Ear Infection

This really has nothing to do with being green, or living simply. However, I thought I'd check in to let you all know why I have been so negligent in posting! I have had an ear infection, which is by far the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. And yes, I have had 4 children naturally! I tried the homeopathic thing, ear candles and drops when it started hurting, but quickly trucked to the nurse practitioner for hydrocodone and antibiotics! The crazy thing is that I never had a cold, sore throat or anything! I still can't hear out of my right ear, but hopefully that will be restored soon. American Idol just isn't the same:) Oh, and the dreaded antibiotics have given me a case of thrush. Lovely.

Works for Me Wednesday-Green Cleaning

My quest has been to find a green cleaner that worked on my bathtub. You think that's easy? Well, I've already revealed to all that my husband is a perpetual bath taker. That, plus 4 kids taking a "tub" each day makes for one serious ring around the tub! I used to use Toilet Bowl Cleaner Gel to clean it. I know, horrible! But there was really nothing else that would touch the ring. Switching to green cleaners has left me dissapointed with the ring around the tub problem. Enter in Shaklee's Scour Off Paste. It is intended for really tough jobs, which I just assumed to be ovens. The lightbulb went off in my head to try it, so I pulled it out yesterday....like magic I tell ya! Best of all, you only need a little to clean and it smells very light, and pleasant. TOTALLY Non-Toxic! Try it, it worked for me!

Green Gripes

Do you have a green gripe? You know, something that seems so obvious to you, but so oblivious to others around you?

Case #1: Today I pulled into a parking lot and was about to start unloading my children, when a woman parked in front of me turned on her car, rolled down her window and THREW OUT AN EMPTY PLASTIC BOTTLE!!!!! I wish there was some hotline to call with her license plate number! Just throwing out a plastic bottle in a trash can will get me griping inwardly, but to just toss it into a parking lot?!?
Case #2: Last week I went to the grocery store and they had their green bags on sale for 99c. I can always use a couple extra at this point, so I picked some up. After I bought them, the cashier asked if I wanted to use them now, or put them in a plastic bag. ARE YOU KIDDING?
Case #3: My husband. My dear wonderful husband. Now, this is not to call him out in front of the whole world about his costs on the environment....who am I kidding! Sure it is! My dh refuses to take a shower. Weird? Yes, I think so. He takes a long, large bath. Every day. Sometimes 2x a day. I've mentioned it nicely, even suggested a 2 day a week shower mandate to get the ball rolling. Nothing has worked. Sigh, I guess there are some habits that die much harder than others.

Do you have any gripes? I'd love to hear 'em!

Sigg Giveaway on GreenstyleMom

Run, don't walk, over to GreenStyleMom's Blog and enter to win these lovely Sigg bottles in celebration of Sigg's 100th Anniversary!

Composting for the beginning Gardener

I am starting a garden. This may not sound like a monumental statement, but if you knew me, you'd know it was! And I am the type of person that has to follow through with what I said I'd do....even if I come close to killing myself doing it! That's probably to a fault, but if I want to motivate myself to get something done I just tell someone I'm going to do it, it keeps me accountable.

So....back to the garden thing. We live in Zone 6-7 and plan to garden in raised beds. We want to raise a good majority of our eating veggies, and maybe a few laying hens. I am just dying to start!

First things first! We acquired some reclaimed, untreated hemlock from a barn demolition to make our raised beds with. Can you say reuse! Yipee, so next we are focusing on soil. For that we are going to get some local organic soil from a farmer. Then we are going to start a Vermicompost system. Yes, this means worms. And a lot of them considering how much food waste we have per week.

I will try to post our progress, and please chime in with any stories of your first garden! Tips would help too!

Works for Me Wednesday

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I've found me some pretty good deals. In fact, I like to think of myself as a bargain-hunting expert. When we lived in the big city, bargains were EV-ER-Y-WHERE! From Pottery Barn quilts for $2 to designer duds for under $5, I was constantly on the hunt, even with 4 kids in tow. Until the move. The move to rural VA, where designer duds aren't exactly wardrobe staples. Most people haven't even heard of Pottery Barn! So how do I find my bargains? Well, online of course! Thrifting was so green, but I had to find other outlets to fulfill my passion for green and thrifty besides the Goodwill! Here are some of my favorite online sites to shop green and thrifty:

http://www.ebay.com/

This one is an obvious choice considering my business....consignment sales on eBay.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/

Don't buy it at Books A Million if you can find it here! Basically free, fun and saving trees at the same time!

http://www.amazon.com/

I love the great deals you can get here, and you can still buy used items.

http://www.oompatoys.com/

Great non-toxic toys for kids and a loyalty rewards program. 60% of our Christmas came from here.

There's nothing like the rush of finding an unexpected treasure in a thrift store, but these online sites help me stay thrifty and green. If you haven't given them a try, you should!

And the Winner Is...

I didn't think it was fair to just pick one, so here are the winners:

jayedee said...
what a great way to get the word out there! i love love LOVE this shirt! great giveaway! please toss my name in the hat too and good luck to everyone!
January 30, 2008 12:19 PM

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...
i love this! please count me in. :)also, like your blog. i'll be back!
January 30, 2008 10:30 PM

Val gal said...
I love the shirt!valgallen@gmail.com
January 30, 2008 1:28 PM

Thanks for playing along! Please check back often and subscribe, more giveaways to come!