The Freecycle Network(TM)

Most of us have heard of the three "R's" when it comes to living a greener lifestyle: reduce, reuse and recycle. Reducing and recycling are probably the easier of the two. Reusing requires a bit more effort. You have to find a new purpose for something that can still be used. What happens when you can't think of that purpose, but you don't want to throw away a potentially useful item? Well, you have a few options. You can pack up those items and donate them to an organization in need, you can arrange for a pick-up of those items or you can become a Freecycle member! Free what?

The Freecycle Network(TM) is a nonprofit movement where you can give (or get) free items to or from other people in your local community. According to the welcome email, "the general rule is 'Keep it free, legal, and appropriate for all ages'. Freecycle groups are intended to be a family oriented place. The goal is to keep perfectly usable items out of our landfills. By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle is that it encourages us to get rid of 'junk' that we no longer need and promotes community involvement in the process."

Membership sign-up is very easy and totally free! You simply visit the main website, type in the name of your city and state and it will give you a few choices of communities near you. Once you select the city/community nearest you and complete registration, a local moderator will help you to verify everything by email. It's just like joining a Yahoo Group (if you're familiar with this). You will then be ready to clear out your closets and garage!

What I especially like is that your items are going to someone who truly needs them. After I recently gave away some kitchen items, I unexpectedly received the following comment: "Thank you very much for all of the kitchen stuff. It was much more than we expected, and we will make good use of it." There truly is more happiness in giving than receiving!

However, if you find that you're in need of some particular item.....no worries! As a Freecycle member, you can also request items. Freecycle advises: "Please use this sparingly and don't offer money. And above all else, don't ask for an extravagant item like a DVD player which we'd all like to have!" Keep in mind that the focus should be on giving.

Best of all, though, I'm given a teaching opportunity for my youngest boys. When they see me cleaning out boxes and separating items into piles (keep, give away, throw away), they're naturally curious and want to know what I'm doing. The infamous Why, mommy? continuously bombards me the entire time. Somehow I'm not irritated. In fact, I'm glad they ask!

The last time I gathered together some outgrown clothes and books, my 4-year-old disappeared into his room for quite a while. When he returned, he had a bag full of toys and books. He said he wanted to help the other boys who didn't have any. He had even included one of his favorite cars. When I asked him why he wanted to give it away, he said: "It's ok, mommy. I don't need it anymore." Funny, all this time I thought I was teaching them something. Turns out I was wrong....again. Like he said, though, it's ok because for once; everybody wins!

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Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks of The Freecycle Network in the United States and/or other countries.

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Totally COOL Giveaway!

Ok, so I don't normally post about contests and giveaways....but this one is TOO amazing to pass up. If you head on over to Totally Together Reviews, Kelly's Korner, My Charming Kids, or BooMama you can enter to win an HP TouchSmart 600 PC!

This computer is amazing! Did I already say that? Anyway, it has a 23" flat-screen monitor with touch screen technology(hence the name), a wireless keyboard and mouse that can be used up to 30 feet away, NO computer tower (everything's built in behind the screen) and it can be used as a TV, DVD/Blue Ray player or DVR. Did I mention how cool this computer is???

If this looks like something you could possibly use in your home (who couldn't) then get on over to those sites pronto! Each site is giving away one computer so you have numerous opportunities to WIN! The contest ends Thursday, December 24th at 5pm PST. Now stop reading and GO!

A Day for Me

Question: What is the one thing almost every woman does (especially mothers) to the detriment of herself? Answer: She gives and gives without including herself on the "To Do" list. Last week, I decided it was my turn to be added to the list. I attended the first Sacramento Women in Work conference at the downtown library galleria. I am so glad I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

I was able to network with some amazing women and listen in on some awesome seminars. I really loved the tips that Stephanie Sherwood of eWomen Network gave on the power of networking. She emphasized how important it is to be genuine and present your authentic self when meeting new people. Plus, your goal should be to build real relationships and create that "lift as we climb" mentality. The values Stephanie focused on can be applied to all aspects of our lives.

Another speaker I thoroughly enjoyed was Natalie Conrad of Organized Habits. I originally met her at an IKEA event about getting organized. Once you have a vision of what it is that you want, you need to ask yourself four basic questions when deciding if an item stays: 1) Is it beautiful? 2) Is it useful? 3) Do I love it? and 4) What's the worst that will happen if it's gone? Don't attempt to justify why something should stay; just let it go! Outside clutter is a manifestation of the clutter and disorganization that is inside your head. Natalie suggests starting small (i.e. a countertop space or one area of a room) and taking the process one step at a time- but just start!

