Challenge Monday. Get off your butt.

So this is the 2nd "Challenge Monday" I'm posting.  This one is to encourage you to get up, get outside, and get moving.  

The challenge is to walk 10,000 steps in a day. Research shows that 10,000 is the number of steps you need to take to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. Wear a pedometer or use a smartphone app to track how many steps you take in a day. Choose one day this week to try to walk 10,000 steps and mark yourself as the winner of this walking challenge if you achieve the goal! 

Now, I don't personally have a step counter, and I assume I'm not the only person in the world without a smart phone that can track my steps, so I looked up how far you'd have to walk to take 10,000 steps.

"The average person's stride length is approximately 2.5 feet long. That means it takes just over 2,000 steps to walk one mile, and 10,000 steps is close to 5 miles."  (The Walking Site.)

Here are some ideas I found online to help you find ways to reach your goal.

• Take a walk with your spouse, child, or friend
• Walk the dog
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator
• Park farther from the store
• Better yet, walk to the store
• Get up to change the channel
• Window shop
• Plan a walking meeting
• Walk over to visit a neighbor
• Get outside to walk around the garden or do a little weeding
• Break it down into three small walks (morning, afternoon, evening)

Being active, and working toward this healthy goal is a wonderful example for your children, friends, and even your spouse.  My kids LOVE going out for walks with me (which is good because I can't drive).  We take small mesh bags with us, and the kids fill them with the "treasures" they find along the way.  

If you take the challenge, be sure to post photos and comments along the way with your progress.  And don't forget to have fun!!

Challenge Monday.

So from now on, I'm going to be posting a challenge every Monday that I would LOVE for you to take part in.  I can't say exactly what kinds of things I'm going to do, because I'm more of a by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal.  

This week, for the very first one, I'm going to challenge all of you eco-friendly followers out there to make a t-shirt for yourself.  (And yes, guys, please take part, I found you a great pattern too!)  
I'm going to post a link to a free t-shirt pattern and tutorial*.  
*KBDB is in no way affiliated with, or endorsed by "It's Always Autumn".

This challenge will require you to have:

• A sewing machine.  (Or a needle and thread, and a whole lot more patience than I have.)
• Scissors capable of cutting fabric.
• Fabric.  
• Straight sewing pins.
• Pencil and large paper. (Women's pattern.)
• Computer/printer. (Men's pattern.)
• Time.  (This takes one nap time to complete.  lol)

Because it was SUCH a mission for me to find a men's t-shirt pattern and tutorial, I'm going to post it first.

Click here to go to tutorial.

To get the pattern, you have to sign up for the newsletter*.  Once you've confirmed your subscription, you get a code, and can pick one free pattern.  I chose this one, so I could have a look at it.  It looks like it is easy enough, but if you just want a basic t-shirt, here's a free pattern and tutorial for that, as well (also requires the same subscription).

*KBDB is in no way affiliated with, or endorsed by "MellySews."

For the ladies, this site promises that this will be the "simplest women's t-shirt ever".  I looked it over.  I really do think it will be pretty basic.  At the bottom, you can find links to other variations of this as well, in case this is too easy for you!

Click here to go to site.

If you decide to do this--which I hope you do--please leave a comment and a photo of your creation when you're done.  I'll do the same when I'm done mine. (I've never made one of these, so there's a chance it could come out crazy!)  I'd love to see what you've made!!

Can You Show Your Support?

Hey! It's been a LONG time since I have written a blog post. It's because I have a thousand children, and they're all loud and busy, and they like to climb on the counters, and leave the screen door open, and all of them would stand in the light of the fridge for 2 hours straight, eating us out of house and home, if I don't regularly chase them off.

But I'm taking a few minutes to sit down and write this post because 

I need your help to do something GREAT.

Hydrocephalus is defined as "a condition in which there is an abnormal build up of CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) in the cavities (ventricles) of the brain. The buildup is often caused by an obstruction which prevents proper fluid drainage. The fluid buildup can raise intracranial pressure inside the skull which compresses surrounding brain tissue, possibly causing progressive enlargement of the head, convulsions, and brain damage. Hydrocephalus can be fatal if left untreated."1

"Each year an estimated 10,000 people in the US and Canada will be diagnosed with hydrocephalus."2.

I have a dear friend I've known on FB for years.  There was a time that my own son was being observed for signs of Hydrocephalus.  During that time, I met Stacey.  She was the voice of reason; the one who was there to talk to me when I was beside myself with worry, all while being the busy mom of beautiful twin girls, herself, one of which has Hydrocephalus.

In 2011, I posted an entry written by Stacey, in which she shared her daughter Avery's story.  You can find that post HERE.

I also got lucky enough to get Stacey to write an update in 2012, and you can find that post HERE.

Now, I know what you're thinking...what the hell are you asking us for?  

Well, I'm asking you to show your support!!  How?!  Well...let me show you.

This is a picture of the guys from Avery's dad's work showing THEIR support.  See how simple it is? 

"Go Team Avery!  All the way from North Dakota!"

I think it would be amazing if you could take a few minutes to make a "Go Team Avery!" sign, and submit it to Know Better, Do Better's FB page.  This is about Hydrocephalus awareness, and what a fun way to do that!

For fun, we're going to hashtag these pictures, so Stacey can find them easier:

#GoTeamAvery

#HydrocephalusAwareness

#ShuntsQuitTeamAveryDoesnt

#WalkingForAHydroCure

There is also a "Team Avery" team page, raising money for the Hydrocephalus Walk they do every year.  You can find that donation page HERE, if you'd like to show your support that way!

If enough people do this with the hashtags above, I'll do a giveaway on my page.  As of today, there are 23 more days left to donate.  For every 10 people who do this with those hashtags, I will give away 1 cloth diaper at the end of this.  You can find information about the diapers HERE.