Effectiveness 101

I've spent a good bit of time this fall reading about ways to become more effective and get the essentials done in less time. I wanted to take a moment to share some of my favorite findings with you...

1. Check email 2-3 times per day: This is definitely my #1 tip. If your job involves a lot of communication via email, this will make a huge difference. My set times to check email is 1 PM and 4:30 PM. The key thing is to not check email in the morning, because it will get you off track before you've been able to accomplish anything.
2. Complete three Most Important Tasks (MITs) each day: This is another huge one. I had actually already started doing this before I found out there was a name for it. Each day, determine which three tasks are most important to accomplish the next day. Don't do anything until you finish those tasks (e.g. don't check email). It will make you feel so relaxed the rest of the day. I try to get my MITs done before 9 AM each day. This isn't always possible if your MIT involves a conversation or has a dependency on somebody else, but for everything else, it works.
3. Don't write a lot of emails: You won't get as many...
4. Get out of non-essential meetings: You won't miss anything. Along those lines, make sure every meeting has clear objectives. I state the objectives of the meeting for 90% of the meetings I host. It's the courteous thing to do.
5. Schedule "Doing Time": I schedule around 20hours of "Doing Time" in my calendar each week. This is my time to get my own work done. Much of this time is early in the morning before most people get to the office. Which leads me to my next tip...
6. Get up early: I get up at 4:30 AM most mornings. I am at the gym by 5 AM and at work by 7:30 AM. This head-start on the day provides a mental boost and makes the rest of the day more relaxing.
7. Simplify your space: Due to various circumstances, we now live in a less than 1200 sq. ft. apartment. In order to fit into this space, we got rid of a lot of stuff. Having less stuff makes it easier to keep the space clean and requires less maintenance. It's great! The same concept works at the office. A clean work space minimizes distractions and makes you look organized.
8. Fit activities to your time slots: A lot of time I find myself with 15 minute pockets of time (between essential meetings...). It's a good idea to have a list of quick tasks ready in order to take advantage of these small pockets of time. E.g. File expense report, review sales presentation, call Bob to follow up on X. Save more complex tasks for the larger blocks of time you scheduled in tip #5.
9. Take advantage of travel time: If you travel a lot (like I do), my favorite travel tip is to use the time to read. I have an email category called "Read/Review." Before I leave the office for a business trip, I look at my "Read/Review" category and print out items to read on the flight. It is amazing how much material you can get through on a 1 1/2 hour flight. Make sure to bring a good book as a backup in case you finish faster than you expected. (You don't want to be stuck reading the airline magazine!)
10. Be careful with the Internet: The world wide web can suck up more time than TV. If surfing the web is your passion, then obviously do it. However, if you have other interests and you're trying to be more productive so you can have time for these interests, I suggest cutting down on the surfing. I limit my blog reading to a few good blogs which I enjoy in the following categories: Simple Living/User Experience/Product Management. That's it. Now, shopping online (especially on zappos.com) can save time, so use the interweb to your advantage!

"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things."
-Peter F. Drucker

Green at Work

The past couple of weeks really flew by. So fast, in fact, that my TreeHugger training concluded without notice. (I blame the election, travel, and more travel...)

Anyway, week seven of Ready, Set, Green is called "Getting to Work: Building a Better Office." It addresses the obvious topics like paper waste, energy-saving equipment, and electricity use. However, it also discusses "The Triple Bottom Line," which essentially claims that companies will generally do best in the long run when three things are taken into consideration:

• Profit
• Environment
• Society

Believe it or not, it's not all about the money. It's also about how your business operates to reduce negative impact on the earth and how it contributes to the "greater good." This is the main theme of one of my favorite business/management books: Good Business. Read it!

I definitely tend to favor businesses which I know contribute to the environment or society (or both!). I realize some companies may over-advertise these contributions as part of their marketing strategy, but who cares? At least they're doing something. I like to "vote" with my dollars and wishfully imagine that it matters.

I think it does.

Run Baby Run!

Today, my baby (that would be Rebecka) finished her first 5K! We both participated in the Jingle Bell Run at the Milwaukee County Zoo. We defied the below freezing weather in double, triple, and quadruple layers. Between the two of us, we raised $115 for arthiritis.

The cool part about this race was the vast diversity of runners/walkers from hardcore runners in shorts (crazy!) to parents with kids in strollers to wacky 20-somethings dressed up like Pac-Man characters. It was also fun to look at the animals along the way. We encountered pinguins, bears, monkeys, and elephants among other animals.

Rebecka and I alternated between running and walking and made it all the way to the finish line. It was pretty much one big fartlek. Rebecka decided it wasn't terrible enough to never do a race again - I got a maybe. I can work with maybe.

The warm shower which followed was magnificent (until our uber-small water heater was unable to keep up). We've both been in PJs ever since (and do not intend to switch out of them until tomorrow morning). Hopefully nobody at Caribou Coffee or the Co-op will care.

Time for some peppermint hot cocoa.

Change

For people who work hard to earn a living, I hope for change.

For those who cannot afford proper healthcare, I hope for change.

For the kids on the wrong side of the tracks who need an excellent education, I hope for change.

For those who simply cannot take care of themselves, I hope for change.

For people working to change the world, I hope for change.

I hope...

Chicago

This weekend, Todd, Rebecka, and I went to Chicago for the annual (and very exciting) AAR conference. Todd was there to schmooze and deliver a paper. Rebecka and I were there to see Chicago. Amazingly, this is the first time I've been to Chicago to see the city. I've spent numerous hours in the airport and traveled there for business, but never just for fun. However, I've felt for some time now that Chicago and I would get along very well if we just gave it a chance. I was right!

On Saturday, Rebecka and I walked probably six miles or so up and down Michigan Ave. We stayed at the Chicago Hilton, so we had a little ways to go to get to the hardcore shopping district. Rebecka finally got to experience her dream of visiting a Hershey's store. I was happy for her.

In the evening, we attended the Vanderbilt reception. We got to see some of our friends from Nashville, so that was delightful.

On Sunday, we got brave and took bus 22 north to Clark and Foster to see Andersonville. This is the Swedish part of town. We ate lunch at a cute little restaurant called "Svea" (which only accepted cash, sending me down the street to an ATM where I had to pay a $3 fee). Then we visited the Sweden America Museum. It was educational. I didn't know the founder of Walgreens was Swedish. Now I know.

It was all good and fantastic.

We'll be back soon.

Happy Halloween!

I'm proud to announce that I have not had a single piece of candy today. The best part is that I haven't really been tempted to eat any. Sugar cravings disappear pretty quickly. Good thing.

On another note, I found a new pair of shoes (out of three that came from zappos.com today). Size 6WW and they're still slightly narrow. Insane!

We're leaving for Chicago tomorrow. Should have some fun stories from there.

Sugar

I recently read an article on Zen Habits called Beat the Sugar Habit: 3 Steps to Cut Sweets (Mostly) Out of Your Life. The author describes the various bad things sugar does to your body (yikes!) and provides lots of helpful tips on how to break the habit. Of course, it ends with the tip "Enjoy Life," which essentially reminds the readers that ultimately, you don't want to be so regimented about anything that you forget to live.

For some time, I have been thinking off and on about cutting sugar and to what extent, etc, etc. I've done it in the past for specific occasions (wedding, trip back home, etc), but not as a lifestyle change.

I think I'm ready to try it.

I am going to start with cutting the obvious sugar - like food that exists purely because of its sugar content (ice cream, candy, cookies, etc). Then I'll monitor the difference in how I feel for a few weeks. My guess is that I'll feel so fabulous that I will want to continue cutting down (e.g. replace butter and preserves on the english muffin with peanut butter).

OK - it's official.
I can do this!

Dressing Up: Clothing and Personal Care

Thus beginneth my sixth week of TreeHugger training. My book says: "...it's time to start wearing your heart on your sleeve."

This seems to be more challenging than the whole food and energy thing. I think fashion is slightly behind the curve when it comes to using organic materials and fair labor. It's hard to even know where to start. Some companies do call out on the clothes that they are 100% organic cotton (e.g. Levi's with an embroidered lowercase "e" inside the front pocket). However, they appear to be far and in between.

