We are celebrating low-key at our house this year. Basically small cards for the girls and dh, small bags of chocolate for the girls and one solid chocolate hammer for dh. I'm making tacos for dinner because everyone will eat them and even go back for more! I'll also bake 2 large heart shaped chocolate chip cookies and frost them with homemade pink icing - one for our dessert and one for our closest friend's and their girls. And I'm making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.
Mostly, I plan on taking extra time to hug and kiss my girls because I can. They are here, healthy and so very sweet and happy. I plan to enjoy every moment of that today because today is a gift that I don't want to miss!
Remember to recycle your cards instead of throwing them away - they make cute gift boxes!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Eco friendly alternatives to the same old, same old
As I've mentioned (at least once or twice LOL), we are gearing up to finish our basement space. It is going to be quite the family area complete with a wet bar (dh's baby). While the wet bar isn't exactly kid-friendly, it will have some kid-friendly features (like plastic barware, popcorn popper and sparkling juices). But I digress...
We stumbled across some really great counters during our search. We are looking at Silestone because we would like to replace the kitchen countertops in the future as well. DH mentioned that he saw countertops that mimic granite but were actually recycled metals. He found the website and we looked at them last night. He is going to talk to the receptionist at the architectural firm in his building today to see how they are holding up after use (we want to make sure they don't scratch easily). If they are holding up and not scratching every time she moves something, we are going to seriously consider them. It turns out that they roughly cost what Silestone would cost... so this may turn out to be a total no-brainer!!! Fingers crossed :)
The flooring around the bar will be a "hardwood". I've decided to check out eco friendly flooring as well and have started my search. Since this is a basement I'm not sure what we can use. But here is one site that I'm looking at (bonus - owned by a woman!). I'm leaning toward cork for the bar area. I have to figure out the bathroom space too. That leaves me with carpet. Not bad for one morning's work!
More later...
We stumbled across some really great counters during our search. We are looking at Silestone because we would like to replace the kitchen countertops in the future as well. DH mentioned that he saw countertops that mimic granite but were actually recycled metals. He found the website and we looked at them last night. He is going to talk to the receptionist at the architectural firm in his building today to see how they are holding up after use (we want to make sure they don't scratch easily). If they are holding up and not scratching every time she moves something, we are going to seriously consider them. It turns out that they roughly cost what Silestone would cost... so this may turn out to be a total no-brainer!!! Fingers crossed :)
The flooring around the bar will be a "hardwood". I've decided to check out eco friendly flooring as well and have started my search. Since this is a basement I'm not sure what we can use. But here is one site that I'm looking at (bonus - owned by a woman!). I'm leaning toward cork for the bar area. I have to figure out the bathroom space too. That leaves me with carpet. Not bad for one morning's work!
More later...
Friday, February 8, 2008
Eating organic frugally
Does this sound like an oxymoron to you? It does to me after a trip to the store! I've been doing some research on doing this frugally (because my food budget needs to shrink a bit) and thought I would share what I've found. If it helps just one person... well you know the rest :)
Here is a great article about buying organic foods on a budget - 10 Ways to Buy Organic Food on the Cheap.
Here are some coupon sites that look legit and may even be helpful!
- Organic Valley - This one has serious potential for saving me some money!
- Stonyfield Farm - This one requires your email address.
- Organiccoupons.org
- Organic Consumers Association
- Santa Cruz Organic - we love their juices and juice spritzers!
- This one has a list of a large number of links to more coupons.
Happy shopping! Next week I plan to share information about affordable organic cleaners... more to come!
Here is a great article about buying organic foods on a budget - 10 Ways to Buy Organic Food on the Cheap.
Here are some coupon sites that look legit and may even be helpful!
- Organic Valley - This one has serious potential for saving me some money!
- Stonyfield Farm - This one requires your email address.
- Organiccoupons.org
- Organic Consumers Association
- Santa Cruz Organic - we love their juices and juice spritzers!
- This one has a list of a large number of links to more coupons.
Happy shopping! Next week I plan to share information about affordable organic cleaners... more to come!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Idle free zones
As I was surfing different living an organic, frugal and/or simple life sites, I stumbled on information about idle free zones at school. This is something that I haven't given much thought to until my kids became car riders. I thought I'd share some of what I learned here because it is important!
(This is from a fact/myth publication from AirQ at www.marc.org/airQ):
Idling on a warm day with the air conditioning on burns even more fuel than idling without AC. On an 88-degree day, your car probably uses about one-quarter gallon of fuel in 30 minutes — or about 75 cents at a fuel cost of $3 per gallon. If you were to idle for a total of 30 minutes every weekday for one year, you’d be spending nearly $200 on gasoline that’s not taking you anywhere. Gloves, warm/cold drinks and personal fans can all help make you comfortable without costing you money.
Vehicle emissions are a major contributor to air pollution, and idling can produce more pollution per minute than driving. Studies have linked various types of vehicle emissions to asthma symptoms, cardiopulmonary disease, lung cancer and other causes of death. Ground-level ozone, which is caused by a reaction between two exhaust byproducts, has been associated with eye, nose and throat irritation and, in higher concentrations, asthma, bronchitis, increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, and decreased lung function. Children are even more vulnerable to air pollution than adults because they breathe much more air per pound of body weight and their respiratory defenses are not fully developed.
Sign me up! I'll be turning off my engine when sitting in the car rider line... now I need to figure out how to sell my school district on this idea!!!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
February goals
I can't believe it is already February 6! I thought I should sit down and get my goals down before the month ends!
1. Put $120 into savings (this is what we did spend on our cleaning service).
2. Have contractor give us a bid to finish basement, stop stressing and freaking out about said bid and set date to start the construction.
3. Finish clearing out the basement (this includes stuff that we'll move back in after construction - price is cheaper if they work in an empty basement).
4. Move tax return to savings minus $300 to pay for my girls' weekend.
5. Wrap up monthly budget on 2/15 and face the facts :)
6. Spend final 2 weeks of February reminding myself of why we are sticking to a budget (this means more savings, less home equity credit to finish the basement, living without added stress) and do it!
7. Bring a well planned list to owner appreciation day at my local co op (we get 10% off that day instead of our normal 3% as owners) and do not buy anything that is not on that list!
8. Keep kids' play dates under control - say no if it will cause us to feel rushed at all.
9. Begin cleaning out my closet (it is the dumping ground for everything right now - this will have to wait until we finish clearing out the basement).
10. Plan 1 family fun activity every weekend - it should be simple and free
Wish me luck!
1. Put $120 into savings (this is what we did spend on our cleaning service).
2. Have contractor give us a bid to finish basement, stop stressing and freaking out about said bid and set date to start the construction.
3. Finish clearing out the basement (this includes stuff that we'll move back in after construction - price is cheaper if they work in an empty basement).
4. Move tax return to savings minus $300 to pay for my girls' weekend.
5. Wrap up monthly budget on 2/15 and face the facts :)
6. Spend final 2 weeks of February reminding myself of why we are sticking to a budget (this means more savings, less home equity credit to finish the basement, living without added stress) and do it!
7. Bring a well planned list to owner appreciation day at my local co op (we get 10% off that day instead of our normal 3% as owners) and do not buy anything that is not on that list!
8. Keep kids' play dates under control - say no if it will cause us to feel rushed at all.
9. Begin cleaning out my closet (it is the dumping ground for everything right now - this will have to wait until we finish clearing out the basement).
10. Plan 1 family fun activity every weekend - it should be simple and free
Wish me luck!
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