By far, though, Tory Johnson, Workplace Contributor for Good Morning America and Founder/CEO of Women for Hire was the highlight of the event. She started out holding a $100 bill and asked who could use it. Most of the women attending the luncheon raised their hands. She asked again and some women stood up waving their hands to attract her attention, while one woman ran up and stood next to her. She asked yet again and several women started to make a mad dash towards her, so the woman next to her grabbed the money and ran back to her seat. What was her point? Opportunities won't just happen to you; go after them and make them happen! Point taken, Tory.

For most of us, fear of failure holds us back. We don't take that class we've always wanted to take, we don't leave the job we despise or we don't ask for the raise that we deserve. In today's times, however, Tory admonishes that women need to be willing to negotiate for what they want. Men come across this process naturally so women cannot make it an option. Sometimes we even wait for permission to tell others about ourselves or our successes. We must turn that around and make people excited to get to know us. I'm sure there were a lot of light bulbs turning on when Tory said, "Don't wait for the moment to be 'just right'; you need to act when the time is 'good enough'."

At the luncheon I received Tory's book, Fired to Hired. It's full of so many ideas that are applicable to those in the workplace and even for those venturing out into their own small business. She's inspiring, motivational and gives practical advice that can be put to immediate use. I've already read a couple of chapters and look forward to completing her book.

I thought it couldn't get any better than what I had already experienced...but it did! There were four raffles held in between the free seminars and two at the end of the luncheon. Not only did I win a $50 Shell gas card, but I also took home a $100 VISA card. Thank you Sacramento Business Journal, Tri Counties Bank, News 10 and Sacramento MomsLikeMe! Including myself on "the list" proved rewarding in more ways than I could have ever imagined.

So, When Do You Worry?

As I cleaned up vomit and diarrhea a few weeks ago, several thoughts crossed my mind. How do you know when it's the H1N1 virus (swine flu) or just the "regular" flu? Should you rush your child in to get tested or let it run its course? How do I keep other family members from getting sick? A simple call to an advice nurse may get you some answers, but if you call back and get a different nurse you'll basically get a different response. So, when do you worry?

About 3 weeks ago, my youngest son, Myles, developed a fever and threw up (once). By the end of the next day, he appeared to be better. Fever was gone, he never threw up again and he was generally back to his "normal" self. At first I thought he had a minor bug in him and had shook it quickly. That would have been great, except a day later, it was back but even worse. His fever was higher than before, he was vomiting everything that went into his mouth and he added diarrhea to the list as well ("You're welcome, Mom!")

The first thought that came to mind was dehydration. If I can't keep anything in him, he could become seriously dehydrated. So I kept offering him diluted apple juice since it's the only thing he won't refuse. I realized the juice would aggravate the diarrhea situation, but he wouldn't drink anything else. However, after 4 days of this with no end in sight you start to wonder....Is this more serious than I thought? Time to call the advice nurse; let's see what she thinks.

Since this was my 2nd time calling in less than a week, I pretty much expected to get similar instructions as before. Keep him comfortable with acetaminophen, offer diluted juice or Pedialyte 1 ounce at a time and plain white rice or crackers. Naturally, she said all of these things but also thought a doctor needed to see him. Hmmm.....so now do I worry? Once at the doctor, any and all worries were quickly dismissed. With a good dosage of fever reducer in him, he was acting "normal". His behavior put the doc at ease because he said a kid that was really bad off would not respond so well to the acetaminophen. Whew! We all let out a sigh of relief.

Within a couple more days, the symptoms began to disappear. The fever went first, followed by the vomiting and eventually the diarrhea. There.....all better!! Now how do we stop this from happening again? Obviously, you cannot avoid all germs out there. You even need some of them to be balanced. There are some preventative measures we can all take, though, to minimize our exposure to these nasty germs.

First of all, take a lesson from Elmo. Huh? Yes, Elmo (check out his PSA videos here); even he knows what to do! When you feel a cough or sneeze coming on, do so into a tissue or the fold of your arm. This can help prevent airborne particles from spreading to others. Secondly, handwash, handwash, handwash. I can't say it enough and I don't think other people do it enough. This simple, yet effective method of ridding yourself of germs needs to be practiced more. Hopefully, doctors will follow suit and wash their hands before they see you or your child (just a little observation I made). Finally, avoid those who appear to be sickly. This would include handshaking, kissing or sharing items with them. You would think that common sense would prevail when it comes to keeping yourself healthy. Unfortunately, far too many people throw caution to the wind and make themselves more susceptible to getting sick.

