I don't really know how to bait my breath, but none the less I am waiting eagerly. Vanilla is on his way home. After about three weeks without a day off, I finally have him for an evening. We are going out for our "around Valentine's Day dinner."
Very excited!!!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
And, and, and....
I was just looking through some older posts and realized that I dedicated a lot of time to a certain set of books. I have failed to bring to everyone's attention that a couple of months ago, I discovered a new set of books.
From a boy wizard to a sparkling Vampire.. what a trend.
If you get a chance, it's definately worth the read!
Flip with Fangs
From a boy wizard to a sparkling Vampire.. what a trend.
If you get a chance, it's definately worth the read!
Flip with Fangs
Go Green!!!
Not many people know me as a hard core environmentalist, but in a way I am. One thing that anyone who knows me understands is that I abhor litterbugs. I don't want the Indian guy to cry, but I will make you cry if you throw that out the window!!!
Well, after the President's Speech last night, I decided that I would share some of my own Earth Friendly Ways. Some of you may be surprised. What may not be as surprising is that many of these offer ways to hold on to your moolah. As Flip Flop and Vanilla are putting every cent we have towards the never-ending debt we have accrued, it makes "cents" that I try to save the pennies we do have.
Let's start with WATER!! Over 85% of the surface of Earth is covered in this liquid so many take it for granted. But we have to preserve it.
There was a time when I used to hit the bottle pretty heavy. Yes, that's right, Spring Water was my crutch. Eventually I graduated to washing those cute little plastic bottles and refilling them. Today, I am happy to say that I am totally recovered. A glass, some ice and some refreshing tap water is all I need to take the edge off that forceful thirst.
Now, I know that it can be a long journey to get to this point, so here's a few tips to help. If you do use the bottle to drown your sorrow (or laziness), put them in the dishwater and reuse them. You can even wash the little caps. I always filled a bowl with hot, soapy water and let them soak. If that's not good enough for some of you germaphobes, then you can always purchase those little plastic things that go in the dishwasher to wash baby bottle parts.
If the idea of drinking tap water is what's driving you to the bottle, go out and invest in a filtered water pitcher.
If you just can't tear yourself away from the little plastic vessels and find that you have them all over the house with just a little bit of warm, unappetizing water left in them, don't pour them down the sink. Here's a couple of options.
Water your plants, indoors or out.
Use the water for the initial rinsing out of the coffee pot
Ok, so most of that was about plastic. I'll get back to the subject of water.
Vanilla is not as Eco-minded as I am and is always wondering why, after brushing his teeth, the sink is filled to the rim with toothpaste tinted aqua.
I on the other hand, have learned to turn the water off for the duration of the tooth-cleansing process. If I do need to turn it on, a small trickle will eventually rinse the brush out just fine.
The same concept can be applied to hand washing. It doesn't take the full force of the faucet to rinse those hands.
Staying in the bathroom, here are some ideas that may not be so easy to digest.
I heard many, many, many years ago that putting a brick in the toilet tank can save water. It's takes up space and less water is needed to fill the tank. I grew up in a house with a fickle septic tank and was never allowed to try this out, but if you just want to experiment, try a medium sized rock, over time you could save a dime!!
This next one is not so easy to discuss, but I will use a line from a Ben Stiller Movie.
If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down.
I am home a lot and make frequent trips to the restroom. I try to save a couple of flushes when I can. I'm no plumbing expert, but if you have a two-gallon tank and save just one flush a day, you will, not can, will save 730 gallons of water a year. Think about that!
Now, let's go back to hand washing. When at home, dry your hands with a dishtowel. You will save hundreds and hundreds of paper towels.
Utilizing public utilities can get a little trickier. Now the most earth friendly way of drying your hands in this situation is to wipe them off on the seat of your pants.
Depending on your day's fashion choices this may not be an option.
I have often wondered, and I am not kidding, I have spent so much time thinking about this that I actually looked it up, what is better, a paper towel or the hand dryer.
Both use electricity. (Paper towels aren't just plucked off the branches of a tree and well, electricity runs the hand dryer).
Paper towels are produced. Gas powered equipment is used to cut down the tree. Gas powered trucks are used to haul the trees to ... somewhere... The pulp is then driven from whatever place makes pulp to a factory. The factory uses electricity to make the paper towels. The towels are driven to stores and are then driven again to your favorite public restroom.
After usage, the towels are discarded and thrown into plastic trash bags. They are then driven to a landfill.
The traditional hand dryer doesn't use much electricity, but that seems to be changing. The high powered dryers of today seem to want to take the skin off your hand as much as the water. Here's the good news about these machines. They are motion activated and don't run as long as the old one's. They do however turn on every time you walk by them.
Personally, I'm a seat of the pants type of gal, but I will cheat on occasion, when the need to have a buffer between my fingers and the door handles requires a paper towel.
