Some of the Modesto Medical Center’s earth-friendly features include: 

• Use of natural light, with large windows incorporated into hallways, patient rooms, and the main entrance.
• The hospital will be fully wired with its electronic care system, KP Health Connect, eliminating the need for paper records
• Resilient rubber flooring over vinyl. One major perk of rubber is that it never needs to be waxed or stripped, thus eliminating the need for chemical cleaners.
• PVC-free carpeting, backed with recycled film, used throughout the building.
• PVC-free bumper guards and safety rails on patient floors.
• Phovoltaic lighting for the parking lot and walkways.
• Landscaping comprised of native, drought tolerant plants and grasses – resulting in less water waste and fewer chemicals to maintain.
• Permeable pavement in the driveway which allows rainwater to filter through, recharging groundwater and filtering chemicals from runoff.
• Rooftop solar panels generating enough power for 20 homes, but of course in this case, they’ll be powering the medical facility.
• Reflective or “cool” roofing
• Greener furniture and fixtures.
• Hospital food from local farmers will be served.

Kaiser Permanente is using the Modesto facility as a good practice model and plans on incorporating the same green aspects into future facilities.

I think this is pretty cool. It’s nice to see a typical commercial structure, one that many people will use, go green. There’s plenty of learning opportunities here, both for individuals who receive care and for other medical facilities. It’ll be great to see what works best for a green project of this scope.

What do you think? I know that given the choice, I’d be more likely to choose a green medical facility. Would you?

It’s the Blogtoberfest icon! Which means a super keen (and secret) prize is hidden behind this special blog post. If you want to win the great prize that I’m hiding, simply leave a comment on this post. A totally easy way to win a prize. Within a week, the winner of the hidden prize will be announced here at Tree Hugging Family, so check back often.

Other ways to win a prize! You have lots of chances to win great Blogtoberfest prizes? Today, October 6th, there are secret special prizes hiding at the following Lifestyles Channel blogs: Offbeat Homes, Simply Thrifty, Blog Fabulous, Drinks After Dark, Mother Earth’s Garden, Thrifty Mommy, Chocolate Bytes, Foodie Obsessed, Keeping the Castle, and Our One Heart.  Visit all of these blogs, look for the blogtoberfest icon on a post, and leave a comment for your chance at another great prize.

Good luck and happy blogtoberfest!

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

(Post written by Gayla)

The b5media Lifestyles Channel is excited to announce our Second Annual Channel Wide Blogtoberfest!

Blogtoberfest will run an entire two weeks throughout our channel beginning Monday, October 6th and wrapping up Friday, October 17th.

Here’s how it will work:

Each day select blogs within the channel will post as usual, the only difference is, they’ll post our beautiful Blogtoberfest button (shown above) and a special note letting you know that it is a sponsored post. That particular post will have a secret prize assigned to it from our list of awesome prizes that will be announced prior to opening day.

All you have to do to enter to win that prize is leave a comment! That’s it! All prizes will be available to the U.S. and Canada unless otherwise noted. We do have some goodies for our global friends too!

Within a few days of leaving your comment, check back with that blog to see what the prize is and if you’re the lucky winner as well as instructions on just how to claim your prize.

Our objective is to reward our loyal readers and subscribers. Loyal readers will know when to comment, if they’ve won and how to get their prize! Pretty good, huh?

Does that sound like you? Do you want that to sound like you?

If you would like to become a loyal reader, visit our channel blogs – add them to your favorites, subscribing to their feeds and checking back are the only ways to win.

And well, with the holidays just around the corner, it’s a great way to kick off your holiday shopping! For Free!

We do hope you’ll come celebrate Blogtoberfest with us! Happy Fall Y’all

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

From October 6 – 17th, we’ll be hosting our Second Annual Lifestyles Channel Blogtoberfest.

We’re planning to run this event for two weeks during the month of October (or until the prizes run out). During that two weeks, we’ll be giving away some amazing prizes.

We’ve already come up with a few prizes of our own by way of previous product reviews, public relations contacts and more to give to readers but would like to supplement them with some other prizes and gifts from sponsors interested in being a part of this event where they could get a little attention and we can reward our loyal readers.

If you’d like to participate by offering a prize (in return for a little publicity throughout our channel) please email me with the following information in the following format:

1. email gayla AT b5media DOT com (substitute AT and DOT with the appropriate @ and .)
2. make the subject line ‘BLOGTOBERFEST PRIZE’
3. describe the prize you would like to offer (what is it and it’s value)
4. include a link to the prize if you have one – if not, a company website would be fine.
5. include your name, the link to the site you’d like us to link to in return for your prize and a graphic you’d like us to use along with your mention.

