Happy Halloween

Well today is Halloween and I wish all readers a very safe and spookacular day. Have fun and dont get the recycled pants scared off ya! LMAO

Well It's Thursday

Well all its Thursday the day before Halloween and I am struggling on my green post for today. So this may just be a random thought Thursday. Now that things are slowing down for us and the holidays are coming up maybe I can get back into a routine (wonder what those are at times). The kids are going out tomorrow with their dad as I will be at a concert (free to that's the best part). The oldest is going as an FBI agent, but still not sure what youngest is going to do (yes I know its getting late).
I had the privilege to see a great presentation last night called "Judgement House" at a local church. It is a walk through type play about your judgement, heaven and hell. I would recommend it to anyone. Not sure if it is a nation wide thing churches do but its worth it believe me it really makes you think about life.
Well this weekend is kinda busy for us with Halloween tomorrow, my son has a class party, then dad taking them trick or treating, me going to my concert, the Saturday we have errands to run, bonfire at church to go to and don't forget about daylight savings time (we get that extra hour WOOOO WHOOOOO) begining too. Then sunday is church and who knows what else probably cleaning house after church and working in yard LOL. It is supposed to be nice all weekend but you know how mother nature is and she can change her mind at the drop of a hat (I'm convinced she is menopausal)

Technorati Profile

Halloween the "Green" Way

I thought since it is so close to Halloween I would post a bit on "greening up" the day. I did a search for some sites that help you make treats, bags, costume, and such from eco friendly products. Well I ran a across a wonderful blog that has just that in it. I was very impressed with it and so I am linking you to it as well. In the comments there are a few other links as well so be sure to check those out too.
http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2007/10/02/eco-friendly
Hope everyone has a great and hauntingly green day hope you enjoy searching for tips on treats and such.

Community Mission

Well yesterday I posted about our school being dropped from our current local recycling pick up. They dropped us because of the amount of recycling we had. I talked with one of the 2nd grade teachers yesterday after school showed here the Paper Retriever site and she contacted them not only for our school to recycle but for our community to use as well, we are just trying to get recycling back to school and the making of money is kinda 2nd in the matter, but it will help our district as well. I should find out today whether she has received a email back from them on how to get the program here.

I know this isn't something I/We have done at home but it is something to help our environment and to teach our kids how and where to recycle. I think this is a great program for this community and school district as our district is in 2 small farm town communities. Our elementary and high shcools are in one town and the middle school is in another for a few more years, (we are getting a new school built but its in phase the 1st is going on right now and its the high school phase). Why not start a new school off on right foot so to speak.

Maybe more people will think to drop paper and card board in the PR dumpsters and it would mean less to put out every two weeks, they can drop it off anytime. ;)

It Has Been Busy Around Here

Well all I am very sorry for taking so long to post again, it has been busy here to say the least. My hubby and I are sports officials and our seasons both came to a close last week with our last games. My hubby also coached bantam football with his brother this season and that also came to a close. Trying to juggle things and keep posting well that just couldn't happen LOL. So now that things are winding down here and we are getting ready for Halloween this week thought I would drop a line here.
Last week we also had internet troubles, as the tower here that supplies my service went down for 24 hours or so. So that meant no internet for me which was really hard I am on atleast once if not more per day if I can be. It was kinda good tho I did get files backed up and some movies burned to DVD from our camcorder (needed to be done just procrastinating a bit).
Well yesterday I was at my 8 year old school talking to his teacher and found out that our local recycling people dropped our school from pick up (yes I said dropped us). The teachers said that we were the last pick up for the day on recycling day and because they had no more room they canceled picking up for us. I thought this was kinda odd that the people over at the company wouldn't just send a separate truck for the school pick up (I chalk that up to laziness myself). So I send a link to this blog here to one of the teachers this morning for the link to paper retriever and terra cycle to have her look at them. I told why shouldn't our school have those big green and yellow dumpsters too, our community does not have anything like that at all and it could make our school some extra cash for usfull things. Also the high school was picking up the bags that had plastic bottles and recyclables of that nature in them and have gotten really well LAX about it. I said maybe thats something the elementary students should do since the 5th grade is responsible for the library books every morning why not have the 4th grade pick up recycling once a week or twice if needed.
Our teachers kinda think its bad we teacher to recycle but they have to throw things away that can be recycled every day because they have no where else to put it. I think something should be done about this and if I have to help by going in once a week and picking it up I will to help them out. So I am waiting on a teachers reply to see what she thinks about the paper retriver dumpsters and if maybe we could get the school board to ok them. Will post if we do get it accomplished.

