Envirobuggy madness (n): 1. a way to let the world know what you stand for 2. a way to raise money for a great cause that you get to choose 3. a seriously cool bonding experience for me and my son 4. one of the best "jobs" I could think of at 1:30 a.m.
Background
For the past 9 months, the "envirobuggy" has been the primary mode of transportation for me and my almost-4-year-old son. It's my yellow mountain bike and his red and silver buggy. That's how he gets to school, how I got to the "day job," and how we run our errands.
At times, it's been tough - I live in a hilly, windy, rainy town - but it's been worth it. Not only do I get to feel like a celebrity, smiling and waving as best I can to supportive strangers and friends alike as I struggle against what only feels like gale-force winds when you're on a bike, but I've made exercise a regular part of my day and set a great example for my son and his friends. Yup, there's a gaggle of pre-schoolers and elementary students asking for buggies of their own and saying that's how they're going to get their children around when they have them (what foresight!).
Since I got to feeling like a celebrity (see, look, I was in the paper) I decided to do what every celebrity worth her salt should: raise money for and awareness about important things. And thus the idea for the 137-mile "Envirobuggy Madness" tour was born.
Here's how it works:
Check out the 37 things that I think make life sweet and will help keep this planet together in a healthy way. Then let others know about the green and holistic things you think are fabulous by becoming a "revolution" sponsor. What do I mean by "revolution sponsor"?
Well, there are 108,504 revolutions of my bike's wheels in 137 miles. I did the math. You get to sponsor as many of these revolutions as you like with your financial support. By sponsoring a revolution and spreading the word about things you feel are green, holistic, and fabulous - which others may not know about - you contribute to the greater revolution going on around us. Isn't it wonderful how being green, healthy, and holistic is going mainstream? That's a revolution I've been waiting for a long time.
I'll be promoting "Envirobuggy Madness," and the sponsor causes, in person as I bike around the Big Island (for that personal touch), online (you got to this site, surely hundreds of thousands of others will, too) and through conventional media.
Let the world know what you stand for! Sponsor a revolution! And if that's your very own green or holistic business - perfect!
How to Sponsor a Revolution:
After you decide the cause you'd like people to be aware of, use PayPal or snail mail (see sidebar) to sponsor your revolutions (they are $1 each, but the minimum sponsorship is 10, please). Then voila! Your cause and your name, if you so desire, will appear on the sponsors' page. Check out my 37 "sweet things" for information and inspiration. And don't forget to vote on which organization you'd like to receive 25% of the proceeds raised by this campaign.
This is part of my dream "job" - combining my love of biking, spending time with my son on great adventures and learning experiences, and raising awareness about things I feel make the world a more wonderful place - so I am drawing a "salary." Come on, I'm a single mom with no trust fund in sight. We've got to eat.
The ride is scheduled to start July 2 and, if I get sponsors for all 108,504 revolutions, should take about 1-1/2 weeks. I'll be blogging from the road about the trip and my 37 sweet things, and adding (hopefully!) to the sponsors' page. Please check back in!
Namaste,
Karen
And now for my list of 37 Sweet Things
1. attachment /connection parenting
2. urban permaculture
3. rampages of appreciation/gratitude journals
4. nurses and hospice workers
5. holosync meditation
6. abraham-hicks
7. spiritual cinema
8. healthy selfishness
9. the montessori method
10. the passion test
11. hula
12. origami
13. car sharing
14. biodiesel car conversions
15. hybrids
16. free shuttles
17. bike paths
18. freecycle.org
19. electronics recycling
20. toilet tissue made from recycled paper
21. kombucha
22. TREE
23. treating animals kindly
24. composting
25. gardening
26. clean water
27. vinegar and baking soda
28. dr. bronner's
29. idealbite.com
30. slate.com's "the green lantern"
31. green homes/leed
32. public access to beautiful land
33. organic food
34. the green spa network
35. essential oil chakra votives
36. organic cotton
37. bamboo clothes
2. urban permaculture
3. rampages of appreciation/gratitude journals
4. nurses and hospice workers
5. holosync meditation
6. abraham-hicks
7. spiritual cinema
8. healthy selfishness
9. the montessori method
10. the passion test
11. hula
12. origami
13. car sharing
14. biodiesel car conversions
15. hybrids
16. free shuttles
17. bike paths
18. freecycle.org
19. electronics recycling
20. toilet tissue made from recycled paper
21. kombucha
22. TREE
23. treating animals kindly
24. composting
25. gardening
26. clean water
27. vinegar and baking soda
28. dr. bronner's
29. idealbite.com
30. slate.com's "the green lantern"
31. green homes/leed
32. public access to beautiful land
33. organic food
34. the green spa network
35. essential oil chakra votives
36. organic cotton
37. bamboo clothes
Meet the Navigator
Well, here he is. My goober, my boubah, my darling boy ... Shawn. The 4-year-old navigator of the Envirobuggy tour. Oh, yes. He will determine route (is it safe?), water breaks (and their consequences), detours ("of course we can go explore that"), and thus trip duration (but we are wrapping this up by July 15).
