economically friendly

I found this site and thought it was a good concept for saving ink, therefore saving money, all the while masquerading as someone VERY concerned with saving the environment.

Now for another cool link. I have been contemplating which type of flooring I want for my kitchen. It has to be inexpensive, easy to install, clean, add to resale value and if possible be "green".

I love tile, but its expensive, work to install and not very fun to clean.

Wood floors aren't good for kitchens unless they are finished after installation and that is too much work. (I'll put cork and bamboo in this same line)

Linoleum--although it doesn't add much value to your kitchen--is inexpensive, easy to install, clean and according to this website (and this one)is very "green". Something to think about. Maybe when we sell we can play the "green" card and list all the environmentally friendly items in the house and profit off of it. Am I cheap? Yes, but thats what green can be about, having less waste, wasting less money etc. Although it's not always cheap to be green.

If all Cheapo's save money and all Lauren's are Cheapo's, and all Lauren's are Green does this mean that all Green saves money? Yes! BUT All Green does not equal Cheap. I failed.

Also even if we choose not to go with linoleum, we currently have it, and that link assured me that the landfill is the best place for it when we tear it up!

Laminate is what we have throughout the house because of ease of installation, and its pretty! Apparently even laminate isn't harmful either! Though not a good idea for the kitchen as it's not water proof.

I'm having a good day!!!

christmas

Christmas is quickly approaching! We are all but finished shopping and only slightly in the hole!! I wasn't able to decorate for the holidays as much as I would've liked but next year I'll do better! I bought these pretty cool solar powered light strings for the front bushes. It works out well since we have no outdoor outlets and they have built in sensors/timers AND no extra amount on the electricity bill! They are white(bluish) LED's so they have a unique look!

On the green tangent we are doing really well recycling. I have to purchase another bin from the township building as our current bin is overflowing constantly. Our waste is really diminishing. Even when I shop now I check the packaging and either try to get things with no packaging, or ones with a recycling symbol. One example would be that I stopped buying bottled juice and now get concentrate--except orange juice. A lot less waste and space taken up. Some people may think that I am to into recycling, but at this point it has really become a way of life! I don't give it much thought at home and I love not having mounds of trash going to sit at the landfill forever, but rather smaller amounts of mostly organic materials. Although I was told by an answerer of a question I posted on Yahoo Answers that her community offers organic bins for anything from food to tissues. They take the stuff and compost it and make it available to farmers and such...awesome...

Our water bill was almost $100.00. Our toilets all leak. After much research of dual flushing low flows I have however found some low flow, single flush Kohler's priced very well--which we will purchase when our taxes come back. So much for being green; 11,000 gallons in a month. I am more concerned with conserving water for financial reasons than green ones--although financial reasons are also green!

The kids are doing well, finally the thick fog of chest and head cold that has been lingering for almost 2 months is lifting. Evie has started to say "ma ma" which is a delight! She's making her way all the way up the stairs now and enjoys eating anything we have for dinner cut up small.
Asa has been as busy as ever. He likes making "drinks", concoctions of gross sorts, that I find in the mornings sometimes. Today it was: juice, a whole clementine, cereal cheese, an egg--with the shell mixed in, and butter. He also has been getting into christmas presents. I definitely need to keep my eye on him constantly.
Tyler has been getting excellent grades this first part of third grade. He also made a friend on our street which has been nice for him.

Oh, and Bella. Bella is a black four year old pomeranian that we have opened our home to. A close friend is moving and can't bring her so she now resides with us. The dog is pretty perfect. She doesn't shed, bark, chew things up. She's very friendly and loving and easy and CUTE!

I hope everyone has a great holiday season this year! I most likely won't blog again until the new year comes!

ok

I feel like I am actually getting my work done now! I mean I still have so much to do, but I feel so much more motivated seeing a lot of things done. Evie is pulling herself up to standing and already cruising. She is amazing, although I am her mom--so I would think so!!

Christmas is going to be low key this year, but I think it'll be a great one. I still don't have decorations up other than the tree. I want to buy some garlands and a wreath and maybe some outdoor lights since we actually have things to put them on out front.

I am thinking about putting some baby items on Craigs List but am a little worried about letting strangers know where I live. I am not typically a paranoid person-but this just makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I was thinking of telling whoever may possilbly want my items that I would put them in the middle of my circle by the mailboxes for them. I guess I sound crazy. Maybe I should just see if anyone would want the stuff through someone I know.

I need to watch a good movie..it's been a while. Our electricity bill was 160.00 in November, up from 120 in October and 65 in September. That makes me feel bad. I know that our home is insulated poorly. When we work on the basement walls I want to put more insulation in the walls and on the ceiling over the patio. When we do the kitchen and remove the soffet I want to insulate through the ceiling (which is our bedroom floor) over the front patio. Both of those places where the floor is above the outside are sooooo cold. I need to price how much it is to use that spray insulation. I was also thinking of pricing the cleaning and sealing of our tiles in the bathroom. The tiles aren't cracked but some of the grout isn't as pretty as it once was. I know they can fix it and make it look beautiful again, I just wonder if it's other worldy expensive. Someday these things will get done!!

I really want to get one of those HP touch smarts. I love the fact that it is so streamlined. I don't like a lot of wires going every which was on the desk. It'll fit great in my built in desk that I am going to make :) Maybe someday. The basement is SOOo cold though. AH I can't imagine being down there on the computer.

I read a lot about seafood recently. Monterey Bay Aquarium has a lot of interesting information about what fish we should eat. Personally it sometimes goes a little overboard in the enviromentalism issues--but nonetheless there is good info among them.

Anyway I better go finish my scrabble game, this dude who is destroying me really wants to end this so his rating can go up!!!!