All posts by: Jennie Lyon

About Jennie Lyon

Jennie Lyon is a green lifestyle writer, owner of a virtual assistant firm + mother of one teenage boy in sunny Florida. She posts on simple, fun ways families can go green together - starting with her own.

“Scoopin’ the loop” was the only amusement for adolescents in my rural Iowan hometown on Sunday nights in the summer. The “loop” was the uptown square, and to “scoop” it was to drive in endless circles (squares?) around it. Scoopin’ the loop was tailgating in motion. Teens borrowing their dad’s truck had a five-second window […]

Starbucks is giving their top selling Pumpkin Spice Latte a makeover this fall, marking a positive change for the environment. The coffee giant is updating their recipe to include real pumpkin, and they’re making other changes too, like eliminating the artificial caramel coloring from their drinks. The change comes as part of the growing real […]

Iowa, in the heartland of America, has heart-stopping attractions at their state fair this week. Under the big top, food is over-the-top. Oversized, overpriced, and over the waistband. If you get a hankering for taking a bite out of the Iowa State Fair’s cow carved out of butter, you can munch on your own stick […]

Sometimes the only way to face stupidity is to laugh. That seems to be the case with the tampon tax. You may be aware of the tax situation; while “necessities” or “non-luxury” purchases like groceries are exempt from sales tax, items that are considered to be essential to a person’s survival, only five states have […]

A few flags are still strung up on porches a month after Fourth of July. Patriotism surged more deeply in my chest, however, when standing on foreign soil. The sense of otherness surrounding me reaffirmed my natal identity that I had, ironically, chucked aside to integrate into another culture. It was not until I was […]

For me, summer is about fresh food, warm sun, and wholesome fun. Savoring the garden harvest and frolicking in sunshine are enjoyable in themselves, but having a good time doesn’t always coincide so nicely with our environmental values. Toys ‘R’ Us is a big box of plastic-molded and battery-operated diversion. Big-boy toys gulp diesel. Eyes […]