Meet The Families / The Andersons

You know the old adage that the more time you spend together, the more you look alike? I know that theory applies to a spouse. Or, maybe a pet. But, a coffee mug? Turns out, I dressed like my coffee mug today.

It was the buzz of the morning staff meeting this morning. More than one person commented on my color coordination today, and I am not exactly known as a fashionista. I typically think if it's clean and weather appropriate, it's a good outfit. But, this mug/sweater color coordination is a bit too strange to let go without some introspection.

I'm most certain it's not that the Aladdin brand and I are both on the forefront of fashion. And, it certainly wasn't because I wanted to make sure all my accessories matched my outfit today.

There's only one reason that out of all the reusable mugs and out of all my sweaters, I chose both in a vibrant -- apparently trendy -- shade of turquoise today: I'm feeling at one with my reusable coffee mug.

Happy Monday.

We are nearly three weeks into the Do The Reuse Challenge and using our Aladdin coffee cups and other reusable products has really become second nature for all of us. The kids work hard to to keep us on track and are remarkably in tune with making "reusable" choices in so much of what they do.  My husband needs the most prodding to change his ways, but with the other five of us staying on task, we're changing his ways too!

But, speaking of nature, in a somewhat related story from our family, eight-year-old Coco has become a bit of a fairy-house mogul.   Over the past couple of days, she has obsessively been building fairy houses in the yard.   She'd argue that they fit into the Do The Reuse Challenge as all of the homes are made of 100 percent recycled and/or sustainable materials.  

Check out the photo of one of the fairy houses.  Apparently, it's on the market.  I told Coco I would help her market the property.  The listing may go something like this:

Suburban Charmer!   Located conveniently in a mature perennial flower garden, this quaint, one-bedroom home is nestled high in the branches of a flowering crab apple tree.   Private and secluded, the property offers a second-level garden area with an outdoor sleeping room--complete with hosta-leaf hammock.   The home has recently been re-sided with fragrant Annabelle Hydrangea and has a reclaimed pine floor that is rumored to have been the tree swing of a beautiful princess.  The dining room is large enough to host any fairy-food fest, and the bedroom features luxurious, petunia-petal bedding.  Local-Rutherford artists have contributed to the custom paintings throughout the home.

The home is move-in ready!   Special financing available to first-time fairy home buyers.  Call Coco Anderson for more information or to schedule a visit.

I can guarantee you the habits we are establishing this month will continue on and impact our buying habits into the future.

The kids -- especially 11-year old Hanna -- are really embracing this. It has proven to me how important it is to expose our children to new ideas. Their capacity to understand and embrace the cause-and-affect of their behavior is amazing.

It made me giggle today when Hanna told me to "reuse on!" In the kids' elementary school, they often use the phrase "game on." It began as the battle cry of one of their teachers who was battling stage IV breast cancer. When people would express sadness about her condition and treatments, Julie used to just reply "game on!"

The kids adopted the phrase and have adapted it for lots of situations. Love on. Green on. Live on.

Julie died last year, but her spirit lives on. Some of the other teachers have established a fun t-shirt company inspired by Julie's spirit and rally cry. A portion of all proceeds go back to charity. Check out the site -- you can even do your own custom message. http://www.Onwordspirit.com/Site/Welcome.html.

Here are some photos of our family "reusing on." We laughed at Bandit the cat, as he just goes right to the source of the water, negating any sort of packaging whatsoever!