Photogs & Roasters

Check out the CoolPeopleCare staff on their first (and maybe last) photo shoot at Edgehill Villa in Nashville, Tennessee.

We've been enhancing our image lately, and no, not with age- or wrinkle-reducing creams.

Good friend and all around CoolPerson Rob spent some time with us taking pictures of the CPC staff with various products available in our store. He made us non-model types comfortable enough in front of the camera to shoot enough pics to fill up an entire SD card... well, almost.

Browse the pics at the store (and a few below) and see the folks who make CoolPeopleCare tick do their little turn on the catwalk (I loved Right Said Fred.)

And, while you're scrolling through the store, pop on over the Coffee page -- we've added a couple new blends from the guys at Higher Ground Roasters. Proceeds benefit various nonprofits, so feel good feeding that caffeine addiction.

Because Cleaning Up is Everyone's Business

Keeping our communities clean is a family affair!

Last weekend, CoolMomsCare participated in a Neighborhood Cleanup with Metro Beautification in Nashville. This was a rain date, as the week before the ground was mushy and the weather was not conducive to cleaning up trash. We had a few responses but really were not sure how many people would show. All in all, we were THRILLED with the event and will be doing more just like it. So, if you missed out on this one, we will have another one, but you do not need a scheduled clean-up to help keep your community clean. Teach your kids how critical it is to pick up litter and do it on a regular basis.

Thanks to everyone that came out to help us! Thanks to Nashville Public Works, Metro Beautification, and their entire team. Thank you especially to Lawrence from Metro for his help, directions and good humor!

Here are some pictures from our clean-up as a part of Great American Clean Up at Shelby Park in Nashville.

Toilet Tank Jug

Here's a fun family activity that will also help you save water.

In March we talked a great deal about water. One of the ways we use water is in our toilet. When we are aware of how much water we use we can help cut down in different places. Below is a how-to on how to save water and have some family fun. Give each child their own supplies. If you end up with more bottles than you have toilets, let your kids give one away to their grandparents or a friend.

Step One

For each toilet in the house, get one plastic bottle (this keeps it out of the trash, landfills, and recycling centers). We chose a 64 ounce (half gallon) juice bottle that is a little more narrow so that it will fit easily in the tank of the toilet. Make sure there is at least three gallons of water left in the tank so it functions appropriated. Most toilets have a five gallon tank, so as long as you do not find some two-gallon jug that somehow fits in the back of your toilet you should be fine.

Step Two

Put about an inch or two of sand, pebbles or rocks in the bottom of your bottles. We had tons of rocks in our front flower-beds, so we decided to clean those off for this purpose and then place them in the bottles.

Step Three

Check the weight to make sure that it is heavy enough to stay down in the water.

Step Four

Fill the remaining space in the bottle with water. Screw the lid on tightly.

Step Five

Remove lid of toilet tank.

Step Six

Flush the toilet. As the water goes out of the tank, place your bottle in a place that is clear of any operating mechanism in the tank. As the water fills back in, your bottle will displace any water that would have filled in there.

Step Seven

Start saving water!

Through this process, you can save ten or more gallons of water per day, depending on how often you flush the toilet. With each flush you will save the size of your Toilet Tank Jug. Just for fun, let's do a little math problem.

If you have 2 toilets in your house with a 5 Gallon Tank each and you flush each toilet 6 times per day, 7 days per week, 52 weeks per year, how much water will you theoretically use?

The answer is 21,840 Gallons per year. That's just for toilets!

Now consider the half-gallon reduction of each flush. It drops to 19,656 gallons, a savings of 2,184 gallons per year = $16.26 per year in water savings. It may not seem like much, but with more toilets and more flushing reduction, this number can go up.

Your family may have flushing rules in the house. Maybe it's the old phrase of "If it's yellow, let it mellow..." Maybe not. Do what works for your family and we can all save water together.

Cool Kids Care About The Earth

See the winners from our 2008 "Cool Kids Care About the Earth" Art Contest!

This week we are going to take a break from our Compost series to intervene some much needed appreciation and congratulation. In the month of April, we had our First Annual “Cool Kids Care About the Earth” Art Contest. Kids all over Nashville entered to win. We asked kids to draw pictures of how they care for the Earth of their favorite part of the Earth. We mulled over the entries and came up with one winner for each age group.

Group One

Lily Catherine B. is 10 months old. Her favorite animal is a puppy dog. Way to go, Lily Catherine!

Group Two

Olivia Y. is one year, and 10 months old. Her favorite animal is a cat. Great job, Olivia!

Group Three

Ian J. is 2 years old. His favorite animal is a monkey. Great work, Ian!

Group Four

Anna B. is 3 years old. Her favorite animal is a skunk. Congrats, Anna!

Group Five

Madeleine P. is 4 years old. Her favorite animal is an elephant. Thanks for caring, Madeleine!

Group Six

Mary B. is 5 years old. Her favorite animal is a horse. What a great job, Mary!

Group Seven

Vivi H. is 6 years old. Her favorite animal is a zebra. Way to draw, Vivi!