The classic example of an environmentally conscious apparel company is Patagonia. They are also mentioned in books like Good Business for their overall contribution to the "greater good" as part of the business world. They have set some pretty awesome examples as to how a company can be environmentally responsible and still do very well. Now, their clothes are not cheap, but from what I understand, they last a long time. And the coolest part is when you're done with your garment, you can send it back to Patagonia to be recycled.

I found another site called green loop that sells environmentally responsible fashion. It has some pretty nice stuff. (As my TreeHugger teachers point out, dressing responsibly doesn't mean you have to look like a Hippie - not that there's anything wrong with that...) I bought the shirt shown above. It's called "Sun Rays." That makes me happy.

I tried going to zappos.com (my favorite shoe store) to find some eco-friendly shoes. My guess is the suppliers have not tagged all their shoes properly with this classification, because it only produced six results in women's shoes. My guess is this number will be very different in a year.

Moving on to makeup... I'm slowly trying to wean myself from makeup. So far, I've cut out blush. Next will probably be eye shadow. However, I'm probably not going to get away from foundation unless I want to look like Rudolph. I've been happily using Clinique products for 15 years and have never considered anything else. Unfortunately, I cannot find anything on their site which indicates they are doing anything related to trying to save the earth... I may have to look at alternatives. Mary Kay plants trees. Then there is Ecco Bella which is all about healthy beauty. The Body Shop has been working for all kinds of causes for as long as I can remember. They would be another good option. So, next time I run out of foundation, I'll definitely be trying one of these out.

One more thing on clothing... Obviously, the best thing to do is to wear your clothes as long as possible and use second hand clothing. I must say, I can't really do the second hand thing - mostly because the stores are generally super unorganized. However, I do try to buy clothes that will last for a while.

With that, I'm off to the mall.
I'm a budding TreeHugger, OK?

Positive Thinking

I'd like to reflect for a moment on the power of positive thinking. I'm sure there tons of books and articles and research papers out there with much more insight on this topic, but I still feel like sharing some thoughts on it here...

The other morning, Rebecka stumbled into the kitchen and groaned: "It is going to be a horrible day!" I took a deep breath and started talking about the fact that her attitude about the day probably wasn't going to help it much. Magically, she agreed. We then proceeded to break down the day class by class and talk about the challenges and potential solutions to each segment. Once we were done, the day seemed a lot more manageable and she left happily for school. It ended up being a better day than initially expected!

This is a good example of how simply looking at something in a positive light can have a profound impact on reality. Thinking positively about a presentation, meeting, or dreaded party will most definitely make it more enjoyable and less stressful.

I also use positive thinking to try to stay well. If I feel like I might be getting sick, I start thinking positive thoughts to put a stop to it right then and there. It usually works! I can't tell you why or how, but it does. Every now and then, I will also accompany this with a half day of rest to "nip it in the bud." It has proven a very effective mechanism to avoid long drawn-out illnesses.

Finally, there are obviously days where I cannot muster up enough positive energy to pull all this off. Those days, it's important to know what your limits are. Is there risk you might blow up in a meeting? (Maybe that's just me...) Then reschedule and go to a coffee shop, chill out with a good book for a couple of hours and come back refreshed. Or take a brisk walk and get all the negative thoughts out of your head. It's amazing what a beautiful autumn day can do for the psyche.

Think positive and watch your world transform...

Greening Your Home

Week five of my TreeHugger course passed by in the blink of an eye. I traveled to Virginia for an overnighter during which I did not get my bag until after the client meeting. I missed two days of running and was in a constant daze from lack of sleep.

Not a great week.

Needless to say, I didn't have a whole lot of opportunity to think about energy consumption, water, and building (the sub-title of this week's chapter). The good news is that I have already incorporated into my everyday living some simple ways to decrease utilization of energy and water (do these at home and when you travel, as applicable):

• Set the thermostat appropriately. 67 during the winter is absolutely adequate.
• Don't let the water run when you're brushing your teeth or washing dishes.
• Turn the lights out when you're not in a room (and open up the shades during the day for natural light - it's the best kind).
• Replace your most frequently used lightbulbs with compact flourescent lightbulbs (more expensive up front, but will save you in the long run).
• Unplug electronics when you're not using them (it's the safe thing to do as well).

Pretty easy, huh? And the beauty of all this: You save money! I know we can all use the extra cash these days.

Furthermore, I'm taking care of one of the "So You Want to Do More" options today: Signing up for "green power" with Alliant Energy. This costs more, but in my mind, it is an investment in the future.

Have a great Saturday!

Walking the Walk

As part of the 2008 Blog Action Day, this post will be centered around the topic of poverty.

Poverty is a tricky subject. As far as we know, poverty has always been around. The Bible indicates that we will always have poor people among us. In fact, most religions have some form of religious practice which involves giving alms to the poor. Poverty is a generally accepted part of our overall global economy.

However, does this mean we should sit still in acceptance and carry on with our lives pretending that 20,000+ children aren't dying from poverty each day? A lot of people think not. Many organizations are out there trying to make a difference in people's lives every day. And they are. My favorites are organizations such as Heifer International, which provide animal gifts and training on how to become self-reliant. With a few goats and hens, a family can get milk, cheese, and eggs and earn a simple living to buy other necessities. Another family may learn how to keep bees and produce honey. This type of aid is a lot more meaningful than dropping packages of food from a helicopter and taking off (although I understand the need for emergency food supplies).

This past Sunday, Rebecka and I participated in the Greater Milwaukee CROP Hunger Walk at the beautiful lake front of Milwaukee. The youth gathered donations from church members and friends and family to support self-help organizations like Heifer. The theme of the CROP Walk was "We Walk Because They Walk." Thinking about children walking miles just to get clean water and then carrying gallons of it back home made our two mile trek around the lagoon seem like a vacation. However, it felt good to know that we were participating in making some family's life better - for the long run.

But there is more...

As much as I believe in this type of fundraising, I firmly believe that if we are to seriously make a dent in poverty and allow all people to live a quality life (define quality!), we in the developed countries must take a smaller wedge of the overall earth pie. Jim Merkel describes it well in his book, Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth:

"Imagine you are at a potluck buffet and see that you are the first in line. How do you know how much to take? Imagine that this potluck spread includes not just food and water, but also the material needs for shelter, clothing, healthcare and education. It all looks and smells so good and you are hungry. What will you heap on your plate? How much is enough to leave for your neighbors behind you in the line?"

These are thought-provoking questions. The unnerving reality is that we are taking too much and our quality of life isn't all that much better. In fact, some would say there are people who we would consider "poor" (i.e., they don't own a TV or a computer) who have a much better quality of life. This makes me want to point out that there are different types of poverty. Basic needs poverty is unnecessary. The earth buffet has enough for everybody (at least for now). Spiritual, emotional, and social poverty are the negative side-effects of our over-consuming society and is more difficult to tackle.

So what can we do to address basic needs poverty and take less of the pie?

• Eat what we need. No more, no less.
• Try to eat local food when possible. (And no, Bob the Banana Grower is not going to suffer any more than he already does, because Dole and Kroger is already taking most of the money...)
• Live in a home that is the appropriate size for our family.
• Buy quality products that will last and recycle products that we no longer need so they can become somebody else's treasure.
• Donate excess income to organizations like Heifer to provide a life-time of earnings for other families.
• Buy products that are fairly traded. (Click here to learn more...)
• Get involved! There are so many ways to help. Pick an organization and go for it!

And guess what?

When we walk the walk...

Our lives and the lives of others will be richer.

Fall is Here!

I was driving to work this morning, happily wailing along to some rockin' black gospel music, when I looked up and realized that my route had exploded into a vibrant autumn palette. Reds, oranges, yellows, and browns were all around as far as I could see. It put a big smile on my face.

I love fall.

Highlight of the Day

When a member of the congregation we are currently visiting asked me: "Which school do you go to?" (And he was serious!)

P.S.

Carbon offsets on Carbonfund.com are tax deductible... How awesome is that?