Shower Time For my 8 yr Old

Ok so I kinda go off track a little here so please forgive me!! I also have been feeling a little under the weather plus being busy that take a whole bunch out of you to say the least so for that I do apologize for not posting.
We had a tough time getting our son to take fairly quick baths/showers. So last year during the school year he was put on a timer of 10 min. He had to have his hair shampooed, body washed and teeth brushed before the timer expired. Well we still have a tough time with it but I realized after watching Planet Green's Wasted that the timer thing was a great thing having it set for him reduced our water usage (or at least I am hoping), my next thing I would love to do is to change shower heads to a low flow model. Well needless to say the bills come first in that dept. so we shall see maybe I can have a surprise post with a picture when I get one who knows.
So if you would like to save on water consumption in that bathroom this is another option to consider.
1. Timer showers/baths (mainly showers tho)
2. Low flow shower heads.
Now if i can just make that 8 yr old understand the faster he gets done the better off he is in the morning LOL.....

Today Is "Outta The Mouths Of Babes"

This post starts off with a funny thing that came out of my oldest sons mouth today. We were talking about him seeing the "wind mills" (wind turbines near my dad grave) and I told him that they were not wind mills they were turbine's. I also told him that's what makes energy to power houses and wished we could get that power instead of the power we received because our electric company uses coal and that its not good for our environment. He then piped up and said "well mom if coal isn't good for our environment then why does Santa give it to bad kids then". I told him that one of these days Santa would figure out an eco friendly way to give bad kids something else instead of the coal. His dad them chimed in and said maybe thats what he needed to ask Santa when he wrote his letter this year. LOL

On another note I was chatting with my sister-in-law today, her and my brother are the Laudate group leaders at church for the teens (13-19yrs). They are always looking for ways to make extra money for group functions and such and I mentioned the paper retriever program (those big green and yellow dumpsters like @ Wal-mart) as a way for them to make a little extra cash for the group. She is going to check into it and thought it was a great idea. I also told her about the Terra Cycle program that you can make money for nonprofit organizations by sending in koolaid/capri sun pouches for money, they also can send in corks, chips ahoy packaging to name a few. I thought these programs would help bring in a few buck for the group here and there and help them with things they want to do. They also have a room that is used as a game room and it still needs some more work done to it (which takes money to do). I will update if the kids do this program and how they are doing with it. If you would like to check these programs out I have added them to the links section on the right.

Turning the Lights Off

Well I have caught myself going back to turn lights off around the house. Especially the bedroom lights which magically stay on or come on when no one is around. HMMMMM gee I wonder how that happens!!!! I have even went upstairs and turned the main TV off when my youngest decided to come down and take over the one here in the computer room, so all in all I guess my wanting to drastically lower our light bill is making me think about our energy consumption.

On another note tho I did hear back from the wind company about buying from them instead of our current electric company. Here is what they had to say:

Ms. Spencer:

You might check with your electricity provider. Many utilities, including many co-ops, today offer consumers the opportunity to buy green power even though it usually costs more. The cooperatives are member-owned utilities, and their purpose is to supply their members with electricity. So you would have to be a member and live on the co-op system to get power from the co-op.

I hope this helps,

It was a very fast reply too I sent it out on Friday I believe and by Monday or Tuesday the latest I had an answer. Not sure I am going to do any calling to our current provider until I do a little more research into the matter through their website.

Electricity Bill During The Summer

Through the summer we had chances to not use our A/C, which was great. It was so cool at night that the air only came on a few times a week. I was glad too those electric bills be low and it was way nice let me tell ya. When we did turn it on we noticed it wasn't cooling quite as good as it had at the beginning of the summer (no I didn't run for the phone either) but it took the humidity out of the house bringing the temperature down and we let nature do the rest.

