Death or Taxes

So being "in the green" (kind of like being in the know) makes me re-think how I do many things in life. There are so many things in my life that I've changed since I started learning about ways to be environmentally friendly.
For instance, I no longer use paper towels at home. I use rags and dishcloths to wipe up spills or dry my hands. It's actually turned out to be easier than using paper towels. I just throw the dirty ones in with the wash and all is right in the world. I turn off the water when I brush my teeth. While this seems like such a minor change, it saves about 2 gallons of water every time you brush. Try it and you'll be glad you did with all the money you'll save on your water bills. I think the biggest change though has been the I no longer use plastic bags from the grocery store. In fact, I no longer use bags from any store. That's not to say that it doesn't happen occasionally, but I try my hardest to never use a bag if I can carry things myself or to just bring my own. Besides, I absolutely love bags and that gives me chance to make my own or buy cool ones. Below is a bag that I created from an old Wild Oats bag that I got for free. I had a few of them and decided to dress it up a bit.



All this got me to thinking about something that the progressive state of California does. The San Francisco Plastic Bag Ban has started a ripple effect in many cities throughout the United States as well as many other countries in the world. Now, California is even trying to pass the California Bag Tax where every resident will have to pay 25 cents for every plastic bag they use. That's what I consider environmentally friendly! Other countries, like Germany have long been a head of the curve on this one and I think it's only a matter of time before our whole country is doing the same thing.
I find this very inspiring and it even makes me wonder if this is something my city could do. Maybe I'll look into it and see what it would take to get this ball rolling. Until then, consider bringing your own bags to the grocery store. You'll be happy you did because you won't have to worry about all those plastic bags hanging around your place.

A bit 'o fun.

So, I found this fabulous video. This is sound advice, so listen up.



Romantic Picnic

Appreciate your employees

Clearly, working in a toys store has it's perks. I will prevail the next time we drag race!



I'm pretty sure associates aren't supposed to beat their managers while racing.

Lovin' the 80s

So, the other day I went on this kick for finding fabulous 80s music. I know, it's kind of an oxymoron, but I couldn't stop myself. Thankfully, I got a new iPod touch a few days ago and I can rock out to Van Halen, The Steve Miller Band, Def Leopard, and every other fabulous band you can think of. But personally, thinking of the 80s also gets me thinking of 80s movies. I mean, who doesn't love every Michael J. Fox movie out there? Seriously? Don't lie, because you know you like them all and they all have some kind of a music montage. Thanks to a little online quiz I found out some interesting news about my tastes.

Your 80s Hunk Is

Michael J. Fox

Who's Your 80s Hunk?

Sigh....dreamy.

HIYAH!!

I bet you didn't know that $5.00 could get you Karate Kid and bandana! That is how cool that movie is because the bandana is a bonus! I've become really good at karate chopping, too. Watch out!

Snippets of Life

So, it's been ages since I've posted on here. Life has caught up with me and my rechargeable batteries have died. The combination of the two of those things has caused me not to post for some time. Plus, I haven't done any crafty projects worth posting.
I'm pretty sure I have "memorabilia" and I'd like to spread it around a bit to everyone. Hopefully, you won't be to averse to the remnants of my past because I plan on posting random excerpts of my life in pictures. I'm thinking I should have a specific day of the week where I post pictures from my past. I think Mondays are going to be the best day of the week to share with all of you (all three of you who actually read my blog) and a way to keep me posting regularly.

That's my Big, Jen. Yes, that's some Mike's in my hand.

Obviously, we were all having a good time. This was just a little pre-party partying going on. Gotta love when the ladies party.

Jen, me, and Laura. I think we were definitely ready to go at this point.

Gotta love college memories.

Courtesy of Dad

Every now and again I like to remind people where I get my personality, character, strong will, intelligence, and my humor from. The following is an email I received from my father regarding the upcoming Earth Day on April 22nd. If you are a friend of the environment, you might find this offensive. If, however, you are a friend of the environment that has a great sense of humor, you'll laugh your ass off after reading this. :) Enjoy.

"Beff / Brad -

Yes, yes, yes, it's happening yet again - April 22nd. This year, to celebrate we've decided to host a neighborhood party. We'll be having Surf and Turf dinner (whale and American Buffalo) and for those would rather eat feathered friends we, of course, will have the standard Bald Eagle stew.

For those who want to just eat and not stay at the party we will be offering take home in the re heatable throw away virgin plastic containers.

A campfire will be held later in the evening using imported Rain Forest Trees and the fire will be use refined imported crude oil for the kindling.