Carbon Offsetting 101

As promised, I spent some time this week looking into the phenomenon which is Carbon Offsetting. I started my quest at treehugger.com and quickly found a good starting point:

EcoBusinessLink has a good survey of various carbon offset companies and organization with details around price, project types, offset types, and certifications. I decided to check out Carbonfund.org, because they have multiple certifications, are not for profit, and allow a choice of which project type to support (e.g. Efficiency & Carbon Credits vs. Renewables & Methane).

The process was surprisingly straightforward. You simply pick a calculator (I picked "Flight," because I want to offset my upcoming flight to Sweden), enter airport information, click calculate, and add to cart:

My carbon offset price ended up at $15.22. I chose to funnel that money to Reforestation & Sequestration. I like trees. It took approximately three minutes to complete the entire order.

I'm hooked.

Sohpie's First Day

Sophie woke up yesterday, like any other day, thinking about how she would spend the day: "First I'll nibble at my breakfast, then I'll go outside, then I'll sleep on the big chair, then I'll bark at the bunnies outside the window, then I'll sleep on the couch, then I'll play with my family, then I'll nibble at my dinner, then I'll go out, THE END."

However, little did she know that this was no ordinary day. This was Sophie's first day at Doggy Daycare at Central Bark. In fact, it was the assessment day to ensure she would get along with the other dogs and not tear them to shreds and steal their toys. Sophie was wild with anticipation as I put her in her car seat (yes, it's true) and we started the drive out to Central Bark.

Geno, the incredibly enthusiastic owner and a friend of a friend, greeted us when we arrived and put Sophie up to wait for the rest of the dogs to arrive. We went through the paperwork, I confirmed they would call me if something happened, and drove on to work.

At Central Bark, they actually have a Daily Activities schedule much like a daycare for human children would have:

• 7:00 - 8:00am Arrivals


• 8:00 - 11:30am Morning Activities


• 11:30am - 12:00pm Individual Attention


• 12:00 - 2:00pm Nap Time (lights out with classical music)


• 2:00 - 4:30pm Exercise


• 4:30 - 5:00pm Individual Attention


• 5:00 - 6:30pm Chill Out/Pick-Up Time

Sophie was in for quite a different day! When I came to pick her up around 5:30 PM, Geno went through her assessment with me. She had no problem with human contact (she loves everybody indiscriminately). As far as the other dogs were concerned, she was not so sure. Under the "Introduction to other Dogs" section, she fell into the following categories:

• Initial Contact: "Hey, what are you doing?"


• Comfort Level: "I'm a bit out of my element."


• Play Bow: "You want to do what??"

The good news is that she was not possessive and allowed the other dogs to share treats and toys. Overall, Geno felt that Sophie would be just fine once she got used to it and that this might be just the place for her to build up some confidence around other dogs. Phew!

Sophie's only comment at the end of a long day of trepidation and excitement:

I'm pooped!

Green is All Around

I don't know if it's just that I'm paying attention more now, but it seems like everywhere I turn people, organizations, and companies are "going green." Just in the last week, I've encountered the following fantastic efforts to save the planet:

• One of the little churches that we visited this past Sunday (Todd did communion and Rebecka and I "shared our musical talents") had a sign in the foyer encouraging church goers to recycle their bulletins after the service.


• The Brentwood Summit News devoted an entire page to curbside recycling. (Too bad we don't live there anymore...)


• The latest issue of Runners's World has 22 pages devoted to "The Runner's Footprint." (I never realized how much waste is created by high performance running shoes...) It includes "30 Ways to Be A Greener Runner."


• Alliant Energy sent me a pamphlet about how I enroll in the "Second Nature" program to support the growth of renewable energy in Iowa. For approximately $12.00 more per month, absolutely!


• Our Luther College purchases this weekend came in recycled plastic bags. Luther is all over the "going green" thing. They stopped using trays in the cafeteria, most of their bathrooms are paper towel-less, and they have removed almost all driving possibilities on campus (and no more smoking!).

I think there may be hope for Mother Earth after all...

My Dream House

Several years ago our family hosted a house warming party shortly after we moved into our house on Chepstow Drive in Nashville, Tennessee. Toward the end of the evening, one of my friends (originally from New Zealand) said something that has stayed with me ever since:

"So you have achieved the American Dream... You have a great, big house and no time to spend in it."

This statement obviously didn't make me go quit my job or sell my house (in fact, we still have it, if anybody's interested...). However, I have pondered this off and on since that autumn evening. This memory has floated back into my consciousness a lot more over the past couple of months as I've been reading about simple and eco-friendly living.

Why do we need huge houses that take up lots of space and use up lots of electricity/gas/water? According to my sources, it is a status symbol. You buy a large house to show the rest of the world that you have succeeded in the game of life. (Unless you have eleven kids and you simply need the space.) I honestly bought a big house so I could comfortably entertain my friends. However, everybody always ended up in the kitchen (and on the deck) anyway. The other rooms stood there empty and lonely. More to clean, more to insure, more to pay taxes on, more to heat, more to cool, more to maintain, more to sell...

Now that we have the opportunity to select a new home in a new location, we are thinking differently about what kind of house we want and where it should be located:

• Close proximity to grocery shopping and other necessities so we can walk or bike.
• Well insulated with Low-E glass windows and preferably solar panels for renewable energy.
• A root cellar would be cool.
• A lot of wood and natural materials.
• Close to work.
• Wide open spaces and lots of light.
• Scandinavian design.
• Just enough space for the four of us - no more, no less.
• Close to nature/parks/green stuff.
• Enough space for a baby grand (for me) and a library (for Todd).

When I was in Decorah the first time, Todd drove me by a house that pretty much exemplifies what I want (at least the general exterior design):

Rebecka is already working on our version in SketchUp.

She wants to be an architect.

How convenient.

Traveling Light: Transportation

Week four of TreeHugger training is all about transportation. I am both good and bad in this category:

Good

• I drive an Echo. It gets 40 miles per gallon when I drive the speed limit.


• Proximity to work is fairly good. If I was a fully developed TreeHugger, I would bike.


• We live within walking distance to a grocery store and a farmer's market. (Too bad the Co-op is so far away!)

Bad

• I travel a good bit for work.


• My vacation often involves flying across the Atlantic.


• Either Todd or I drive somewhere in the neighborhood of 450 miles most weekends so we can spend time together. (Totally worth it, btw!)

My goal this week is to find out more about purchasing carbon offsets so I can feel better about those trips to Europe and Iowa.

I'll let you know what I find...

Cleaning House

Last week, I was charged with "greening up my act" as it relates to the home front. Considering that we live in an apartment, there is not much I can do as it relates to wallpaper, paint, etc. I'm also not in the furniture shopping business, so not much to do there. Finally, I definitely do not have a kid in diapers, so I can't help prevent the massive landfill problem (third largest source of landfill waste - ugh!). Hence, I stayed focused on products which keep my home (and my family) clean. I feel like I've come pretty far:

• Seventh Generation bleach, detergent, and dish washing liquid, kitchen cleaner, toilet paper, facial tissue, and paper towels (it's just like the Swedish variety...)


• JASON shampoo and conditioner


• green works cleaner (for the floor)

I also got unbleached parchment paper and baking cups for future baking adventures!

It's amazing how easy it is to find earth-friendly alternatives for pretty much any cleaning job. (Btw, I think I'm going to buy some for the clubhouse cleaners... I had another bad encounter with killer spray this morning.)

Spread the word!

A Day in Decorah, Iowa

This weekend marks my second weekend of making the four and a half hour trek across the Midwest to visit my husband, Todd, in Decorah, Iowa. He is a visiting Associate Professor at Luther College which is located in Decorah. Hence, he lives there during the weeks and some weekends. Initially, I was making fun of going to "the middle of nowhere" for the weekend, thinking it was going to be a drag. However, I quickly discovered that it is the perfect getaway after a stressful week at work.

Decorah is a small town, but has lots of character and is progressive in nature. It boasts a great co-op and is actually mentioned in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for its "Seed Savers Exchange," which is a network for sharing heirloom seeds. In addition, it was founded by Norwegians, so it has a Nordic flavor to it from Norwegian flags on the architecturally interesting houses to a Viking mascot at the local high school.

