kyle's words).

Moved into new place in Southie

I found a nice large house in South Boston (refer to Goodwill Hunting for info). It's huge, 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 2 - 1/2 baths, 3 floors, back deck, and lower patio garden.

Anytime, anyone is very welcome to visit Boston and stay with us!! We are a 10 minute bike ride from downtown, a 10 minute walk to the nearest subway station, and a 25 minute walk to downtown. Oh, and a 15 minute walk to the ocean and beaches.

Plans to have a Baby

Since Obama won (woo-hoo), we will be trying to have a baby. Knowing the fertility rates of the Swedish and German bloodlines of the Lindstroms and Rings, we'll be a-okay. I really wish I could enjoy one last holiday drinking season, but I am honoring my end of the deal with Kyle.

Stay tuned for more news...

Fall in Boston

2008-10-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

Friday Night
Pink Comma Gallery night featuring photography from Corbin Smith. Kyle, Chris, Ben and I walked here from the South End base. The photography was nice and colorful and there were three that I would have liked to buy. People watching is always my favorite thing to do at these gallery nights. Also speaking with one of the architects who occupies the gallery space as an office during the week was lovely. The two glasses of wine I had hit me pretty hard so Kyle and I had to find some Kombucha for me and some El Triunfo for him.

Ryan's proposal to Jen. After leaving the gallery, we headed on the read line to Central Square to a bar called Enormous. This is where Ryan and Jen's first date was. We met some of their other friends with the intention of surprising Jen. They arrived and Ryan had Jen stand up so he could propose to her. So, so sweet.

Laurie's 30th Birthday party. After proposal, down the red line to Broadway in Southie for a birthday celebration at the Macallen condos, which were LEED certified and featured in the movie, Greening of Southie. The residence is beautiful. We had some fun dancing and eating some amazing food. Kyle was super tired so we walked home at 1:30 am. The walk was a nice 25 minuter and the backdrop of the Boston skyline made it that much better. Kyle happened to nab the picture to the left of Ben and I. You can see the Macallen building in the background. I love this picture because it was so accidental.
Saturday
Went running early with my new partner, Annamieke. So beautiful! Came back and woke Kyle up for brunch at Tremont 647. Chris and Ben joined the doggies and us on their patio.
Took the motorcycle out for a ride through Southie and along the beach. Came home and cycled over to eat Mexican food that was oh, so disappointing.
That night we relaxed and watched Fun with Dick and Jane. That movie cracks me up and is so relevant to our financially troubling times. In fact, it was way ahead of it's time, made in 2005 and somewhat based on Jeffrey Skilling, Kenneth Lay and Enron.
Sunday
Honk Fest. Throughout the past week, I have been working on a bicycle trailer float that looked like the Red Line for Livable Streets in the Honk Fest Parade. Honk Fest is a gathering of renegade bands from around the world that "they honk their horns because it’s the best way they know to protest a world of violence and oppression". Kyle dressed up as Charlie from the MTA and I dressed up his wife who fed him a sandwich during the parade. I got to ride a slick Dutch bike with a lemonade cooler on the front.

Overall, the parade was amazing. We went from Davis Square to Harvard Square and there were so many people lining the streets. Everyone seemed to 'get it' with Kyle reading his newspaper in the red line float. The music was phenomenal.
Our house in Southie. Kyle rode the MBTA bicycle float back to Livable Streets and I got to be the passenger. Hopped on the motorcycle and flew down to Southie. I found a rental that I love because it's in a great neighborhood that is super walkable and has easy access to downtown via the red line, bikes, or running. And I cannot get over having a solo house again where Kyle can play his guitar and I can play music as loud as I like.
Rachel Getting Married. That night we rode bikes to Kendall Square cinema to see this movie with Anne Hathaway. Loved it because I could identify with her character (on a much less of a scale). Please go see it.
Monday - Columbus Day
Running in the morning with Kyle following me on the bike. Went grocery shopping and pushed the bike rack's weight restrictions to the limit. I had to run alongside Kyle and steady the back. Can't imagine what we looked like running down Newton (busy street in Back Bay).
Wompatuck State Park. Loaded the car with the doggies and went to the park. The leaves were gorgeous and the dogs tired themselves out on the trails.
I love, love the Fall. I was explaining to Kyle that the season makes me feel like a girl again. Summertime has always been tomboy time for me...and then the fall hits and it's back to school time meaning cute tights, skirts and petticoats. Fall is the most fashionable season.

MAKING IT INTERESTING (-Kyle)

2008-10-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

A variety of unrelated things have come together here in this last quarter of 2008, such that Megan and I have entered into an interesting agreement. First, the constituent issues from whence this came:

1. The Election. It's probably something like 75% of what we talk about. That's what happens when you start to care, and you get some real meat to chew on. And this election has already been ground-breaking, absurd, hope-inspiring, and apocalyptic. With each new day, there's plenty to discuss.

