My Dad

turns 70 today.

is celebrating in Roatan, Honduras (his other home).

looks 50.

has three children.

has four grandchildren (so far).

has a green thumb.

loves peanut butter.

loves me.

ran away with my mother.

gave the Jewish prayer at my wedding.

cut Cooper's umbilical cord.

is a die hard liberal Democrat.

is not afraid to admit it.

taught me to love Jazz.

adopted me.

took lots of photographs when we were little.

is a Dentist.

drives fast.

is smart.

loves to play golf.

has an awesome smile.

is proud of me.

is amazing.

I love you Dad ~ Happy Birthday

Time to laugh

Just love a dinner full of laughter. Laughing so hard that the act of laughing makes you laugh even more. Luckily this episode had no "milk out the nose". It was however followed up by some totally hip kitchen dancing to the Bee Gee's You Should Be Dancing. Dear lord, what the neighbors must think of us...

What's for dinner?

Did you know that you can mix parsley, tomatoes and garlic with just about anything and it will taste awesome? Add a bottle of Toasted Head Chardonnay and I'm telling you there is just no reason to go out. Tonight was shrimp for Coop but it could easily have been chicken, pasta, sausage, zucchini, eggs...and the list could just go on and on.

Very much looking forward to 46 degree weather tomorrow. Also looking forward to my mom coming home from Honduras this Saturday.

Green Tuesday: 8

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has" -Anthropologist Margaret Mead

Making me happy

In our house we have a rotation. It is a "sleeping with mommy rotation". Once upon a time both little boys (and sometimes all three) would crawl into bed and fall asleep with me at night. John then carried them back when he came to bed. But my little boys grew. And they grew and grew and grew. And they grew so big that the three of us just didn't fit all in one bed (comfortably) anymore. So now we rotate. Duncan, Cooper then Dad. Yes, Dad gets a turn (no comments from the peanut gallery). But what I find so beautiful is that each morning when I walk into my children's rooms to pet their face and kiss their cheek good morning, without even opening an eye they ask me "mom, who's turn is it to sleep with you tonight?" Ahh, to be the first thing they think of when they wake in the morning. It's powerful. It makes me feel like superwoman. It makes me smile. It won't always be this way, I know. That's okay. More testament to living right here, right now. Right now this moment each morning makes me happy.

Enough is enough. Gosh I know how he feels!

Green Tuesday: 7

Sign up for paperless billing: ask your bank, energy provider and credit card companies to send your monthly statements via e-mail. Paper bills account for almost 700,000 tons of waste and 2 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Yikes...well, when you put it like that!

Skip the Post-It notes: instead write on the back of your page a day calendar sheets or cut up all those mistake prints at the office and use them as scrap paper. Ugh...I'm really bad at this one. I have a definite Post-It issue. Maybe I can just "cut back"?

Love is in the air

Quick catch up...Valentine's Day. Love this photo of Dunc signing his name to his Valentines. Seeing him grow up and become interested in letters & numbers is so cool. Love also that Duncan is so thoughtful and conscientious of the little girls in his class - he made a special point to buy the princess Valentines for the girls.

Here is a little peak at some love books I made for Coop and Dunc. Each book has special photos of each boy and mommy. Valentine's Day around here was definitely celebrated! Everyone gave and received cards. There was homemade pictures, flowers, candy and even a heart shaped meatloaf :-)

Therapy

Okay FINE, I'll admit it okay...I'm weak. There, you happy? I'm very very weak. I can't help it. Fresh flowers have now been worked into my weekly grocery budget. Look, the way I figure it...this must still be cheaper than a monthly Prozac copay? Or how about those fancy shmancy lights that you sit under to make you "feel better". These flowers make me smile and give me hope. I'm really just doing it for my children...boy, how do you like that for justification...sigh...I'm pathetic.

Green Tuesday: 6

Okay, first...can I just tell you what we did this weekend... We cleaned the refrigerator coils!!! And it was so easy! Turns out you don't need to pull out the fridge at all...we just took the kick plate off the front and vacuumed. And it was really in need...I swear the dust was a 1/2 inch thick. I am personally surprised that my refrigerator was still running. But to those of you (including myself) that rolled your eyes at that suggestion, I am here to say it took under 5 minutes total. And what was even more surprising...when I took the kick plate off...wasn't there a nice little sticker stating "vacuum every 3-4 months"! John swears he knew this but I'm not sure I believe him.

So on to this week...quick...simple...painless...and paperless...

