The Story of Solutions

Love this.

We are so WOW!!!!!

So beautiful. If we can only allow it in our own lives.

TEXAS vote for this bottle bill !

We need this. Have you cleaned a lake, a creek or a river lately? It's gross.

REAL Economics

Think before you buy plastic.........

There are so many other things we can use besides plastic that aren't as harmful to our planet. Do your part!

This is to Mother you.........

Really touched me. Hope it will touch you too.

The Beauty of Planet Earth

Erasing Negative Memories from your Subconscious

This video is created to clear your subconscious of negative memories. While you are watching this video you will be erasing negative memories from your subconscious by using Sound, Images and Ho'o pono pono. What is Ho'o pono pono? Ho'o pono pono is an ancient hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness.

For more information please visit www.zerolimits.info

I Love You
I Am Sorry
Please Forgive Me
Thank You

SAVING VALENTINE

When Gershon Cohen and Michael Fishbach set out for a Baja fishing expedition on Valentine's Day, they did not expect to encounter a creature that would change their lives.
The Humpback whale was so entangled in fishing nets that he could hardly move and faced imminent death. Armed only with a fishing knife, Fishbach, Cohen and friends worked diligently for three hours to free the imprisoned Caetecean. The process and result was extraordinary, hardly able to be captured in words. The video linked below says it all.
I learned about Valentine’s liberation minutes before going on the air for my weekly radio show Get Real on Hay House Radio. The show’s theme for the day was “Living Your Expanded Self.” I was inspired by the parallel between Valentine’s liberation and our own: Each of us has a contracted self that feels limited and imprisoned. We also have a greater self that is expansive and free. Like Valentine, we were born magnificent creatures with a vast ocean as our playground; in many ways we are rulers of that domain. Yet we have all been captured in other people’s nets, to the point that our fins are penned in and we cannot negotiate the movement we desire and deserve. Some of us may even feel suffocated to the point of near-death.
Yet this may require but a penknife of sharp intention and a period of focused attention to free us and return us to our natural expanded state. This summer might be a great opportunity for each of us to step back and consider whose nets we have gotten trapped in and the pen(etrating) knife of truth that can liberate us. Perhaps we inherited fears about money or safety from our parents. Or teachers taught us that we are incompetent. Or religious figures told us we are sinful and must spend our lives in guilt and struggle to redeem ourselves from our iniquities. Or we had a relationship or series of relationships that left us feeling wounded, guilty, or deficient. Or we absorbed our minds in media blaring statistics of lack, loss, crime, and disaster. All of these voices formed the twine of fear, guilt, and separateness that crimp our fins. Yet who we are is far greater and stronger than any external bindings, all of which are founded in illusion.
When your desire for freedom exceeds your willingness to accept the nets of the world, nothing outside you can encase you, and the vast ocean of possibility will once again be your domain of choice.
Alan Cohen

One Song. One Planet. One Future

I want to sing along.

Let's Do It!

What a wonderful example of how we should be getting everything done. There are so many people who want to help. All we have to do is show them the issue and make a plan to make it happen. They'll do the rest.

Do it for your planet, do it for your yard

Too Many Plastic Bottles

The water's not better and we have way too many plastic bottles already!

Giant Trees More Than 2,000 Years Old

Volunteer to Make a Difference 1house at a time March 27, 2010

We need your help to retrofit a senior citizen’s home near Fair Park. We will be replacing plumbing under kitchen sink, a dishwasher, two window units and broken window glass. We will be caulking, weather-stripping, insulating and weatherizing. And we’ll be installing a new dryer vent, rain catchment system, low-flow showerheads and CFLs. There’s a job for every level of expertise.

Go to www.1houseatatime.org and submit your volunteer waiver to register. We will need about 50 volunteers that day, so we are happy to have your company’s green team or church group.

If you want an opportunity to help yourself and low-income families live more environmentally sustainable, financially successful and satisfying lives. If you have a building skill that you’d like to use in community service. Or if you would like to find out how to make your home more comfortable, saving money on utility bills and have a smaller carbon footprint on the planet. A Nurtured World has a great opportunity for you - 1house at a time. Come out Saturday, March 27th from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and help us make a big difference.

