The Gift of a Story

I spent the last three days learning to make a digital story. I was given the gift of new skills. I was able to invite 10 other people to participate ( all who felt they were given a gift.)

I told my first story as a gift but the story I told was really a gift from my son Nate. One of the participants bought me a framed piece of art that said " Your Story Begins at Home." She said "I saw it and had to get it for you." Another participant wrote a thank you to me in the credits of her digital story.

So many gifts......

16 out of 29

I'm at day 16 out of my 29 days of giving ( boy am I glad I started on Dec 1)

Ben and I gave Christmas cookies to his French Horn teacher.  But I'm learning that spontaneous gifts are often the ones that make me smile. Like saying thank you to the woman who bagged my groceries ( she seemed surprised).

And the other day, I walked past the Salvation Army bell ringer...I wasn't sure how much cash I had and knew I might need to pay Ben's teacher.  After I bought my groceries I went back and emptied all my change into the red bucket. " You came back...thank you so much"  It wasn't the amount of money that mattered..it was that I came back.
Photo credit: flickr julep67/2139776806/

A gift of tea

We hosted what will probably be our last teacher tea yesterday. This is really a gift for us. We invite our kid's teachers to our home for tea. It started as a way to use our fancy tea set (thank you Grandpa Swanson) and became a tradition. But now that both boys are in middle school, I thought we were done. BUT, Ben got the teacher Nate had in 6th grade and she asked me "Do you still do Teacher Tea?" So we did!

My other gift yesterday was driving slowly and carefully. I drove to yoga and the minute I was on the rode felt myself get tense. People were driving fast and the roads were awful and I started to get mad at people who were trying to pass on the right hand side. I decided "Time for gift" and told myself, "I'm not in a rush. I'm going to slow down, be careful and try to give other drivers the room they need." So instead of getting mad at the driver trying to pass on the right, I slowed down to make it easier for him to get around. I got to my destination a little later and a lot calmer.

I'm not slacking

Wed: Snow Day Special Breakfast for my family ( bagel sammies just like a restaurant)

Sarah got a a two day special ( because she is leaving)
Monday I treated her to chai and a sweet treat
Tuesday we gave her a "Going Away/ Transition to a New Job" bag of goodies.

And finally: on Sunday, I had some work to do so I treated myself to coffee...and while I was at Coffee Bytes, I tipped my barista. (and I had to take a photo of the tip jar..which looks weird so I ended up telling the barista about the blog and the giving challenge)

I love snow days

12-26-2007-172
Originally uploaded by wiconservation

When I was a kid, a snow day was one of the best presents, ever. I still feel that way!

If you are home today..(.and in a place where there is snow..we have extra in Madison if you need some) WI League of Conservation Voters is challenging us to create snow people with signs that say

WI Snow People United Against Global Warming

Find inspiration here

Send your photo to info@conservationvoters.org

If you are in Wisconsin, pass this message to others.

I win again

I won another award. :)

This award is from my Mom who emailed me to say
"Sometimes I just want to give YOU a gift because YOU are a gift."

I love Moms ( in general and mine especially!)

Thank you Mom!

Award: From Ginny

The Gifts Keep Piling Up

Things I've given:

• A presentation to WI Donate Life
• Fixed a "First Snow Breakfast" for my kids ( this is an annual tradition where we eat an all white meal in honor of the first snow fall)

And I gave something to Erica ( a friend at church, one of my favorite people)..I don't know what...

Erica said " I just have to say thank you."  But when I asked for what..she didin't have a specfic answer.

 So I said thank you right back to Erica "What ever it was, you're welcome. You just helped me out because I was just thinking " What did I give today?""

My friend Pamela took me to a soul rocking Christmas concert ( Madison Symphony). It was a beautiful gift...and I told Pamela that.   Pamela is gracious about both giving and receiving...she said "I'm so glad you enjoyed it."  As I become more conscious of when I am giving a gift...I am also realizing how many gifts I am being given each day.

For instance, at church when my kids left for class and I found myself sitting alone...Susan waved me up by her...and then gave me a big hug. As if I had been gone on a long trip and she was so glad to see me again.  Is that a good gift or what?

Photo Credit :Flickr katy/6364985

Humbled by a Gift

 I was driving back from a training with two co-workers yesterday when I remembered " I didn't give a gift."

Sarah ( my co-worker who is leaving to take new job)
"I'm giving you a gift."

My honest to God response ( which I am embarrassed to write) "No! I'm doing this challenge...and I have to give something away each day" (ouch!)