NOTE: While we would like to include as many prizes as possible – however, we won’t be able to accept every offer for whatever reason. We’d like to encourage prizes that are in line with at least one of our blogs content – so our readers will benefit the fullest from their participation.

Also note that our channel has an international audience and prizes need to be able to be received by readers around the world so please factor in that you’ll need to pay for any shipping if it’s won by an international reader unless otherwise specified or earmarked for specific distribution only.

Prize submissions will be accepted until Tuesday September 30th.

Prize Suggestions: Cash or gift certificates are always a plus, gadgets and random fun things. Electronics, books, memberships, toys and just about anything that is “suitable” to at least one of our blogs.

We’d rather keep this event unique, so things like ‘hosting packages’, services and ‘ebooks’ aren’t going to exactly be relevant to participants. The more fun and creative the contribution the better (and value is a real plus).

What do you get in return?

You’ll be getting promotion in return for your prize on a number of pages/posts throughout the entire channel that yields a high number of visitors daily and monthly. Historically, once a contest of this magnitude is underway, you’ll probably get linked to from other blogs also as these events cause quite a stir around the blogosphere.

You will be guaranteed at least 2 links from every participating blog in the channel and multiple links from the blogs you sponsor for each prize you sponsor.

Example: One sponsor contributes 4 prizes, that’s 4 blogs that provide multiple links to your product website along with the channel wide promotion posts.

The better the prize the more attention you’ll get!

Now, let’s see just how creative some of you can be!

Technorati Tags: lifestyles,b5media,blogtoberfest,prize giveaway,sweepstakes

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I think that fewer people than average entered for this prize which means your chances of winning went up considerably. Thanks to everyone who played and now for the winner who is…. Drum roll….

Peggy! Congratulations!

I like when anyone wins a prize but Peggy is a cool beans regular so this was actually an extra fun drawing to do.

Just in time for the holidays Tree Hugging Family will be awarding Peggy with a wonderful Christmas with Clay Crosse CD! This prize is sponsored by Karen from the blog A Little Fun, A Little Learning. This is a good one to play around the house or would make a great holiday gift.

Karen’s blog is great. She covers fun activities and educational ideas for the littles — ages 0-5. So if you’re a parent this is the perfect site to bookmark and linger at. Take a look at some of these cool idea posts she’s got going on…

• Fun with Oobleck
• Fall Leaf Songs (one all tree hugging kids will love)
• Fun-Filled Friday: Fire Prevention
• Free Stuff at Discovery Learning

Hmmm, did you notice that all these posts start with the letter F. Weird. I swear I didn’t plan that — these were just some of the best posts I read at Karen’s site. Strange. On another note Karen kindly reminded me that it is a-ok to say that she blogs right here at b5media as well for the money saving mama treat Thrifty Mommy.

Congratulations to Peggy and big hugs to Karen our final sponsor and everyone else who made Blogtoberfest such a great success this year; which includes:

• All of our wonderful sponsors.
• All of the great Family & Relationships Channel blogs who participated.
• Our channel editor Gayla who really pulled out all the stops to get this organized.
• And all of our amazing readers who visit our blogging community here at b5. We really wanted to do Blogtoberfest as a thanks to you because without the readers blogging just not as much fun.

Last up I did want to mention some other contests for those of you still in a playing mood:

You may have entered Blogtoberfest and not won but the blogsphere is full of contests right now.

• The b5media Home & Dining Channel is having a month long Scavenger Hunt and there is still time to catch up and win a super fall harvest gift basket.
• Baking Delights is having an insanely popular Donna Reed Divas Holiday Apron Contest.
• I’m actually having a Little Monsters costume contest at another blog I write; Pregnancy & Baby. You might win a gift worth $150 or $300 if you enter. If you have a little aged 0-12 this is a good one.

Anyone else know any good contests going on?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

The Human Clock project is the brain child of one fella, Craig D. Giffen, from my hometown (Portland, OR) who decided to create a human clock using photos. It’s easier to show than explain.

In Craig’s words from his site:

“Humanclock.com shows a photograph of the current time, with the photo changing every minute of the day (all 1,440 occuring minutes on Earth!) Thus you end up with a rotating picture clock sorta deal. Humanclock.com has both digital and analog clock formats. The digital clock consists of 15,182 photos, each representing a single minute of the day in some shape or fashion. The analog clock is a true “human clock” if there is such a definition. These photos don’t change as much since there is a lot more preparation involved in creating analog clock photos.”

You can see the clock right here and even set it to relate your proper time. I guess some visuals are in order so you can see what this is…

5:15

6:56

3:38 (ah, Italy)

I’m completely in awe of this project. Honestly you could spend all day looking at the photos at this site. It’s beyond words. You can send in your own human clock photos as well.