See, there's a lot to think about here.. Bet ya'll didn't think I thought about these things.
Since your out in the public, you may need to stop at an ATM. Press "No Receipt." If everyone rejected that little piece of paper, in one year, we would save enough receipt paper to wrap around the earth 11 times. I read that a while back, so my mileage may not be spot on.
Plus, I spent half an hour today changing the receipt paper in the ATM at the bank and it's a pain in the rear.
Paper or Plastic. All I know is that I have a closet full of plastic bags that I can't remember to take to the store (My local recyclers won't take them). I use them as trash can liners in the bathroom, the occasional lunch bag, packing material and other odds and ends. I have stopped collecting so many lately because I now have the world's coolest collection of reusable grocery bags. These things are great! Not only am I using less plastic, but they hold so much more stuff and are so much easier to carry up the stairs. Besides that's less supplies that Target has to purchase and eventually those savings come back to the consumer. Win, Win.
Since we are at Target, let's go down the aisle with the reusable containers. Forget all the Ziploc bags. I have had Tupperware-esque dishes since college that are still going strong!
Also, ditch the soda aisle and grab some drink mixes. Currently, I am a fan of Pink Lemonade and Peach Tea. You can save a ton of money and there won't be all those cans lying all over the house. I even recycle the little plastic cups the mixes come in.
By a coffee pot while you are there and don't forget the reusable filter. Talk about saving money. Your local coffee house will miss you, but those wax cups they use don't recycle. If you just can't stay away, the paper sleeve around the cup and the lid can go in the blue bin.
You can also visit the hardware aisle and buy some of those cool shaped eco-friendly light bulbs. Be wary though. I have read that you really aren't helping much with these unless you properly recycle them. I probably should have read the whole article, because I don't know where you are supposed to take them. Neither do the guys at Target by the way.
So we've driven to the grocery store and stopped at the ATM. How did we get there. We used gas. Everyone is feeling this pressure directly in their wallet. Here's some ways to save at the pump. First of all, don't drive like Vanilla. Second, get your oil and filters changed regularly, it's good for the car too. Here's one that you may not have already heard. Empty the trunk. All that junk you've got back there that you are just too lazy to go store in the garage, TAKE IT OUT. The extra weight in the vehicle makes your car work harder. I have heard that removing the spare tire can help dramatically, but even I am not ready for that move!
Let's go back home. Did you leave your ceiling fan on while you were out? Um, it's not cooling anyone off if they are not in the room. Turn off the fans in rooms that aren't being used. If you need to go in there, you can always turn it back on. I have heard that if you have multiple fans in your home, just doing this can save $4 to $7 a month on your electric bill.
Living in Florida I know that there is a time for the A/C. Don't turn it off when you go to work, but instead, just turn the thermostat up a few degrees. The house will be cool when you get home, and the unit won't have to work as hard as it would if had been off all day.
It gets cold here too. So invest in some fuzzy socks and a sweater. I have found that if this doesn't work, I can turn on the heater just for a few minutes to take the chill out of the house. This usually lasts for the whole day. Results may vary of course.
One last thing on today's rant.
Online statements. Almost everyone, from credit cards to banks to utilities, offer online statements. Not only will you save paper, but so will the people that you are paying. Once again, by cutting down on their supplies and stamps, you may end up passing the savings onto yourself. Don't worry though, most of these companies offer the ability to look up any month's statement so that you can print it out if you find yourself in need of it!
Well, I had thought about many more things, but they are slipping out of my head and this has gone on long enough for one day.. Ghost Hunters is on..
If I come up with more, I will let you know.
Just remember, don't be like Vanilla.
Reuse, Recycle,
Flip Flop
Well, after the President's Speech last night, I decided that I would share some of my own Earth Friendly Ways. Some of you may be surprised. What may not be as surprising is that many of these offer ways to hold on to your moolah. As Flip Flop and Vanilla are putting every cent we have towards the never-ending debt we have accrued, it makes "cents" that I try to save the pennies we do have.
Let's start with WATER!! Over 85% of the surface of Earth is covered in this liquid so many take it for granted. But we have to preserve it.
There was a time when I used to hit the bottle pretty heavy. Yes, that's right, Spring Water was my crutch. Eventually I graduated to washing those cute little plastic bottles and refilling them. Today, I am happy to say that I am totally recovered. A glass, some ice and some refreshing tap water is all I need to take the edge off that forceful thirst.
Now, I know that it can be a long journey to get to this point, so here's a few tips to help. If you do use the bottle to drown your sorrow (or laziness), put them in the dishwater and reuse them. You can even wash the little caps. I always filled a bowl with hot, soapy water and let them soak. If that's not good enough for some of you germaphobes, then you can always purchase those little plastic things that go in the dishwasher to wash baby bottle parts.
