Alexandra's Blog

It isn’t easy raising two teenage girls (let alone twins), but you have always managed to be fair and even-handed to both of us. You are the heart of the family and unquestionably wear the pants (sorry dad…we always knew that mom had the final say!)

Thank you for always trying to make us better people! Despite our stubborn and reluctant attitude to try all your vitamins and health regimens – you still keep trying because you care about our health! Maybe one day it will stick. (Besides, if we didn’t resist, what fun would that be?)

Despite all of our relationship disasters, mismatched roommates, financial blunders, occupation debacles, periodic boredom, and nacho indulgences…you love us fiercely and unconditionally – no matter what!

Thank you for teaching us how to be thoughtful, independent women with strong values. We might not be exactly like you, but we appreciate the example.

Thank you for always hiding $20 in our underwear drawer every time you come to visit!

It takes a considerate woman to put up with all Dad’s bazaar presents…a weed wacker for mother’s Day, riding on the back of a rented Harley for your birthday…He loves you and he tries, but you can’t say that opening up Rilee, a brand new puppy, on Valentine’s Day wasn’t your ultimate present!! Pretty clever – huh? (We had nothing to do with it!)

Thank you for always having an opinion, we NEVER have to wonder what you are thinking!

Thank you for being a great gift giver and putting so much thought into what we might want – like when you took the time to hand write all of your recipes onto note cards for both if us. When we moved out, you knew we were well equipped to fend for ourselves.

Good thing you don’t need too much sleep. Despite the time change, we can call you late at night and you will always answer.

Even though we may want to, we won’t hold it against you that you weren’t able to fulfill our burning (yet unfulfilled) desire to become gifted vocalists by passing on the “good singing” genes to us. Regardless of your/our singing abilities, we still love you!

Thank you for being a great friend, sister, and mom. You are always so giving and helpful. Selflessly, you are 100% there for us 100% of the time and we can undoubtedly depend on your support…no matter how much blogging you have to do.

Bonus points for us posting baby pictures!!

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Love, your favorite daughters
Alex and Lauren

I heard a question recently and wanted to share it with everyone: Has the economic crisis crushed the green movement?

The short answer is a loud and resounding “no.” Even the littlest things can benefit our earth.

I am very fortunate to work for an environmentally conscious firm (www.greenworkspc.com). GreenWorks PC is a Portland-based design firm specializing in landscape architecture and environmental design.

Today, GreenWorks will be working with the Portland Public Schools doing landscape maintenance for a selection of stormwater bioswale swales and rain gardens. The school system is always hesitant to add new features because of maintenance needs. Pulling weeds, replanting, pruning, and clearing out litter and debris from the stormwater systems will improve the overall functionality by diffusing and infiltrating rain water. This cools and replenishes our groundwater table, rather than overflowing into our swollen rivers, a significant benefit to rearing trout and salmon.

What activities will you all be sharing in today? Let’s help inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environment…not just today, but everyday.

Happy Earth Day,

Alex

Are you finding that your closet is packed so full of unused items that you are having trouble keeping under control?

View this video for a simple and fun tip to spring clean your closet.

Organization can be FUN!
Alex

Try dedicating the first hour of your day to your most important task – before you check your email, or your paper inbox, or pick up your phone, or go to any meetings.

Crossing just one significant item off of your to-do list each day will make you feel that much more productive! You will be amazed...

If you have additional tips to getting more things accomplished each day, please share by writing a comment. I would love to hear what works for you!

As always, thanks for reading!

Being organized can be FUN!
Alex

• Keep your list short. Keep you to-do list less than 20 items. Remember, your to-do list isn’t a dumping ground for “Someday I’d like to” items. Your to-do list should be short, to-the-point commitments.

• Prioritize your tasks. Although your to-do list only has 20 items on it, the reality is that you are only going to get a couple done per day. Make sure that those tasks are at the top of your list.