Visit Humanclock.com to see more. Make sure you have some time to spare. No pun intended.

It’s the Blogtoberfest icon! Which means a super keen (and secret) prize is hidden behind this special blog post. If you want to win the great prize that I’m hiding simply leave a comment. Simple. Not a bad way to win a prize. Within a week the winner of the hidden prize will be announced here at Tree Hugging Family so check back often.

Also of note; did you know you have lots of chances to win great Blogtoberfest prizes? Today, October 12th, your chances (and prizes) are hiding at the following blogs:,Career and Kids, Inside Motherhood, One Book Two Book, and Parenting Tweens & Teens. Visit them all and leave a comment — you may win even more!

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

We had a long day and he’s tired thus kooky so…

Kooky Cedar tries to make the pumpkin look like his head…

Then he decides to draw the name upside down.

Pondering… the slip of paper.

And the winner is….

Woo Hoo or Woohoo (never quite sure if it’s together or apart) either way congratulations to Gudrun! Thanks to our amazing sponsor BabySakes, Tree Hugging Family will be awarding Gudrun with a beautiful keepsake album; School Days by Molly West Handbound Books.

Very nice. You can see a larger view and peak inside right here at BabySakes. This album is perfect for families who want to capture the school years from kindergarten through the 8th grade.

Special features include…

Spiral bound boutique memoir album designed with beautiful colors both inside and out. This album lies flat for easy recording and viewing. There are special spaces for noting teachers, activities, sports, signatures and a self portrait area, birthdays, vacations, holidays, favorites, goals and aspirations and areas for school photos.

Other great features include nine extra expanding pockets for report cards, awards, artwork, class photos, and more.

BabySakes is an adorable company that carries a huge array of unique baby albums, keepsake boxes, scrapbooks, photo frames and so much more. I’d absolutely check them out; get your holiday shopping done all at once this year. Many thanks to everyone who played and hugs to BabySakes for participating in b5media’s Blogtoberfest!

Gudrun; within the next few days you’ll receive an email with specific details about your prize.

The Family & Relationships Channel hopes that you adore this album as much as we do. With the holidays coming up this album would also make a perfect gift for a friend.

At first Cedar felt Gudrun deserved an okay sign…

Then I explained that there was a cool prize involved and he says, “Was my name in the pumpkin?” I said no; you didn’t leave a message at my blog but maybe the winner should still get at least a thumbs up. He says, “NO, the winner gets a scary Halloween face!”

And there you go. He meant to say congratulations.

Don’t forget there are more chances to win Blogtoberfest prizes all around the channel and right here at Tree Hugging Family so stick around.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Today you get me. I will not however post my picture because I’m no where near as cute as my son.

I randomly drew from our ten entries and the winner is….

Homemom3!!!

Thanks to Busy Body Books, Tree Hugging Family will be awarding Homemom3 with this great 2008 Zigzag BusyBodyBook Personal & Family Organizer. This is the perfect prize for busy families.

To see cool close-ups of this prize click here.

Along with great outer design features, Busy Body Books go above and beyond the norm to help you get organized. They offer a unique grid system that allows you to keep track of multiple tasks. Look at all of the great touches these organizers offer:

• “2 Monthly Planners
• One planner to record birthdays & anniversaries! Another to note next year’s appointments & future events.
• Months-at-a-glance
• An overview to help plan ahead for the holidays, vacations, or special events.
• Key contact pages
• 2 Pages for your emergency contact information, doctors, coaches, babysitters…
• Removable shopping lists
• Perforated pages for creating handy grocery or gift lists.
• 2 Pockets
• Inside front & back covers provide a deep pocket to hold important papers, receipts, coupons…
• Bookmark
• Easily flip to the current week with this unique bookmark that grabs the spiral.
• Notes
• A full page each week for notes, to do’s, lists, or alerts. Plenty of notes pages in back of BBB too to record and keep important information.”

Congratulations Homemom3; within the next few days you’ll receive an email with specific details about your prize. The Family & Relationships Channel hopes that you adore this organizer as much as we do. If you bought your organizer ahead of time this year it would also make a great holiday gift.

Thanks to everyone who played and great big hugs to Busy Body Books for participating in b5media’s Blogtoberfest!

Don’t forget there are more chances to win Blogtoberfest prizes all around the channel and right here at Tree Hugging Family so stick around.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

We have tons of great prizes to be given away. Prizes are available to U.S. and Canada residents unless otherwise noted.

You barely have to move to win; it’s easy:

1. Look for sponsored prize winning posts that feature the official Blogtoberfest button shown to the side.
2. Leave a comment on that post. You enter the contest with your comment.
3. Be sure to check back with that post throughout the following week to see what the prize is and if you’re the lucky winner.