To make sure we have enough room for everyone we will of course cut down all those American Chestnut and Elm trees that have been in the backyard for the last 75 to 100 years and will also use them in the bonfire. The paving company will be able to asphalt the area well before time for the party kick off.

Special parking areas will be set aside for those who drive Hummers - like the Smiths and Jones families that live about a half mile away. Ron Smith has offered to pipe in the music from his Bose speakers mounted in his Hummer and will keep the vehicle idling and in park so that the battery doesn't drain.

Glacier water drinks are available to all in the clear plastic bottles. Norm Jones is having them flown in by helicopter during the event and will bring in one case at a time so that we can have an opportunity to take pictures.

For those of you who get overheated by the bon fire we will set up a tent with air conditioners - keeping the main flap open so that you can enjoy the fire of course.

And for those of you who still get a slight chill in the evening we will have the white leopard skin throws that Arthur Jones shot this year on safari. (if you remember how much you liked the white tiger skins you will find these even more enjoyable.)

Remember, through your generosity and contributions, last year's event hosted by the Warners' raised over $12 which was given to that guy who stands at our Interstate entrance with the sign that says, "Army Vet".

Hope you can make it.

Love,
Your Nature Loving Dad"

I found this.....

I was trying to create a playlist for my iPod that I could exercise to and I realized there were still a ton of songs that I had no idea who sung them. So I was listening to the song lyrics and typing them into Ask Jeeves.com and I came across this particular blog posting. I thought it was rather humorous and I'm sure you'll be able to tell what genre of music I can't remember any of the artists' names.

http://poplicks.com/2006/09/do-not-get-your-freak-on.html

:)

USPS

Today, I went to the post office. I sent the first of what will be many packages to my brother in Iraq. I put some fun things in it too and part of it was going to be posted on this blog, but I can't figure out how to convert my file. I did, however, receive a lecture from the postal worker today. He told me I couldn't cover up and reuse a priority box because it's a service that the post office provides for people. My box was covered in brown paper and the original box wasn't even showing. I assume he guessed that the box was a priority box which is why he asked. Hmmm.......so I'm not allowed to REUSE this box for whatever I want? He said that my package would be mailed priority anyway and that was my only option for mailing to an APO address. So I'm still confused what difference that makes. He even put a priority mail sticker on my package after I filled out the white form. He proceeded to tell me that I only pay for the shipping to New York and that the military pays the shipping to actually get it to my brother. Isn't the Army paid from government funds? Do I pay taxes? THEN I AM PAYING FOR THE SHIPPING TO IRAQ AND THE BOX IT'S BEING SHPPED IN!!! I OWN THAT BOX!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel better now.

Please excuse my outburst. No pictures are accompanying this blog, but next time I hope to have figured out how to post a video from my computer. I will figure out how to convert the file to be viewable by all. For now, thanks for listening. Oh, and I might start podcasting soon if anyone would like to hear my voice. ;)

I'm so ashamed!

Obviously, I have been M.I.A. from the blogging world. I haven't felt like I've had anything blog worthy recently. Also, I don't like that the pictures I post online are not quality. I have a nice "aim and shoot" digital camera, but it doesn't take the quality of pictures that I want to present on a blog. I want to commit myself to blogging regularly, but let me tell you that that can be a chore.

Does anyone ever feel that way? I want to write and post pictures, but I don't want it to be uninteresting. Maybe I should be thinking about what I really want to accomplish with this blog. Do I want this to be a medium by which people can keep up with my life? Do I want this to be a form of story telling? Do I want this to be the means by which I can develop myself as a person? Maybe this can be all these things, but I just can't seem to focus on one thought. Recently, I've felt like I can't seem to focus myself on one task. Not that I've ever been good at focusing on one thing at a time, but I feel more scatter brained than ever. It's kind of frustrating as I have a lot going on and my list never seems to end.

So, I must pose a question to you guys. How do you keep things organized in your life? Do you consciously tell yourself to pick up the clothes from the floor? Do you send out bill payments as soon as the bill arrives? Do you divvy up tasks to people in your household? Are things written down anywhere? Do you utilize calendars or date books?

I'm just curious to know if there's a system that I can easily put into place because I seem to always be behind. So far, the best that I have is a great spreadsheet on Excel that my husband uses to budget our finances. I'm thinking I need to make checklists for everything else, too. It might sound silly, but I'm a very visual person and having very strict guidelines (in some instances) are very helpful. Let me know what you guys do as anything might help me out.

What Is Your Excuse?

Seriously? What's your excuse? My excuse is that I'm going to stick to my New Year's resolution. I've never really had one and this year I have two.

1. Own a home (big step)
2. Start my own business on Etsy.