If the idea of drinking tap water is what's driving you to the bottle, go out and invest in a filtered water pitcher.
If you just can't tear yourself away from the little plastic vessels and find that you have them all over the house with just a little bit of warm, unappetizing water left in them, don't pour them down the sink. Here's a couple of options.
Water your plants, indoors or out.
Use the water for the initial rinsing out of the coffee pot
Ok, so most of that was about plastic. I'll get back to the subject of water.
Vanilla is not as Eco-minded as I am and is always wondering why, after brushing his teeth, the sink is filled to the rim with toothpaste tinted aqua.
I on the other hand, have learned to turn the water off for the duration of the tooth-cleansing process. If I do need to turn it on, a small trickle will eventually rinse the brush out just fine.
The same concept can be applied to hand washing. It doesn't take the full force of the faucet to rinse those hands.
Staying in the bathroom, here are some ideas that may not be so easy to digest.
I heard many, many, many years ago that putting a brick in the toilet tank can save water. It's takes up space and less water is needed to fill the tank. I grew up in a house with a fickle septic tank and was never allowed to try this out, but if you just want to experiment, try a medium sized rock, over time you could save a dime!!
This next one is not so easy to discuss, but I will use a line from a Ben Stiller Movie.
If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down.
I am home a lot and make frequent trips to the restroom. I try to save a couple of flushes when I can. I'm no plumbing expert, but if you have a two-gallon tank and save just one flush a day, you will, not can, will save 730 gallons of water a year. Think about that!
Now, let's go back to hand washing. When at home, dry your hands with a dishtowel. You will save hundreds and hundreds of paper towels.
Utilizing public utilities can get a little trickier. Now the most earth friendly way of drying your hands in this situation is to wipe them off on the seat of your pants.
Depending on your day's fashion choices this may not be an option.
I have often wondered, and I am not kidding, I have spent so much time thinking about this that I actually looked it up, what is better, a paper towel or the hand dryer.
Both use electricity. (Paper towels aren't just plucked off the branches of a tree and well, electricity runs the hand dryer).
Paper towels are produced. Gas powered equipment is used to cut down the tree. Gas powered trucks are used to haul the trees to ... somewhere... The pulp is then driven from whatever place makes pulp to a factory. The factory uses electricity to make the paper towels. The towels are driven to stores and are then driven again to your favorite public restroom.
After usage, the towels are discarded and thrown into plastic trash bags. They are then driven to a landfill.
The traditional hand dryer doesn't use much electricity, but that seems to be changing. The high powered dryers of today seem to want to take the skin off your hand as much as the water. Here's the good news about these machines. They are motion activated and don't run as long as the old one's. They do however turn on every time you walk by them.
Personally, I'm a seat of the pants type of gal, but I will cheat on occasion, when the need to have a buffer between my fingers and the door handles requires a paper towel.
See, there's a lot to think about here.. Bet ya'll didn't think I thought about these things.
Since your out in the public, you may need to stop at an ATM. Press "No Receipt." If everyone rejected that little piece of paper, in one year, we would save enough receipt paper to wrap around the earth 11 times. I read that a while back, so my mileage may not be spot on.
Plus, I spent half an hour today changing the receipt paper in the ATM at the bank and it's a pain in the rear.
Paper or Plastic. All I know is that I have a closet full of plastic bags that I can't remember to take to the store (My local recyclers won't take them). I use them as trash can liners in the bathroom, the occasional lunch bag, packing material and other odds and ends. I have stopped collecting so many lately because I now have the world's coolest collection of reusable grocery bags. These things are great! Not only am I using less plastic, but they hold so much more stuff and are so much easier to carry up the stairs. Besides that's less supplies that Target has to purchase and eventually those savings come back to the consumer. Win, Win.
Since we are at Target, let's go down the aisle with the reusable containers. Forget all the Ziploc bags. I have had Tupperware-esque dishes since college that are still going strong!
Also, ditch the soda aisle and grab some drink mixes. Currently, I am a fan of Pink Lemonade and Peach Tea. You can save a ton of money and there won't be all those cans lying all over the house. I even recycle the little plastic cups the mixes come in.
By a coffee pot while you are there and don't forget the reusable filter. Talk about saving money. Your local coffee house will miss you, but those wax cups they use don't recycle. If you just can't stay away, the paper sleeve around the cup and the lid can go in the blue bin.
You can also visit the hardware aisle and buy some of those cool shaped eco-friendly light bulbs. Be wary though. I have read that you really aren't helping much with these unless you properly recycle them. I probably should have read the whole article, because I don't know where you are supposed to take them. Neither do the guys at Target by the way.