Participating Blogs are:

• A Child Chosen
• Babylune
• Blog Fabulous
• Career and Kids
• Dating Dames
• GenBetween
• Inside Fatherhood
• Inside Motherhood
• Marriage Actually
• MyCrimeSpace
• One Book Two Book
• Our One Heart
• Parenting Tweens & Teens
• Play Library
• Psycho for Love
• Solo Mother
• Supernanny Rules
• Thrifty Mommy
• Widows Quest

AND Tree Hugging Family.

If you dash around the channel you might notice that this blog is not listed but be assured that I am playing so check here throughout the next two weeks for a chance to win.

Each blog (including this one) will be awarding at least three prizes each. So make sure to check back often so you don’t miss a single opportunity.

The best way to win is to subscribe to participating blogs and/or to check back often. That way you won’t miss a beat (or a prize).

Good Luck Tree Hugging Families!

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

The MOST EXCITING NEWS… Is the great Family and Relationships Channel Blogtoberfest! Learn all the juicy detail AND see some of the amazing prizes up for grabs right smack here.

Next up is the news that my great pal Julie has taken over as the blogger at Play Library. Julie is the perfect person to keep this already awesome blog going strong so why not go show her some welcome love and while you’re there you can learn about some of the best toys, games, books, and ideas for fun around.

Ooooo something so fly is next… We have two new blogs! I’m excited about both but almost out of my head over one of them called One Book Two Book I collect books. I have since I was a kid and this great blog will cover children’s literature. How cool is that. I LOVE kids books — my son already has a huge collection so between the two of us we could open our own bookstore.

Our other new blog will be equally as stellar for many families.

A Child Chosen provide a community base and reliable information resource for anyone considering or going through the adoptions process. This blog should be amazing because Marcie Pickelsimer a new blogger here, has personal insight into the adoption journey. This is such an important topic for children who need loving homes and the families who go through the process so check it out.

Stop by all the above links; read about the contest and welcome our new channel bloggers. They are all amazing.

Lastly, I’ll have some new tree hugging minded posts up again regularly starting tonight so look for those and thanks for sticking around while I packed, moved, and unpacked.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

If you shouted “YES!” then this could be just what you need. Our lovely channel editor Gayla, wrote out all the nitty gritty details about how to get noticed on our channel by readers everywhere.

Here’s the 411 on Blogtoberfest:

“During the month of October, we’ll be hosting our first ever Family and Relationships Channel Blogtoberfest.

We’re planning to run this event for approximately two weeks during the month of October (or until the prizes run out). And during that two weeks, we’ll be giving away some amazing prizes.

We’ve already come up with a few prizes of our own by way of previous product reviews, public relations contacts and more to give to readers but would like to supplement them with some other prizes and gifts from sponsors interested in being a part of this event where they could get a little attention and we can reward our loyal readers.

If you’d like to participate by offering a prize (in return for a little publicity throughout our channel) please email me with the following information in the following format:

1. email gayla AT b5media DOT com (substitute AT and DOT with the appropriate @ and .)
2. make the subject line ‘BLOGTOBERFEST PRIZE’
3. describe the prize you would like to offer (what is it and it’s value)
4. include a link to the prize if you have one – if not, a company website would be fine.
5. include your name, the link to the site you’d like us to link to in return for your prize and a graphic you’d like us to use along with your mention.

NOTE: While we would like to include as many prizes as possible – however, we won’t be able to accept every offer for whatever reason. We’d like to encourage prizes that are in line with at least one of our blogs content – so our readers will benefit the fullest from their participation.

Also note that our channel has an international audience and prizes need to be able to be received by readers around the world so please factor in that you’ll need to pay for any shipping if it’s won by an international reader unless otherwise specified or earmarked for specific distribution only.

Prize submissions will be accepted until Friday September 28th.

Prize Suggestions: Cash or gift certificates are always a plus, gadgets and random fun things. Electronics, books, memberships, toys and just about anything that is “suitable” to at least one of our blogs.

We’d rather keep this event unique, so things like ‘hosting packages’, services and ‘ebooks’ aren’t going to exactly be relevant to participants. The more fun and creative the contribution the better (and value is a real plus).

What do you get in return?

You’ll be getting promotion in return for your prize on a number of pages/posts throughout the entire channel that yields a high number of visitors daily and monthly. Historically, once a contest of this magnitude is underway, you’ll probably get linked to from other blogs also as these events cause quite a stir around the blogosphere.

The better the prize the more attention you’ll get!”

Sounds great to me. If I had a family friendly product to advertise I’d hit it.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family