treehugging tip: glass half-full

simple and green tip 02. glass half-full

here is an interesting fact: it costs more money to drink bottled water than it does to put gas in your car. 

at first, i didn't believe it. but its true. according to the earth policy institute, it actually costs up to 5x's more, due to the packaging and transportation. if that doesn't cure your love of the bottle, try this on for size: even if you don't mind spending the cash, 8 out of 10 water bottles used in the US are thrown into landfills, where they won't biodegrade and can sink chemicals in the soil.

i have been guilty of buying bottled water in the past, but found it an unnecessary expense, and am happy that i was unknowingly helping out with our earth's plastic problem. now, i fill our fridge with tap water in about a million of these babies, and always have one on hand. 

nervous about tap water? the national resource defense council kindly reminds us that bottled water companies do not have to release their water-testing results to the public, whereas municipalities do. 

or you could always just buy one of these....

meditations from the mat

"how much of the world had i missed while living in my head? if each cell in our bodies is an outpost of our brains, what might i have learned? i'll never know what that adventurous little girl might have become. but at least i know that she's still there - waiting to enter the present."

-gloria steinem, moving beyond the words.

simple and green: treehugging tips

starting off a new series on word for word, and lovingly referring to it as: simple and green. the husband brought to my attention the need for the two of us to start a "green" blog a couple of weeks ago, featuring daily...or most likely, weekly tips on how we can be doing a better job going and staying green in our everyday lives. after watching a few touching segments of planet earth and shedding some tears at the wildly popular shamu show at sea world a couple of weeks ago (i'm only mildly embarrassed - my mom cried too), i'm hitting the gas full throttle and starting off with the most obvious tip, that a lot of us are doing already - but I could definitely be better at. 

simple and green tip o1. junk in your trunk

let's start with the easiest one. we all know by now that the best answer to the "paper or plastic" question is, "neither" but the the hard part for me, is remembering to keep the reusable bags in my trunk at all times. i'm always making unscheduled trips to the local market, and am unfortunately not always readily prepared with bags for my goodies. i've begun by having lots of extra bags and keeping some in my car and some at home, or hanging them on the door knob after i've brought my groceries in to remember to take them out with me the next time i leave. i like this idea of having a cute little hook by your front door to hang the reusables. right now, i'm putting a big, bold and black "remember the bags" on the notepad that i make my grocery store lists on. it is working so far....now, if i can only start to remember to take my bike instead of my gas-guzzling suv.....

one step at a time.

dear dad

"he didn't tell me how to live, he lived, and let me watch him do it." ~clarence b. kelland

a huge father's day wish to my wonderful dad. i have so many great memories of my childhood thanks to this amazing man. and as i get older, i appreciate his wisdom, friendship and love more than ever. does a girl ever grow out of needing her dad around? i know i haven't. i need him more than ever and love that i can trust and rely on him for anything. he is the first person i go to for advice, and the one i know i can always count on. he has always put his family first, sacrificed so much and always taken such good care of us. and he is so cool, rugged and manly. the list goes on for days. i appreciate everything you do for me dad, and i love you so much.

also, for the other men in my life, brother Bryan, you are turning into dad, and i can't imagine a better thing. your girls are so lucky. papa Cary - i adore you, love you and miss you. thank you for always treating me like one of your own, and for being such a good example to your son.  and to the future father of my children...Cortney Cary Nelson - you are one of the best men i know, and one of the main reasons i married you was for the great dad you are going to be. and probably the coolest. 

happy father's day.

word to the wise

there is an amazing amount of people watching to do in california - almost too much, that sometimes i have trouble getting things done. as i was sitting outside a cafe in huntington beach yesterday, studying up on my yoga before class began (summer of fitness lives on...i'll explain later), i couldn't help but overhear (ok, eavesdrop) on a conversation between three scantily-clad teenage girls (i'm assuming 15-16 yrs. old, but who can really tell these days? they could have been 12). they were going back and forth with each other, giving details of the boys they were dating, or trying to date, ways to impress them, what other girls they could sabotage to get to them, and even (gasp) ways to hide it from their parents. the mother-side in me (which to be honest, is coming out more and more these days) wanted to tuck these kids under my arms and explain to them a few things i remember about being that age.

my mind wandered back to a story my dad would tell me when i was in high school - which, i'm now 99.9% sure he made up to "scare me straight," but it's true, nonetheless. he would tell me of three girls he knew in high school, all really popular and mostly concerned about appearance, boys, social events and friends. but mostly boys. he then told me that he ran into these same girls a few years after high school, and was shocked to see that their once good looks were beginning to fade, and they had none done anything with their life. they had ignored their education in high school, done poorly in college (or didn't go at all), were left working mediocre jobs, depressed, broke, unmarried and were a sad sight to see. 

for dramatic emphasis, i probably rolled my eyes at this story as a 16 year-old girl, but i wish i would have realized what a miniscule part of my life high school would be, and focused on more important things. luckily, my younger sisters are much wiser and beyond their years when it comes to this kind of stuff, so i didn't have to worry about them in school, but it is very possible that i will use that same story on my own children in the future. 

i jotted down this list, when i should have been studying, of what i would say if i had enough guts to stop and talk to those girls:

1. do NOT date anyone seriously, have a boyfriend, "go out," etc...when you are in high school. it is meant to be fun.

