Sweet Greens

Recycled Sweet Greens! This is a post about something fun that was happening 10 years ago at Sweet Greens.

Now that school is back in session, it can be very easy to over-schedule our children’s lives. Some people may feel that in order for your child to have an enriching life, they need to be exposed to as many different activities as possible. I do think that it is important to be involved in activities as a child, to be a part of a group, practice, and try to reach personal goals and learn something new. I think that many activities can have a profound effect on the person that a child will become. Eben is currently enrolled in a gardening program that meets once every other week and then we have our Mom and Son guitar lessons that occur once weekly. Eben has also been telling me that he wants to take a photography class!

Do you think that parents that over schedule and micromanage every moment of a child’s life can be detrimental to the person that they will become? Some people think that it isn’t a busy child that stays out of trouble, but a connected child and that one of the best things that you can do for your children is to really connect with them, to listen, to be there. What do you think? I know that I want Eben’s childhood to be full of memories of times spent with us, his parents, doing fun things together as a family. I want him to grow up and think, my parents were always there. and that he had time to play and be a kid.

What type of activities are your children enrolled in?
What is your feeling on this subject?

Is your workout at the local gym environmentally friendly? There are a lot of things about the gym that are not Eco friendly. For instance, there is the drive to the gym, the plastic water bottles sold at the gym cafe. The energy that is used to light and cool the facility, not to mention the energy used to run the treadmills and televisions. There are also gyms that are open 24/7, this entire time the lights and air conditioning are left on.

Now, whoever thought that going TO the gym would make you feel guilty. Shouldn’t it be, NOT going to the gym? This is one of the reasons that I prefer to workout at home. I can do my workout anytime that I prefer, I don’t have to drive anywhere and I don’t have to pay the money for the gym membership. I like to do my workout in private, where I can really concentrate and feel comfortable. I also love to do my sun salutations in well, the morning sun, in my own backyard. It is so quiet and peaceful next to the garden in the early morning. It is very refreshing and feels great to connect with the Earth.

Cut flowers may look fabulous on your dining room table but most cut flowers sold in the U.S. are flow overseas, traveling thousands of miles. Fresh cut flowers live for such a short period of time before they wilt and die and in a lot of cases find their way into the landfill. How can you make your centerpieces fab without harming the environment?

Next time you want to purchase fresh-cut flowers for the centerpiece, consider a potted plant instead. Choose a plant that blooms throughout the year and put it in a decorative pot that will look just as fab as a vase of fresh-cut flowers. Not only will you save the flowers from an untimely death, so to speak, but you will save a ton of money. There will be no need for flowers in your weekly budget if you purchase a plant that will bloom over and over again.

My favorites are Kalanchoe, small tropical trees, and succulents. We have a jade plant on our dining room table, a large basil centerpiece on our kitchen island, and several other tropical trees and succulents throughout the home. Not only do potted plants beautify our home but they also help to clean the air.

Do you have potted plant centerpieces in your home? Which kind?
Would you consider a potted planted centerpiece?