A Saturday in Decorah starts by sleeping in and then staying in bed until Sophie starts barking at the neighbors' dog. We slowly roll out of bed (which is a close to the floor IKEA bed) and make our way into the kitchen for a bowl of Peanut Butter Bumpers (best cereal on earth). We lounge around for a bit, reading Runner's World, checking email, and waiting for Rebecka to wake up.

When everybody is dressed and fueled up, we head down to Luther College to work out at the gym. We work out for as long as we want, because we can. After a nice, long workout, we head back to the house for showers and grooming (Sophie got her grooming last night though and she was not pleased when I had to cut a mat off her tail). At this point, we're all starving, so we get in the car to find lunch.

Today, we ended up at a Chinese place with a fairly good buffet. Of course, buffets generally invite overeating, so I did a little bit of that, but not too badly. Regardless, it hit the spot. A few other "errands" included getting Luther sweaters for Rebecka and Todd (I got an Ecology Man key chain, because I already have a Luther hoodie - and it's the best!) at the Luther bookstore, practicing our songs for church tomorrow in the music building, and making some copies in Todd's building.

Time for custard! One of the best things about the Midwest is the custard. Since there is always a "Flavor of the Day," it never gets boring. We got a brownie variety at the local Culver's and sat down on a bench in downtown Decorah to enjoy. Once we finished, we made the obligatory stop at the co-op to pick up some delicious, locally baked bread (including Swedish Rye) for our evening meal.

We drove back to the house with our purchases and took a little reading/sleeping/internet break. Then it was time to introduce Sophie to Luther College. Todd and I took her for a long walk around campus while Rebecka parked under a tree with her book and a blanket. The weather was perfect. We walked slowly through the beautiful campus and watched with amusement Sophie's attempts to attack the campus squirrels. When we got tired of walking, we found a bench and played closing scene of Notting Hill. Except, instead of a book, I had a Bichon sitting on top of me. It was relaxing. I took deep breaths and enjoyed the calmness it brings. We talked about the future and our dream home (which is less than 2000 sq ft, btw).

Finally, it was time to go retrieve our little girl and head back home. On the way to find Rebecka, a vicious, unleashed dog appeared out of nowhere, barking and charging right toward Sophie. In a heroic gesture to save Sophie from the beast, Todd yanked on her nylon leash and scooped her up in his arms just in time. The evil pooch's owner called him back and we continued on our merry way... until Todd realized blood was dripping from his finger from the friction of the leash against his skin during the Sophie rescue. He went to find a sink with soap and paper towels and I went to find Rebecka. She looked like a mini college student with her new Luther jacket and my bumble bee sunglasses. We walked toward the building into which I had seen Todd disappear and met him halfway. He had a paper towel wrapped around his finger, but knew it wouldn't stop the bleeding (it was a pretty deep gash). So, we drove to the nearest gas station and got their last pack of bandages. Once we got home, Todd was able to get cleaned up and bandaged (on his own... Rebecka and I are both too squeamish to be helpful in these situations) and Sophie got to drink some water and plop down on the couch for a well-deserved nap.

The evening will end with a simple supper followed by hot chocolate and reading/TV watching/conversation until we get tired and roll back into bed for a good night's sleep.

Until Sophie starts barking again...

A Budding Runner

I've always dreamed of sharing my love of running with my daughter, Rebecka. (Well, at least since I've been a runner and she's been old enough to run.) In the past, I've made a few futile attempts to get her to run with me on a regular basis, but it always fizzled out due to life (travel, illness, cold weather, you name it...).

After the 5K fun last weekend, I decided to invite Todd and Rebecka to run the Jingle Bell Run with me. For Todd, this is cake, considering that a 5K run is an "easy" day for him. For Rebecka, however, running even 0.5 miles is generally a stretch (she recently came home from school huffing and puffing because they made her run the aforementioned distance at gym class). So, we turned to runnersworld.com to see if we could find a good beginning runner's training plan to get ready for a 5K in six weeks. Sure enough, the running experts beat my expectations with a five week plan that starts the budding runner off at 10 minutes of running and gradually gets her up to 3.5 miles.

Rebecka faithfully followed the plan this past week and today, she ran two miles! I am so proud of her!! And it's not like she ran two miles and then collapsed. No, she cooled down with a slow walk, biked a mile while I finished my run, and then we did a full session of strength training together. With five weeks to go until the race, we should all be in great shape to finish the race and hopefully not freeze to death.

Persistence does pay off...

Anti-bacterial or Anti-shmacterial?

My third week of TreeHugger training is related to the home... "Greening Up Your Act: Cleaning and Interior Décor." Probably the scariest part to me is the section on "Antibacterial Products," which starts with the sentence:

"With our society's increasing tendency toward hyper-cleanliness, we are weakening our bodies and creating virulent strains of resistant germ and bacteria."

You know what's scary about this? (Aside from the fact that we are ending up with germs we can't kill.) We already know this and we keep using the anti-bacterial stuff! I am guilty along with everybody else. My kitchen soap is anti-bacterial. We have anti-bacterial wipes for wiping down sinks and counters. Because it seems safe.

However, recent research (this decade) seems to indicate that anti-bacterial cleaners and soaps are the opposite of safe. Regular soap and water is just fine unless you have someone who is seriously ill or has low immune system in your household. Those marketers got us again, making us believe that we need the spray that will kill 99.9% of those pesky bacteria. (I guess the 0.1% are the virulent strains we've created...?)

And it's not just cleaning. I mean, you can actually buy anti-bacterial clothing for your newborn baby. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself: Baby Pink or Blue. Or how about anti-bacterial placemats? Now that's a good start to your kid's life - weaken that immune system while you can!

Needless to say, one of my goals will be to rid the house of anti-bacterial everything.

One bottle at a time...

To Negative Split or Not to Negative Split - That is the Question

I ran my first 5K in about five years today. My goal was to cross the finish line in less than 30 minutes. I had been training to a slightly slower goal pace (10 min/mile), but I thought the adrenaline would probably help me get there.

I placed myself in the 9 min/mile section at the line up, knowing that most people don't pay attention to the signs and I didn't want to be trying to navigate strollers and walkers once the gun went off. The crowd I was surrounded by went out pretty hard. After a few minutes, I was thinking to myself, "I'm running at least a 9:30 min/mile pace. Hopefully, I will be able to keep it up."

Todd and Rebecka were on the curb cheering for me as I ran by the first water station (why they even have water stations at a 5K is beyond me, but whatever...). I slowed down so Rebecka could snap a picture:

I kept running, thinking that surely I would have passed a mile by now. Looking at the stop watch (which was Rebecka's pink cell phone), it said 11 minutes and something. Yeah, I was definitely past the one mile mark. Great - I had no idea how fast I was going. So, I continued at the same speed. It was hard. I was starting to get worried that I would not be able to achieve the negative split effect (running the second part of a race faster than the first part) and croak and pass out on the sideline before I reached the finish.

However, before I knew it, there was the (very small) sign for mile 2. I glanced at the pink phone. 17 minutes! Good Lord - I was going fast (for me). An 8:30 min/mile pace is unheard of in Tabita race history (fastest 5K was 8:36 min/mile, but that was five years and five less pounds ago). It was a relief to know that I would definitely make the 30 minute cutoff. At the same time, I wanted to finish strong and I was tired. I slowed down slightly (agaist the definitive rule of the negative split) to make sure I would make it all the way. I focused on my breathing and tried not to let it bother me that people were passing me left and right. I trudged on for a few minutes knowing that I was getting close. And sure enough, there was the finish line ahead. Running is 75% mental (in my opinion). Once I saw the goal, I forgot about being tired and started picking up the pace. I finished in 27:48 (unofficial time a la pink phone). Thrilling!

After hugs, pics, bananas, water, warm shower, and yummy lunch, I went to sit down to look at my upcoming training schedule (yep - I'm a little insane). I know I mentioned in a previous post that I would do a 10K training plan next, but I got so pumped by the race today, that I decided I would focus on some more 5K training (plus, I'll most likely be running a 5K, not a 10K). I went to runnersworld.com and started looking for articles on 5K training. The first one was called A Fast 5K. Sounded good to me. To my surprise, it talked about recent studies showing that for moderate runners (like me), going out fast actually works better than the traditional negative split. Wow - it seems I was onto something! The next article, Race Your Best 5-K Ever, contained the same message: Negative splits or even a steady pace is not the way to race your best 5K!