So we've driven to the grocery store and stopped at the ATM. How did we get there. We used gas. Everyone is feeling this pressure directly in their wallet. Here's some ways to save at the pump. First of all, don't drive like Vanilla. Second, get your oil and filters changed regularly, it's good for the car too. Here's one that you may not have already heard. Empty the trunk. All that junk you've got back there that you are just too lazy to go store in the garage, TAKE IT OUT. The extra weight in the vehicle makes your car work harder. I have heard that removing the spare tire can help dramatically, but even I am not ready for that move!
Let's go back home. Did you leave your ceiling fan on while you were out? Um, it's not cooling anyone off if they are not in the room. Turn off the fans in rooms that aren't being used. If you need to go in there, you can always turn it back on. I have heard that if you have multiple fans in your home, just doing this can save $4 to $7 a month on your electric bill.
Living in Florida I know that there is a time for the A/C. Don't turn it off when you go to work, but instead, just turn the thermostat up a few degrees. The house will be cool when you get home, and the unit won't have to work as hard as it would if had been off all day.
It gets cold here too. So invest in some fuzzy socks and a sweater. I have found that if this doesn't work, I can turn on the heater just for a few minutes to take the chill out of the house. This usually lasts for the whole day. Results may vary of course.
One last thing on today's rant.
Online statements. Almost everyone, from credit cards to banks to utilities, offer online statements. Not only will you save paper, but so will the people that you are paying. Once again, by cutting down on their supplies and stamps, you may end up passing the savings onto yourself. Don't worry though, most of these companies offer the ability to look up any month's statement so that you can print it out if you find yourself in need of it!
Well, I had thought about many more things, but they are slipping out of my head and this has gone on long enough for one day.. Ghost Hunters is on..
If I come up with more, I will let you know.
Just remember, don't be like Vanilla.
Reuse, Recycle,
Flip Flop
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Oy, Oy, Oy
Ugh, Ugh, and more Ugh..
So, this new job is CRAZY! My new workplace is incredibly busy and my new employees, while nice enough and competent, need a lot of attention. When I started there, I thought "how nice it will be to work around the corner and get home before the 5 o'clock news.
HA!!!
Even though this bank closes at the same time as the island bank and I live less than 10 minutes away, I haven't been able to leave before 5:30 or 6.
While my overtime pay will be appreciated, I am waiting for the slap on the wrist for obtaining so much overtime.
Oh well, hopefully it will smooth itself out eventually.
In other news....
I blew up my car.
YAY!!!!!!
I am now even more in debt now, but I am actually excited about it. I love my new car!!!
It's RAD!
Your New Car Owner,
Flip Flop
So, this new job is CRAZY! My new workplace is incredibly busy and my new employees, while nice enough and competent, need a lot of attention. When I started there, I thought "how nice it will be to work around the corner and get home before the 5 o'clock news.
HA!!!
Even though this bank closes at the same time as the island bank and I live less than 10 minutes away, I haven't been able to leave before 5:30 or 6.
While my overtime pay will be appreciated, I am waiting for the slap on the wrist for obtaining so much overtime.
Oh well, hopefully it will smooth itself out eventually.
In other news....
I blew up my car.
YAY!!!!!!
I am now even more in debt now, but I am actually excited about it. I love my new car!!!
It's RAD!
Your New Car Owner,
Flip Flop
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Hello, Hello, Hello...
Hopefully there is still someone out there. I know I have been absent for a while, but I have a good excuse. Well, several small excuses that if you stacked them on top of one another they would be a giant pile of excuses.
First on the list is that I started a new job yesterday. It's really the same job just at a different location. I have exerted quite a bit of energy preparing the previous branch for my absence, while at the same time mentally preparing myself for the new place. So far, I am still alive.
Second, I have been concentrating my creative efforts into a new task. I am writing a book! It's sort of for fun, but secretly I am hoping that it will be really good and publishers will be calling me offering me million dollar checks.
The few people I have told seem to immediately ask what the book is about. Don't ask, I don't know yet. I am just writing. I will let everyone know when I get that first check though.
I hope all is well with everyone, I will check in soon.
Later,
Flippy
Hopefully there is still someone out there. I know I have been absent for a while, but I have a good excuse. Well, several small excuses that if you stacked them on top of one another they would be a giant pile of excuses.
First on the list is that I started a new job yesterday. It's really the same job just at a different location. I have exerted quite a bit of energy preparing the previous branch for my absence, while at the same time mentally preparing myself for the new place. So far, I am still alive.
Second, I have been concentrating my creative efforts into a new task. I am writing a book! It's sort of for fun, but secretly I am hoping that it will be really good and publishers will be calling me offering me million dollar checks.
The few people I have told seem to immediately ask what the book is about. Don't ask, I don't know yet. I am just writing. I will let everyone know when I get that first check though.
I hope all is well with everyone, I will check in soon.
Later,
Flippy
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