Do it.

We have tulips!

Happy Earth Day! It's a gloomy day here in the Seattle-area after nearly a week of sunshine and warmth. While I'll miss hanging out on the patio, the rain makes it a little easier to get back to work. I think it will also help those last few tulips to finally bloom... and perhaps give me a little reprieve from my nasty allergies.

I have been moving along at a frightening pace, as projects continue pouring in (quite wonderful, really), and I attempt to keep our house/yard respectable. Both are much more work than I had anticipated. Ella and I are getting ready for a little (working) vacation in Montana, starting on Saturday. Brady will be in DC for work, so we're headed home to visit the family while he is away. But back to the subject of my post—Earth Day. It's time to try harder. You know what you should be doing. But I am asking you to try three things for me (or even just one of them) in honor of today.

1. Visit your local library.
I am in love with our library. It's great—so great. We go at least once a week and just put all of our books on hold so they're waiting for us when we get there... except we always leave with more. The point of this is to stop buying books. I recently went to a book club where someone showed up with a bag full of new books from B&N—new! She must have spent at least $100. Honestly. Save a tree. Borrow a book. Learn something new. A few books I have read recently and recommend: Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl, and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

2. Have fun outside.
Ride your bike, go for a hike, plant a garden. Just. Get. Outside. Take a look >

3. Go meatless for a day.
Please try going without meat for a day—one day. And if you're really adventurous, try doing it one day a week. I'm not going to try to convert any of you into vegetarians. But seriously, you'll feel better and so will the earth.

Let me know if you give any a try... and Happy Earth Day! :-)