Don't Forget to Vote Today! ...and then grab a free coffee at Starbucks!

Just a reminder to everyone that today is Election Day! Get out there and Vote if you haven't already! I Did!
Also did you know that several businesses are offering FREE perks to those wearing an "I Voted" sticker? Now, there’s no excuse not to vote!
Big businesses like Starbucks (coffee), Ben & Jerry’s (ice cream), and Krispy Kreme (star-shaped doughnuts with red, white and blue sprinkles) are handing out tasty treats!
Will you take advantage of the freebies?

Green Goes with Everything

Sloan Barnett, the Green Editor for KNTV here in San Francisco, has just released a new book. It is packed with common sense and sass, product picks and practical tips, Green Goes with Everything; Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet is a must-read for anyone who wants to be green AND clean, and for everyone who wants to take simple steps to safeguard the health of their family and our wonderful blue planet.
According to Barnett, human beings are saturating their bodies, their children's bodies and their homes with noxious waste, pathogens and carcinogens. This book is divided into seven clean-it-up chapters full of solid information and helpful tips aimed at greening different areas of your life, such as how to best filter household water. Barnett's well-written environmental call-to-arms is passionate and authoritative; her findings correlating childhood illnesses with ordinary-and highly toxic-cleaning supplies is alarming.
This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the health of their family and our wonderful planet!

I'm a Living Green House Party host!

Because I was among the first host finalists to set up my Living Green party online, I was confirmed as a host and will be receiving a free party package to share with my guests shortly before the party. I can't wait to spread the word by inviting my guests to my party, where fun and affordable ways to create an eco-friendly home will be center stage.

On October 4th, I will gather friends and family to discover how to “live green” with loads of simple, affordable help from Better Homes and Gardens and Green Works.™

My party is just a couple of weeks away. All across the country hosts are planning their Living Green house parties. I'm sooo ready to have a great time at my Living Green House Party!

Using the Library is a great way to go Green!

Did you ever think that using the library would be a "green thing" to do? Can you imagine how much paper we could save by using this community resource instead of buying all of the books that we read? Most of us buy a book, read it once, and then let it sit on our bookshelves for years. Reading books from the library is a great way to save resources and be green!
The library that I use, here in Sunnyvale, CA., actually has some books that have been used to an incredible extent. There are hundreds of books in their collection that have been checked out more than 100 times! They also have dozens of books that have been checked out more than 200 times, and one book that has been out more than 300 times! It's a rare book that can take that much wear and tear without being rebound at some point to be kept from falling apart.
If you're curious as to which book was out more than 300 times, it is "If Tomorrow Comes" by Sydney Sheldon. A close runner up is "C Is for Corpse" by Sue Grafton.
The library is also a great place to find several "green titles", offering advice on everything from how to travel, cook and garden green, to making your house and workplace energy-smart.
I'm currently reading "Green This! Volume One" (greening your cleaning) by Deirdre Imus, and "Green Babies, Sage Moms" (the ultimate guide to raising your organic baby) by Lynda Fassa.
So, if you haven't already gotten a library card, why not get one? It also makes for a great place to take the little ones on an outing, and find free movies to check out as well!

How to Raise a Healthy Child, In Spite of Your Doctor

I just ran across a wonderful book today! How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, renowned pediatrician and author advises parents on home treatment and diagnosis of colds and flus, childhood illnesses, vision and hearing problems, allergies, and more. PLUS, a complete section on picking the right doctor for your child, step-by-step instructions for knowing when to call a doctor, and much more. I encourage every mom to get this book! Chapter 7 is not to be missed!
He teaches that a Fever is one of our body's defenses against disease. Here is one of his quotes "Measures to reduce temperature, such as drugs or sponging are worse than unnecessary; they are actually counterproductive!" Fever reducing medicines can actually cause liver damage. We want to work "with" a fever.
Another great resource is the book titled The How to Herb Book (it's a wonderful book to have) Learn how to use onion juice for an ear ache! We do not need to depend on antibiotics for ear aches!
I recommend these two books as must haves for every home library!

Make Your Summer Traveling 'Greener'

Are you looking for a way to make your Summer Vacation a bit 'greener'? 'Going green' doesn't mean you have to stay at home. You just need to find a greener way to travel. You can reduce your carbon footprint (the amount of carbon dioxide & other greenhouse gases that your daily activities emit) by purchasing carbon offsets and choosing to use low-carbon transportation both during the trip and at your final destination.

By buying carbon offsets, You can shrink your footprint significantly.
Native Energy offers business specific types of offsets which include offsets for travel companies, events and business travel. With Native Energy you can support specific projects, such as the Wanner Family Dairy Farm Methane Project. Native Energy also offers renewable energy credits, which are much like buying green power from your utility company. You can choose from either 100% wind power, 100% methane power or 50% wind/50% methane. It would cost $24 to offset a flight from JFK to LAX. Carbonfund prides itself on offering the lowest prices, sells offsets to support projects in renewable energy, and energy efficiency & reforestation. These offsets sell for $5.50 per ton. Offsets for the that same flight would cost $4.92. These are just 2 of the more than 50 carbon offset retailers in today's growing market. So with so many choices, how do you know if one is better than the other? A good carbon offset should be verified or certified by a third party, meaning that they comply with the Gold Standard, the Voluntary Carbon Standard 2007 or the standards set by Green-e Climate.

The offsets sold by Carbonfund and Native Energy are both verified by The Gold Standard and VCS 2007. In the meantime, Green-e Climate in February became the first U.S. certifier of consumer carbon offsets. To this day, Green-e Climate has only certified carbon offsets from 4 retailers: 3Degrees, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Community Energy & Renewable Choice.

This summer, let's all choose to ease our guilt that is caused by our travels by buying carbon offsets. Let's offset the greenhouse gas emissions by financing projects that add clean energy to the power grid and reduce the overall demand for fossil fuels!


"Green travel is more than where we go and what we do; it's how we travel. If we journey with a respect for Earth's resources and inhabitants, we contribute to a world which supports healthy growth, both in nature and in human relationships."
- Visit Earth Routes for some WONDERFUL reservations & resources for green travel!

Tips for storing fresh produce in the fridge...

Is there really a way to store delicious, fresh vegetables that will keep them fresh longer? I always run into the problem of buying too much and then losing some to spoilage, because we don't eat them fast enough! How I hate wasting tasty vegetables!

So... I thought Id share some general tips that I recently found on storing produce:

1) Most fruits should be kept OUT of the refrigerator unless it is on the verge of spoilage. Everything that is normally considered as fruit is included in this rule, including tomatoes, but not zucchini. The refrigerator is a dry environment that dries fruit out, fills it with strange odors and flavors, and sabotages the natural taste.

2) There is also no need to refrigerate potatoes, onions, or garlic if you have a dry cupboard in your home in which to store them.

3) A lot of produce suffers from being washed and then stored. You should not store washed basil or mushrooms in a plastic bag. Try washing your green leafy items at once so that you can quickly pull them out later for salads. If you ever end up with wet lettuce or salad mix, try adding a paper towel inside the plastic to absorb the moisture. This keeps them moist enough that they don't wilt.

4) Almost all other veggies will wilt, shrivel, pucker, and rot at a more rapid pace if not enclosed in some type of vapor barrier. Crisper drawers never really work, so try reusing plastic bags (which is another way to recycle them!), which traps some of the moisture and delays spoilage. Tupperware-type containers also work very well!

Always remember to consume your vegetables on a first-to-rot, first-to-eat basis. Try not to worry too much about which type of bag you use. Buying fresh, healthy, local food is a higher priority.

Lettuce eat veggies!