One of the things the 29 Day Challenge reminds you of...is to be open to receiving. How can we give, if we can't receive? And receiving a gift graciously is, in itself, gift.

So my gifts yesterday were: a reminder of how to accept gifts, a beautiful handmade mosaic ( which I tried to capture on film...and after 10 photos know I have not done it justice) and, last and most importantly, a reminder of how precious friendships are.

A couple of years ago, I was at a meeting and they had us make a list of what we liked about our work. Sarah's name was at the top of my list. Sarah is leaving next week for an exciting new job.

What a joy it has been for the past five years to work with someone who is smart, dependable, creative, does more than her fair share (always!) and funny ( we laugh a lot at work). We will regroup at our work...you can't have beginnings without endings. And Sarah and I are already scheming about ways to partner between our two organizations...so maybe it isn't an ending after all.

Almost Didn't Make it On My First Day

DSP 147: Thank You! 2007-10-11
Originally uploaded by vernhart

So the "rules" for the giving challenge are pretty flexible.  Give "something" away each day. It can be a physical gift..but can also be a smile, a hug, etc.   You would think that would make it easier, right?  Didn't work that way for me.  I spent the day asking myself "Was that a gift?"
Because I was thinking about how I might give a gift to my kids, I was very calm when Ben managed to spill the entire container of sugar on the kitchen floor ( even though he as successfully gotten cereal out of that cupboard for the past five years.)  I said " Wow, you did something different this time.  Try not to do it again.."  Is that a gift?

I said a heart felt thank you to the bus driver ( both times).  I helped plan and pay for a going away lunch for a much loved (soon to be former) colleague.  Neither felt like they were "it."

I was still thinking about giving during yoga class..which I love.  So I didn't decide on my gift until 7pm on my first day. I realized I had never told my yoga teacher how much I enjoy her class.  I love that I can walk to it. That it brings together people from my neighborhood. And how good it makes me feel. I look forward to it each week.  I made a point of staying after class to tell her.  It felt good! It felt like a gift!

Final action for 2009

I have been thinking about how to end this year of "being the change we want to see in the world"  and when I read about 29 Days I thought "There's a worthy challenge to try...and what better month than December to focus on giving.

So this month's challenge is to give one thing away for the next 29 days.  For more information visit the the 29 Day Giving Challenge

Confession: I am a little intimated by this.

Disclaimer: I'm not insisting or requiring that anyone else in the family participate.

PS: for those of you waiting with baited breath for the results of our Energy Audit. We just got it...give us chance to read it..and then I'll share our results and any actions we take.

Photo Credit: flickr hamed

Good News Bad News

First the good news: Although I don't have the final report...it seems our house is pretty energy efficient.

Here is Laurie using the infared camera...looking for air leaking...and she had a hard time.  She did find some spots but not as much as she usually does.


And here she is doing the blower door test...to see how tight our house is.  She had to stop the fan and go to a smaller one because our house was tighter than she expected.

And here she is checking our really noisy fans ( the ones I was hoping didn't really work) but it turns out they work just fine...in fact better than fine...above average.

So what's the bad news...we have a real problem with water on our windows and not just a little condensation...I wipe up puddles and we have to watch for mold.  Laurie felt this was the challenge to our house..where is the water coming from and what can we do about it.

Stay tuned...we should get the report in the next week or so.

Hat Tip Dave

My son Ben's favorite teacher ever has a blog!  It's called Teacher's Journey to Earth's Future.  He is writing about how teachers can prepare students for our future.  He wants to link to this blog as an example of citizen engagement!  Thanks Dave!

What will the photos tell us?

Cold Air Leak Under Door
Originally uploaded by CBC || Thermal

This picture looks like art...but it is actually showing gold air sneaking into your house ( taken with an infared camera)

We will soon have pretty photos like this of our house...I anticipate lots of different colors. :)

We signed up to have an energy audit of our house next week. This is a big action for us for two reasons:
1. We have talked about doing this for years.
2. It is costing us big bucks ( $400)

Will it be worth it? Stay tuned!

Mixed Reviews

Some people liked the skulls, some people thought they were creepy.

Some people liked the idea of honoring your relatives and telling stories.
Other people ( my husband) thought the post was "off topic".

Oh well...you can't please everyone.

