before and after

Or rather, after...

And before.

(and during)

Laura's March: A Walk to End Violence Against Women

On Saturday, September 6, Rogerdog and I will participate in the Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund's second-annual "Laura's March: A Walk to End Violence Against Women."

The LKW Memorial Fund is a non-profit organization created in the wake of Laura's murder in 2005. This year's 5K march will benefit two vital Vermont organizations: Women Helping Battered Women and the Women's Rape Crisis Center.

Please support Roger and me as we join the Kelliher Samets Volk team and the Burlington community at Laura's March. Every little donation helps!

Thanks for your support!
Laura Lou & Roger too

KSV's Commuter Challenge!

I'm excited to announce that the KSV Commuter Challenge is upon us! We're already in the thick of it, with Week 1 behind us and Week 2 under way...

Here's how it works:

●Outside the kitchen there's a star chart sign-up list. (Gold stars are motivating no matter what your age!)

●For every day that you alterna-commute (anything other than single person in a vehicle), you get to put up a star. If you totally leave your car at home, it's a gold star. If you drive a carpool, it's a green star.

●At the end of the week, each star earns you entry into the prize drawing. We've got a $25 gift certificate for each week, two from Skirack, and two from Outdoor Gear Exchange.

●In addition to the weekly drawings, at the end of the four weeks we will calculate an MVP. This will be the person who cuts the most driving miles from their commute.

The commuter challenge is brought to us by the green group, Skunkworks. We've been working on behind the scenes projects like making sure everyone has a blue recycling bin, switching all paper to FSC-certified, and urging people to make the switch to electronic instead of paper archival methods (job bags, open job lists, emails, etc).

In preparation for this project, Kate developed a Google map showing each employee's location and bus stops. The map is mounted and resides in the Diner. At our July company meeting, we had assigned seating in clusters of people who live near each other to facilitate carpool discussion. The following week was our official kick-off event, complete with green food (key lime cookies, guacamole) and drinks (appletinis and margaritas!).

We received great support and energy from our prize sponsors, Skirack and Outdoor Gear Exchange. Skirack even chipped in a bonus gift certificate and a bag of runner/cyclist give-aways! OGE runs a commuter challenge for their employees as well, with a prize every month.

There are 25 participants (27 if you count Edith and Rogerdog), and already this week 13 people have earned stars! Way to go KSV, keep up the green work!!

Gonna make this garden grow

Here's tonight's tomato harvest!!

I think I'll harvest some of my basil and make bruschetta for my guests this weekend!

Roger and the Lock

Oh, Roger! Why do you do these things?!

I came home for lunch today. I don't get to do that every day, so I was pretty happy about it. That quickly changed when one of my more random, less probable fears was realized: Roger had locked himself into my bedroom.

As you can see, to lock the door is a simple flick of a switch and presto, privacy. However, to unlock it, one must turn the porcelain knob from the inside. On my side, the living room side, there is only a hole above the knob for a "key." Now, I know from my many years as an amateur babysitter that responsible parents keep the key on the frame above the door for just such an occurrence. However, I am not one of those responsible parents. Also, I don't even have a key for it.

After trying such genius materials as a pen cap, paperclip, and screwdriver, I ran down to Marla, who once again saved the day, this time by lending me a wire coat hanger. I was able to pop it open, and Roger smiled and danced, oblivious to the peril he had so recently been in, wondering only why I had waited so long to open the door.

And that, Matt, is why I go home at lunch.

Green Drinks 7/29

Last night Alex and I attended the monthly gathering Green Drinks at the Skinny Pancake. Held all over the world, Green Drinks is a social/networking evening for environmentally-minded people to have a beer, meet new people, and connect with friends. The Burlington event is held at the Skinny Pancake on the last Tuesday of the month starting at 530pm. A local green company hosts, meaning they pay for the first $100 in drinks and circulate through the crowd spreading their good word.

At first we stuck together exclusively, finding it too daunting to invite ourselves into one of the many already-in-progress conversations surrounding us on the patio. We chatted about KSV's own green group, and the upcoming commuter challenge. But then a familiar face caught my eye, and soon enough we were having our own lively and animated conversation with Ellen Shapiro, owner of the Champlain edition of the publication Green Living. I had worked with her frequently at a time when we both worked for different companies, and she was happy to hear of my career move and satisfaction with my current position. I told her a bit about KSV's green group, and she happily offered to run any press releases we have on the efforts and changes we're making.

