Ball gown gloves

That's what she said they were. She was playing with her ink pads and stamps. It goes all the way up to her elbows. No, that is not a bruise on her face. Maybe she will be a make-up designer for the movies?

Riot to Austerity

I realize I've never really talked about this group on the blog. It is a Yahoo group of people who are working towards reducing their impact on the Earth. The goal is to take what the average citizen of their country uses and cut back on that by 90%. The idea comes from a man named George Monbiot and his most recent book Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning.

When I first read that the people were cutting back 90% I thought, wow, they are amazing, it's too bad I can't join, because I would never make 90%. I kept reading some of the blogs of the participants (Casaubon's Book and green with a gun and Simple Living) and then I went and checked out the group page. It is for everyone who is willing to try reducing, even if they know that for whatever reason they won't make 90%. I decided to join. I love reading the messages that come through on the board. It is a great community with lots of wonderful ideas. I've learned quite a bit. There is an intro, a faq and rules for the Riot to Austerity on the Simple Living blog. Just take a peek, come on, I know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it. : )

Rioting to Austerity

I am so happy! We got our electric bill that covers the last two months. We only used 212 kWh per month!!! Last year at this time we used 427 kWh. It is sooo nice to see some pay off for all of the changes we are making. The biggest changes were 1. using the drying rack instead of the dryer, 2. using a laptop instead of a desktop computer, 3. unscrewing all redundant light bulbs (our bathroom fixture has 6 bulbs and I unscrewed all but three then unscrewed all but one).

Gotta run!

Sittin' on the sofa with Fiona

Fiona: Mama, are you going to die soon?

Me: What? No. Most people live until they are about 80 years old. Do you know how old you will be when I'm 80? You'll be 47! Why do you ask?

Fiona: I just wanted to know if you were going to die soon.


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Oh my goodness.

My first from scratch softie!

A little lion in the tall grass.

Even though it has a wonky arm, it is quite special to me. I was rather frustrated with it when I had trouble with the arm, but as I was stuffing it I really had a sensation like it was coming into its own, almost coming alive if you will.

I made it for a friend's daughter for her first birthday. When Fiona woke up this morning and saw it, she was very excited and then very upset. She thought it was for her. She insisted that I make a different one for the one year old and that this one be hers. I promised her that I would make her one just like it. She said to make sure it had one short arm. That made me feel better about the arm. I think I sewed the wrist a little too tightly and I just couldn't turn it right-side out for the life of me. The little arm is kind of hard, because all the fabric is bunched up in there. It will be a perfect little teething lump.

Goodness, what a proud doll-mama am I.

A couple of things

Miss Fi just started preschool today. She is only going a couple of days a week, but I think it will be a lovely change for her, and me, too. While I was lying on the sofa eating bon-bons and watching soap operas, oh no, wait, I was just eating breakfast and reading in peace and quiet, I decided to look and see if there was a way for me to take a bus to pick Fiona up from school. Her dad takes her on his way to work. After fiddling around with all of the trip planner settings I found a way to take just one bus and with total round-trip walking distance of 2.2 miles. I am so very happy! I'll probably bring her little umbrella stroller along with me. And no, I won't do it all the time every time, but every little bit helps.

I've noticed people talking more and more about gray water and reusing it. Gray water is water that goes down the drain from your sinks, showers and bathtubs. What is flushed down the toilet is called black water. Today I caught the shower water that ran while I waited for the hot water to come and used it to flush the toilet. It is silly, but it felt like a little victory. It was something so easily done.

Not having pre-packaged food in the house is the only thing that saves me from serving mac and cheese and the like seven days a week. I had a lovely time off this morning, but I missed lunch, which made me a bit grumbly in the afternoon. When dinner preparation time came and went, I wandered around the kitchen looking for, hoping for, something easy. I ended up making spaghetti sauce from scratch because that was the easiest thing left to make in my meal plan for the week. I didn't really want to, there just weren't any other choices.

Each week I choose 5-6 recipes (for a total of about 8-9 meals), but I don't assign them to specific days, that way there is a bit of flexibility. One of the meals is always something easy like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup or gardenburgers. I also only buy the things on the shopping list unless a staple is on sale, then I may stock up a bit.

Ok, I'm rambling. Time for bed.

Just dropping by my own little blog house...

I've been having a bit of a rough patch. I got to a point where it seemed like suddenly everything needed doing all at once and that I had no idea where to stop start. A couple of friends took me out for a beer. We sat and talked. Just getting it all off my chest helped me feel better. They also had some good advice to share with me.

I'm working on decreasing our family carbon footprint. It is exciting and empowering at times and at other times I just want to go to Starbucks and get a peanut butter cookie and a venti-no-whip-java-chip-frappucino.

We've had car trouble this last month. It has put a severe strain on our finances. In the past it all would've gone on the credit card without a second thought. Now we are struggling to not add to our debt and eat and pay for all of the "little" things that come up. This makes me want Starbucks more than anything. It is the stress of trying to figure it all out and the stress of saying no to things.

Maybe I mentioned it in the past, but I'm interested in studying medicine. It is so scary though to think about going back to school after all of this time. My daughter is starting preschool this week and will most likely be starting kindergarten next year. I will have the time to actually pursue school.

For all my complaining and sharing too much with the world, I have to say that I am so grateful for what I have, for my family, my friends, my home. We are so very lucky.