Locavores

Thanks to our friends, Tanya and Jason – we’ve had a beautiful bounty of fresh produce right in our backyard this year.

I love being able to pop outside my door to pluck a few fresh basil leaves, a fresh tomato or cucumber for dinner.  Making efforts to eat food grown locally makes you a “locavore.”  Webster’s just added the word, and nearly 100 others to the dictionary.  Here’s the list - which includes other words like “staycation” and “frenemy”.

If you’d like to try to eat more food grown locally, here’s a list of local farmers from Slow Food Charlotte.  I’ve also got a couple favorites, including Sammy Koenigsberg and Marianne Battistone.  You can see Sammy every Saturday at the Matthews Farmer’s Market.  Find Marianne here, and enjoy summer’s bounty!

Booty Charm

2009 24 Hours of Booty Charm Designer, Russell McKenzie

24 Hours of Booty is coming up July 24.  If you don’t know what that is, or if you think I’m saying something profane – you’re not alone.  The name is part of the event’s charm.

I recently told a friend via Facebook I was going to be there and she thought someone had hijacked my account and sent her a pornographic spam!

24 Hours of Booty is the nation’s only 24 hour fundraising bike ride.  It’s not a race.  It’s a ride – and you can ride as much or as little as you want.  Since its inception in 2002, the ride has raised more than $2.3 million for local cancer charities.  It started out with one guy – Spencer Lueders – raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s fight against cancer.

It’s an event I’m very fond of, though I’ve not been able to ride in it.  I’m always working – and lately with two little boys at home – it’s about impossible to train for such an event.  But I suppose that’s the beauty of it.  In 24 Hours of Booty – riders can imagine themselves to be Lance Armstrong and ride the entire 24 hours.  (by the way, can you believe this guy?  after four years OFF the tour he is back and unbelievably strong!)… or you can ride just a few blocks.  It’s not about the distance you ride – it’s about the cause – the money you raise, the people you meet, the impact you can make by beginning the journey.  The word on the back of the charm is “begin”.  If you’d like to know how to get one, click on the photo above.

Seven-Time Tour de France Winner Lance Armstrong is BACK!

So I’ll be on Charlotte’s “booty loop” in Myers Park July 24 – we’ll be live for WBTV and judging the best campsites.

Hope to see you there.  The stories, the people – amazing.

HOT Volunteer Opportunities

Some really great volunteer opportunities have crossed my desk in the past few days, and I wanted to share them.  I know you’re looking for fun, meaningful things to do this summer – so you’ll have something to say when that question comes up, “what are you doing to change the world?”

Friendship Trays could use a few more drivers to fill in this summer.  It’s simple.  It’s rewarding.  We love it.  And maybe you’ll get the chance to meet someone phenomenal – like Miss Martha.  She’s 100.  We adore her, and look forward to seeing her every time.

Contact llawrence@friendshiptrays.org

 

Miss Martha, Our Favorite Grandma

24 Hours of Booty is looking for volunteers for this month’s 24-hour charity cycling event.  It’s in Myers Park, July 24 and 25.  It raises money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Brain Tumor Fund for the Carolinas, and the Keep Pounding Fund.  And it’s miles and miles of booty loop fun.  Contact info@24hoursofbooty.org for more.

And the Society of St. Andrew is looking for gleaners in the Concord area this Wednesday.  If you’re not familiar, gleaning is collecting leftover crops in farmers fields after the commercial harvest is done.  The food is then distributed to the poor and hungry in our neighborhoods.  It’s estimated there are 36-million people in America who are what’s called “food insecure.”  And about 20-percent of the fresh food grown each year is lost.  You can help by contacting gleanclt@endhunger.org.  Gleaners Wednesday will help harvest hothouse tomatoes and sweet corn.

Feeding the Hungry - Society of St. Andrew

No, It Doesn’t Hurt

This past week on WBTV, we’ve been encouraging folks to get on the national bone marrow registry.  It’s called “Be the Match” and it’s an opportunity to potentially save someone’s life by donating your healthy bone marrow to someone with a life threatening disease.

Getting on the registry is easy.  Some paperwork, a mouth swab – and until June 22 during a nationwide “Marrowthon,” it is free.  If you’re actually ever called to donate, it’s not as easy.  But if you had the opportunity to save someone’s life – especially a child’s, wouldn’t you do it?

Maybe it’s because I’m a mom.  Maybe it’s because I’ve met two beautiful little Charlotte area girls whose lives depend on finding a match before the end of the summer.  Maybe it’s because I believe what Jesus said in the parable of the faithful servant in Luke 12:35-48.  I know how blessed I am.  I’m thankful for it every day.  And for me, and I know this isn’t the right decision for everyone – but for me, I know if I have the chance to save a life, it would be my duty, my pleasure to do it.

For God has given me so much more.

You can still sign up.  We’re having a Marrowthon event in the studios of WBTV tomorrow.  There are other events this week – June 18 at CMC Northlake, and June 20 at the Oakhurst Pavillion in Cornelius.