Our October actions had to be put on hold since we were all sick for much of October!
Coming Soon....November is Energy Audit month

Celebrating Halloween

We tried something new this Halloween.  I've been thinking about ways to add meaning to our holidays ( which were once holy days).  So this year on Nov 1..we had an ancestor party.                                                      We were influenced by what Nate is learning about how Mexico celebrates Day of the Dead...so we made sugar skulls ( which was easy and fun)     Then we created an ancestor altar....we collected photographs and mementos from ancestors who are now dead ...things like Mark's grandfathers watch and a bowl my grandfather carved.                                                  We lit candles and told stories about our grandparents....the boys told stories about their rats ( we had two pet rats die this year.)  It wasn't sad or depressing...many of our stories were funny.  We all enjoyed the evening...I'm hoping we do this again.      (  Don't worry..the boys did trick or treat ...and came home with pillow cases full of candy.)                                                              

Are you ready?

350 @ Te Henga 04.10.09 CF022761
Originally uploaded by carlchenery

Today is 350 day...a call to action for people around the globe to demand that world leaders to take real action to reduce the carbon in our climate. There are amazing things happening around the globe.

Check out the photos at 350.org

If you do only one thing..sign the petition.

How do you eat real food?

The Real Food Festival
Originally uploaded by Food Stories

So my Mom says..."Good luck with that food thing..what ever it is you're doing." So what are we doing?

I'm doing my best to follow some of Pollen's advice about eating real food.

1. Don't buy anything your great grand mother wouldn't recognize as food. Pollen uses Go Gurt as an example. What would your great grandmother say " Is this food or toothpaste?"

2. Don't buy food if you don't recognized the ingredients ( or if the list of ingredients is over 5). Take a look at what is in Go Gurt sometime (it's hard to tell it's supposed to be yogurt)

3. Don't buy food with health claims on the package....because stuff in packages tends to be processed. And processed food tends to be changed to fit the health claim du jour. So a food will be "Low Fat" one month and then changed to "No Transfat" the next. Is that same food any healthier?

Our top two read food strategies ( as opposed to food like substances) has meant

1. Not buying prepared food in packages. We made the exception for Mac and Cheese ( though we read the labels on Annie's and Simply Organic and the list was short and recognizable)

2. Buying most of our food from Farmer's Markets and the outer aisle at the grocery store ( that's where the produce, meat, frozen veggies are) (this is another Pollen tip)

Our beloved Dexter

Here is why we haven't been blogging about food.

The boys' pet rat Dexter got a brain tumor. She wasn't able to stay upright ( she fell to the left) and couldn't use her left front paw. She would just sit in her cage because it was so hard to move around. We made the very difficult decision to put her to sleep. It was a very sad day for all of us. She is buried now ( with two M and Ms....a rat's dream) in our backyard next to her sister Lyra. It is hard to lose someone you love.

October is about Eating!

Peppers at the Farmers Market
Originally uploaded by alltrain43

Our focus this month is on ethical eating. I read Michel Pollen's book "In Defense of Food" and got to hear him speak at the end of September ( along with 7000 others!) There was an article in the Isthmus too.

To sum up, straight from Pollen,

1. Eat Food
2. Not too Much
3. Mostly Plants

Of the three, my kids are most supportive of the first. So we will start there. :)

Recycling Caps

Here is my colleague Jill and I recycling our caps at AVEDA.  Aveda has just opened a shop under our new office making it pretty convenient for us!

Hero Photos

Here I am with Sonya ( who founded Community Car) and John, the Director of Community Car ...with my hero loot .  The hero loot included a one month Madison bus pass and a coupon to use a community car for day ( watch for Mark and I in the Mini Cooper.)



This is me being interviewed by Channel 3. I am told I made the 10pm news ( I was asleep at that point)

Hat tip to Astrid for the photos and also for the suggestion to send the photos to our neighborhood newsletter. Westmoreland Rocks!!

We are heroes!

I accepted a Transportation Hero award on behalf of the six Challenge families. The award was from Madison's Community Car. I got interviewed by Channel 3. I don't think we made the TV news but we did get featured in
Madison Residents Take Part In World Car-Free Day


Photo Credit
Flickr:  MARCIO HIROSSE

Award Winners

Here is our winning No Car Low Car Family.

They wanted to pose with their bikes because that is how they "racked up the points!"  Notice the garden behind them ( Karen should win an award for that too!

But there is more!  We all won an award. Mark nominated the Low Car No Car Challenge for a Car Free Award ( sponsored by the the Community Car here in Madison) and I got an email letting us know we are award winners.  The award ceremony is tomorrow afternoon as part of World No Car Day.

No Car Low Car Celebration

The celebration potluck! Yum! (We do know how to eat!)











 No Car Low Car Bronze winners showing their score card.

Mark toasts our success...we got second place!