2. The Country. It's different. I think it is, anyway. Maybe it's because I'm not 24 anymore, I don't live in Athens, I have some grey hair and a subway card, I don't know. Either way, watch the debates, please. I shouldn't have to tell you that anyway, but WATCH THE DEBATES, especially tonight's VP. Watch and listen carefully. Notice the language that both sides are using. Notice how they couch their arguments. Think about the structure of what they're saying. Are you being talked down to? Are they giving you credit for being smart? Are they villifying the other side for being smart? (Why is being smart a bad thing?) Are they pandering to the lowest common denominator? Well, they both are, I suppose, but split hairs - to what degree are they lowering the bar? Is someone trying to tell you that they're "just a regular joe sixpack*" who should be sent in to washington to clean it up? Think about Joe Sixpack. Think about your neighbors, your mechanic, your postal worker, the other parents at kids' sporting events... your local sportscaster / weather lady. How many of them do you think would do a good job at being Vice President? How many of them would represent our country well in front of foreign leaders, in times of complicated fiscal turmoil? Step back and put it all in perspective. Is the office of VP so meaningless and easy that Joe Sixpack can do it? Should it be? This kind of argument, this basic point being floated by the same party who brought us the last 8 miserable years, ought to have us angrier than hell. Instead, we as a nation turn up the Toby Keith, flash the Van Halen/ devil horns, and say "shit yeah, man - give'm hell!"

3. Birth Control. Sorry to get personal, but Megan switched to a new kind that did bad things to her, physically and mentally, and finally figured out what it was. So she's stopped using that kind.

What do those 3 things have to do with each other? Megan half-jokingly made a suggestion Tuesday night at Foley's. No boomboom till the election, and if Obama wins, no birth control. If McCain wins, then we get serious about moving overseas for awhile.

We shook on it.

I love my job beyond belief, I'm really enjoying Boston, and (to once again be frank) I want to have a baby. And I think Obama's gonna win. This will just make it sweeter.

* actual quote from Palin, which I predict will be repeated several times again on tonight's VP debate. Mark my words, they will try to turn ignorance an inexperience into a plus.

Canvassing for Barack, Ohio, and the Economy

2008-09-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY
Kyle and I drove up to Manchester, NH shortly after CBS Sunday Morning and made it up there in just an hour. When we arrived at the NH headquarters, we went through a brief training with the following main points:

-discuss the economic security that Obama's presidency would bring (which I didn't because who really knows what is going to happen if either person takes office).

-don't go inside a house

-don't put anything inside mailboxes

-promote NH's local democratic senator up for re-election (which I didn't because I don't vote based on party lines and I'm from a different state)

The rest of the pointers are somewhat blurry. We received a clip board with directions from the HQ to the target neighborhood, a map with pinpoints and a street by street break down listing all the undecided voters.

All in all, I knocked on 50 doors and talked to about 18 people because no one is home on Sunday morning. Out of the 18, 12 were voting Obama, 2 for McCain, and 4 undecided. The Obama supporters were nice people, the undecideds gave me the look that if I kept on talking they would vote for McCain (which I understand b/c who wants to be bothered at their home anytime and especially on Sundays), and the McCain supporters were also nice and I respect their decision.

Carmelita and Gordo got very wet because it was pouring for the first two hours, and they were also very confused as to why no one was petting them.

It turns out that one of the other volunteer canvassers met Sarah Silverman's mom - crazy! Never found out who she was voting for.

YEAH FOR OHIO

Yesterday the Ohio supreme court voted to allow same day voter registration, which makes me very happy. I can't wait to see stats on how many more young people in OH vote because of how much less complicated to process is. I miss this about Wisconsin because I have registered Kyle and I to vote in MA twice now (by mail) and still don't know if I'm registered. It was so nice in WI to walk up to the polls on Nov. 4th with proof of residence (electric bill) and my driver's license and vote...common sense, right?

ECONOMY

I somewhat understand the cause of our financial system breaking down but I'm not going to pretend that I am an expert and spout my opinion. Two things:

I am extremely uncomfortable that this is happening at the end of Bush and Paulson's reign and that the House of Reps is being rushed to pass the bill.
I kind of want the government to let whatever is going to happen, happen. Maybe the United States needs to go through another depression. People seem to have lost some perspective on what is really important. I read in the recent Dwell that the average square footage of a house in the U.S. is 2500. That seems a little excessive to me (http://www.moyak.com/researcher/resume/papers/housing_summary.html). It's time that we stop being 'good consumers' and focus on fixing all the bad designs that have led to our excessive lifestyles.

The future cannot come sooner where we as individuals are judged not by what we own, but by our purchase decisions and what we give back. And by purchase decision, I'm not talking about what brand of shoes we bought but rather choosing to shop somewhere locally or not at all.

When women stop striving to be like

And more like