• receipts (tax season is upon us);
• random writing implements;
• prints of wedding photos;
• notebooks full of scribbles, to-do lists and incredibly important life-changing ideas; and,
• file folders reflecting the various projects I have on the go.

But before I become overwhelmed by the little things, I want to share with you something BIG.

On March 27 and 28, 2010 Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada is hosting re:Vision 2010 which will bring together the top 100 young change makers in Ontario. I’m going to be there. Are you?

The program for this two-day conference looks packed and engaging. I will be introduced to a lot of new ways “doing” and “seeing”. But one of the BIGGEST things about this conference is something that isn’t necessarily scheduled into the program – the opportunities for collaboration, dialogue and innovation that will organically surface as people talk and connect.

Every day I try to reach out to businesses, organizations and networks of like mind and heart to enrich the communities in which I live, work and play. I fully appreciate the role that collaboration plays in social entrepreneurship and I am so excited to find an opportunity such as this one to connect with other young imaginative leaders who see and create different possibilities to build a better world. Participating in re:Vision 2010 allows us all (participants, speakers, coordinators, etc…) to make unique contributions via ideas and experience and collaboratively cultivate something new and profound. I look forward to supporting others in their development as social entrepreneurs just as much as they will support me in mine.

Interested? Apply now!

Last June 2009, I participated in the Sprout e-course – a project of Taking IT Global – as an e-mentor. This is a great course for emerging social entrepreneurs who want to test the waters in a structured environment with the support of a team of course leaders, facilitators, mentors and peers.

This is the Sprout story:

For over a decade, TakingITGlobal has worked to inspire, inform and involve young people in the process of developing a more inclusive, peaceful and sustainable world. That work has taken us to some of the far corners of the earth and into the lives of everyday heroes. The children, peasants, fastidious students, businesspeople, hip hop musicians, incredible teachers, break makers, computer programmers, graffiti artists and farmers, all united by a common vision for a better tomorrow.Never before have global challenges like the HIV/AIDS epidemic, environmental degradation, rising food insecurity and persistent human conflict loomed over a generation so pervasively. And despite the incalculable odds, these challenges are met head on each day in local communities across the world.

The Sprout e-course is for the brave, the courageous and the unstoppable young person who is ignited with an idea to create something better, more fair and just, more safe, more equitable, more healthy and more sustainable for all systems on earth. We do this beacuse we care.

Applications are being received for both participants and e-mentors now until March 14, 2010. Go here to apply!

So for day 1 of the fair trade challenge I knew I was going to have to BRING IT. Um hello it was Valentine’s Day after all. I could think of nothing better than the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of chocolate and peanut butter. And I had just the right recipe to try: Peanut Butter Bombs from My Sweet Vegan.

Recipe & Ingredients

Peanut Butter Filling

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon plain soymilk

Chocolate Cookie

• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 6 oz vanilla soy yogurt
• 1 tbsp plain soymilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup organic fair trade cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for filling and stir well. It should have a crumbly consistency, but still hold together. Set aside.
3. In your mixer, cream together the margarine, peanut butter, and both sugars. Mix in the soy yogurt, soymilk, and vanilla, and continue beating until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet.
4. For each cookie, roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball and press it down flat onto parchment paper. Line the cookies up 3 x 3 on your two baking sheets. Drop a rounded teaspoon or so of your peanut butter filling into the centre of each, and top with another flattened round of dough. Cover the whole dollop of filling, and check to see that the edges meet all around the cookie.
5. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until cookies no longer appear shiny on top. Remove cookies from oven and allow them to cool.
6. Eat and enjoy!

Why fair trade?

• Producers in the developing world get a fair price for what they produce which translates into a better ability to support their families and communities. 
• It encourages more sustainable farm management practices and better conditions for workers (i.e. less exposure to harsh chemicals).
• There is a greater emphasis on democratic procedures within the workplace ensuring more reasonable working hours and a say in the conditions of employment.
• It eliminates the participation of child labour in production.

It’s easy to participate in the challenge.  Just sign up here or by clicking the banner on the right. Not sure where to find fair trade products. Check this out! It is a lot easier to find these products than you might think.

Don’t forget: it starts Valentine’s Day until March 15!

Dear February. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  There is so much goodness happening this month that I can hardly begin to thank you.

Change the World at Work is off and running again for 2010. Our first audience of the year is a small group of women entrepreneurs at Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba. Entrepreneurs are so much fun to work with because they are always looking to stay current and expand their markets.

This month I am rockin’ tree pose. I’m feeling the need to put down roots. Move around a little less. I wonder when I will be able to do that. I have some schemes in the works and February is a good month for that.

Since getting married, I have been excited to share the ways in which I was able to make our wedding a “greener” one. After all of that planning, it seems doubly meaningful to share what I learned with others  in the hope that it will make their “green” dreams possible too. If you missed it, go to Prairie Girl by Day (my personal blog) and check out My Big Fat Green Wedding.

