You may remember a few months back, Noodles (our Pug) had a seizure – which the veterinarian thinks was due to PDE (Pug Dog Encephalitis). The good news, it has been three months and she hasn’t had another seizure, the bad news, today her cornea ruptured. Eben and I spent the better part of the afternoon with her in the emergency room. (The cornea rupture did not have anything to do with PDE). However, because she is on steroids for the PDE, she can’t be put under Anesthesia for a Cornea Transplant. We are going to meet with the neurologist to see what other options we have, for now she is on a major cocktail of eye drops (which she doesn’t appreciate one single bit). The even better news, we will love her the same regardless of whether she has two eyes or one. Poor girl.
The beautiful photos were taken by my dear friend Cameron the day after Noodles had the seizure. You can find more of the photos that she took of Noodles here and more of her lovely work here.
Aren’t the photos fantastic? She absolutely caught the essence of Noodles.
Wow. This week has been busy, busy, busy for me. Early in the week, we created our potted vegetable garden for the back patio. It turned out perfectly and I am looking forward to fresh tomatoes, peppers and herbs! What goodies have you been enjoying from your garden?
Last night, Mr. Sweet Greens and Eben went snorkeling at one of our favorite reefs and saw six giant loggerhead sea turtles and a handful of 10-foot long nurse sharks. How great is that? And why, may I ask, do they see sharks and sea turtles every-single-time that I don’t go? I still have not seen a nurse shark or sea turtle in the wild? No fair.
And – as many of you know, I also work as a virtual assistant for some fabulous clients – I have been working virtually for over 10 years. I love working virtually because of the lower impact that I have on the environment and the extra time I am able to spend with my family. So, I finally decided it was time to do a little work on and launch my personal virtual assistant website. If you or anyone you know is looking for assistance with emails, voicemails, social media, or administrative tasks, drop me a note.
While, I finish up all of my work so I can have a relaxing weekend with the boys, here are a few green things I thought you might enjoy:
– I love all things Japanese and this home with a green roof is no exception! – Jordan is getting ready to leaving on her Greek Isle sailing trip and Mr. Sweet Greens is so jealous. – TOMS now has hats + a pair of shoes is donated to children in need. I am going to order one now! – Do you eat meat-free at least once a week? – OMGoodness, a strawberry sandwich? Yes, please.
Have a fantastic weekend, get some rest and I will see you back here on Monday.
If you have a road trip or two planned this summer, you might be tempted to use hand-held video games and DVD movies to entertain kids on your getaway. However, there are many fantastic ways to engage, entertain and interact with your children on a road trip that don’t require electronics. These eco-friendly ideas are great for bonding as a family and creating long lasting memories of your time together on the road. Even better, they don’t require a ton of planning, they’re budget-friendly and easy on the environment. Check out how to entertain your kiddos the next time you hit open road.
Note from Sweet Greens: The following eco-walking tips was submitted by Angie Lilly. Angie is a passionate photographer who loves nature and likes to show nature’s beauty by getting into the nitty-gritty details of the natural world. Her work includes macro shots that show nature up-close and personal. You can view her work in her Etsy shop: FotoMacro.
A couple of years ago, my partner and I came across a blog by Samuel Huber called Eco-Runner. Huber is granted the title of Eco-Running’s founder and Wikipedia defines Eco-Running as “the variation of recreational running in which the participant collects the litter that is found along the path traveled.” Isn’t that a wonderful new idea?
My partner and I are most definitely not runners, but we love to walk and hike locally in our neighborhood, town and parks. We decided to create a modified version of Eco-Running that we like to call Eco-Walking.
We started small, just in our neighborhood and we could not believe what we discovered. In our very first outing, we collected 33 recyclables, four 13 gallon trash bags of litter, and two abandoned shopping carts that we returned to a local store – all within one mile of our home. We were in shock! How could people do this to our little slice of the earth?
Over the course of the next five months, we continued to count the recyclables we collected and they totaled 395. Almost 400 pieces of litter that we recycled while cleaning up our city streets. At this point we figured we knew the statistics, would stop counting, and just do the work.
We have told friends and family about Eco-Walking and even my mother is doing it now on her daily walks. She does not have access to recycling in her area of West Virginia, but just getting the litter off the road and into the trash is better than nothing. It still helps the local wildlife, waterways and beautifies the area.
Besides being a wonderful hobby, Eco-walking is a great form of exercise and very life-fulfilling. Getting outside, while enjoying and helping nature is a wonderful feeling. It spurs you to move beyond your comfort zone and really get a good work out by getting in that ditch or reaching for that piece of trash that may be just out of reach. We love it and would encourage everyone who walks to give it a try. We have even been known to pick recyclables out of the trash cans at local parks and take them home to be recycled. Some may say that is going a bit far, but for us it’s just part of the game. It’s like a scavenger hunt – find the “treasures” and help save the planet a little bit at a time.
If you think Eco-walking is for you, and I hope I have inspired you to do so, there are a few tips to get you started:
#1: Wear Gloves Remember to bring a pair of globes or use a grabbing tool because litter is dirty.
#2: Dress the Part Wear good, solid, ankle supporting shoes – you will be climbing up and down hills and jumping into ditches.
#3: Stay Visible Wear bright colors if you are traversing a busy roadway, you want to be easily seen.
#4: Pack your Supplies Take a large reusable (washable) bag for the recyclables and disposable/compostable bags for the trash. It’s much easier to sort as you collect than to separate recyclables from the garbage at the end of your walk.
#5: Have Fun Eco-walking is a hobby that almost anyone can enjoy, regardless of age. I hope you get out there! Take your kids, your parents, your friends, form a Eco-Walking search party and make it a game. Together we really can make a difference, even if its just one neighborhood at a time.
Do you practice Eco-Walking? Will you join the walk?