Group Eight

Taryn P. is 7 years old. Her favorite animal is a giraffe. What great work, Taryn!

Group Nine

Sara W. is 8 years old. Her favorite animal is a horse. Great job, Sara!

Group Ten

John B. is 9 years old. His favorite animal is a shark. Wonderful job, John!

Group Eleven

Sarah D. is 10 years old. Her favorite animal is an elephant. What talent, Sarah!

Group Twelve

Destinee T. is 11 years old. Her favorite animal is a dog. Great work, Destinee!

Group Thirteen

Hanako H. is 12 years old. Her favorite animal is a snake. Way to go, Hanako!

We are so impressed with the great turn-out and fabulous submissions! To the kids: Thanks, guys! We are so proud to see how much you care. To the parents: Thanks for bringing your kids out to help make this world a better place!

Thanks and congratulations!

Cool People In The Community: Expert On Teens Gives Back

Margit Crane, M.A., M.S., M.Ed. is a family relationship coach, speaker, writer, workshop leader and acclaimed expert on teens, ‘tweens, and their parents. She is the founder of Rock The World Coaching™ and is also known as The Gifted-Teen Coach.

I found Margit Crane through Vanessa Can Petten's "50 Best Mom Blogs." When I saw her blog and the great work she is doing I knew instantly that our cool people needed to meet her.

Margit was a middle and high school teacher for more than 25 years. In her journey, she has coached thousands of parents and teens in developing better communication skills, more confidence, and a richer, fuller life with lots more fun. Her encouragement of family interaction and growth is truly remarkable. She is now a Child Development Specialist, Coach and Speaker and published author. Here is a brief interview I had with her.

Enjoy!

Interview with Margit Crane

What inspired you to get involved with working with kids?

I've been working with kids for so long I think I just fell into it. My mother was the school psychologist for a place that had kids with varying challenges. There was a Head Start group there too and my mother was friends with the head teacher who got me a summer job when I was eleven or twelve. I had pretty low self-esteem and this gave me the opportunity to open my heart and not worry about being shunned. I loved that there were kids who just needed to laugh. I felt important and worthwhile. But probably the thing that inspired me to continue working with kids is that they challenged me to just enjoy life. When you're around kids and not having fun, nobody has fun and the kids will act out. Ya gotta have some fun in there!

What is the best tip you can give to parents who want to help encourage their children to make a difference in the world around them?

This is your big opportunity to explore all sorts of things that you've always wondered about. Take them EVERYWHERE and do EVERYTHING with your kids. Expose them to all sorts of non-profits and their events, show them how many people care about healing the world. Just seeing it on TV isn't enough. Most kids need to DO stuff. If you make it a regular thing, your kids will see how love and closeness and personal growth is tied to helping others and they will want to incorporate that into their own lives, in their own way, when they grow older.

The other things I would say is that what the world needs most right now (if not always) is FORGIVENESS. We spend so much time counting the wrongs that have been done to us. This becomes imprinted into our brains and we start to get a high from the drama of it all. We need to be able to let go of the stories. In fact, no one can hurt us (adults) if we don't let them. My next "thing" is to work with kids on forgiveness, as a key element to being a happy adult.

How do you give back to your community?

I've been involved in several non-profit organizations for about 15 years now. I speak, stuff envelopes, make calls, whatever they need. Before we moved to Seattle I was very involved with PFLAG (Parent, Family/Friends of Lesbians and Gays). I had the local HELPLINE number transferred to our home and it was amazing to help families and individuals who had questions about themselves or family members.

One thing that I've started to do a lot lately is to send friendly I'm-thinking-of-you emails to friends, family, colleagues, and former clients just to send some good energy without worrying about whether they respond or not. I just want to keep my heart open to what and whom the world offers.

How do you get kids excited about participating in life?

I LITERALLY get goofy with them. I don't lecture - what's the point? If I'm lecturing, I've lost them. But I do connect by letting them know that there's all kinds of stuff to get excited about, even when it feels like life sucks. I'm grateful that I'm still a kid myself in many ways. There is an amazing teen living inside me and I can tap into that to keep life fresh and full of hope. I like to pass on that hope to others. If I have to wave my arms around to get my point across, I will! Besides, there is no better feeling than sharing your gifts with others. It's heavenly!

About The Author

Margit Crane is an internationally recognized expert on teens, 'tweens and their parents. Over the past 25 years, Margit has coached thousands of teens and parents to achieve greater sanity, deeper love, clearer communication and a lot more FUN in their relationships with family and friends. In her years as a teacher, school counselor, and community volunteer, she has lectured on such topics as self-esteem, body image, sexual orientation, multiple intelligences, the teen brain, parenting teens, addiction, and ADD/ADHD. She specializes in working with young people who have ADD/ADHD or similar behaviors. Her technique employs a dynamic exchange of ideas between client and coach. This give-and-take, as well as Margit's unique perspective and devotion to her clients allows for rapid and wonderfully powerful shifts.