Then I went back to my original 5K training plan (after all, it worked out pretty well) and noted that under "Race Day Rules," the author quotes: "It's all about negative splits." Interesting...

This is my conclusion: I'm going to use the same training plan, but adjust it for a 26:30 finish time (that would be a PR for me) and forget about the negative split.

Jingle Bell Run, here I come!

Eating Your Way Green - Results

According to my TreeHugger training program, I was supposed to accomplish the following this week:

• Buy at least three organic vegetables or fruits
• Research Farmer's Markets and CSAs in my community
• Eat one or two fewer servings of meat
• Use reusable bags for grocery shopping
• Recycle any remaining plastic bags

So - how did I do?

• Well, I'm definitely trying to buy as much organic (and local) produce as possible. In fact, I'm rather suspicious now to anything conventional (although I can't let go of bananas). And as much as I love "fresh" berries, I have decided that I will wait to buy berries until they are in season in my region. One thing I've decided is that starting to eat local in the fall is not a great idea, because it doesn't give you a chance to preserve the delights of the spring and summer. So I'll spend this winter learning as much as I can about local foods and eating it as much as possible and then try to become a more hardcore locavore come spring.
• On the second goal, I have tracked down all the Farmer's Markets in the area. The most convenient location being across the street from where we live. I haven't had a chance to do the CSA research, but I'm sure I'll have lots of time this winter. Finding Outpost was a great step forward as well. I'm now a member and plan to go back today and get my produce for the week.
• Since I don't really eat much meat anymore, this one didn't really apply to me. However, for our weekly dinner out on Friday, I twisted Todd's arm (Rebecka chose to stay at home) and took him to a totally natural, vegetarian restaurant called Cafe Manna, where the floors are made of bamboo and the menu covers wear a soft cork. I had the special (yum!) and Todd had a noodle dish with tempeh, which was adequate.
• Hello - I've been using reusable tote bags for my groceries since we moved up here! Every now and then, I forget and feel really guilty. I was excited to find that our grocery store for the basics, Pick N Save, conveniently located within walking distance from our apartment, gives you a 5 cent credit for each reuable bag you bring when you shop. That makes me happy!
• N/A - got rid of these a long time ago.

Of course, there is a lot more to do under the "So You Want to Do More" section:

• Avoide purchasing two or more processed foods (bye bye Balance Bars...)
• Bring your lunch to work (always!)
• Read labels and find out what's local (very challenging in regular stores, but Outpost rocks when it comes to labeling local/regional foods)
• Plant your own garden (OK, this is one I'm going to be reading up on this winter)
• Read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (I chose Animal, Vegetable, Miracle instead)
• Join the Slow Food movement (I'm in! And $60 poorer...)
• Purchase extra fruit in the spring and fall and dry or can it (back to my point about starting locavorism in the spring rather than the fall)

Hmmm - I'm doing better than I thought I was...

I'm off to run a 5K!

Training Plans Totally Work

I am two days away from my first race in about 17 months. It's a 5K Race for the Cure (Milwaukee version). Thanks to a runnersworld.com training plan, I feel totally prepared.

The beauty of training plans is that they allow you to not have to think at all about what your run should be (which is especially challenging at 5 AM in the morning). You don't have to wonder: "Should I do intervals or a tempo run or is it perhaps time for an easy run? How far should I go? How fast should I go? It's all there handed to you on a silver platter (or rather a 8.5 x 11 printout). As long as you can figure out converting meters to miles, you're good to go. An added benefit is that a good plan prevents over training, because it inserts "off days" every here and there (great time to do weights!).

The very best part is the feeling of getting stronger, more in control, and more confident. I'm such a fan of training plans that I've already picked out my next one: "Your Ultimate 10-K Plan." I don't have a 10K to run yet (and there doesn't seem to be one in the vicinity), but there is always the 2008 Jingle Bell Run.

I've always wanted to run with jingle bells tied to my shoes...

Ummmmm...... ME!!!!!!!

This is a guest post by Rebecka:
\ /
that should b easy 2 figure out!!!!!!!

heeeeeeyyy every1 its me tabitas AW-Some daughter doing a guest blog. why? i have absoLUTEley no idea!!!!!!!! if u cant read my lang. SORRRY!!!!!! you shouldve thought of that!!!! now...... y am i not using my own blog? well,..... bcause......... idk i guess im lazy!!!! weelll now i guess most of u hoo check this site out daily,,,,,,, u saw my horrible day yesterday,, yes those days do happen (sigh)....... if u had a bad day 2 well,...... :( sorry... but I had a much better day 2day, w8 of course i did its friday, duh!!!

4 those of u who dont know (which u should) i started school,,,, 4 wks ago, yup 7hrs of long droning lectures from teachers..... PURE TORTURE on mon., tues., wed., half of thurs., .....lunch and p.e on occasion when they dont make you run half miles w/o stopping... oi!!!!!

well, THATS all out of my system and i cant think of anything else 2 write about sooooooooo........ byebye and have a good weekend/life!!!!!!!!

Tabita and Rebecka's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Because I'm so exhausted from my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, this post will mostly contain bullet points of events and allows you to piece it all together using your imagination:

- Day started off great: When I turned VH1 on in the workout room ("gym" is a stretch), the latest John Legend video was on. It's my favorite.
- Half-way into my workout, one of the cleaning guys (the tall, skinny one) came in and started spraying down the equipment, as usual. However, this time, something was different. I felt the chemicals settle in my throat and turned to see what in the world he was spraying. 409. Great - that stuff will kill a jumbo roach with 1-2 sprays. Opening the windows did not help. I cut my workout short and headed back to the apartment feeling nauseous.
- Showering and grooming was uneventful. However, when I walked into the living room, ready to head out to the office, I found little Sophie chewing on the remnants of a pen I had left on the kitchen table. This is a fairly common occurrence (Sophie loves pens!), but this time there was blue ink on the carpet (a lot of blue ink). I went to get our miracle stain remover solution (really!), but I guess it doesn't work on ink. I rubbed and rubbed, but it would not come out.
- Work was fine aside from not looking forward to the evening ahead (Thursday is Cleanning Day).
- At school, Rebecka suffered from heat (no A/C at her school) and hyperventilated as she completed a science project involving circuits in 30 minutes.
- When I got home, Rebecka was in the bathtub and there was a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Let the work begin!
- Rebecka had to help with my part of the cleaning, because I was grumpy and stressed. She did a great job dusting and vacuuming.
- Thursday is also Soup and Swedish Pancake Day. When I went to get the ingredients out of the fridge, I noticed there was water all over the bottom shelf. On further investigation, it was actually Rebecka's last bottle of Propel. No Propel for Becka's lunch tomorrow.
- Rebecka had used up almost all the ReddiWip for her spa treatment (remember the bath...?), so we only ate one pancake each (it's just not the same without fake whipped cream).
- As part of the spa treatment, Rebecka had dripped her honey and cream mixture on her bath mat. So I decided to wash them (it was time anyway). Half of the mats ended up as fuzz in the washer. I spent about ten minutes picking fuzz off the mats and out of the washer. (They're currently on their second round of drying - I'm scared to see the results.)
- After dinner, we had a language arts fire drill. Rebecka had to find a realistic fiction book set in "the present" at her reading level (why did the child have to score so high on the diagnostic??). After much agony and amazoning, we decided that The Penultimate Peril (part of the A Series of Unfortunate Events collection) had to be realistic fiction.
- This led to a walk to the library (with evil, ink-stained Sophie). At this point, we were both delirious and basically laughed our way all the way over there. Sophie made lots of friends while we stood outside waiting for Becka as she retrieved the book.
- During and after the walk, things got progressively better: I proved my theory about the buttons for the cross-walks, Sophie did her business, I had some yummy yogurt, and Rebecka had a big glass of milk.

The moral of the story is this:

Bichons cannot be trusted.

Do not buy bath mats from Target.

When you think things can't get any worse, they can.

Do not store Propel bottles horizontally.

Always keep an extra bottle of ReddiWip around.

Laughter is the greatest medicine.

