In my webcomic frenzy of the past three days, I have come across a lot of panels that I think are hilarious. Others, I think... have gotten me to thinking about how green I have become over the past year as a result of my experiences in Rennes, France. Here is one of them:

Now, I know it's meant to be a funny set of panels, but I have thought a lot about composting at my house (parents' house). With all the gardening they do, composting would be very beneficial. Even if they didn't use the composted material themselves, I'm sure there are many landscaping places that rely on compost for their commercial projects.

Composting, for those that don't know, is the collection and decomposition of plant and animal materials for use in gardening and landscaping. Compost provides valuable nutrients and vitamins taken from your table, garden, or lawn. When you use the compost, you're putting those essential parts of plant growth back into your lawn or garden. It's an incredibly environmental way to fertilize your plants. While throwing away your dead plants, lawn clippings, and animal waste into the trash and sending them to a dump or landfill will lead to their eventual decomposition and composting, it's a lot cheaper to keep it in a compost bin in your backyard and use it again later (i.e. trash/waste pick-up, having to drive to lawn/garden store, buying fertilizer). You can buy a compost bin at almost any lawn/garden store in your community. Give it a try with a small trash can in your backyard for a year. It's helping the environment (and helping your budget). If you need tips on composting or want to learn more, visit The Garden of Oz.

So, my question is: do you compost/know someone who does? Would you start if someone you knew could use it?

Jake and I have been frantically working on getting approved for our apartment (sans fireplace). We've spent two days now signing paperwork, checking e-mails, writing checks, faxing things back and forth, and asking any last minute questions. We will know by next Monday about our new apartment (and if we have a place to live). 

We are both really excited. The only thing we can do now, besides wait, is pick a color for the accent wall... We are stuck between blue (Jake's favorite color) and green or red (my color picks). We will have to search online for something we both like and get it done. Yay!

Wedding plans are kind of at a stand still, aside from the fact that I think we've found our wedding photographers/videographers! We are looking into Yellow Paddle Photography based in Denver. They are a group of students and a professional photographer who have great deals and good packages. We are going to schedule a meeting with them to see more of their work when Jake visits in two weeks and have an engagement session later in August to "test drive" a photographer. Should be fun!

Jake is working on a transfer to an O'Reilly/Checker Auto Parts store near our apartment complex in Thornton, CO. I have been steadily applying for jobs in everything from retail to sales to hospitality. We'll see what happens as we get closer to August.

I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful sun we've been getting in Colorado. Hopefully we'll be sending it all around to share!