Click here for the latest information on Marrowthon events in your area.

New Shirt or Stain Remover?

I’m not as cheap as I should be.  I’m learning to be cheap.  My parents didn’t grow up in the depression.  They were just poor.  And so when I started making money, all I really understood was how to spend it.  I was spending more than I was making and I have learned (again) that this is dumb.

So today, when I dribbled coffee on my shirt, I debated – buy a new shirt?  Or stop for stain remover.  In my past spending habits, I would have used this as an excellent excuse to buy a new shirt.  Instead, I opted for the stain remover.  $2.99.  Lots cheaper than a new shirt.

Although – the stain is still kind of there.  Maybe I should be drinking more water.  Coffee $4.  Water – free.  That would have solved both problems.

When the Unemployment Rate Hits Home

Most days, I feel incredibly empowered.  I have this great job that allows me to share information with you.  I suggest stories, I write stories, I’m involved in the creative process for one of the top-rated local news programs in Charlotte.  I meet incredible people.  I can help people see the world in a new way.  I can help to spark change.  I love my job.  I love my life.  I know how blessed I am.

But for a moment today, I’m angry at the economy – and how we got here.  I know that’s irrational.  And emotional.  And a waste of time.  I won’t stay here long.  But the unemployment rate is hitting home (again).  And I feel completely powerless.

My friend Mike Redding’s last day at WCNC was last Friday.  People in this market have known him as “The Carolina Traveler.”  In this new “between jobs” chapter in his life, this incredibly gifted, talented writer and storyteller is sharing his daily moments in a way no one else could.  Like so many of the television stories he’s written over the years, his blog is making me laugh and cry at the same time.

Here’s the link:  www.stopandsmellthepeople.com  Yes.  “Stop and smell the people.”  It’s one of his favorite phrases.

I’m done ranting, now.  There’s breaking news.  Go read Mike’s blog.  And smell the folks around you.  Say something nice.  Be empowered.  Give to your favorite charity.  Do something.  People need you.

Fighting Skin Cancer

(South Charlotte) – I had the honor today of kicking off a fundraising event called “Save Your Skin” Melanoma Awareness Golf Classic – and though I don’t play golf (well) I have been touched and know so many others whose lives have been touched by this terrible disease.

This event has raised almost $200,000 for local efforts to find new treatments and cures for this disease that will kill more than 8,000 people this year.

Skin cancer strikes men and women of all ages.  Dr. Richard White told me today he has seen an upsurge of young people fighting the disease.  He and his team at Carolinas Medical Center’s Blumenthal Cancer Center recently launched a new website that is GREAT for health educators who want to impact young people on the importance of wearing sun protection when they’re going to be out this summer.

The website is www.skincancerawarenessproject.com

Go here to see my interview last week with the founder of the golf classic, Dr. Martin Kreshon.  Incredible man, phenomenal family, important cause.

Enjoy the sunshine.  But be safe this summer.

Skinned Knees

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee

Today, Asher skinned his knee for the first time.  He’s 18 months old, and I know this will be the first of many.

It reminds to pick up and re-read a book I found very helpful when Cooper was a little younger.  It’s called the “Blessing of a Skinned Knee”.  Its author is a clinical psychologist whose book seeks to helps parents raise self-reliant, compassionate, ethical children.

Here’s an excerpt from an editorial review:

“Digging into the rich traditions of the Torah, the Talmud and other Jewish teachings, Mogel builds a parenting blueprint that draws on core spiritual values relevant to families of all faiths. With warmth and humor, she offers strategies for encouraging respect and gratitude in children, and cautions against overprotection (“we treat our children’s lives like we’re cruise ship directors who must get them to their destination-adulthood-smoothly, without their feeling even the slightest bump or wave”)

I loved this book.  It confirmed many of my core beliefs as a parent.

Strawberries

It’s strawberry picking time in the Carolinas.  Our dear friends Allison and Aaron took Cooper and Asher to a York County berry patch.  Adorable.  Here’s a link to other places you can find to go get berries.  Enjoy.

Photo Courtesy Allison Fowler

Love it. Hate it. Love it.

I have a love-hate relationship with my blog.

I love it because it’s an opportunity to reach people, to share information with friends and family, and to expand on stories and issues that are important to me.

I hate it because I can’t entirely decide what it should be.  As a journalist, my favorite blogs are those that I create that are informative, deeply sourced, meaningful, thought-provoking, funny, etc.  etc.

But I’m also a working mom.  And that means I’ve got two full-time jobs.  Who’s got time to write, let alone read, shower, or exercise? 

I realize I’ve set the bar too high.  Who’s reading it anyway?  Not even my mother (she would if she knew how to use the internet).  So I’m turning over a new leaf.  Starting tonight.  I love my blog.  I’m going to keep it simple.  Share insight and interesting, important information.  It probably won’t be deeply sourced.  And that’s okay.  It’s a blog.  Not the New York Times.