Up and running

I like a full plate. This sometimes makes my husband cringe, and sometimes causes me to breakout like a 15 year old . . . but, I like to be involved in things. I like to connect with people and I like to help others. It's in my nature, like my love for hot chocolate on cool autumn night.

I'm currently working on several exciting ventures:

1. Writing proposals for using We Are Girls Who Love to Run in corporate campaigns
2. Creating running clubs for Spring 2010 modeled after Carol Goodrow's Happy Feet, Healthy Food club at local elementary schools
3. Reading great books and resources, a mix of old & new, to review here SOON!
4. Increasing my own running milage back up to 15-20 miles/week
5. Keeping up with housework more consistently so I can focus better during times when my children are sleeping/away and I have time to work.

The first three items have my greatest focus.

The fourth is being supported by the increase in participation for the Saturday morning trail runs I'm orchestrating in my community. I ran a fabulous 5 miles with a fellow-mom last Saturday. It was such a great run, I practically floated through the rest of the day. Some runs are like that - and I hope to enjoy plenty more!

That fifth item is a constant struggle. Housework has never been at the top of my list, but the better I do with it, the more I'm willing to keep up with it . . . and the more willing I am to actually let people past the front door! If my book ever makes millions, you can bet I'll hire a cleaning crew so that cleaning isn't ever on my list.

Breath of Fresh Air - Eco-Runner

No, the title for this post isn't about how grand the weather is here (because, just as quickly as fabulous weather graced us with its beauty, it went away leaving us with CRAZY wind, grey clouds and rain . . . and temps in the 50s and 60s instead of the 80s and 90s we had this weekend . . . ugh!). Instead the title is in regards to my discovery of Eco-Runner. Go follow the link!

Now!

Really!

Do it . . .

It'll just take a second . . . come on already!

See? Aren't you glad you did?

Eco-Runner is a great concept, wouldn't you say? Makes you want to lace-up your running shoes, grab a plastic bag you've been saving to re-use and head out to make your community a bit greener, right?!!

Some readers may recall how I posted some time ago about making efforts to be more in tune with the impact I'm having on the environment. Since pledging to be a better citizen, I've tried my best to keep on the steady course to live a more "green" life. Here's a quick recap of what actions I'm (and by "I'm", I mean "my family is") taking:

- cloth diapers for my 15 month old (we're consistently at about 75% cloth, 25% disposable, though that's an average) Image credit: Bummis

- cloth napkins at dinner (100% - AND my parents have followed suit - AND my mother-in-law sent us a set of 8 so we're golden now without me having to do laundry as frequently!)

- washcloths for counter cleaning instead of paper towels (100% - 1 roll of paper towels used to last us about a week, now they last closer to 3 and I'm considering ditching them, if I can convince my husband that it is a reasonable idea!)

- we compost all of our fruit/veggie food scraps (there's a little compost jar by our sink to make it easy - and my husband IS good about dumping it regularly into our bin in the back yard)

- reusable grocery bags (90% - I'm still working on getting my husband to remember the ones I've placed in his car for the "on your way home" grocery stops)

- I cancelled 6 catalogs through Catalog Choice (and will continue to cancel them as they arrive in our mailbox . . .and, sadly, they will - even though these are from companies we've NEVER ordered through or only order through for the holidays!) Image credit: www.carnegiecarnegie.com/magazines.jpg

- my husband is biking to the bus stop to take the bus to work . . . currently 5 days a week, but since he gets motion sick (translation - a headache that lasts a few hours - ugh!), I think it might be okay if he does it a bit less frequently. When making these choices, you DO have to consider if the trade-off is worthwhile . . . and a husband with a headache for the entire night does not seem worthwhile. We'll see how it goes in the long-term, as he's just nearing one month of it. The gas saved for the nearly 40 mile round-trip commute is quite a chunk of moolah . . . not to mention the reduction in his carbon footprint. Decisions, decisions.

MSNBC just posted a simple list of consumer tips for making a difference in helping the planet. You may be surprised at how much you are already doing - and how simple it could be to do just a bit more!

I could keep going . . . but I won't bore you with the minute things we're doing or that we can do, since I think the above choices are making a fairly decent dent and there are hundreds of sites DEDICATED to the topic!

And now I'll get back to the Eco-Runner - this guy lives and breathes the notion that who he is and what he does MAKES A DIFFERENCE (and he's right)! By starting in his own backyard and spiraling out globally, he is spreading the joy of running and the idea that a passion for running can go even further by combining it with cleaning up our environment as we run. Simple, effective, inspirational! And, another reason this philosophy caught my mom's eye to pass along to me - Eco-Runner has a curriculum for Kids ! Too cool!

Now, that's what I call a breath of fresh air!