Know a teenie weenie greenie?

Calling all punsters. We’re partnering with Gwen Gardner at Little Chickie Wear in an effort to come up with the best green phrase to put on a onesie or toddler t-shirt.Just to get those brain cells moving, here are a few we invented all by ourselves:

I’m the cream of the organic crop! Greenie in Training. Growin’ up Green. Bet you can do better!

E-mail no more than five funny, silly, captivating sayings about eco, green, sustainable or organic to celebrategreenlittlechickiewear@yahoo.com. Please include:

• Your first and last name
• City, State (country if outside the U.S.)
• Telephone number

On November 18, the top three choices will be announced on www.littlechickiewear.com and www.celebrategreen.net (In case of multiple submissions of the same idea, the first to email to arrive will be used.)

From November 18-December 15, you can vote for your favorites at both websites. The winner will be the saying receiving the most votes, and will be announced on December 18. The winner will receive an organic onesie or t-shirt*-your choice-with the clever saying printed on it and a copy of the season’s must-have book Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family!

Anyone can enter, so feel free to pass this on to everyone you know.

*The winner must agree to give permission to print the winning saying on additional items that may be sold at the discretion of Little Chickie Wear.

Blogging has taken a back seat

By Lynn 

Oh, we’ve been naughty (but we’re really, really nice). We’ve been blogging like crazy elsewhere (Savor the Success and Green for Good among others) as well as working feverishly on Green Halloween and doing incredible amounts of work for Celebrate Green! including a blog tour where we were written about or interviewed in 45 posts over two weeks!

What we have not been doing is writing for this blog, our blog, the one blog that should be at the top of our list. But this nefarious disregard for our own bests interests is about to stop. I’m committing right now in front of everyone, to write here more often. I’d love to be able to commit to more than that, but  hey, it’s one step at a time, right? Just like greening up your holidays and celebrations.

See you soon!

Our baby’s birth day

By Lynn

I’ve used the analogy of birthing Celebrate Green! ever since I sent it to the printer. But today really is its birth day, the day it has “officially” launched into the world, the day we have been waiting for since last November when we received an email from the editor 15 minutes after we submitted the proposal that simply read, “Yes.”

The road has not been easy. Every single day, we’ve been faced with at least one roadblock. I told my husband not long ago that if I believed in such things, I would think this book was never meant to be born at all because we’d dealt with so many obstacles.

Yesterday, I had planned to get out our itinerary for the blog tour featuring 34 “stops.” It’s been a bear to organize, but here I am down to the wire and my computer starts acting up. I turn it off. The mouse is frozen. Change batteries. Still nothing. Windows comes up but I can’t enter my password. Try another mouse. Nada. Try my Wacom tablet, zilch. Turn the computer on and off half a dozen times, plugging and unplugging everything I can think of. My panic is interrupted by a phone interview for a radio show and a client (one of three I’m still trying to gently “lose” as I move away from coaching). Then I have to leave to babysit for my grandaughter, Ella.

I get to my son’s house, open the door and then can’t remove the key. It’s stuck. Jammed. Grab a fork and try to yank it out. Nope, guess we can’t go to the park. We’ll have to play in the backyard. Come back in after a game a tag. We’re having a tea party in Ella’s bedroom when I notice a FOUL smell issuing from…ME! I check myself and when I get to my shoes, realize I’ve stepped in dog poo WITH BOTH FEET. How is that even possible? They have a tiny dog who normally drops pellets the size of M&M’s. Not today.

OK, none of this but the computer has anything to do with the book, but still…I can’t help but see it under the umbrella of the book because every single moment of every single day for the last two months since the publisher went belly up and I took on publication, has been a series of stuck keys and doo doo on my shoes. And yet…

Here we are. There are 3000 books (less the few hundred we’ve sold in the last week) waiting for homes. We have interest from a dozen magazines. We’re now the celebrate green “experts” on a number of blogs. I’ve recuited about 100 of the 500 villagers who will help propel our book from the basement where most self-published books languish, to the top of some yet-to-be-named mountain. I have not the tiniest shred of doubt that this book is going to impact life in this country and on the Earth for the good, which is the reason I put myself through all this agony.

CelebrateGreen.NET and our book are the culmination of a big dream, but they also are just the beginning of a new phase in my life. It’s rather extraordinary when I think that only 18 months ago, I had the rest of my life planned. Nowhere in those plans had I made room for a new passion and purpose. But it materialized anyway. And despite the challenges, the naysayers, the non-believers, the hassles, frustrations and fears, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So much is behind, yet much more lies ahead.

Note: Due to a lot of last minute preparations for today, this entry is very similar to one I wrote for another blog, here. I highly recommend this blog site, www.SavorTheSuccess.com if you’re an entrepreneurial woman seeking support and input for your ideas and dreams.

Countdown to the official launch of “Celebrate Green!”