My Grandparents Had It Figured Out

In the spirit of my TreeHugger-in-Training theme of the week, "Eating Your Way Green," I am reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. In one of the first chapters, Kingsolver points out that over the course of a couple of generations, we have unlearned how to take advantage of locally grown food and make it last throughout the year.

I have made the same observation as I have been inhaling "Simple Living" books for the past several weeks:

My grandparents had it figured out!

Let me explain. My maternal grandparents had a huge yard and garden surrounding their quaint, yellow house in the small village of Rappestad in southern Sweden. There grew every fruit tree imaginable (at least the cold weather varieties), berries ranging from raspberries to red and black currants to gooseberries, and beds and beds of vegetables.

As a child, I got to help thin the carrots to allow the remaining carrots to grow big and strong. If we needed chives for dinner, we would just run outside with a pair of scissors (OK, don't run with scissors...) and cut a few stems. Likewise, during the summer months, lettuce always came from the garden.

Every summer and fall, we harvested the bounty: Apples, cherries, pears, berries, rhubarb, potatoes - you name it. Then the fun began as we converted these gifts into goodies which would last all year. We filled dozens of jars with fresh apple sauce (in fact, I didn't know you could buy apple sauce in the grocery store until I was in my late teens), black and red current jelly, and picked onions. Strawberries and raspberries were turned into "saft," the Swedish version of juice concentrate. We packed the freezer with blueberries, rhubarb, and strawberries to fill pies and cobblers and top our ice cream during the cold winter months (yes, we eat ice cream in the dead of winter). Nothing went to waste.

My paternal grandparents had the same concept going on, but on a slightly smaller scale. Yet, they managed to fill their root cellar with winter apples which lasted all the way until Christmas. We ate local, because it tasted good and it was available.

How sad it is that most people in my generation and definitely my daughter's generation have no idea where their food comes from. We eat it because it is available, not because it's good. Strawberries have lost their magic for me, because I can get them year around. It used to be that the best weeks of the year were when the strawberries were ripe. At least once during these golden weeks, we would go to a strawberry farm and pick, eat, and pick some more all day long.

It was magical.

The good news is that my parents still have these skills. They still freeze blueberries for the winter and they still make applesauce. I intend to start paying attention and learn from them and make sure I pass on the knowledge to my child - because she will most likely need to know when we run out of gas to haul strawberries from California so we can eat those poor, tasteless specimens whenever we want.

Why did we ever forget?

Yellow Raspberries

I found organic yellow raspberries at Fresh Market today.

I'm in heaven.

It's happening...

I know this is old news, but I just received an email that made me want to post something here:

On Friday, around 75% of Nashville's gas stations ran out of the gas due to a rumor that the city was running out of gas (how ironic is that!?!?). It's obviously a preview of what we will be experiencing one day in the probably not so distant future, but the best part about it is this video.

Is that funny or what?

I found it!

The second week of my TreeHugger education is "Eating Your Way Green." I have to admit, I had already jump started this several weeks ago when I discovered there was a Farmer's Market across the street from our apartments on Saturday mornings. I have also been trying to eat more organic and less processed for a while.

However, it was not until last Sunday that I made my first trip to the local Co-op (Outpost Natural Foods). I was like a kid in a candy store. All this organic and natural stuff in one place! This trip was actually inspired by a previous visit to the Co-op in Decorah, IA (where Dr. Green resides during the weeks), where I had found real bread (not the spongy grocery store variety) and real soup. I knew there must be something like that in my neck of the woods. And sure enough!!

I strolled merrily down the aisles until I came to the dairy section. My favorite! I checked out the large variety of cheeses (reminding myself that I already had an almost untouched piece of Havarti at home), marveled at the fact that they actually had three different brands of Kefir, and then, I saw it...

Traditional European Style Yogurt

I thought to myself, "This is too good to be true...." I had been searching for something at least closely resembling Swedish yogurt since I first emigrated 13 years ago, with no luck.

I performed the first verification step: Check sugar content. Only 13 grams per serving in the Raspberry variety. Check! US yogurt typically has twice that.

"Made with live cultures." That's always good...

"From the makers of: America's Best Yogurt." OK, this is sounding really promising!

"100% grass-fed." Bingo!

I took it home. I did a taste test. It was wonderful.

I'm on my second bottle.

Going green rocks!

Culture Abounds

This week, I attended two cultural events. This is more than I typically attend in a month or even a quarter. (I'm about to change that, btw...)

On Thursday, I had the fortune to get invited to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's Gala kick-off event. We had awesome seats and got to partake of Beethoven's 5th as well as the marvelous Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra by above-mentioned (pretty famous) composer. The violinist of the evening was "living-legend" (I didn't know this until I just read it on the Symphony's website) Itzhak Perlman. This man does not at all conform to the stereotypical violinist character. He is overweight, old, can barely walk (due to childhood polio), but boy can he play. So much for stereotypes. I generally get really nervous for soloists because I know how hard it is and how horrible it is to make a mistake. However, once Mr. Perlman put his chin to his violin, all nervousness on my part dissipated. This guy knew what he was doing. He played effortlessly as if he was just playing around at home in his studio (on his Soil Stradivarius). Amazing.

Today, we all went to the Hidden River Art Festival right here in the neighborhood. There were 80 artists showing off everything from paintings to jewelry to weird stone monsters (Sophie would be scared). It was a good time. I did a good job not buying jewelry. It was hard. I almost justified one purchase because it allowed Kenyan women to have a good and reliable income by making the beads for the jewelry. Maybe at the next art show in November... :)

Culture is good and required.

Testing, 1, 2, 3...

I just added an "Add to Google Reader" button to my blog (yes, I am slightly behind the times...). Anyway, I also added my blog to Facebook, so I'm trying to figure out what is going to happen when I write a new post. Let's see...

A Budding TreeHugger

For a few weeks now, I have been neglecting my passion for writing in favor of my passion for reading. I start each day with my book (and a bowl of cereal) and end the day reading in bed until I convince myself that I should turn the light out. The last three books have been a combination of simple living and living green themes (they all really go together):

I started with a book called Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle by David Wann. This book is awesome! It truly inspires you to think about what you really need. I learned all about co-housing (did you know it started in Denmark?) and the beauty of having your own organic garden.

This led to the second book, Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth by Jim Merkel. This author lives on $5,000 per year and has a homestead in Vermont where he grows a lot of his own food and stores it in a food cellar (I want a food cellar!). He shares interesting experiences with people around the world who have sustainable living figured out and are happy with what they have. Merkel also provides tools which allow you to calculate your carbon footprint, etc (yikes!).

All this made me want to learn more about how I might contribute less to the destruction of our planet, so I dove into Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living by the folks at treehugger.com. This book breaks it down by areas of improvement (e.g. Eating, Cleaning, Traveling, etc). It is a nice, practical guide which gives you a weekly "Save the Planet in Thirty Minutes or Less" list and a more ambitious "So You Want to Do More" challenge.

The first week is called "Thinking Like a TreeHugger: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." It's so straight-forward really... Don't buy as much (this also a cornerstone of simple living), keep using what you have (mend clothes, fix your bike, etc), and when something just doesn't make sense to keep anymore, give it to someone who wants it or make sure it gets converted into something else.

So far, here is what I've done on the Thirty Minute list:
- Purchased Kleen Kanteen stainless steel water bottles so I can stop using the disposable plastic kind.
- Recycling as much as I can (I still need to check out www.earth911.org/recycling to figure out what to do with hazardous waste, etc).
- I'm trying to buy as little prepackaged food as possible, since this creates more waste (and is generally better for you).

I'm also working on going paperless as it relates to bills and such. Unfortunately, not all companies offer this option yet, but many do. I don't understand why they wouldn't, because email is definitely cheaper than sending out a snail mail bill, but anyway...

It's amazing how easy it is to make a big difference in consumption. And it feels good! The only remaining consumption addiction I have is buying books... I am an Amazon junkie. To round off my first week as a true TreeHugger, I should probably go check out the library across the street. Perhaps they have Your Money or Your Life, which is the next book on my list.

Next Week is "Eating Your Way Green: Food and Drink." Stay tuned!

Zero Inbox!!!