Working with low-income homeowners, housing assistance providers, and volunteers, 1house at a timeTM reduces home utility consumption through home weatherization; new energy and water efficient appliances and HVAC systems; efficient water fixtures; rain barrels; and energy saving devices such as programmable thermostats and compact fluorescent bulbs as well as solar power and other green technologies. They make extensive use of volunteers to not only perform the work during retrofits, but for training, coordination and follow-up, multiplying the program’s impact in the community.

Volunteers are educated about the financial benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy practices. Everyone goes away with practices they can apply to their own homes and businesses. In 2009 A Nurtured World documented $11,788 in savings, 4,438 KWhr of electricity conserved, 64,050 gallons of water conserved and 7.05 tons of carbon dioxide reduced for houses completed in 2007 and 2008.
For their Work Events, 1house at a timeTM leverages local service agencies that provide assistance to the elderly and low-income community and taking advantage of the many rebates and services offered by utility providers. The program also encourages building material suppliers to donate in-kind needed appliances and fixtures and organizations to ‘sponsor’ homes and have team-building volunteer events.

A Nurtured World is a non-profit agency and supports the Work Events by receiving donations, sponsorships and grant funding. If this vision is what your company or church would like to support, go to www.1houseatatime.org to make a tax deductible contribution.

To volunteer your time or skills, email sharon@1houseatatime.org and sign up for the next event or call 972.466.2121 with questions.

Trash-Off Volunteers Were Amazing

On Saturday, it was a beautiful day and Keep Carrollton Beautiful volunteers made sure our streets, parks, greenbelts, streams and lakes are even more beautiful now! Spending their own free time in community service, 270 volunteers collected 9,740 pounds of litter and debris from 34 sites in Carrollton. “We had individual volunteers and scouts and schools and churches and neighborhoods this year. They focused their amazing ‘can do’ attitudes to plan, set up, collect trash and break down our event. We could do nothing without their beautiful spirits.” said Sharon Goddard.

The Don’t Mess With Texas Trash-Off event was a grassroots partnership with Keep America Beautiful, Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation - with 340 affiliates cleaning all over Texas. All of America should be looking pretty good today!

Locally, the Trash-Off was Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s sixth annual participation. The event is just one of many activities they host or empower during the three month Great American Cleanup. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is working with many schools, neighborhoods and corporate teams to supply smaller events during this time.

Thanks to Albertsons at Josey and Keller Springs and at Old Denton and Hebron the volunteers didn’t go away hungry. Albertsons thinks that “it’s important to be good neighbors and give back to our communities…..to improve all of our lives”. As a great corporate citizen, they have supported Keep Carrollton Beautiful since its inception in 2004. “I hope that the citizens of Carrollton won’t let this valuable asset get pushed out of our community by stiff competition” said the director of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group’s representative, Bill Kirkland, has also been supporting Keep Carrollton Beautiful since its beginning. “We (DPSG) have a proud, longstanding heritage of caring ... for our consumers, our customers, our employees and our neighbors in the communities where we live and do business across the United States… caring is at the heart of our business, shaping our values and the importance we place on corporate social responsibility…” Dr. Pepper really helped out at the Trash-Off making sure none of the hard working volunteers went thirsty.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful could never accommodate so many volunteers without the loyal and enthusiastic support of the Carrollton Evening Lions Club. These Lions are some of the community’s most steadfast local servants. Their website says “When it comes to meeting challenges, our response is simple: We serve…in regions battered by natural disaster, in schools and in eyeglass recycling centers, Lions are at work, helping, leading, planning and supporting…We want everyone to see a better tomorrow…we support vision screenings, eye banks and eyeglass recycling…We believe everyone deserves a healthy life…providing health programs for hearing loss, diabetes prevention and improving the health of children and adults around the world.” “Our Carrollton Evening Lions Club lovingly cooks the best hot dogs in Texas! And always with a smile.” said Sharon Goddard.