He's excited about the trip, and so am I. It's a wonderful way to continue on the parenting path that I've chosen, and which is my "No. 1 Sweet Thing," Attachment and Connection Parenting.
Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE being a Mommy. I love hanging out with my son, an amazing being who is so pure, connected, intelligent, and loving. I love that he has chosen me to help him on his journey, and I want to live up to that responsiblity. In order to do that, what do I need? Spiritual and personal growth. And that part of parenting has been just amazing.
There's a trilogy of books I would give every new parent on earth, every old parent, everyone contemplating becoming a parent, and everyone who's ever had a parent. Their titles (and subtitles) easily explain why I find attachment and connection parenting so important for children and adults alike.
1. Connection Parenting: Parenting through Connection Instead of Coercion, Through Love Instead of Fear, by Pam Leo.
2. Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves: Transforming Parent-Child Relationships from Reaction and Struggle to Freedom, Power and Joy, by Naomi Aldort, PhD
3. Playful Parenting: An exciting new approach to raising children that will help you: nuture close connections, solve behavior problems, encourage confidence, by Lawrence Cohen, PhD
This is great stuff, friends, so check out their books even before you have your first.
Rampages of Gratitude
Sweet Thing No. 3
Every night, my son and I write in our "gratitude journal" before we go to sleep. The journal itself is nothing special, just a 5-1/2 x 3-1/2 spiralbound notebook, but the practice is quite special indeed. It's a great way for us to end the day on a positive note, thinking about the bounty that's a part of our lives, even on very long, very stressful days. On those days, one of my entries may just be that I'm grateful the day is over and that I'm going to bed. In writing that, I remind myself to be grateful that I have a bed to lie in and a warm place to sleep.
Talking with Shawn about what he's grateful for so that I can write it down for him helps me understand who he is. Who and what he thinks is important. Of course, I'm happy on the nights when he lists all the fun things we did during the day, or takes the opportunity to share something that happened at school, but I'm equally happy when he takes the opportunity to share something he wasn't grateful for so we can talk about it, find out what he's unhappy about, and turn it around.
The journal is full of artwork, pictures Shawn asks me to draw after we talk, words Shawn asks me to write. It's a little sketchbook of our lives.
Our "gratitude journals" – and we're on our third - will be treasured keepsakes for me. I hope they will be for Shawn, as well. And while I do hope in his older years, he will read them and gain insight into the person who is his mother, I'm not depending on it. The daily practice of love and communication that is a part of our lives should do that well enough.
'Nuff said.
Coming soon ... "The Route"
Every night, my son and I write in our "gratitude journal" before we go to sleep. The journal itself is nothing special, just a 5-1/2 x 3-1/2 spiralbound notebook, but the practice is quite special indeed. It's a great way for us to end the day on a positive note, thinking about the bounty that's a part of our lives, even on very long, very stressful days. On those days, one of my entries may just be that I'm grateful the day is over and that I'm going to bed. In writing that, I remind myself to be grateful that I have a bed to lie in and a warm place to sleep.
Talking with Shawn about what he's grateful for so that I can write it down for him helps me understand who he is. Who and what he thinks is important. Of course, I'm happy on the nights when he lists all the fun things we did during the day, or takes the opportunity to share something that happened at school, but I'm equally happy when he takes the opportunity to share something he wasn't grateful for so we can talk about it, find out what he's unhappy about, and turn it around.
The journal is full of artwork, pictures Shawn asks me to draw after we talk, words Shawn asks me to write. It's a little sketchbook of our lives.