OK, so I am eight days late, but I am at this very moment at zero emails in my Inbox. I do have ten items that I am waiting on, but they are in a special folder called "Waiting" (makes sense, huh?).

This is an historical moment.

Tired, but happy...

It's 8:05 PM and I'm tired. Probably because I got up at 4:30 AM. It's so awesome getting up early though... Nobody is awake yet. The workout room is empty. I can watch whatever channel I want and nobody is changing it to ESPN. I get to have breakfast three times (pre-workout, post-workout, and mid-morning snack). All before 10 AM. I'm like a hobbit.

Anyway... Now I'm going to snuggle up in bed with my new book (Radical Simplicity) and read until my head starts nodding and I can hit the pillow and be asleep within 60 seconds.

That's the way I like it.

Most stupid weight loss suggestion to date...

I get a "Healthy Living" newsletter in my inbox most every day. Today, the subject line was "25 Ways to Lose Weight." Generally, I feel like I do pretty much everything in my power to be healthy and manage my weight, so I thought it might be interesting to read this list to see if I was still missing something.

Way #1 was to drink green tea. OK, so I don't do that, because it doesn't appeal to my taste buds. I kept reading... Eat cereal (check), consider peanut butter (check), etc, etc. Then I came to way #14:

"Weigh down your remote."

What does this mean? My first (naive) instinct was that the author was going to tell me to watch less TV (since the average American watches four or so hours per day), because that would be a great way to lose some weight (I prematurely assigned a "check"). But boy was I wrong...

By attaching a 2-pound weight to your remote (with a piece of string or a rubber band), you'll get a little exercise every time you lift it, says Nonas. "Sometimes people will lift the weight a couple of times between channels or will stand and walk around with it. It gets you going and moving."

Wow, why didn't I think of that?

I'm officially unsubscribed to the the Healthy Living newsletter.

Routines rock!

One of my new favorite blogs, is a "productivity" (really more simplicity) blog called Zen Habits. The author, Leo, writes about everything from being more productive at work (so you can have more free time) to the benefits of exercise.

Earlier this week, there was a post on Zen Habits called "7 Little Habits That Can Change Your Life, and How to Form Them." In this post, Leo talks about the top seven habits that he feels will impact your life the most. (He also briefly describes how to get into habits, which is helpful)

1. Develop Positive Thinking
2. Exercise (got that one down!)
3. Single-Tasking (this is the one I have most trouble with...)
4. Focus on one goal (OK, this one too...)
5. Eliminate the non-essential
6. Kindness (sounds easy...)
7. Daily routine

I have to say, the one that really struck a cord with me this week was the last one, "Daily routine." Due to my frequent travel over the past 2+ years, it has been virtually impossible to have a daily routine. This has definitely impacted my ability to be as organized and as healthy as I would like to be.

Now that I'm working and living in the same place, I have been able to establish a pretty awesome morning and evening routine. It enables me to work out every day, eat well, be less stressed, and read books! The most important parts of my routine are:

- Waking up early and at the same time every day
- Getting my exercise clothes ready the night before
- Eating before and after working out
- Taking some time every morning to read
- Fixing a lunch to bring to work (so I won't be tempted to go out - cheaper and healthier)

If you are able to have a routine, consider yourself lucky. It is truly a life changer.

Now, you obviously don't want to get so obsessed with your routine that you can't be flexible when needed. For example, I stayed up later than normal to see Barack Obama's speech on Thursday (Barack rocks!), so I got up a little bit later to make sure that I got enough sleep.

It's all good.

My new toy!

I have a new toy. It is a Yamaha electric piano (or "Portable Grand Piano," as they tout it). We sold our "real" piano before we moved and I've been going through withdrawals ever since. The cool part about this piano is that you get the good electric piano features as well as a lot of the "keyboard" functionality (think funky sounds, percussion, MIDI, etc). Here is a picture:

I'm soooo excited!!! I'll have the neighbors banging on the walls in no time. :)

Btw, I've seen Mamma Mia! The Movie three times now. This is a record for me. In fact, before this, I don't know that I'd seen any movie more than once in the theater. The movie is sweet, crazy, energizing, emotional, funny, and has tons of great choreography. A must see movie. Not a great plot, of course (since the creators were kind of constrained by the lyrics in the ABBA songs), but nevertheless awesome.

My friend Beth sent me an article attempting to explain why ABBA's music is so catchy. You can read it here. I know I can't get the songs out of my head and every time I hear one, it puts a smile on my face... and I don't think it's just because I'm Swedish.

dream on...

"There is no excuse not to dream."

(Printed in my morning dove chocolate wrapper)

What is this world coming to...?

OK, so I know this is yesterday's news (at least I heard about it yesterday), but I just had to comment on the following:

(From CNN.com) "HARROLD, Texas (AP) -- A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements."

The reason the superintendent gives is that the school is a 30-minute drive from the closest Sherriff's Office, so they would have no way to get reinforcement should something bad happen. Right - because in all other school shootings around the country, the police really had time to come stop it.

This is great... Now we are communicating to the youngsters of the world that the only way to fight violence is with concealed firearms. That is an awesome message and will really help us move in the right direction.

Does anybody else feel like we're moving backwards?

Getting organized!

Lately, I've been spending a good bit of time trying to organize every part of my life to be as efficient and productive (and hence maximize free time) as possible. I'm getting some good advice from Zen Habits and coming up with stuff on my own as well.

Today, I got my personal email down to 5 emails in my Inbox. These are all recordings my mom has sent me from our childhood that I still need to listen to when I'm in the right frame of mind for that. These recordings are so much fun that I want to make sure I get to enjoy them properly.

Anyway, next, I want to get my work email down to zero. My goal is to achieve this by the end of the month. I think it's doable. I am trying a new trick when it comes to email which is to check email only 2-3 times per day and do batch processing. It's so distracting to have new emails pop up on the screen every 5 minutes. So far it is working pretty well.

I'll be writing a lot more about these things coming up... I'm definitely on a Simple Living kick that will hopefully last a lifetime. It's all good!

Running...

I'm getting back into it. I've signed up for Race for the Cure here in Milwaukee. I'm pumped! I have a training schedule that will not just allow me to finish, but race (at least that's the claim...)! Training plans really help me. They allow me to not have to think about what my workout should be at 5 AM in the morning. I'd rather be thinking about solving the world's problems.

Todd and I ran our 3.5 mile loop this morning. The Milwaukee air is awesome. No more sweltering heat. Birch trees abound. As do fir trees.

Sophie likes Wisconsin. She gets to go on walks several times per day (because there is no fenced-in back yard... in fact, there is no back yard).

After lunch, Rebecka and I ran around Target trying to complete the school supply shopping. It was exhausting. There were a lot of very snippy parents. I tried to be calm and collected. It would be cool if Target could stock protractors right before school. Seems like they would like to buy a few extra of those during the weeks before school is about to start. Just my two cents...

Off to do some birthday shopping for Todd. His birthday is tomorrow. But first, we must stop at Kopp's for some frozen custard, because the flavor of the day is cookie dough.

Who can pass that up??

We made it...

So, yesterday I tried to blog from my phone. I was thinking that it would be a technology breakthrough for me, but it didn't work. When I realized that it wasn't going to work, I copied and pasted the post I had been working on (while driving through Chicago) into an email and sent it to myself. This also did not work for some unknown reason. To most people, this would probably be a sign not to pursue further the posting of said blog post. However, I am determined to give you some of the "highlights" from our trip (plus I emailed my dad that there would be move coverage on the blog). Hence, here we go again...

We didn't get a chance to leave our house until after 5 PM. At that point, we had to go and retrieve Sophie from the groomer. She smelled good and had little leopard-patterned bows in her hair. We fed her a "special bumper" (bumper with 1/4 of a sedative pill) so she would be calm for the trip. It totally worked. She was awesome.

We had some trouble finding the Comfort Suites hotel where we had reservations. This was mainly my fault, because I missed the exit (I was having fun looking at Indianapolis). Once we finally found it and started the check-in process, the lady at the front desk indicated that dogs were not allowed. I said, "Sure they are. You say so on your website." At this point, her computer system must have told her that she was dealing with an Elite Diamond member, because all of a sudden it was totally OK to have a dog and Sophie was the cutest thing ever. (Which she is.)

