April is Autism Awareness Month

Some information and links for you.

Spread the word:

John Elder Robison, writer-friend and author of Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's , will be the keynote speaker at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Seaver Autism Conference on Sunday April 19th, from 1:30 - 2:30. Please give him your support, if you're able. Here's a link to the event on Facebook.

Autism Speaks has an extensive list of events on their website. By supporting this non-profit, you will be contributing to Autism therapy, research, and resources. Please do.

My toddler was flipping through the May 2009 edition of Cookie Magazine in search for babies doing silly things when he came across a review of Kauzbots. He instantly asked for the "BRIGHT YELLOW ONE!!!" Guess what? Karthy, also known as the BRIGHT YELLOW ONE!!!, is passionate about autism awareness. 10% of his proceeds go to TACA. Take a look at all of the different bots. At $25 a piece, these make adorable, feel-good presents. Check them out!

And another thing! Earth Day is next week and I wanted to remind you of the give-away I'm hosting. Visit The Hero Complex on April 22, 2009 and use the Comment section to tell me how you’re teaching your kids about making the Earth a better place. I’ll pick my favorite and send you a pair of books from pbskids.org. World Tree Day and Mapping the World Tree, featuring characters from the show It’s a Big, Big World. Can’t wait to read your comments!

Thanks for reading,

Sara

Autism Speaks 5K

Today is the 4th Annual PSU Autism Awareness Race in State College. I’ll be participating as a runner this year with a few friends and some family. Please come down to join the walk or race; or support the runners, walkers, and race organizers by making a donation or volunteering to do clean up or set up. The entry fee is just $15 and the entire amount is a donation toward Penn State’s fund for Autism Speaks.

Also, April is Autism Awareness Month. I’ll be back a couple times during April with information and updates. Please let me know if you have any great links. I’ll include them in a future post.

One last reminder: While we may try to promote green living every day, April 22 is Earth Day. Since it’s my bloggiversary and Earth Day, I’m doing a give-away. Visit The Hero Complex on April 22, 2009 and use the Comment section to tell me how you’re teaching your kids about making the Earth a better place. I’ll pick my favorite and send you a pair of books from pbskids.org. World Tree Day and Mapping the World Tree, featuring characters from the show It’s a Big, Big World. Can’t wait to read your comments!

Thanks for reading,

Sara

It's Earth Day!

What better way to start a save-the-world blog than on Earth Day?

I'd love to hear what Earth Day means to you. Did you plant a tree? Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth? Carpool with your coworkers? Contribute time or money to an environmental cause? Did you vote green?

To me, Earth Day means doing a bit extra, reminding yourself and others that we can make a difference. So, today I reminded everyone at our office meeting to carpool while they toured properties. I took a few minutes to stock my car with reusable grocery bags to reinforce the habit. I planned out my day in terms of geography in order to conserve gas. NPR ran a story on tap vs bottled water and the environmental impact of each. So, I drank tap water today, even though the bottled variety was looking me in the eye at every turn. I know you did way better than I did. Tell me how.

Just a few more thoughts:

April is Autism Awareness Month. My company and family recently raced for the cure by participating in this fantastic PSU event, PSU Autism Speaks 5K. Our page hasn't been updated with our totals, but as a family we were able to raise $150 for Autism Speaks. Thank you to all of our contributors. But the door is still open. If you'd like to contribute to our race, click here. Thanks so much.

In other news, the CIRCUS came to town! Finn and I watched as the train pulled into town. We could see elephant trunks peeking out of the windows. Apparently, they were supposed to lead the animals out of the train and down the street to the Bryce Jordan Center. We didn't make it that far. It took about 45 minutes for the train to show up and after another 30 minutes of waiting for the animals to detrain, Finn had enough. He declared "All done!" and walked himself back to the car. Oh well. He loved the train. At least he had fun. We have tickets to Saturday's show. I'm sure he'll get his fill of the animals then.

Stay Tuned For:

1. On Monday, April 28, I'm hosting a benefit lunch for our in house nonprofit KW Cares. I'm making Rosemary Chicken Salad, French bread, and Lemony-Squash Cupcakes. I'll let you know how it goes and how much we raise. The goal for the year is $3,000. We are currently at the $900 mark.

2. On Thursday, May 1, I'll be attending an all day build for Habitat for Humanity, along with my team of 10 other Realtors. Details forthcoming.

Thanks for reading. Have a great week!

Sara