• Purge and update your list weekly. In addition to sorting by priority, you can sort your list by age. What items have been on your list the longest? Chances are these items need to be reworded or broken down further. Or perhaps they don’t need to get done at all. Rewrite the items that aren’t broken down as much as possible, and purge irrelevant items.

• Log your completed tasks. Make sure you give yourself credit for accomplishing something on your list. This is as important as writing the to-do list!

I hope you all get as much pleasure writing to-do lists as I do!

Happy "crossing off!!"

Organization can be FUN!
Smiles,
Alex

Guess what? You can make working on tougher tasks easier for yourself to swallow. Checking an item off your to-do list - and the sense of satisfaction and completion that comes with that simple motion - is one of the best things that can happen during your day. Below are a few tips to create an effective to-do list.

• Only put items on the list that you’re definitely doing. Sometimes you think of tasks you’re just not ready to do yet. Maybe finishing your basement – while it’s an eventual goal – just doesn’t fit into your life right now. Instead of letting tasks you’re not quite committed to linger on your list, move them off to a separate “Someday/Maybe” list. Only concrete actions you are committed to completing should live on your to-do list.

• Use specific, active verbs. When you are telling yourself to do something, make it an order. An item such as “Contact Mr. Smith” doesn’t tell you what needs to be done. Instead, make your to-do’s specific actions, such as “Phone Mr. Smith to purchase tickets to the basketball game.” Notice I didn’t use the word contact; I used phone. Contact could mean phone, email, etc. but when you take out all the thinking and leave in only action; your verbs will be as specific as possible.

• Include as much information as possible. For example, if you have to make a phone call, include the name and phone number on your to-do list. Arm yourself with the details that will help you get the job done. When you are stuck waiting to get your tires rotated with only your cell phone you will be able to make that phone call – if you have the number.

Being organized can be fun!
Alex

I have been in Portland for 3 1/2 years and I love it! Not knowing anyone when I first moved here challenged me to explore all different avenues for meeting people-to gain that sense of community I was missing. Volunteering within my community turned out to be the best way to accomplish that, as well as the most satisfying. I became involved in whitewater rafting and enjoy being on the river. I never thought it would be so exhilarating and peaceful at the same time.

I volunteer my time organizing and producing one of the largest three-day whitewater festivals on the West Coast, the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival and a smaller festival held on the Deschutes River, put on by the Oregon River Games, Inc. One of our main charges is to bring younger people into the sport of whitewater rafting by promoting and teaching high school kids the importance of whitewater safety through a series of training camps each year.

This is just one outlet where I can achieve balance in my life, the other being organization. Being organized has always been a quality/trait that resonated within me-one thing my identical twin sister never picked up! Aside from my professional job as a landscape architect, I will develop a community within BraveHeart Women that focuses on organization; all the tips and tricks that will hopefully make life a little bit more effortless.

Below are some links to the organizations mentioned above (we are still in the process of updating the websites!):

http://www.upperclackamasfestival.org/
http://www.oregonrivergames.com/

Thank you all for such a warm welcome! So that you can "informally" meet me, I thought that I would take a minute to tell everyone a little bit more about me:

Someone asked me the other day, "what are you most proud of?" After thinking about that question for awhile, I came to the realization that it is knowing what I want and finally getting up the courage to go after it. I knew that I wanted to move to Portland once I graduated from college. During spring break I flew out to the west coast and interviewed at landscape architecture firms in California and Oregon...but knew that I wanted to live in Portland. I was offered a job and in between finals and graduation I flew out to Portland, found an apartment, flew home to Pennsylvania, graduated, then flew back to Portland to start my new life.

I woke up the next morning in my new, yet strange, apartment and thought to myself, "what did I just do?" I left everything that was comfortable to me just so I could extend myself and stretch my boundaries. Not knowing anyone in the area has allowed me to become confident and at ease with myself. The truth is - life can become routine. When we catch ourselves feeling uninspired, we need to change our focus. I am proud of myself for recognizing this and being proactive about it.

Until next time...it has been a pleasure. Stay tuned for part two.

Smiles,
Alex