2. always pick your friends over boys. 

2. go to class, get beyond good grades, get a scholarship and go to college.

4. don't eat crap - it will only catch up with you once you are out of your teens. 

5. if you do date, make sure you date (and marry) the nerds - they are the ones that will be successful and treat you well in the future (Cort, I am not calling you a nerd....no wait, I kind of am.)

6. it IS cool to be the smart/good girl. 

7. it is also cool to spend time with your family, even on weekends.

8. don't tan - unless you want wrinkles and skin cancer when you are 26.

9. be nice to your parents. impress them.

10. stay away from all boys - at least until you have graduated...college. 

only my opinion, but i think it is true. i'm so lucky to have been born into a family that tried so hard to keep me grounded, instilled some ambition in me and always pushed me to do better.

my nieces are in trouble....i will try to keep my rants under control.

lil' campbell's

spending some time with the family in coronado - what a dream, i have missed them so much. we are without bryan and amanda's crew though, and i am missing these two especially. i swiped these pics off their blog so you can see how precious they are. 

check out : awkward family photos

was perusing through some blogs this morning when i was linked to this amazing site. it reminded me of my sisters, amy and anna. i think it is something they would enjoy or even come up with on their own. i got a kick out of it. the author gives some of the photos "awkward pose of the week" captions with amazing names such as, "the banana boat," "the pile-on" and "the arm-shelf". if you grew up in the nineties, and took a school picture while sitting on a small ladder/footstool with the 3 foot picket fence in the background, while leaning onto your fist, check this site out and you'll get a good laugh. 

lacing up...

....and hitting the ground running because today is National Run Day. the running industry has dedicated the first wednesday in june to remind us to start or continue leading fit and healthy lives, with running being one of the "healthiest, easiest and most accessible forms of exercise" to do so. 

i can get on board with running being the healthiest and most accessible...but, easy? not for me. 

as a part of my "summer of fitness," i have been tracking my running progress (thanks to the husband) in terms of distance and speed. i have taken it from the treadmill to running outside, since i have heard that you get more bang for your buck when hitting the pavement. it makes sense, but it is definitely not easy. i was comfortable in my air-conditioned gym where i could jump off the treadmill whenever i wanted, or slow to a speed-walk and still feel like it counted as running. very quickly, i came to realize that a) i am not as fast as i thought i was; b) i can't run as far as i thought i could; and c) shin splints and aching knees just come with the territory. still, i'm determined and resilient - i want to be a "runner".  i don't know exactly what classifies a person as a runner, but i'm assuming it involves being able to run any time, any place and without pain. i'm also a little vain -  i want the runners body. but i also want the runners spirit, motivation, and i want it to not be hard. so for now, it's a work in progress.

any tips of how i can become a "runner" would be appreciated. seriously. please leave a comment.

for those that want to participate in National Run Day, there are running events from NYC to San Diego at gyms, running stores and being hosted by running clubs. click here to find out what is going on in your neighborhood. and go get your run on.

you know i'll be trying.

baby bear hunting

now before you go jumping to conclusions, let me explain...

ok, maybe "hunting" is a bad word choice. i'm looking to find a lost or recently orphaned baby bear. since i have the summer off, i have found myself a frequent viewer of oprah. i'm not ashamed. i love this woman. she has some great stuff on her show, including a show in particular that included interviews with people that have raised wild animals, almost like children, successfully and in their own homes. jessica the hippo, tarra the elephant, and...brutus, the bear. i was so touched by the unspeakable bond between these animals and their "mothers" that i am convinced i could do the same.  

the husband always does a great job of humoring my latest fix or fad and is always up for an adventure so we ventured into the woods of malibu a couple of weeks ago to begin day 1 of baby bear "hunting". the hike was...ok, but we did run into quite a bit of fog. it is very eerie in the southland these days..."june gloom" they call it, and we saw a man in a brightly colored country-clubbing outfit wander into the fog...and never come back out. needless to say, we found no bears. 

our next adventure/excursion/search took us to lake arrowhead over memorial day. what a hidden gem this place is. i would compare it to lake winnipesaukee, which happens to be one of the most acceptable places on my list of, "where i want to retire". the village was adorable, the locals were friendly, and we did get to go on a nice little hike - where i think we saw maybe 1 squirrel. zero bears. i was a bit defeated, but the charm and small-town feel of this sweet place took it all away. i highly recommend it. 

if i can't find a baby bear soon, i may just have to get a real baby. 

weekend warrior

...or, um...cowboy.

the husband came out on saturday, all ready to run some weekend errands with me, in his favorite get-up.

this is just further proof that i need to get this boy out of the city very, very soon...