Why in the world we thought that going up to the toboggan slide in Eagles Mere on opening day was a good idea is beyond me. And even though we opted not to wait for 3+ hours in 10 degree weather to ride the slide, we did have a pretty good time. We walked down to the lake, checked out the sights and did our best to keep from freezing. We are thinking maybe we give it a few weeks and we'll try again?
Okay so since pulling out the refrigerator and vacuuming the coils is ahh...a tad bit...unrealistic (but I totally will next time we find ourselves moving the 200lb beast) lets try a couple of realistic ideas this week.
1.) The reusable grocery bag/tote (we are getting much better at this...as soon as we unload them they go right back in the trunk! the only time we opt for plastic is when John's "doggie waste bags" get low...anyone have a green doggie pooper scooper idea?)
2.) Eat less meat - meat takes a lot more resources to produce than other forms of protein, so it's an inefficient source of fuel (they suggest trying to cut your meat intake in half)
Okay, I'm not sure I can cut my meat intake in half but I can certainly concentrate on devoting one or two meals a week to being meat free.
Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower.
~Shigenori Kameoka
Duncan:
Favorite pajamas: soft red fleece ones
Favorite song: abcdefg...
Favorite thing to draw/color: scribbles
Person you love to play with: Sydney
Food you do not like: tomatoes
Favorite thing to do on a sunny day: play baseball
Place in the world you want to go: I don't know
Favorite smell: breakfast
Favorite thing at the park: the slide
Favorite snack: pretzels
Favorite place to go in the car: the aquarium
Favorite tool: hammer
Favorite instrument: drum
Favorite body part: feet
Why?: because I like to walk around
Really don't like: baby toys
Want to learn how to do: play baseball better
One thing you want for your birthday: I don't know
Why is it that the little boys are the ones to get the mile long lashes? This is Duncan in his birthday bubble tubby (super extra bubbles for birthday tubbies).
10 Things I love about Duncan:
1.) He points with his middle finger
2.) He sucks his thumbs with his blue blanky
3.) He didn't ask for any presents
4.) He tells me I'm beautiful
5.) He loves broccoli (and his favorite color is green)
6.) He is light (and easy to carry)
7.) He is confident
8.) He likes girls and cooking and pink
9.) He loves excavators and backhoes and dirt
10.) He doesn't hold a grudge
Planning on doing some celebrating around here tonight. Duncan turns 4 today. And in an effort to make Duncan's birthday unique and special I made this garland with fabrics that he picked out...definite green theme. I got the idea here. (Picture quality is not great...trying to photograph inside at night with no flash is no simple task). His big party is this Saturday but I did get some mini cupcakes, ice cream and sparkler candles for after dinner. As is expected he is pretty excited about being 4. Promise to catch some photos later and post them...
So in continuing last weeks look at appliances... Most of us know that we should be using energy efficient appliances that have the Energy Star label right? (For example an Energy Efficient refrigerator uses 75% less energy than a refrigerator made in the 1970's.) Okay so not very many of us have refrigerators that are more than 30 years old (except maybe that one in the basement holding the beer?) but did you know:
You should clean your refrigerator coils? The coils hold liquid that cools the air inside the refrigerator. It takes a lot more energy to cool the refrigerator when the coils are covered with lint and dust. Refrigerator coils should be cleaned at least twice a year! Now THAT I did not know. I'm embarrassed to admit that I do not think my 11 year old refrigerator has EVER had its coils cleaned. By doing this you can cut your refrigerator's energy use by up to 6%.
When we woke up this morning it was 20 degrees outside...a nice balmy 30 degree warm up against yesterdays -11. Can I just tell you, I dream of a pantry that is actually located IN my house (in my heated house)...I think I may need to thaw out the cans of tomato sauce before I can put them in my vegetable soup today! So while I'm on the subject, here a few things I'm looking forward to in a new home:
1.) a dishwasher
2.) more than one bathroom
3.) a big backyard with lots of trees
4.) a studio for all my crafty stuff
5.) a view
6.) a garage
7.) a non freezing pantry
8.) STORAGE
9.) a workshop for John
Maybe this time next year? Ah, we'll see...patience.
**In looking back over my photos I see that the specialty sandwich also included peanut butter. So it was kind of a Fluffer Nutter Banana Split Panini.
I'm about two weeks late here...but we lost #2 three days after Christmas. As with a lot of "loosing teeth" stories, food was involved in this episode too. #2 fell out (and was swallowed) at Aunt Barbie's house while eating a Cooper Larson special Banana Split Panini (notice remnants on cheeks). Cooper came over to me and said "mommy where is the mirror in this house"? I was busy cooking so I brushed him off and said "in the bathroom". Low and behold he was asking because he tasted blood and had a hunch he lost another tooth. He was right...and a bit scared - he cried a little but then decided it was pretty cool.
Let me guess - what you really want to know is Cooper's special Banana Split Panini recipe right? Panini bread from Wegmans, bananas, marshmallow fluff, chocolate chips and homemade cran-raspberry sauce...grill and eat.
Unplug your toaster: Like other appliances in your home, the toaster draws power simply because it's plugged in. It's called standby power or vampire power (because it sucks energy in the middle of the night) and it accounts for 5 percent of residential energy use, costing US consumers over $4 billion per year. To cut your use of standby power unplug appliances such as toasters, electric can openers and hairdryers when they're not in use.
You know, I have heard this before and I just read (maybe in John's This Old House magazine?) that you can buy something like a circuit interrupter (no idea if that is what it is called) that you plug your appliances into and you can turn it on/off with the flick of a switch...that way you wouldn't have to plug/unplug every time you used stuff. Food for thought ~ if I find them (+ use it) I'll report back.
The Green Year - Helmer
Duncan is turning 4 soon and got a little carried away with the stamp he was using on his invitations...check out tomorrow's green post to see what I'm talking about.
So in an effort to bring creativity to our children...we had "make your own pizza night". The rules? They each got a pizza crust and cheese and then got to pick the toppings of their choice. I told them they could put anything on that they wanted - then John and I promised to eat the creations. (I will admit putting my foot down at Dunc's sprinkle suggestion). Duncan: broccoli and pineapple white pizza. Cooper: mushroom and pineapple red pizza. They were totally thrilled with their masterpieces. We were totally thrilled at the limited number of ingredients each pizza adorned. (We realized after the rules were in place that dinner could quite possibly be disastrous). And how did they taste? We actually did very little faking the "oohh, this is delicious"!! Not too bad if you like pineapple on your pizza (thank goodness we do).