Ben takes one for the team

It's the last day of the No Car/Low Car Challenge. And Ben, our point leader, is injured.  He wiped out when trying an electric scooter.  We were worried last night. He thought he might have to take the bus to school ( a difference in 4 crucial points)

How would we survive the final day with our team captain on the side lines?  But never fear...Ben came through. Here he is getting ready to bike..pointing to his awesome road rash. Go Ben!

Famer's Market for 10 Points

We rode to the Farmer's Market on Saturday...with  5 points each way both Ben and Seth were happy to come along!

Check out my new bike rack..this is something I have been meaning to do...the Challenge gave me the extra nudge I needed!

No Car/Low Car Challenge: Day 6

We are feeling some pressure.  The Fiore family rode by our house last night ( after riding to the library)...it was great to see them  but in the back of our minds we were tallying points. They got at last 45 points for a fun evening out on bikes. 

Ben was on the job and had a plan. We biked to Ellie and Alex's house..and then to the library. Luckily we had forgotton our library card so we had to bike home and then he and his dad walked back up.  Total: 50 points!  Take that Fiore's!

Our Fearless Leader

Here is Ben, riding to school. He is leading the way in points for our family. Go Ben!

Day Three: No Car/Low Car Challenge

Ben ( my 11 year old son) is worried.  He knows that one family has taken a strong lead...they earned 100 points in the first day.  Ben used this morning at breakfast to lead a family strategy session.  Here are my favorite quotes....

Ben " What do you mean you're picking me up from school?  I can't ride home?" 

Later, we were discussing how we would get to the soccer games this weekend : "Mom, we could ride to Stoughton, it would just take us a long time "  (Note: Stoughton is 20 miles away.)

And finally, "Ok this Friday, the whole family has to walk or bike somewhere!"

Ben has emerged as our leader in this challenge and he is putting the pressure on our family to perform. Are we up to the challenge?  Stay tuned......

We're off!

Yesterday was the first day of No Car/Low Car Challenge!

My son Ben rode to school for the first time...with his friend Micah.

I heard from several families who walked and rode..to school, to work, to Walgreens, to the
library. Obviously a little friendly neighborhood competition has inspired us to get moving. We are off to a great start!

I also know several readers, who are not able to participate in the full challenge but are trying to find at least one "travel action" they can take. My colleague Jill didn't renew her parking space and is now taking the bus to work on a regular basis. Go Jill!!

Why we Boycott Exon

I used to boycott Exon because of their response ( or lack of it) to the Exon Valdez disaster. Now I have another reason...

Turns out Exon pays people to question climate science. I work in tobacco control and this is a classic big industry tactic.

Here's how it works. Let's say you make a lot of money making a product ( say cigarettes) and research shows cigarettes kill people. You don't have to disprove that science. You can create your own...that shows the opposite. All you have you have to do is create doubt.

For years the tobacco industry could point to research that questioned whether tobacco was really bad for your health. We found out later...it was research they had funded.

Looks like Exon is borrowing a page from tobacco industry play books.

When you are driving...where do you get gas? I wish I had a clear cut ethical winner..but I don't
"There is no socially responsible oil company" ( according to Green America's Director, Vicki Kreha, but some are a little better than others.

According to Responsibleshopper.org, the top three are Sunoco, Hess and BP. (They were rated on environment, human rights, labor, ethics, and health.) Exonmobil is at the bottom of the list.

So for now, we fill up at BP..the only one in the top three I have been able to find in our area.

No Car/Low Car Challenge Coming Soon

Here is the email I sent out inviting families to compete in the No Car/Low Car Challenge.

To those families willing to accept the challenge, here are the rules for the upcoming No Car/Low Car 10 Day Challenge

Dates of the Challenge: Sept 8-17 with the celebration potluck Friday Sept 18.

The goal: Get as many points as you can. Winning family or team is the one with the most points.

How do you get points:
*Walk or bike to your destination 5 points ( each way) So riding to school and back would be 10 points.
*Bus to destination: 3 points
*Car pool: 2 points

FAQ ( well, someone asked them at least once)
1.Do you think the kids might cheat?...meaning will they walk or bike to a destination they hadn't planned on going to for the sole purpose of gaining more points. Answer: I hope so!

2. Will people be honest about recording the trips they take (and not making up trips)
Answer: We are all on the honor system with reporting

3. Do I get any points for riding my new (gas powered) scooter? Answer: No

4. Can we invite other families to join?
A. Please do..the more the merrier!

5. What do we win?
A. Winning family doesn't have to bring anything to the potluck ( this seems to be more motivational for the adults in the crowd. Additional kid friendly prize ideas are welcome!)

