There's a bus for everything

Came home the other day to a flier on my door for this free ultrasound bus. Interesting concept, no?

Also, interesting that they fliered my door for a mobile unit that was parked kinda far from my house.

Sweet tricks for beating the treats

I thought these were some good tips for making Halloween a little healthier. They originally came from Shauna Johnson of Wellspring Academies, and I paraphrased a bit (of course)...

• Wait to buy your candy - Procrastination can be a good thing sometimes. And if you're worried about snacking on all that candy around the house, don't keep it around the house.
• Plan your own activity - Two words: corn maze. You're still getting some walking done, but you're not collecting piles of sugary badness at the same time. If skipping the candy altogether doesn't fly with your kids, just hit up a few houses and then move on to another activity. Or go to a party or fall festival where there'll be treats, but they won't be the whole focus.
• Ration the amount of candy eaten afterwards - Just because you collected it all on Halloween night doesn't mean you have to eat it all on Halloween night. Make it last! The trick is to treat yourself to sweets without overeating.
  

What do you think? Could this work for you? Do you have other ways of combating the sugar or keeping things healthy on Halloween?

Five years

Five years ago today, the love of my life and I were on our honeymoon.

When this entry posts, we should be just back from our anniversary trip back to Sedona. I admit I'm writing this ahead of time, because I can't sleep, I'm feeling reflective, and I know it always takes me awhile to get back to the blog when I've been out of town.

So. Five years. Not a long time, really, in the grand scheme of things. But already we've gone through a few different seasons together. We've lived 2 different places. The Hubs has worked in 5 different positions for 2 different companies. I started a business, worked 2 other places, then took the business full time. We've traveled together to California, Pennsylvania and Indiana, as well as to Peru, Mexico and Bolivia. Within our families and circle of friends there have been births, deaths, marriages, engagements, moves and life transitions. The brother-in-law who joined the Navy when we were dating has served his full commitment with the military. The cousin who started college when we were engaged is halfway through law school. The nephew who was months from being born when we got married will start kindergarten next year.

So five years is something.

Besides the kinds of changes that require updating the address book or adding photos to the album, there have been other, less tangible - but still very real - changes. Things we used to fight about that we look back on and laugh. Things we understand about each other. The way we communicate. The ways we've grown. The way we show love. Maybe we show love better, because we love more. I know that just when I think I love him so much my heart will burst, a new day begins, and I see him next to me and love him even more.


Ok, ok. I got it. I'll quit with the mushy stuff. But, seriously, if there's something worth being mushy about, isn't it this?

Happy five years, sweetheart! I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Overheard while camping

While camping, I overheard a father at a nearby campsite call his daughter over in that you're-in-trouble voice all parents must have. I have to admit, I was curious, since the two kids in that family seemed like the best-behaved in the campground. The girl who was about to get lectured had been quietly poking at the ground (or maybe some ants) with a stick when she got called over.

It wasn't hard to hear the father's exasperated tone as he told her - as if for the thousandth time - "Quit. Playing. In. The. Dirt."

Of course I don't know the whole story here. But it does beg the question: If you can't play in the dirt when you're camping, what's the point?

Climate change: we're asking the wrong question

I've read stuff on why it's clear that the Earth's climate is definitely changing.

And I've read stuff on why it's clear the Earth's climate is definitely not changing.

And I've read stuff on why the Earth's climate may be changing, but it's a natural cycle not caused by human actions and nothing to worry about.

And you know what I think?

I think that we (as in, all of humanity) don't know as much as we think we know. We don't know why gravity works or what's in most of the ocean or why dogs wag their tails when they're happy. And I don't think we've got the climate all figured out, so I'm kind of a climate change agnostic.



Know what else I think?

I think we're asking the wrong question. Don't misunderstand: I'm glad that there are scientists and experts out there studying whether our planet is getting warmer or colder or staying the same and why.

But, regardless of their findings, when it comes to taking good care of this planet we live on, most of us could do better. We (as in, probably you reading this and definitely me) have room to improve in the way we manage our own resources - saving energy or driving less often or reducing the amount of stuff we throw out each week. And doesn't making things better globally almost always start with individual choices?

