Lazy afternoon.

After a great (for me, anyway ... sorry, Korb! and glad you came, Krista!) bike ride (35 miles!) this morning, been spending the afternoon at Jones' Coffee, my new favorite coffee place. The owner is lovely and enthusiastic, the paint scheme and big windows make it cheery, and the coffee is fair trade. It's at 11th and G, next to DaVinci's ... go check it out for yourself!

(I'm a coffeehouse whore, I guess; I have no plans to give up my relationships with The Cup, Meadowlark or The Mill. Pretty strange for someone who claims not to drink coffee. Iced coffee is my gateway drug, I suspect ... I'll be freeloading espresso in no time!)

Mostly, this afternoon, I've been uploading more of my photos to Flickr. Finally bought a pro account so I can use it to organize all my photos and clear out my hard drive. Check it out often, as I plan to keep adding sets -- several years' worth to organize! -- whenever I have time.

------------

I've also just finished the Barbara Kingsolver book. Anyone who wants to borrow it, just let me know; I'm happy to push it on anyone who might be interested. The power of stats/facts about how much energy/waste it takes to produce all the processed food we consume, combined with an amiable, personal account of trying to jump offa that train.

Hers is a mammoth undertaking: Her family spent a year eating only food they'd grown/raised themselves or bought from local, organic farmers. Fascinatingly unattainable as that goal is, she isn't all preachy about it. Instead, she offers up a multitude of information and encourages the reader to attempt any viable changes. Start small, make the change a habit, don't get discouraged, keep expanding.

I've made some small but positive health/environmental changes in the past few months:

* Buying only organic milk -- free of bovine growth hormone, antibiotics, pesticides. (Kingsolver, btw, mentions a local pediatrician who is telling his patients to drink only BGH-free milk; since it's become the norm, he's seen a sudden and drastic increase in cases of early puberty.)

* Buying all my lettuce from Shadowbrook Farms at the Farmers Market, and buying as much other produce as possible from local/organic growers at the Market instead of the grocery store.

* Bringing my own mug to The Mill, etc., for iced coffee, etc. (no more styrofoam!)

* Using agave nectar to sweeten said iced coffee, instead of carcinogens/nutrasweet

* Biking (or walking) to/from work at least once a week.

One change I'm attempting but so far extremely annoyed with: Discontinuing the birth control pills. (It's been years since I had a "real" period. I want to get better about not putting extraneous chemicals in my body, but geez! I'd forgotten how annoying/uncomfortable this particular natural bodily function is.)

One change I really *want* to make but haven't taken the leap yet: Getting the Diet Coke monkey off my back.

------------

Speaking of Shadowbrook Farms: They're opening a restaurant later this summer! Bummer that it's way out at 56th and Pine Lake, but it sounds organic/healthy/original, and of course it's locally produced. I can't wait to try it!

www.shadowbrooksalad.com

------------

In less substantial news:

I am seriously thinking of chopping off my hair. I need a change; I think it looks dated. The only thing holding me back is the fact that I wouldn't be able to put my hair up ... but lately, I can't seem to put it up in any type of attractive manner.

On the other hand, I vainly/superficially worry about the Samson effect -- that chopping it off will eliminate all of my personality/attractiveness.

Entonces, I am taking a poll: What the hell should I do with my hair? Status quo, or a change -- and if so, what? All serious suggestions welcome!