Best quote so far: When I invited Dave V to join the challenge...he responded "We'll kick your butt" at which point Seth (11 years old) leaned in close and whispered "Is my family in?"

Who else will accept the challenge?

We're Back!!

We've been on vacation from blogging for almost 2 months! And loving it!

Here are the boys at the Traditional Ways Gathering on the Bad River Reservation on Lake Superior. Ben is holding a rawhide knive sheath. Nate made a rawhide pouch.

The boys made beeswax candles and hobo stoves. Nate worked on a clay oven and Ben started a fishing net. They both loved traditional archery.

We spent the week camping and learning traditional skills. All week the boys said "When we come back next year..."

My favorite quote was from Ben (11yrs). We stopped at hotel for a night on the way back to Madison and Ben said "Look, our room has a compost bucket ( i.e. ice bucket)"

September Action: reduce our car travel. Stay tuned for details of our No car/Low Car Challenge.

CDC conference goes green

I'm in Atlanta at a Health Marketing conference ( if you are following the blog closely..you know I published a few conference posts to this blog! Sorry! They were supposed to go on my other blog.)

I thought I'd share some things this conference is doing to "go green"

• Conference tote bag, name tag lanyard, and program agenda are all made from recycled materials
• No plastic water bottles or plastic cups- real glasses for water
• No handouts: you can request to have slides emailed to you

Little by little we are becoming more aware!

Here's Proof

These are all the bottle caps Dave Spitzer ( my son's 4th grade teacher) has collected...so far.

Here is what is awesome about this...my son finished 5th grade this year. This blog connected with one of my son's former teachers....who was inspired to collect his bottle caps ( to recycle at AVEDA)... and he sent a photo to "share the proof".

Teachers rock!

My mom is collecting caps..so is my colleague Sarah. I wonder who else?

Where have you been?

That's what people who read the blog are asking me.

Mark says I need to be honest with all of you and tell you the way our family supports being the change we want to see in the world in the summer...is by turning off the computer and going outside.

I keep meaning to blog..but when it is a choice between inside and outside...outside always wins!!

The photo is of Nate "walking on water" on the Wisconsin River.

What do you do with plastic caps?

This is how many plastic bottle caps we collected this month. You can't put them in recycling because they are a different kind of plastic than the rest of the bottle.

I have a hard time throwing them in the trash because I have seen photos of what happens when animals eat them ( I won't link to a photo) This is a problem for water birds...they see plastic bottle tops and mistake them for food. They eat them until their belly is full ....and then they starve to death. This is not something I want to be a part of... which brings me back to...what do you do with plastic bottle tops?

I just found out there is an alternative. AVEDA has recently started a recycling program specifically for bottle caps. They work mostly with schools but when I called they said I could bring in ours. In Madison, they are in Westgate mall.

If you know a teacher who might like to get their school involved, here is a letter to teachers that explains the program. Not connected to a school and want to find an AVEDA shop near you, here is their store locater.

For now we are going to collect our bottle tops and take them in every few months ( if you live near us, fill free to drop tops off at our place). In the fall, we will see if the boys school would like to participate. One more way to keep plastice out of the enviroment. Go AVEDA.

We were there!

Governor Doyle signed the statewide smokefree air bill into law on Monday! I picked Nate and Ben up from school early so we could be there.

From a kids perspective, it was a long wait in a hot, crowded room and then they couldn't actually see much of the Governor when he did get there.

The most interesting part: he signed the bill with multiple pens. The best part: both Nate and Ben got an official Governor Doyle pen and we celebrated with pizza at Ian's on State Street.

The law doesn't take effect until July 2010 ( don't get me started) but it does cover all work places in Wisconsin...the exemptions are cigar bars and outside.

Finally- Smokefree Wisconsin!

What's your Eco Intelligence?

I just finished reading Ecological Intelligence by Danial Goleman.

Every purchase we make has an impact.
Right now, we make most of our purchase decisions based on price. Since this is the only feedback we get.

Goleman promotes "radical transparency" in 3 areas

1. geosphere (impact on soil, air, water and climate. Ex: carbon footprint of a product)
2. biosphere( impact on our bodies and other living things. Ex:Hormones/toxins)
3. sociosphere ( human concerns like conditions of workers. Ex: no sweat shop labor)

If we had information about how products had an impact in these three areas, many of us would use that information to make decisions about what we buy.

That's where the Good Guide comes in (hat tip to my Mom and Dan Goleman). The Good Guide pulls together data on health, safety and environmental impact into one rating. It is new and it doesn't include everything..but it is a start.

FYI: Goleman is quoted in a recent issue of the Times as one of the 10 ideas changing the world right now.