homemade household cleaners

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my newest article for 1-800-Recycling, which I had a lot of fun doing. I made my own window cleaner from safe (and cheap!) ingredients. Read about it here: http://1800recycling.com/2009/10/simple-safe-household-cleaners/

Sadly, my HelloMiami job has ended. It was a great 11 months, but now I've got to find a new gig. They cannot pay their writers anymore. So PLEASE click on my new stuff at 1-800-RECYCLING so I can keep this gig, which I really really like!!!!!

Couch Cover/Rainbow

Mom bought me this great couch cover and sent it down with Maggie. I just put it on today. It's pretty and comfy! I should have taken a before picture of the couch, but it's the material of the pillows. I bought it on Craigslist for $40, so yeah, it wasn't so pretty before.

The rainbow is from yesterday. It was pretty misty in the morning, and from our balcony it just looked like we were in a cloud. When it cleared, this beautiful rainbow was left! It's directly over Interstate 95 downtown. Awesome!

I'm working hard today on writing, laundry and cleaning. Soon I will be making chili, which I'm very excited about! Even though it isn't cold here, I'm still looking forward to some yummy chili.

If anyone wants to see my 1-800-Recycling articles, you can view them here:

http://1800recycling.com/author/jessica-bates/

That's my author page, and as I write new articles they will be edited and then put up there. They will also be featured on the homepage. I've written 5 so far, and as of now there are only 2 up. Look in a few days for more! I wrote a really fun piece on making my own household cleaner and trying it out.

Love!

Gator Park with Mag

On last Sunday when Maggie was here, we drove west to the Everglades to go to Gator Park. We took an airboat ride through the swampland and got to see some gators pretty close to us! I was on the end of the airboat, and I was careful to keep my hands and feet inside the boat! But I did lean out when I wanted to take pics. If anyone ever comes to Miami to visit, I'll definitely be taking you to Gator Park! After the airboat ride, there was a crazy wildlife show, where the guy showed us how to wrestle a gator -- and he used a LARGE live gator to demonstrate! It was pretty exciting/terrifying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I miss Maggie already :(

But we had a great time! Love, Jess

Maggie's photo shoot at Bill Baggs State Park!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Action Day

Hey guys. Today is Blog Action Day (to raise awareness on climate change) and my new gig, 1800Recycling.com is participating. My very first published article for them appeared TODAY! Please check it out if you have a minute or two!! You can see it here:

Visit Miami Before it's Under Water - and it will also be featured on the 1800 Recycling homepage for a bit. Also, if you click on my name, there's a bio and picture! Yay, exciting!

In other news, Maggie is on a plane to Fort Lauderdale. She just texted me from Tampa (she had to stop there on her way), so I'll be heading to pick her up pretty soon! I will add some picks while she's here. She'll be here for whole week!

Love, J :)

It's workout time

I've been feeling not-so-productive lately, so I decided to start working out. Seriously this time. Yesterday morning my friends and I met at 6 a.m. in the gym at our building to do a Px90 (P90X?) video, which are apparently all over the television right now. We did the agility workout, and it was pretty tough, but also fun. It reminded me of intense softball conditioning. The gym in our building has an attached room with mirrors and hardwood that we can use for yoga, dance, pilates, etc. It was great! I felt productive all day yesterday, and I went to bed pretty early.

This morning I met my friend Ginny at Bayfront Park to do free yoga. It was very relaxing, and quite a good workout. Tomorrow I'm going to Aventura Mall (about 15 minutes north of me) where they have free yoga on Sunday mornings before the mall opens. It's at a fitness store called Lululemon, and I just checked their website and they're opening one in Nashville soon. It looks like it will be on Hillsboro Pike, so maybe at Green Hills Mall. The one here has different classes each day, with some kickboxing, some yoga, pilates, cardio dance, etc. I can't wait!

Shel is looking like such a pretty baby! I love those brown eyes, can't wait to meet her.

I love you all! Going to get to work now. Adios.

1800Recycling.com

Hello all,

I've been thinking a lot lately about Grad School, internships, career goals and paths, etc. It has been pretty taxing, and a pretty big downer... But admist the craziness, I just got another writing opportunity!

I'm sure you all know how much I love recycling, so it's pretty exciting to be a new member of 1800recycling.com.

It's a small group of writers around the U.S., and my editor is based in Pheonix. I will be writing weekly for their site, which goes live in about two weeks.

When I get my first article posted, I will be sure to send you all the link! Now I'm just having my former law firm people read over my contract before I sign, and then I'll be all set to start.

YAY! A freelancer's life for me...