Thanks to the many volunteers, this year’s Trash-Off was a roaring success. The people involved know who they are and are very much appreciated. If you’d like to help Keep Carrollton Beautiful, go to their website www.KeepCaroolltonBeautiful.org and join.

Another fun way you can help is by bidding on their Don’t Mess With Texas Trash-Off On-Line Auction. The auction will raise funds for their programs and you can still bid through April 8.
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October’s Yard of the Month is a Real Stress Reliever

After living in a number of places in Carrollton (where there are also probably beautiful yards left behind) the Cathey’s moved to their present home just three years ago. They were awarded Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s “Yard of the Month” after “refurbishing” their front and side lot for only one year!

David Cathey is the primary planner, selector and digger, but his wife Sandy and son also help. A year ago they were looking for a stress reliever and decided to beautify their yards in the process. David says he gets out there and digs and transplants and the time just flies. All his neighbors are glad he’s stressed out!

Doing research on the internet to find what he wanted to plant, their growing requirements and how large they usually get, David made a plan for each plants location. Sandy says they incorporated plants from her Father’s and other family members’ yards and each time she looks at the flourishing specimen she thinks of her loved one. They have worlds of flowers for the bees and butterflies, choosing plants that attract many species. Their corner lot is alive with color and insect activity, as well as an occasional vehicle slowing down to take a closer look.

David doesn’t want to give anyone the impression that what they’ve accomplished was easy. Taking up the sod to form the beds was a shovel-full by shovel-full process. It was labor intensive work but not so difficult that any homeowner couldn’t do it.

The Catheys have incorporated zinnias, marigolds, butterfly bush in a number of varieties, elephant ears, Rose of Sharon, rosemary, Texas Sage, dwarf crepe myrtle and a dozen other flowing plants they can’t name. Most of the plants are drought tolerant or Texas Natives. After all the work, now they just get to stand out there and water them, accepting compliments from neighbors even blocks away.

“The Catheys are examples of how one neighbor taking care of their property can have a ripple effect on down the block - with others picking up on their energy. We can all help our neighbors by providing transplants, advise or even elbow grease”, said Sharon Goddard, executive director of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.

If there is someone you feel deserves the “Yard of the Month” award, please call 972.466.2121. Don’t forget to beautify your own property by bringing all your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on Saturday, November 15th. To find out what will be recycled, get a flier or volunteer, please go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
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Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 49 public events utilizing 5,400 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.

Sharon is a third generation Carrolltonite who has spent the last five years creating community in Carrollton. She believes: “America is in a crisis. We're in a very Un-American jam. We are doing a very poor job educating all our children; the drop-out rate is very high -- with the weather changing in much of the world to flood and/or drought; the devastation of global warming is getting clearer -- the unemployment rate is raising the numbers of "working poor". All the change we need is in the average citizens' hands. Historically, citizen leadership is the only way anything in America has ever changed. Everyone needs to do their part at home and at work. It's up to all of us to be the best of America.”

Keep Carrollton Beautiful helps the City in a BIG Way

Keep Carrollton Beautiful is contributing to our community in a BIG way. At a recent City Council meeting, Mayor Ron Branson accepted two large illustrations of Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s support. The checks, made to represent the contributions of Keep Carrollton Beautiful to the community of Carrollton in the last 12 months, proved to be a very good way to demonstrate their assistance.

In the previous twelve months, Keep Carrollton Beautiful has provided 11,948 hours from 2,962 individual volunteers - recruited to make the community more environmentally conscious, more beautiful and more neighborly. In that same time period, they have also donated $52,657.99 worth of in-kind products and services - acquired to support community events, public environmental education and refurbishment of City facilities.

Since the budget was on the Council’s agenda, Sharon Goddard was on hand to present the checks to Mayor Branson. The checks symbolize a lot of hard work on the part of Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Board of Directors: Secretary Cindy Baxley, Amy Diaz, Vice-Chair Paul Duddleston, Chair Cathy Henesey, Special Events Doug Hinton, Brenda Lalonde and Treasurer Diane Taheri. The Board and the myriad of volunteers all have one goal in mind – to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment. They are doing an amazing job!

