The Happiest Time of the Year

This is supposed to be the happiest time of the year but I also think it's the busiest time of the year. Sometimes it's hard to remember how happy we are when we're soooooo busy. So I wanted to remind us all of an old childhood tool parents used to teach us the simple things: "STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN" so you can remember to appreciate these moments in your life, otherwise they slip by and you barely notice.

And if you're curious which ones of us are the happiest, yes, there's been a study to determine which state is the happiest, you can check it out here. And you might be surprised.

I hope you all have a happy holiday season!

Earth-Friendly Friday

Recycling is up, garbage is down - at least in Portland, Oregon.

The city uses blue and green roll carts that are used to collect unsorted recyclables. Now, with this one simple change, which makes recycling easier, Portlanders are recycling and composting more. For example, since last year recycling and yard debris material increased by 14 percent which is the equivalent of 10,000 tons or 20,000 pounds. Not bad for one year.

This one change helped residential garbage decrease by almost nine percent or 9,000 tons - which is 18,000 pounds of garbage that isn't going into the landfills.

Overall, the city says that Portland's households and businesses are recycling and composting 67 percent of the waste that they generate. The goal is to stop growth in the waste stream and raise recycling to 75% by 2015. This is one way to reach that goal.

Plus, if you're looking for some green gifts, check out this site: www.ecometro.com.

Answer to Thought for Thursday

Answer: George Washington. And these dogs were the founders of the American Foxhound breed.

Washington bred descendants of English hounds mixed with a French foxhound given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette.

Thought for Thursday

Thought for Thursday for all you dog lovers out there:

WHICH U.S. President's dogs were named Tipsy, Drunkard, Sweetlips, Truelove and Tipler?

Take a guess. Put in comments and then come back around 3:00 to see if you knew the answer.

Answer to Word for Wednesday

Answer: Describing someone with the ability to use their feet to pick things up. Also, pedextrous. If you want to read more, check out the Urban Dictionary here.

Word for Wednesday

Word: pedexterity

What does it mean? Break it down and you might get it.

Post your guess in comments and then come back around 3:00 to see if you were write or wrong ;)

Tea for Tuesday

Actually I thought I'd share Three Cups of Tea By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin sponsored by The Literary Arts and Powell's Books

"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger," a villager tells ... "The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die."

I went to hear Greg Mortenson speak at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Monday night and he is an inspiration. He's one man promoting peace with education, especially for girls, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Using Pennies for Peace to fund his projects of building schools in war-torn Pakistan and Afghanistan, he is proving that one person can make a difference in the world--and it can be a dramatic one.

He says "I've learned that terror doesn't happen because some group of people somewhere like Pakistan or Afghanistan simply decide to hate us. It happens because children aren't being offered a bright enough future that they have a reason to choose life over death."

How is this related to the upcoming holiday season? I would say when we think of "Peace on Earth" we can think of Greg's mission to promote peace through education. The pen truly is mightier than the sword.

Plus, this lecture reminded me of my favorite show of all time, "It's a Wonderful Life"

George Bailey--just like Greg Mortenson--proves that one life can make a tremendous difference in the world.

So Merry Christmas You Good Ole' Savings & Loan!