The hotel room was awesome. It was a brand new hotel. Sophie was not pleased though. She could not settle down and barked at the tiniest noice in the hallway (she was protecting us). We finally had to give her some more special medicine to catch some shut-eye, since we had five more hours to go in the morning.

Five hours - hahahahaha. Driving through Chicago and beyond proved not to be a laughing matter. It took forever!!! At one point, we had to take a break and magically stumbled across a Panera in the middle of nowhere. It was a nice surprise (but not nice enough to balance the painful 10 miles/hour drive).

Anyway, we finally made it to Wisconsin and started the moving in process. I think one of the reasons I love to move, is because I get to create a new home. Going to Target to get the new dishpan, toilet brushes, and doormats is so thrilling. Putting everything in it's proper place and figuring out the best way to organize everything in the kitchen is totally exciting to me.

We capped our busy day off with some custard at Kopp's. We sat outside and it was slightly chilly. In July.

Hello Wisconsin!

Moving Day

This is our last day in Nashville (at least as residents). The movers are loading up the truck as I type. As always when the Greens move, it's been raining cats and dogs. Fortunately, the skies are now clear and we hope that we'll be out of here in a couple of hours.

We have been trying really hard to move as little "stuff" as possible. A lot has gone to Goodwill (btw, check out itsdeductible.com - very cool). We have also given stuff to friends and thrown out stuff that nobody in the right mind would want. We're still at 300+ lines on the mover's inventory. Crazy! Hopefully, we can get rid of even more before the next move.

The kitchen is the main culprit. I keep thinking I'm going to get into cooking more and I may need that 5th pan, if I'm cooking a lot at once... Like on Thanksgiving. I do plan to cook more in our new home. Mostly, because I'm going to be home more and I like to eat home-cooked food. I can honestly say, I'd rather eat a good meal at home than at a restaurant.

Anyway, I'm really hungry. I may need to go make myself a peanutbutter sandwich. That's about all we have left to eat. And Bumpers. We cannot live without Bumpers. We're really hoping our new grocery store will have Bumpers. If not, we may have to order them online.

Bye bye Nashville!

Patriotic Sophie

Sophie's groomer likes to observe the various US holidays when deciding what bow to put in her hair. Here is Sophie on July 4th:

Happy Workaholics Day...?

Yesterday, I made an unusual stop on the world wide web at 123greetings.com to find a birthday card for my lil' sis' (who happens to be born on July 4th). I expected to see a bunch of July 4th greeting cards, but the first one that showed up was a card with a puppy wearing a tie snoozing on top of a pile of papers with the caption "I'm Dreaming About You!."

Yes indeed, July 5th is "Workaholics Day." Apparently, this is the one day during the year that workaholics are supposed to take a break and smell the roses (or sleep). So it is conveniently located right next to a major holiday when most people are pretty OK with taking time off.

Does anybody else think this is totally insane??

Anyway, my two cents is that accusations of workaholism are unproportionately doled out to people in the corporate world. How often have you heard someone call a missionary a "workaholic" even if they work day and night? I think there is a fine line between passion and unhealthy behavior. I prefer to stay on the passion side of that line... However, sometimes it requires reminders from loved ones. Perhaps that is what this day is about? Reminding people to take a break and enjoy some other aspects of life. (And giving the greeting card industry one more opportunity to sell cards.)

So, what does workaholics day entail for me? Let's see:

• Go to the gym and pump some iron


• Purge the linen closet


• Purge the guest bathroom


• Purge the guest bedroom closet


• Purge the hallway closets


• Take high-quality purged stuff to Goodwill


• Re-pack baby clothes and toys into nice (Swedish) Container Store boxes:

• Cook salmon for the family


• Watch a movie and relax (see, I can do it!)

I can't wait to start my day!

The Wedding of the Century (again!)

We had serious doubts that “Apple David” (Rebecka’s 2-year-old version of “Uncle David”) would ever get hitched. I mean he is after all 15 years older than little brother Todd was when we got married. But nevertheless, a couple of weekends ago, it happened with a bang!

Friday, November 2 – Fairly calm morning. Slept late, went for my first outdoors job in a loooong time, helped Todd pick up tuxedo (very handsome). In short, this day was very different from the craziness of the day before the last Wedding of the Century.

Around 3:30 PM or so, we headed over to the church for the rehearsal. Both Todd (Best Man) and Rebecka (Jr. Bridesmaid) were in the wedding, so obviously they needed to be there. The members of the wedding party started dropping in one by one. I just sat back, relaxed, and took it all in.

Around 4:45 PM, I drove our rental car (yay for Hertz rewards!) over to the venue for the rehearsal dinner to help with the “technical” setup (i.e. hook up DVD player to projector). The venue was an ice skating complex adjacent to a mall. I wandered around for a while searching for Party Room #2 (“The Den”). I got a little lost. Then I found it and met aunt of Caroline, retired educator and owner of Bed and Breakfast in Vermont. We had some good conversation around whether school systems around the country focus too much on children with special needs (below average and over average) to the point that the “average” kid gets lost or if more funds should be spent on our extra talented kids (as is the point of view of a recent TIME magazine cover story). We were rudely interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the rehearsal dinner guests (I guess that was after all the main point of the evening).

Dinner went well with a good mix of salad, wine, and Swedish fish. When dinner was over, Rebecka talked me into going skating with her on one of the skating rinks. I was concerned about getting cold, but I submitted to her will (as is fairly common). It was fantastic! It had been a really, really long time since I went ice skating and I forgot how much fun it is. Rebecka progressed from clinging onto me and the side of the rink to independent skating in a matter of 30 minutes. We had an enthusiastic audience as the rehearsal dinner was directly above the rink. Then Rebecka got tired and left. I kept skating. I eventually made it back upstairs and joined the relatives until it was time to go home.

Saturday, November 3 – Again, a freakishly calm morning, considering we were at the house of the groom, the day of the wedding. Apparently, Apple D had taken care of everything the previous evening. So organized! I went for another 45 minute jog on the “Four mile” trail. It was crisp and refreshing. Then we began the beautification process (at least for me and Rebecka) with blow dryers and flattening irons galore. Brush, brush, brush that hair and those teeth. Arrive at church way ahead of time for further beautification, bonding, and behind the scenes pictures. Rebecka was on look-out duty to make sure the groom did not catch a glimpse of his bride before it was time. She also had the opportunity to sneak in some Nintendo DS time…

Caroline was like a dream:

All of a sudden, it was time and I found myself sitting in church next to brother-in-law #1. David, Todd and the rest of the groomspeople (yes – there was a groomswoman) stood at the front of the church eagerly awaiting the bride’s party to enter. When Caroline finally made her entrance walking between her parents, the look on David’s face made half of the congregation have to pull out their Kleenex (crap – I forgot to stuff some into my miniature wedding purse!). It was overwhelming love, extreme happiness and excitement all rolled into one. It’s making me tear up now, just thinking about it.

I have to say, Rebecka did a fantastic job as Jr. Bridesmaid. For large portions of the ceremony, she had to hold both her and Caroline’s bouquet. It was heavy! She didn’t fidget and stood there the whole time like a little lady. Good job! Todd was obviously kick-ass too. He didn’t drop the ring or anything crazy like that. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smoother ring-from-pocket-to-groom delivery.

Once all the wedding guests had cleared out, it was picture time (boring! - for innocent bystanders like me, at least). The photographer was very bossy. I told her as much. She ignored me.

Once all that nonsense was done, we headed over to the reception at the Hilton. We caught the end of the cocktail hour (thank God!). The cocktails for the evening were Green-tinis (so clever…). I opted for wine. I spent some time chatting with Todd’s Uncle Mike. He has a ponytail. He’s not cutting his hair until the war ends. I have increased respect for the man. We asked him to take a picture of us:


The evening proceeded according to schedule (which Todd kept close to his heart in the interior pocket of his tuxedo). Todd was the Master of Ceremonies for the event. He did a fabulous job. He introduced the first dance at the right time…


…and the “Best Man Toast” was perfect. There was much dancing and rejoicing. This wedding was indeed a worthy candidate for the Wedding of the Century title. I think we have a tie!