Valentine’s Day is the crowning jewel of the month and I came up with a fun little blog project on Prairie Girl to honour the occasion. The Art of Marriage is a guest post series about the uniqueness of marriage and how each couple makes it their own. If this goes well, I am hoping to launch a future guest post series on Amphib Lib. (More scheming…)

Everyone in Canada and the world is counting down the days until the Vancouver Olympics. I feel especially grateful to have been a tiny part of the celebration. Back in December, my hubby, Mike ran with the torch in Caledonia, Ontario. He was selected to be part of this exclusive group of Canadian torchbearers because of his commitment to an active and “green” lifestyle.

iNSPiRED PRACTiCE has been gearing up for the Champions for Children’s Environmental Health Workshop hosted by our client, Children’s Health & Environment Partnership of Manitoba. This workshop aims to train professionals who work with children to lead workshops and educate others in their organizations and sectors on children’s health and environment. I am looking forward to welcoming 26 smiling faces on February 18 & 19 to kick off the train-the-trainer workshop.

Dear February. You never disappoint. Thanks for 28 days of counting the ways.

Last Monday, I along with 5 others, engaged in a unique reflective exercise called The Four Directions Sculpture. I learned of this activity at the Authentic Leadership in Action program through the Shamballah Institute back in 2008. It was taught to us by the ever-enlightening Otto Scharmer. I found great success with it later that year when working with the Organic Food Council of Manitoba on a strategic plan toward financial sustainability.

The activity has you “sculpt” your current situation using objects and then view your “sculpture” from the four directions – at which point, you are asked a series of questions to stimulate reflection. The whole point is that you eventually change your “sculpture” to reflect your new found discoveries – and model your emerging future. Every time I use this tool – either personally or professionally – the results are profound. Interestingly enough, many participants tend to be very skeptical when engaging in this. Before they begin, they can’t see the value in it. But because it is so concrete, it can surface some amazing revelations.

Want to know more? Get in touch.

The Women’s Entreprise Centre of Manitoba is kicking off 2010 with an exciting series of seminars for women business owners as they build and develop their enterprises. Why is it so exciting you may ask? Well because iNSPiRED PRACTiCE will be part of this great line-up! I will be delivering an INTERACTIVE and ENGAGING seminar called Change the World at Work. You probably know all about it right? Because you’re so cool. But just in case, here’s a little refresher:

Through scenarios and basic strategies, Change the World at Work assists business owners in integrating sustainability into their day-to-day decision-making, operations, professional practices and workplace culture.

The meaning behind Change the World at Work is two-fold. It represents the notion that a shift must occur as much inside of our workplaces as outside of them. We can build resilience and long-term sustainability in our sectors – especially as entrepreneurs - by changing the way we do business during the hours of 9 to 5.   The concept also expresses a growing desire by many entering the new world of work to see their personal values reflected in their workplace. 

I am a business owner and when I began, I knew I needed to break free from traditional business models if I really wanted to see long-term success. (It’s not 1999 anymore folks and staying power in the market is no longer determined by bottom line alone.) Equally important was my desire to grow a business that met my standards of social responsibility, accountability and corporate citizenship. And trust me, I have HIGH standards.

For iNSPiRED PRACTiCE, we designed a win-win-win business model. We call it our triple triumph model. It is important to us and our clients that we “walk the talk”. This means demonstrating not only the feasibility but viability of a business that:

• Contributes positively to the social fabric of our communities;
• Protects the integrity of our natural environment; and,
• Generates meaningful opportunities to support our economy.

Want to learn more? Then sign yourself up, my friends. Click here to register.

Welcome 2010! We’re back! iNSPiRED PRACTiCE is up and running again. The year has started beautifully. It’s all about beginning it now. And right now life is FULL. We have been travelling… trying… coordinating… creating… connecting… dreaming… dancing… sledding… sliding… savouring and more.

You may notice that our iP blackboard looks a little different in 2010. In fact, it isn’t a blackboard at all. We’re lightening things up this year and that calls for a different format and a whiteboard to boot.

The New Year started off with me taking the big LEAP. On January 1st, my fiancé of 2-and-a-half years and I tied the knot in la belle province at Le Chateau Frontenac (Quebec City). It was a MAGICAL way to start 2010. We went dog sledding in Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier and even tobogganed in our wedding duds for a little rush of adrenaline and FUN.

This month is full of adventure and movement. Boldness and hope.

Genius and rebirth. Magic and joie de vivre.

What a great print from Stella Girl to encourage wonder and beauty in the night time. Good sleep = more energy. And that is exactly what January calls for. Yoga, bellydancing, running and zumba are keeping me on my toes. It seems I along with others have a real desire to take fitness to the next level with the Easy Tone Go Outside footwear. Can’t wait to get my hands on a pair…

Like everyone else I have made a list of key resolutions for 2010 and chosen my word of the year: LEAP. January is one of those months for “starting” and “finishing”. That extends into the work I am doing through iNSPiRED PRACTiCE. There are some exciting developments coming in February to announce shortly and April will bring a unique REBIRTH for us on the dawn of our 3rd birthday.

Begin it now. These are the words guiding our work at iNSPiRED PRACTiCE. As a company, trail blazer and innovator, we endeavour to build a better world. A huge part of that commitment is working to inspire others. We do nothing alone in this world. Nothing in isolation. MyLifeList.org is a brilliant site that marries our ability to dream big with an empowering online community which results in the ultimate goal achievement. What are your life goals? How will you make them happen? 

I am ever grateful that I have the opportunity to be who I am: an eco entrepreneur and world change maker. Now more than ever, we are all change agents able to support Haiti relief efforts. My contribution, although small, can make a difference. I am hopeful for the Haitians in the face of this tragedy. More than that, I am committed to the rebirth of their country. There are numerous ways you can help. Remember: If you make a donation by February 12, the Canadian government will match it.

Get inspired and change the world.