April 19, 2008 by Julie.

…ahhh…home. the smell of the subway, the roar of the…Nothing like setting foot on the train after being on the road smashed into a car with two boys for 9 months…actually, nothing like it at all. Amazing how fast things seem like you never left them.

Julie here, just checking in, relaying that the female(s) of Your Environmental Road Trip are still kicking and breathing. Singing, actually. Baby is getting her first glimpses of what Mama really does..and she seems to like it pretty well. Can’t blame her as, in my opinion, the vibrations that rock the walls daily of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program on 2nd Avenue are nothing less than delicious, to even the most tested of ears, much less tiny, developing, new ones.

A little backstory: I negotiated with the boys for this week of work, singing in NYC, before we ever left Pittsburgh back in July, and have been looking forward to it fiercely ever since. (side note* this little baby was conceived on the only day on this trip that Ben and I actually sang together, performing a musical reading for a friend in LA back in October. I’m just saying.) Not surprising that everything feels just fine.

The boys have been working their patooties off getting the new website off the ground in flying colors, chasing interviews all over Manhattan, scrambling around the city shooting b-roll, while I sit on the edge of my chair in the rehearsal room with several other singer/actors, learning music and remembering what it feels like to soar. Happy. Free. And yesterday was simply gorgeous, 70’s and breezy… I went window shopping near Union Square just to see what people are wearing these days and i had to laugh bc everything looks maternity! All girls are wearing frocks! hahaha i fit right in. Except for my shoes. I found a spot on a bench and watched the people for hours…

Today is going to be amazing. My dear friend, Erin Crosby, is throwing us a green baby shower! at her apartment in Brooklyn, and I am told she has gone to many lengths to make this as different as possible from the 9 months we have spent in the car with same clothes, same shoes, same equipment, same each other… We have asked that everyone bring something 2nd hand, rather than something new, NO PLASTIC, Pls! and that it be “wrapped” in something completely reusable, and she has done her best to be sure that people are thinking creatively. I can’t wait to see what people have come up with, and I am so so grateful to her for pulling this off. Plus, I can’t wait to feel like a pretty girl again. Ugggh. For literally the first time in months, I will be wearing something other than dirty sneakers.

In short, I am giddy with anticipation and thanking in advance Erin, all my friends who are meeting us today, NYU, and my YERT boys for letting me have this window where I get to remember the joy of being a girl…greenly…before I leave this tour to learn how to be a green mom. Stay tuned…we’ll let you know how it goes.

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Julie | 1 Comment »

April 19, 2008 by Ben.

Today, Saturday April 19th, will be a momentous occasion as Julie enjoys a shower in Brooklyn with 30 of her closest friends. Baby shower, that is. And we’re trying to make it as environmentally friendly as we can - a “clean” shower. Julie’s requested no packaging of any kind on the gifts; no plastic gifts; all-natural and environmentally friendly products, materials, and ingredients; and free, homemade, or second-hand gifts whenever possible. It’s going to be an interesting time to say the least - we’ll certainly let you know what people come up with. For now, here are three interesting eco-baby shower sites I found online.

All Natural Baby

Eco Parti

Crystal Baby Organics

I sure am glad at least one of us is showering today.

And now, a poem:

When you’re loving the planet
As you grow a little “bean”
Nothing feels better
Than a shower that’s clean

peace,
Ben

Posted in Events, Travelog, Ben | 1 Comment »