Skip the receipt at the ATM - I haven't opted for a receipt in years. To tell you the truth I haven't even kept a checkbook register in years. With the invention of internet banking (and my bank is LIVE) I just don't have the need. I skip the receipt at places like the gas station too. Really anywhere that I know I won't be "returning" the item or need proof of the purchase. The receipts just piled up in my car (or purse) anyway.

Proof

Right outside my front door. I mean my brain knows it's coming but my bones are still somewhat sceptical. But in the glorious 48 degree weather we had today I ventured to the sidewalk to examine my Service Berry tree a bit further. And there they were...tiny beautiful little pinkish buds. Now my brain also knows that it will be a good 6-8 weeks until this tree actually blooms but that's okay. I can wait. It's light at the end of our Pennsylvania tunnel.

Not alone

1. For Natalia, 2. Pears, 3. This holds the heat from the fires & feeds the flowers through the long winter, 4. Before The Snow

I started this blog almost two years ago as a way to help myself find the beauty in the never ending winter in Pennsylvania. Along the way it has become much much more; but for the third year it is still helping me find my way through these long months awaiting Spring. One of the things I find is difficult for me this time of year is the lack of light. I go to work in the dark and I come home in the dark. Thus I inevitably find myself taking fewer photographs. I'm not big into flash. So it's probably also not surprising that this is a time of year that I start feasting my eyes on other people's work. This is one of the reasons I love flickr. I found Kristybee's work by reading another blog. Love how this happens in cyber world...one person passes it along, then another, then another and next thing you know you are touching people all over the world. It makes it feel just a tad bit smaller to me.

Another perfect example of this is this post from the Soule Mama blog. She writes:

Oh, February, we meet again. We have a complicated relationship, this month and I. I know it's technically the shortest, but somehow it always feels the looooongest month of the year. It's a month full of grey and cold. The month where I find that the 'novelty' and fun of the winter season can get lost in the drudgery of it all. And the month where spring seems (because it is) a long, long ways off still - a far-distant dream of color and warmth. But there's beauty to be found in February. Oh yes there is, I'm sure of it. It just takes me a little more effort to see and embrace it. And so this year, like years past, I'm dipping into a small little project here. In an effort to stay mindful and aware of the joys February (and to avoid the dreaded February Funk), I wrote myself a little February Manifesto that I'll be sharing here over the next two weeks starting tomorrow. A Wintry Weather sanity-survival guide of sorts. Just little reminders - in words and pictures - of some of the joys that really are all around us this season. (Even if we have to look a bit harder that usual!)

I read this and thought..."see, there ARE other people out there just like me"! Staying mindful of the beauty of every month. Treasuring every day.

Green Tuesday: 5

5 Ideas for week 5 1.) Trade your plastic water bottle for stainless-steel. Personally I love the SIGG bottles. Stainless-steel bottles are free of bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic substance used to make clear and shatterproof plastic. BPA has been linked to cancer, interferes with fertility, and could contribute to childhood behavioral problems like hyperactivity. Okay...well being the mother of 4 and 5 year old boys you don't to tell me twice! 2.) Download your favorite songs online. It takes a lot of raw materials to manufacture a compact disc. In addition to the CD itself, don't forget about the plastic jewel case. 3.) Cancel your newspaper subscription and read the news online. From the trees that are cut to manufacture the paper and the chemicals used to produce ink to the energy used to run the printing press...reading online is just an eco-friendly alternative! 4.) Order a tap beer when you're out. Draft beer eliminates the need for glass bottles and cardboard packaging. 5.) Buy organic, fair trade chocolate. With Valentine's Day right around the corner this is my favorite green tip this week. You can read all about responsible chocolate companies here. Have you ever visited the organic/natural chocolate section of your favorite grocery store or speciality shop? I have to admit that one of the things I love about "good" chocolate is the packaging. Yes you may spend $6 on a candy bar but now I understand a little bit more about why. I took it upon myself to purchase a few bars (that I plan to give to my office employees) and found that "fair trade" chocolate was actually not easy to find. Only one of these bars specifically states fair trade but each one seemed to offer something that made it stand out. The Chuoa bar sold for $4.99 and states "slave-free cocoa". Gee, how big of them...

The two Santander bars state "fairly traded with small farmers from our country". This pineapple one sold for $2.59.

The Vosges bar was my biggest splurge at $5.99, but part of the reason may be that they produce their chocolate with 100% renewable energy...wind to be precise. Read about their green mission here. So there you have it...5 very cool (and easy) ideas and some totally tasty green chocolate. Won't you feel better when you give your Valentine chocolate that is good for them, eco-friendly and packaged so totally cool? I can't wait to give these to my office employees - they deserve $17.00 worth of chocolate more than anyone I know...

*info found in The Green Year - Helmer & Page a Day Green calendar