Good Video

Joshua's not quite old enough for the whole song, but this is pretty good.

"A Mom's overture" by Anita Renfroe

Working at the carwash

We've got a new bargaining chip for when we are looking for free babysitting. Joshua will wash your car in exchange for babysitting him for a few hours...


By the way, I know it's a little ironic to post washing your car during our Going Greener focus, but it's the first time the Mazda's been washed in the 14 months...

Going Greener-Reducing Junk Mail

If I had know how easy it was to reduce junk mail, I'd have done it years ago! Here's some things I've learned this month and done to reduce our household junk mail.


Native Forest Network's Guide to Stopping Junk Mail: FACTS ON JUNK MAIL!

• The average person gets only 1.5 personal letters each week, compared to 10.8 pieces of junk mail.
• Each person will receive almost 560 pieces of junk mail this year.
  
• That's 4.5 million tons of junk mail produced each year!
  
• 44% of all junk mail is thrown in the trash, unopened and unread.
  
• Approximately 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard waste.
  
• By the year 2010, it is predicted to make up about 48%.
  
• 100 million trees are ground up each year to produce junk mail.
  
• Lists of names and addresses used in bulk mailings are in mass data-collection networks, compiled from phone books, warranty cards, and charity donations (to name a few).
  
• Your name is typically worth 3 to 20 cents each time it is sold.

Aren't those stat's amazing? Seriously, I think my Dad and Step mom get about 10 catalogs a day in the mail!

So, how can you stop the flow of Junk? Here are some steps that I learned from No Impact Man, my new favorite site.

1) Opt out of all those credit and insurance offers. Visit OptOutPrescreen.com, the official site of the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry. (Seriously, I think I'd save a tree just by getting off Capital One's list. We get at least an offer a week from them.)

2) Contact Direct Marketing Service to get off the mailing list of national advertisers. By joining their Mail Preference Service list, you will supposedly reduce your junk mail by 75%.

3) Call the 800 number on the back of catalogs to get off their mailing list. Even if you do mail order shopping, you can still shop online and save paper! I rarely buy things by mail order, but when I do I always shop online. I love to peruse Pottery Barn's catalog, so it will be sad to say goodbye, but worth it in the long run. I do this as they come in, so it's just a few minutes here and there.

4) Another suggestion by the Native Forest Network is to get off sweepstakes mailing lists. I didn't do this because I don't know the last time I've gotten any mailing from any of them. But,
to remove your name from major nationwide sweepstakes mailers, contact:

• Publishers Clearinghouse, 101 Channel Drive, Port Washington, NY 11050 Phone: (800) 645-9242
• Readers Digest, Readers Digest Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570 Phone: (800) 234-9000
• American Family Publishers, PO Box 62000, Tampa, FL 33662 Phone: (800) 237-2400

I encourage you to do these steps to reduce all our junk mail! The first two will take you about five minutes each, so do it now before you forget! I'd love to see how many participate, so leave a comment if you do it!

Driving Lessons

Well over a year ago, Kurt bought his current car, a Mazda 3. It's fun and cute (am I allowed to say that, kurt?) and supposedly fun to drive. I wouldn't know; It's a manual transmission. I knew he wanted a manual, for the fun and the gas mileage, but I wasn't so excited about it. He said he could teach me to drive it, but I've heard that from about five different people. None of which were able to successfully teach me. I won't tell you all the stories, because there's a list of the people, as diverse as the kinds of cars they drove. Some were patient, some not so much.

Last spring, Kurt and I went out for a date night and decided to make use of having a baby sitter for Joshua and do some driving lessons. It was amazing, I actually got around the parking lot! I was so proud of myself and imagined driving around town. Kurt was pleased too but reminded me I still needed a lot of practice. Practice I never did.

After returning from vacation, the XTerra ended up in the shop for a few days. I don't do so well being stuck at home for several days at a time. It was a good reminder to get out and work on my driving again. So that weekend, we loaded Joshua up and went to the school across the street. I took the wheel and started her up, but we didn't get very far before I killed it. Joshua apparently thought the car ride was like a carnival ride as he cackled and giggled when we jerked back and forth. So I started her back up again, and tried again. Killed again, giggles again. And that went on for about 10 more attempts. Of course, Joshua laughing got me laughing so I couldn't even pay attention to the instructions Kurt was barking at me. (He was the only one not laughing).

So we gave up. Kurt took back over and we ran an errand. We talked about what I might have been doing wrong and decided to try again. As Kurt and I traded places again back in the parking lot, I kid you not, the little stinker says, "oh uh!" Oh, uh was right. I still didn't get anywhere and haven't had a lesson since (I think marital preservation is more important). I just can't wait to laugh at Joshua from the backseat when it's his turn to drive. Course I'll probably be too busy gripping the door and slamming the air brake.

Going Green (er)

Yes, it's the trendy thing to go green these days. There's been a lot in the news about global warming, the melting of glaciers and the future extinction of the polar bear. But I have to be honest, I'm really not worried about the polar bear. I'm not even really that worried about the melting of glaciers. But I do worry about what is goes on in my every day world.

Last summer, on one of our standard walks to the mailbox (it's half a mile from our house (the postal services is getting lazy these days, but that's another issue) we passed by the creek that runs behind our backyard. We had recently had a heavy rain and the creek was full. Passing by, you couldn't help but notice a huge amount of foam rising from the rapids. Kurt explained to me that a co-worker had told him the foam caused by pesticides and fertilizers used in yards. That is scary to me.

Southern Living magazine come to me in the mail every month. It's taken me years to realize that my yard will never be Southern Living magazine worthy. And that's okay. Each spring, we fight the battle of what to do about weeds and fire ants. I would love for our lawn to look lush, green, and weed free. But so far I haven't figured out a way to do that without being a detriment to the environment outside my yard. I also want my son to be able to run barefoot through the grass and roll around on the ground with no worries about chemicals. My main point in this is that we have got to start evaluating what's really important for today and for tomorrow. Yes, it's great to have a green, weed-free lawn, but is it worth the expense of our greater environment?

I have been thinking a lot about small ways to impact the environment for good. I'm just the average person. I recycle, I try to preserve resources, but I'm also an American who has gotten used to the unacceptable standards we currently live by.

So I'm going greener. I'm not going to stop taking showers or vow to not buy anything for a year. But I am going to try and make some everyday changes. I'll be sharing these things on the blog, in hopes that you will join me.

Wow, finally, videos through blogger

I sat down to blog about something else, and got distracted when I saw the add video button on my toolbar. Blogger has finally gotten with the program and added a video feature. I'm really glad to not have to post our videos for the world on YouTube now!