After my toddler's bout with the flu (he actually shared it with a couple of other family members, too....how thoughtful of him!), I can definitely say I'm more aware about the spread of illnesses. At times I take this knowledge for granted since I don't usually get sick myself. However, I know for a fact that I don't want any of my family members to be one of the 200,000 patients who end up hospitalized each year because of the flu. So, no worrying after all. Just keeping myself informed and my family protected!

The Perfect Ending With Steel Magnolia

As I was packing for a business trip a few weeks ago, I never imagined that the start of my trip would have anything to do with the end of it. That is, of course, unless you're imagining checking baggage, airport security or endless hours on a cramped flight. Those inevitable items on my "To Do" list were pretty much the same at the beginning and end of my trip. Instead, I'm referring to who was a part of this whole thing.

I like to listen to music when I'm doing chores or other mindless activities, so I turned on CMT while I was packing and the second season of Can You Duet? was on. I didn't pay much attention until the last contestants took the stage; there was something about the way they interacted with each other. I stopped packing and watched them perform. I liked what I heard so I took note of their name....Steel Magnolia. Hmmm, that should be an easy name to remember. Once they were done I realized what I was supposed to be doing, so I diverted my attention back to packing.

The next morning I was on my way to Orlando for my Melaleuca Convention. It was my first time to attend, so I had many thoughts going through my head. What would it be like? Would I learn anything new? When do I get to see my fellow FPG business partners and friends??? Thankfully these thoughts consumed me during my long flights so I never thought twice about CMT or Steel Magnolia. I occupied myself by reviewing the workshops I planned on attending and reading recent issues of my LIA magazine.

Once in Florida, I met up with my business partners and figured out our rooming arrangements. Over the next 5 days we heard some amazing company announcements, received awesome business tips and celebrated our successes. We were even treated to performances of Wicked and Cats. The best part, though, was getting to know my FPG team members. We had so much fun together and I've made some friends for life. It was hard to say goodbye to them all, but at least I know I can see them again next year!

As I prepared to leave on my sixth day, my thoughts returned to the hassle of dealing with the airport. I wasn't looking forward to it and I was hoping it all went smoothly like my arrival trip. Not! Unfortunately, I didn't realize that my flight had been rescheduled 1 1/2 hours earlier than planned. I missed the flight and had to resort to stand-by status. Since I had never experienced this before, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Would I make the flight? Where does my luggage go? Will I get stranded in Dallas?

I made it onto both stand-by flights without a problem. As we waited to leave Dallas, I thought I might get a break since the seat next to me was empty. No such luck....A few minutes before take-off, a couple made their way to the back of the plane. The guy was carrying a guitar case and had to squeeze it into the overhead compartment. I thought the girl looked familiar, but I just couldn't think of why. For the first 2 hours of our flight, I racked my brain to figure out why I recognized her. Finally, I realized who they were....Steel Magnolia! Well, at least I thought I knew; I wanted to confirm it, but the guy kept dozing off to avoid the annoying sound of the plane's engine (understandable since it was driving me crazy, too).

Once the flight was said and done, I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to ask, right? Since I wasn't sure how the show turned out, I didn't want to offend them so I simply asked, "Were you on Can You Duet?" The shock on his face was priceless. He couldn't believe I recognized them! Of course, I then asked how they did, to which he exclaimed, "We won! That's why we're here....We're doing a radio tour." Pretty cool, huh? The only thing left to do was get their autographs and the above picture (especially since I told him they weren't leaving the plane without doing so...hehe). As I mentioned earlier, I had no idea that the beginning and end of my trip would be connected somehow. I think it ended rather well, don't you think?

**Footnote: You can help support Steel Magnolia by purchasing their single here....I did!

All Grown Up

My babies are growing up....each one of them is hitting milestones and there's no going back. Alex applied for his driver's license, Ryan graduated high school and enrolled in community college, Andrew can't stop talking about getting his driving permit and Myles thinks he's ready to go diaper-less. Then we have Michael-who just started preschool last week.

Michael has come such a long way. He tends to be one of my more sensitive kids so sometimes things can be quite dramatic for him. It seems just like yesterday, when I'd drop him off at my mom's house he would get so upset to the point of becoming physically ill. Yes, projectile vomiting everywhere! Thank goodness we've moved beyond that....I know my mom appreciates it!

So, for his first day of school I wasn't really sure what to expect. Depending on his mood it could have went a variety of ways. I tried to prepare him beforehand; we picked out his clothes, got his backpack ready and went to bed a little earlier than usual. Yet I knew all of this was out the window if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, especially when he has to get up early. He's definitely a sleep-til-noon-if-you-let-me kind of kid. To my amazement, though, he eagerly jumped out of bed, got dressed and grabbed his backpack. So far, so good.

