Ordinary Visionary

The World is On Sale.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of British Airways. All opinions are 100% mine.

About a year and half ago, when Vance worked for Discovery and we were planning our wedding, he took off for the other side of the world. It's something he became accustomed to growing up, but it was totally foreign (no pun intended) to me. My family didn't go on missions across the world or encourage me to do so after I moved out of the house. Sure, I traveled to Detroit and Philadelphia and Lynchburg, but I never made it to Dubai, Paris or Nairobi. I've never seen the Taj Majal or an Indian traffic jam outside of the photos others bring back from their own journeys.

As much as Vance has traveled the world, he hasn't really done it for leisure. He's always out to save the world, teaching English to the daughters of prostitutes or planting a church in the middle of Kyrgyzstan. Maybe one day we'll go together to meet my sponsored child in Nairobi. Maybe we'll get there on British Airways.

If the prices of clothes and unnecessary commodities are any indication you'd think that the cost of airline tickets would be dirt cheap right now. But US-based airlines have responded to a drop in demand by cutting supply and raising prices, and our trip to Denver for Christmas ended up costing more than one to London or Rome on British Airways right now. The "World is on Sale" fare special ends tomorrow, but if you're planning a vacation (or a trip around the world to dig wells in Africa) and want the upgraded experience offered by British Airways, now would be a good time to book.

If instead you're staying state-side this year, but plan on heading to New York City sometime soon, British Airways powers a website called Metrotwin, highlighting the best of that city and its twin, London. One of my favorite travel resources, Not For Tourists is featured on there.

All this talk of travel has me thinking: where will my first overseas trip take us? I'm thinking London. So we can walk the halls of Oxford University, and maybe find the apartment where Sheldon and Davy lived. Mmmm, daydreams.

Make it a Healthy Halloween This Year

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Trick Or Treat Me Blog by Tetra Pak. All opinions are 100% mine.

Recently I've had a bug for finding discounts on organic foods, challenging myself to save between 10 and 20 percent on groceries each time I go to the store. I don't always succeed, but with more organic brands branching out into social media marketing and online coupon sites, it really isn't hard to come by discounts on products that are better for you, and better for the earth. Vance recently brought home a huge stack of Organic Valley coupons after the environmental expo at Pinecastle a couple of weeks ago, which has already saved us about $10 off of our weekly groceries.

Virtuous as it may be for the two of us to live a healthy lifestyle, buy organic, and save money doing it, when it comes to Halloween it's almost impossible. Publix has acres of shelf space devoted to absolute junk (delicious, delicious junk) right now, and it's tempting to just pick up a couple pounds of the stuff and be done with it. I don't want to be that house — the one kids spread the word about, where the granola-eating liberals are handing out organic apples and bags of trail mix instead of the usual sugary jackpot.

Turns out I'm not alone in this. Tetra Pak has put together a blog and coupon site specifically for health-conscious Halloweeners and tree-huggers like me. The Trick Or Treat Me Blog has two coupons for chocolate milk and two ways to send micro-donations to the World Wildlife Fund without taking out your wallet. (Of course, I hope you pick the organic coupon, but I'm biased). Either way, the milk cartons are recyclable and made from renewable resources. And while you may be thinking, "milk is the lamest Halloween loot I've ever heard of," I know at least one trick-or-treeter that would trade a Snickers the size of his head for a carton of chocolate milk. (I'm looking at you, Luke.)

I used the site to send a 10¢ donation to the WWF and a custom e-card to Vance with some random photos I took from my Flickr stream. The site was a bit clunky to navigate but the result was amusing enough to warrant the effort.

If you're not interested in the coupons or the e-card, Tetra Pak will still make a 10¢ donation to World Wildlife Fund for every trick or treat you tweet out with Twitter (up to $30,000). Trick Or Treat Me on Twitter to send a little love their way.