By Lynn

We’ve had Celebrate Green! in our hands for a week. We’ve been making some sales on the website, but officially, Wednesday, October 1, is our launch date. Originally, we were going to throw ourselves a big party, but there was so much else to do in getting our baby ready, that we decided (wisely) that a party was one thing too many. Instead, Corey and I will settle for a grateful hug and the hope that everyone who is reading the book will enjoy it.

Even though we’ve not done much mediawise, we have some big magazines interested in what we’re doing and at the very least, we know a mention of Celebrate Green! will appear in Woman’s Day, Pink and Better Homes and Gardens among others in the upcoming months.

On October 1, we’re launching a blog tour. These days, in person media book tours are limited to those writers who receive large advances, and even then, the authors often have to pay some expenses. So even big publishers are turning to virtual tours. Our first one will feature “stops” at more than 30 blogs where the bloggers will review the book or have done an interview with us that they’ll post on a pre-decided day during the first two and a half weeks of October. We hope you’ll support the bloggers who are supporting us by visiting those blogs. I’ll post the list in the next day or two.

We have done two talks in the last few weeks and plan to do more on green celebrations of every type. If you’re in the Northwest and would like to have us speak for your group or business, just let us know via the contact form on www.CelebrateGreen.NET

Speaking is great fun for us and the audiences seem to enjoy it as well. Our first engagement was at Green Edmonds and yesterday we spoke at a local temple. Corey has been speaking about Green Halloween for quite a few groups.

Celebrate veggies!

By Lynn                I just came in from the garden. It’s been a rainy summer in Seattle and my poor tomatoes that looked so promising early on, have been struggling to turn from bright green to red. Yesterday was hot, “Thank heavens,” I can hear them saying. So this morning’s haul, while it wouldn’t feed a family was rewarding nonetheless. The collection looked beautiful (see the picture to the right) and the aroma was divine. The joy that I felt as I picked tomatoes, beans and a few remaining blueberries, reminded me that we can and should celebrate every single day so I made a mini-celebration. I sliced the tomatoes, still warm from the vine, added a bit of goat cheese and laid it on some bread that I only usually bring out for guests. I took my sandwich out to the deck and sat chewing slowly, enjoying every bite. It felt luxurious, maybe even a bit sinful because usually I eat at my desk and barely taste whatever I’ve tossed down. I returned to work refreshed. When we’re kids, most of our lives seem to be spent waiting. We tell children, “If you want that, you’ll have to wait for your birthday or Christmas.” But what if we encouraged every day celebrations…the first day of apple picking season…the first day you didn’t fall when ice skating…the first day the snow falls…(for us in Seattle), the first day of sunshine after a seeemingly endless rainy season. And by celebrating, I don’t mean simply giving a nod to the day, but a full out, joyfully exuberant salute to  miracles so common, we don’t even admit we’re in their presence. Choose something you don’t often do but that doesn’t cost anything. Make a backwards dinner. Play hop scotch. Visit the library. Create a craft. Label whatever you do a celebration and it will be. You’re making fun, but most importantly of all, you’re making memories.

Celebrate Green! website launches

By Lynn & Corey

We’re too excited not to blog about today, September 5, 2008. It’s the day our website, Celebrate Green!, moved from in our heads to on our monitors. It’s the day that sharing our book, Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, with the world, became a reality.

We’re not only excited to have a website. We’re excited to have this website. It offers lots of additional information for those who’ve read the book. It’s fun and a real reflection of who we are, just like the book. We’ll be continually updating the site and asking our readers for their input, projects, ideas etc.

Lots of exciting collaborative projects are in the works, so be sure to visit and sign up for periodic news. We won’t be bombarding you, but when we’ve got something of value for you, we’ll be sure to let you know.

We’ll be featuring great companies that meet our standards of good for people, good for the planet and good for communities.

And remember, we want to hear from you. Tell us about what you’re doing to celebrate green!

Five Candles

By Corey

Tonight is the last night my “baby” is three – tomorrow is her big 0-4. What are we doing to celebrate? We’ll begin the day by singing “Happy Birthday to You” at the top of our lungs and then going downstairs for pancakes in our pajamas. We’ll go for a walk on the trails near our home and pick blackberries. Along the way we’ll remind our birthday princess time and time again how grateful we all are that she is here. We’ll join her two sets of grandparents and her best four-year-old friend at the local tea house for a good old fashion tea party, complete with porcelain plates. Afterwards, if it’s sunny, we’ll go for a swim in the pool. Then we’ll bake a cake together and after it’s cooled, we’ll take pictures as she blows out her five candles (one for good luck). She’ll open presents – one from her mommy and daddy, one from her big sister, one from each set of grandparents. As the day winds down, as her eyes are getting tired, we’ll say goodbye to the grandparents, read a favorite book or coo over some photos from the day she was born, and end the night with a more subdued rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” than we sang at the start of the day. We’ll tell her once more that we love her more than all the stars in the sky and turn out the light.

When it’s all said and done, will our child have had a happy day?