When we arrived at the school, I had to do some more preparing. Remember to......1)greet your teachers, 2)hang up your backpack, 3)say goodbye to mommy and 4)sit down for circletime. So many new things to remember in a short period of time!

Well, 1 out of 4 'aint bad.

He knew how to say bye to mom and his little brother (all without tears I might add). It's the other three items on his list that presented the challenge. For starters, he couldn't differentiate between the other moms and his teachers. Who am I supposed to say "hi" to? Then there are 10 double hooks for 20 children to hang up their backpacks. All those kids and only 1 other boy remembered to bring his backpack. He conveniently hung it on the hook that had Michael's name under it, obscuring his freshly printed name label. Where do I hang my backpack? Finally, it's time to join the group of children on the carpet. Ummmm, what is circletime?

According to his teachers, once Michael made it through the opening activities the rest of the day was a breeze for him. I certainly didn't set my expectations too high for him. I figured it would take a few weeks for him to adjust to new people, new surroundings and new activities.

I was wrong.

On his third day, Michael walked into his classroom and proceeded to say hello to all 3 teachers. He rehung the backpack hanging on the hook next to his, making ample room for his to hang correctly (what a gentleman!). He walked over to the carpeted area and chose a circle spot that matched the color of his shirt. As I opened my mouth to say goodbye, he quickly jumped up and shouted, "Oops, I forgot!" He then ran over and gave me a tight squeeze, all the while saying, "Mom, I loooovvvvvve you!"

I had to swallow really hard to make that lump go back down my throat. I knew just one word out of my mouth and the floodgates would have opened. So, instead, I flashed him a quick smile and a wink as he sat back down for circletime. In that moment, I realized yet another one of my babies was growing up. I proudly walked back to my truck and thought to myself, "Hmmm, I wonder if he'll be like this for his first day of high school?" A mother can dream, can't she?

Definite Peace of Mind

Since the mercury has been on the rise lately, often reaching triple digits, I've been letting the boys do a lot of water play. Yeah, we have a pool and it's great; don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's just not practical. Getting out the swim trunks, arm floaties and collection of swim vests, life jackets and whatever other flotation devices my boys depend upon just isn't always appealing. Like I said...it's triple digits out!

Anyway, good ole water play with cups, buckets and a water table seems to do the trick. The boys are entertained and cooled off at the same time. I feel so bad when their little cheeks are rosy red from the heat.

Now, I'm not a fan of water guns. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them, per se, but I simply don't care for them. So I thought the boys needed an alternative; same concept just different packaging. I decided to let them use some extra water bottles we had around. In theory this was a great idea, but hindsight will bite ya in the butt every time. You know what I mean?

One of the bottles was a plain bottle just like the one I keep on hand to wet their hair before I brush it. However, the second bottle was an extra window cleaner bottle. It had never been used (I mix together my own cleaner from a concentrated formula) so I figured there was no harm in letting them have it. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Long story short, they have been enjoying spraying each other and even dumping the water out over and over again. One day, my youngest one discovered that the safety latch on the cabinet under the kitchen sink was broken. I knew it was broken, but I wasn't too concerned about it. After all, every cleaner I keep under there is non-toxic and safe for the boys to be around (I just keep it locked so they won't get into anything and waste it!). Needless to say, he immediately found the cleaning bottle that resembled the one I let him play with.

When I came around the corner, he had completely drenched his whole head and chest. Window cleaner was in his hair, eyes and mouth, but he had no idea what he had done. As I mentioned earlier, I only use non-toxic cleaners in my home-no bleach, no phosphates, no harsh chemicals. So for him, except for the pleasing smell, it was as if he had just poured water all over himself. Desired result achieved! He stood there with his "Look-what-I-did, Mommy" grin and ran off giggling. All I could do was turn away so he wouldn't see me smile. Wasting mommy's cleaning products is not an acceptable thing to do, right? I say it beats a trip to the emergency room.....definite peace of mind!

Where Did The Time Go???

So, I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have no idea where all my time has gone. Almost another year has passed since I've been on my blog and I don't even know why.

Ummm, fine- I take that back; I know exactly where it's gone. My children, husband, business....did I say children? If you let the everyday grind overtake you, trust me it will do so, and happily! Sometimes I feel like my life is on continuous replay and somebody forgot to shut it off. Pleeeaaasee skip Track 1 already!

Anyway, I'm committing to sticking with it this time. NO more excuses. The laundry can wait, so can the dog and my husband certainly can (whether he likes it or not!). Even if it's just a quiet moment to get a few thoughts out, so be it.

Look out blog world......here I come (officially)!