To find out about all Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s programs and projects, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org and click around. You will probably find something you want to plug-in to. If you’d like to help the schools, be sure and add your paper to be recycled to their green and yellow bins. Alll that paper doesn’t end up in the landfill and the schools get money for your efforts
Be sure and cleanout that back room or garage and get ready to bring your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on November 15th in Newman Smith’s parking lot. They’ve added Personal Document Shredding that will benefit Mosiac, Inc. to their collection items. To get a list of what’s being accepted or to volunteer, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.
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Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to engage Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s August Yard of the Month

Retirement didn’t really fit Dewey Beck; so he made some serious progress on his yard before going back to “work”. Both Dewey and his wife, Juanita, give the credit to the other, but anyone can see that someone planned, designed, prepared and planted their new beds.

After living at their home since 1991, they decided that is was time to tear-out the old overgrown plantings original to the house and start over. Spending some time planning and researching which plants would do best in his environment, Mr. Beck selected plants that would reseed themselves. He also had to be careful to select some that could abide the shade in his front yard. Before he planted, he also spent time preparing the beds for the plants he selected.

In only seven months of retirement, Dewey created a lush, peaceful surrounding for his entire home by planted begonias, caladiums, day lilies and Cora Vinca. Of course he doesn’t take all the credit - saying that his wife is “the wind beneath my wings”. The result is cohesion of his property inviting the visitor to explore around every corner.

Even with the compost and mulch, some of the beds are requiring a lot of water with the temperature staying above 100 degrees for weeks. After they are established, they won’t require so much water because they are suited for their specific surroundings.

“It’s residents like the Becks that show everyone how they can maintain their yards and be a positive impact in their neighborhood” said Sharon Goddard, Exec. Dir. of Keep Carrollton Beautiful.

If you know someone who is an example for their neighbors, feel free to nominate them for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Yard of the Month award. They will receive a sign in their yard for a month, a certificate and news release about their efforts. Call 972.466.2121 or email sharon@KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org with your nomination.

Be sure and cleanout that back room or garage and get ready to bring your recyclables to Texas Recycles Day on November 15th in Newman Smith’s parking lot. To volunteer, go to www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org and register.
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Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to empower Carrollton to enhance our community environment.
Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.

Idea Exchange Gave Neighborhoods Lots of Resources

On Saturday, at Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Idea Exchange, 36 neighbors came together from all over the city to brainstorm and discuss hundreds of ideas! All participants were involved, caring citizens exercising their personal power to be part of the solution in their neighborhood.

They noticed that all their neighborhoods had the same intention of being clean, beautiful and safe – just some were closer to the goal than others. There were those who were successful HOAs with bylaws and mandatory fees; others who did a lot but were voluntary neighborhood associations with not much money to work with; and still others who were deciding how to start a group or resurrect one.

All of them have in common our City ordinances and available City neighborhood assistance programs. There were ideas about how to apply for the grants and how to get more involved in the surveillance of their neighborhoods.

They found they had dozens of opportunities for help from Keep Carrollton Beautiful. Keep Carrollton Beautiful has made it possible for Hunter’s Creek HOA to award “Yard of the Month” with their own sign. A non-profit helping local teens, Team Me USA, is looking into adopting a “spot”. Because they are choosing a greenbelt to adopt, they will have more rustic signs than those seen around town for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Adopt-A-Spot program.

Many of the groups are planning neighborhood cleanups for Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup on April 19th. They discovered that all they have to do is come get their free supplies and bring the trash back to Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s event to avoid landfill fees.

The attendees learned about Green Business presentations, school paper recycling programs, cell phone recycling and many other programs offered by Keep Carrollton Beautiful. You can find out about all of these programs addressing environmental issues around AIR, LAND, WATER and COMMUNITY at www.KeepCarrolltonBeautiful.org.

Be sure to see the displays about Keep Carrollton Beautiful’s neighborhood programs and the Great American Cleanup at both libraries during March and April - so you too can become part of the solution.
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