Our "gratitude journals" – and we're on our third - will be treasured keepsakes for me. I hope they will be for Shawn, as well. And while I do hope in his older years, he will read them and gain insight into the person who is his mother, I'm not depending on it. The daily practice of love and communication that is a part of our lives should do that well enough.
'Nuff said.
Coming soon ... "The Route"
Of Trees and Tushies
Do we really need to chop down trees to keep our tushies clean?
While tushies are important – I'll be sitting on mine a lot during this Envirobuggy madness – the answer for me is a no-brainer "No." And that brings me to my Sweet Thing No. 20: Recycled Paper Toilet Paper.
Yes, toilet paper. Perhaps not something you think about much. Maybe you just go for the least expensive brand, the one "they" say is softest, or the one you grew up using. But if you do take a moment to contemplate this issue, I'm confident you'll agree that the lifespan of toilet paper is so short that its production shouldn't involve the destruction of an entity that can live hundreds of years.
Toilet paper made from recycled paper. It's just a little thing you can do to keep an abundance of beautiful trees – and oxygen – in our world.
Green Forest and Seventh Generation are two brands I like. To be frugal, I do just get whichever one of those is on sale.
While tushies are important – I'll be sitting on mine a lot during this Envirobuggy madness – the answer for me is a no-brainer "No." And that brings me to my Sweet Thing No. 20: Recycled Paper Toilet Paper.
Yes, toilet paper. Perhaps not something you think about much. Maybe you just go for the least expensive brand, the one "they" say is softest, or the one you grew up using. But if you do take a moment to contemplate this issue, I'm confident you'll agree that the lifespan of toilet paper is so short that its production shouldn't involve the destruction of an entity that can live hundreds of years.
Toilet paper made from recycled paper. It's just a little thing you can do to keep an abundance of beautiful trees – and oxygen – in our world.
Green Forest and Seventh Generation are two brands I like. To be frugal, I do just get whichever one of those is on sale.
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 .....
Little things (like toilet paper) add up. That's the idea behind Ideal Bite, my Sweet Thing No. 29. It's a Web site that offers "bite-sized ideas for light green living."
Driving your SUV to the local organic market? (That's a paraphase on something the co-founders say a lot.) This site's for you. Non-judgmental, helpful, and funny to boot! You can visit the site daily at www.idealbite.com to get some great tips on making small and easy eco-friendly changes to your lifestyle. Or save yourself some hassle and subscribe to get a daily tip sent directly to your Inbox.
Tip categories include food & drink, work, play, travel, apparel, personal care, home & garden, money, kids, pets, technology, travel & transportation, and free stuff!
Get universal tips or tips customized for Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, or New York. I subscribe to the L.A. bite myself, and drool daily over all the cool organic restaurants and innovative businesses I'll get to support when I'm there because their practices support what I believe in.
Good ideas. Good laughs. Good for the environment.
Driving your SUV to the local organic market? (That's a paraphase on something the co-founders say a lot.) This site's for you. Non-judgmental, helpful, and funny to boot! You can visit the site daily at www.idealbite.com to get some great tips on making small and easy eco-friendly changes to your lifestyle. Or save yourself some hassle and subscribe to get a daily tip sent directly to your Inbox.
Tip categories include food & drink, work, play, travel, apparel, personal care, home & garden, money, kids, pets, technology, travel & transportation, and free stuff!
Get universal tips or tips customized for Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, or New York. I subscribe to the L.A. bite myself, and drool daily over all the cool organic restaurants and innovative businesses I'll get to support when I'm there because their practices support what I believe in.
Good ideas. Good laughs. Good for the environment.
Mahalo Nui Loa - Sponsors Page
I have a lot to be thankful for in my life, including all of the wonderful people and businesses who are supporting "Envirobuggy Madness."
Please check out the sponsors page and see what they stand for!
Stay tuned for more to come ...
Please check out the sponsors page and see what they stand for!
Stay tuned for more to come ...
In the News
We're making news with "Envirobuggy Madness." On Thursday, June 26, a story about this adventure appeared in North Hawai'i News with an adorable picture of the navigator. And K-Love did a radio and Internet spot (www.klove.com/news) on Monday, June 30. The station is based in California, but also can be heard in Hilo.
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