What if, instead of arguing about climate change, we focused on changing our own habits? What if we stopped wasting time debating minutiae and started finding ways to be less wasteful?

No matter how you answer the question Is climate change man-made? don't let that keep you from asking yourself: What changes am I making?

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Photos by me.

Update on how to give to Gabriella Vega

For those of you who wanted to help the Vega family (who I told you about on Monday), there's been a change in procedure. This post on SortaCrunchy will fill you in on everything - including a link where you can donate via ChipIn through Friday (10/16).

Gabriella is due to be released Friday from Phoenix Children's Hospital, and I hope this group gift can bless her family by taking care of some of their expenses through the next stage of her recovery.

Perfectly Poetical: Poe

It's the second Tuesday of October, do you know what that means? Time for Perfectly Poetical Tuesday: Poe edition!

There are some ideas for getting in touch with your Poe-tic muse on Saturday's post. Poe wrote in several styles. Write a poem in the spirit of one of them, and have fun! And don't forget to link to this post and leave your link and comment here.

As always, the topic of your poem is up to you. You can also decide whether your poem will be scary, funny, touching or - something else entirely. My post will be up later in the day.

• Today's style: Edgar Allen Poe
• Coming 11/10/09: Cinquain (don't be scared - it's only 5 lines and doesn't rhyme! ;)
  
• What is PerPoTues and how can I play?

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Photo by kevindooley.
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Giving from the heart

Through Megan at SortaCrunchy, I heard a story that broke my heart.

Gabriella Vega has a rare heart disease called Restrictive Cardiomyopathy and was awaiting a transplant, when she had a stroke. She's now undergoing physical and speech therapy to recover. And she's 4 years old.

Meanwhile, her family is staying at Phoenix Children's Hospital Ronald MacDonald House, and, as you can imagine, expenses - for their stay, as well as for Gabriella's medical treatment - are mounting.

Being the compassionate soul she is, Megan decided to do something to help, and you can join in too!

She organized a raffle to raise money for the Vega family. Purchase a ticket (or two or ten) for a chance to win a fabulous prize (maybe an adorable Frog Organic Kids T-Shirt) and you are helping out this family who is going through a situation I can't even imagine.


The raffle goes today through Thursday evening (10/15). So spread the word and buy your ticket(s) soon! And pray for Gabriella and her family.


UPDATE: I realized I forgot to link directly to the raffle, which (as it turns out) is just as well, because there has been a change of plans. The way the donating was setup is not working out due to some PayPal lameness. So. To give to the Vega family, email sortacrunchy at gmail dot com. Megan will give you information on how you can do that.

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Photo 1 by vonKinder. Photo 2 from Bold Avenue shop.

Putting the Poe back in Poetry!

When I mentioned on Twitter that I was trying to choose a PerPoTues style for October, Jen from Bookworm on a Mission suggested "something halloweeny" and heartily approved the idea for a Poe-inspired theme.

In general, I'm not much into scary or Halloweeny stuff. But, for some reason, I can really appreciate Edgar Allen Poe. Even the creepy stuff. Maybe it's because it's not about being scary just for the sake of scary. Maybe you have your own theories. But, since I want to start blogging more frequently, I'm going to (attempt to) stop spending insane amounts of time dwelling on unimportant details.

So. Moving on.

The theme for this month's PerPoTues (which is this coming Tuesday - already!) is Edgar Allen Poe. Kinda like that one time it was Dr. Seuss. Only not.

Some ways to Poe-ize your poem:

• Get gothic.
• Talk about your life - with an unexpected twist. (Were you horrified to find the glasses you'd searched the house for were on your head all along?)
• Parody one of Poe's poems.
• Use the refrain "nevermore."

Be creative, have fun, and check out the Poe Wiki for inspiration!

And, yes, you did hear that right about me posting more frequently. In fact, please come back Monday - there's something going on besides PerPoTues next week I'd really like to tell you about then.