We believe simplicity is one of the keys to going green successfully, not just because it is easier on the Earth, but also because it can bring great joy into our lives. Joy, in return, means that we’re more likely to repeat our actions, which in the case of simplifying would be a pretty darn good thing. Likewise, when our children take joy in simplicity, guess what they’re more likely to do? … and on and on it goes:

Less stuff, simple choices and people-focused traditions. These are gifts to us all.

Here we are enjoying our daughter’s tea party today.

Summer resources

By Lynn

We’re half way through the summer and we hope you’re enjoying your everyday celebrations like picnics, barbecues, family reunions and, if you’re like us, a number of birthdays. Continuing with Corey’s last theme, here are more eco-friendly ideas for enjoying summer.

Recycling when away from home is easy when you provide the container. Check out the cute portable can and bottle bin from recyclingbin.com. It’s perfect for small group picnics where other recycling bins are not available. It folds flat for carrying and, according to the website, is practically indestructible.

Spur of the moment picnics come together easily when you keep everything but the food assembled and ready to go. Keep a basket stocked with utensils (for added fun, try bamboo utensil sets from to-goware.com), cloth napkins (I use washcloths), tin, stainless steel or bamboo plates (for the former, check out camping stores and for the latter, take a look at bambuhome.com), a blanket and DEET-free bug repellant.

Great summer activities for kids that offer painless lessons in green living include making newspaper hats from the traditional triangle to a fun party number, teaching them the traditional Maori stick game from New Zealand, pressing flowers for use on craft projects and spending time outside at night looking at the stars and listening to the sounds of nature.

Stay cool by making quick, healthy homemade ice cream on sticks. Assuming you don’t want to use paper cups that must be tossed after using, you can try making the popsicles in small glasses (make sure the glass is thick enough not to break in the freezer) or purchase silicone molds that can be reused for many summers to come.

Fun in the sun

By Corey

Beyond Independence Day, summertime brings with it numerous reasons to celebrate – some of which may be official (i.e. 4th of July), while others are hush-hush (can you say “sick day?”) – but all of which deserve a consideration of our health and dear planet.

Some of our green tips for celebrating in the summer months are more obvious: use reusable, compostable or recyclable plates and utensils for picnics; consider vacationing closer to home; and always choose certified organic meats for your barbecue – or better yet, go veggie.

But had you thought about the reasons why the one thing all of your outdoor-party guests should be wearing is mineral-based, micronized sunscreen (especially if you just happen to live by coral reefs) and why an ideal birthday gift for your surfer niece, Betty, is an ecologically-sound wetsuit?

Or how about the fact that parking in the shade (while waiting for your boss’s surprise retirement party to begin) will reduce fuel evaporation, or that the EPA recommends that you kindly refrain from tossing the leftover crusts from your son’s sleep-over pizza down the drain for your garbage disposal to chew up?

These hot tips can’t be found at just any old blog!

What ideas do you have for green summertime celebrating? We’d love to hear about them…

Hooray for the red, white and GREEN!

By Lynn

For many Americans, summer officially begins on the 4th of July with a picnic or barbecue and, of course, fireworks. Here are some reminders to ensure your summer gets off to an eco-friendly start and stays Green, at least until Labor Day!

* Choose a location as close to home as possible for as many of your guests as possible, then encourage them to carpool.
* Because giving back is a part of our definition of living Green, ask guests to bring some canned food that can be donated to a local food bank.
* Use your own dishes, glasses and utensils instead of buying picnicware. But if you must use the disposable kind, choose recycled plastic or items made from bamboo or compostables like corn or sugarcane.
* Purchase organic foods; they’re better for you and the planet.
* Buy as much of your menu as you can locally. If you’re having a potluck, ask guests to do the same. You could even have a little contest with a prize for the most creative dish made from the most locally grown ingredients.
* Set up clearly marked recycling bins for all leftovers. Encourage kids to collect trash and dispose of it properly. If you or someone you know composts, be sure to have a bin to collect appropriate food scraps.
* Most everyone loves the smoky flavor of barbecue, but burning wood or charcoal releases greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, soot and particulate matter. Gas grills are less harmful to the environment, but run on a non-renewable resource. How about making or purchasing a solar or hybrid oven and add the barbecue flavor with sauces? Directions for making solar grills can be found online and cost almost nothing. Making them could be a fun holiday activity for a crowd.
* If bugs are bugging you, try all-natural bug sprays and traps like those offered by Planet Natural.
* Choose décor that comes from (and can be returned to) nature, such as vases of red, white and blue flowers or edible centerpieces made from red and blue berries.

Fireworks, unfortunately, are an eco-problem. Colorful overhead displays are fueled by a mix of toxic chemicals that fall into the water and onto the land as well as on the people watching. In addition, most fireworks come from China, a source of child labor issues. Maybe next year, you’ll be able to convince your town to replace fireworks with a laser light show, but in the meantime, follow these tips:

* Avoid sitting right under where fireworks are exploding or downwind from them, especially if you have breathing problems. In fact, anyone with chronic lung problems such as asthma should probably watch fireworks from inside.
* Purchase and use ear plugs.
* If residue from fireworks lands on your property, pick up and dispose of it properly.