This month's sponsor was Green Cab VT, a taxi service with a fleet of bio-diesel, hybrid, and electric cars. Alex pointed out that our company has a designated cab service for getting to and from the airport, and it might be possible to switch to Green Cab. I was able to sit down with owner Charlie Herrick, who gladly told me about vouchers KSV could buy - a possible solution for emergency rides home in our upcoming commuter challenge.

The energetic and committed owner is also looking to expand his offerings to include local courier services to Burlington. Since they don't have to pay the ever-increasing costs of gasoline, Green Cab will be a cheaper option. Sometimes, it IS easy being green!

Portions reposted on the KSV Blog Unplanned

Roger and the Window

Now that I live safely on the second floor, I invested in a window fan to help keep my place tolerable during the hot weather. I put it in the bedroom window and use it at night - it really does the trick!

Roger stays at home in my room while I'm at work. He's very well-behaved, never chews up my shoes or barks out of boredom. But I guess he finds ways to entertain himself.

One morning several weeks ago, I was at work and our downstairs neighbor Marla called me. I almost didn't even answer, I assumed it was house stuff that could wait. The call went something like this:

"Oh hi Marla, yep I'm at work. Yeah, heh, busy as usual. What's up? He's crying and barking? Hmm, that's unusual--hanging OUT OF THE WINDOW?!? - YES OF COURSE, I'M ON MY WAY!" (insert running noises here)

I immediately ran the two blocks home, expecting to see my little dog somehow stuck halfway out the window - or flying through the air in a daredevil leap. Marla was in her robe in her driveway looking up at my window as I neared, and there was Roger, proudly standing on the window sill, smiling at us.

I bolted up the stairs and into my room. He was so happy to see me! I was just trying to get my heart to stop pounding. He had somehow managed to knock the fan out of the window back onto my bed, push the window sash all the way up, and knock the screen out onto the ground below!

Needless to say, I now remove the fan every morning and lock the window before leaving for work.

Recommended Reading

I don't remember how I first stumbled onto the Diggin Food blog, but I love it! The lofted veggie garden entry is what first drew me in, and I stayed because it's all good stuff. Makes me want to turn the whole yard into a vegetable garden.

A very important introduction

Roger McKenna
Birthday 10.16.06
Adopted 4.16.08
60lbs of pure awesome

So long-time readers may notice my blog description has been revised from "Advertising - Environmentalism - Feminism - Friends" to now read "Advertising - Environmentalism - Feminism - Roger." Roger is my dog. He's my best friend, and he certainly gives me a lot of material to work with and adventures to blog about! When I mentioned to some coworkers that I had a blog, they insisted that Roger Stories needed to be on there. I've got some catching up to do!

Roger was adopted as a housewarming gift to myself in April '08 from HSCC, when he was 1.5 yrs old. I'd been volunteering at HSCC for over a year, waiting for the right dog to come through, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect! He's a Catahoula Leopard dog, which happens to be the state dog of Louisiana. Like most of the people who ask me about him, I had never heard of the breed. I did a little research before going to meet him. I don't know why they're not more popular up here - he's exactly what I was looking for!! - athletic but not hyper (able to chill at home all day, then go romping around in the evening and hiking on weekends); bonds really closely with his family; webbed feet for swimming; loves and needs human interaction. The very first time we met, I knew he was my dog. We had a paw-jama party later that week, and the very next day I spent my lunch break filling out the paperwork and we've never looked back.

From what I've pieced together from his medical records, he was in at least two different shelters in Florida, then transferred up to VT. Before he and I found each other, he had been adopted by another family here in VT, and lived with them for about 6 mo. He nipped at their young daughter a couple times when she cornered him for a hug, but their loss is my gain. It's only been about 10 weeks, but I can't imagine my life without him! He's always happy to see me, protective and very lovey and cuddly. Roger is mellow for such a young dog, and for the most part, well-behaved. I continue to be amazed at how clever he is.

JC Penney's "Speed Dressing"

I'm still trying to decide what I think about this ad! It certainly isn't clear whether they plan to be having safe sex, and that they are going through such thorough preparation means the daughter hasn't discussed - or maybe discussed and not OKed - it with her mom...

Here's some of what AdWeek had to say about it:

JC Penney Co officials are upset about a racy, fake ad on YouTube in which the retailer appears to be endorsing teen sex, and they are blaming the company's ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi. The ad surfaced on the internet after winning a prestigious international advertising award at Cannes.

While the ad could anger parents who shop at Penney, it also has the potential to make the retailer seem "sassy, fun and irreverent" to teens, said Alan Siegel, chief executive of New York strategic-branding company Siegel + Gale. "It's not going to reflect well on the brand in Middle America, but the ad is nicely done and the people in it are attractive; young people in New York and LA will get a kick out of it," he said.