I went out and bought a couple of fans and put them in the windows and man what a difference that made. The house would stay really cool until about 3pm everyday, which is when the air would come on for a while. Our electric bills would run around $100 give or take a month. During this time they were going between $60 and $100 which is nice with 1 income coming in LOL. So whenever possible try to let mother nature do your cooling for you. Our forefathers did this we can too, now if I can just get people (including myself) to shut lights, tv's, and other electric things off when they leave a room that would bring our light bill down even more LOL.

I guess thats another post to track our progress on lights, tv's and such off. Will keep you posted on that progress as it happens.

Today In My Inbox

Well today I was doing my usual morning routine, (reading mail, forums and such) and found my email from Ideal Brite website. I have their tip of the day widget in the side bar have a look see its very neat I think. This email has more tips than just my widget, while reading something caught my eye, in the wanna try sections about alternative power.

Here is what I am talking about:

• If your local energy company offers a green energy option, opt-in today. If not, demand it. Check the blog for a sample letter.
• Green Power Locator - find out if green power's available in your area.
• Power Profiler - this EPA tool helps you measure your impact.

Well curiosity got the better of me so I choose to look at the "Green Power Locator". I am in a part of Missouri that has wind power not to far from me and I wanted to find out if we to could go from our current power source, (which BTW is coal provided) to buying from the wind farms. I contacted the Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. via emial and asked them (since one of the co-ops that supports wind power is only like 10 miles from me) if we could go from our current provider to buying from the wind farms. I am awaiting an email reply from them. I am very interested to see if we can or if I can start something as a community here where I live to go ff that power grid we are currently under to theirs. My fingers are crossed with this hope. I would much rather pay for wind than coal wouldn't you????? I have a feeling going from coal to wind will actually be cheaper in the long run by far, and I also like the idea of helping out the farmers that have those turbines on their land, they have lease options from the companies that have them there. So for us to buy the wind that means those farmers are making money and still farming the lands around them, they lease there land to the company to haouse those massive and most beautiful structors. If you have never seen a wind farm you are let me say loosing out they are by far one of the most tranquil and beautiful things I have seen. In fact when my father passed away in 2006 we went to the cematary he is buried in and I had forgotten all about the wind farms. When we pulled in and looked to the north it was a wonderful site to see the community that my parents and brothers grew up in making an inpact on the enviornment. All tho i didnt think about that at the time I just realized it over the course of the last 2 years. Most of these people I have known most of my life, kudos to all of you. Now when I visit dad its a beautiful thing to stand and have that in the background, (i know he likes the view as well). I would love to see farmers here in the community my husband and I grew up in, approach one of these companies and offer land to them for a farm like this.

So check it out you too might be able to buy from a CO-OP and have wind power produce your electricity.

The 2nd email "New Gas Tips"

New Gas Tips (Every penny counts).
I don't know what you guys are paying
for gasoline....
Here in California we are also paying higher,
up to $3.50 per gal.  But my line of work is
in petroleum for about 31 years now,
so here are some tricks to get more
of your money's worth for every gallon.
Here at the pipeline where I work in
San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million
gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.
One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel,
and gasoline, regular, and premium grades.
We have 34-storage tanks here with a total
capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.
Only buy or fill up your car or truck
in the early morning when the ground
temperature is still cold. 

Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground.
The colder the ground the more dense
the gasoline, when it gets warmer
gasoline expands, so buying in the
afternoon or in the evening...
your gallon is not exactly a gallon. 
In the petroleum business, the specific
gravity and the temperature of the
gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,
ethanol and other petroleum products
plays an important role.           
A1-degree rise in temperature is a
big deal for this business.

But the service stations do not have
temperature compensation at the pumps.
When you're filling up do not squeeze
the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode.
If you look you will see that the trigger
has three (3) stages:
low, middle, and high.
In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed,
thereby minimizing the vapors that
are created while you are pumping.
All hoses at the pump have a vapor return.
If you are pumping on the fast rate,
some of the liquid that goes to your
tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are
being sucked up and back into
the underground storage tank so you're
getting less worth for your money.
One of the most important tips is to
fill up when your gas tank is
HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. 
The reason for this is,
the more gas you have in
your tank the less air occupying its empty space.
Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine.
Gasoline storage tanks have an internal
floating roof. This roof serves as zero
clearance between the gas and the atmosphere,
so it minimizes the evaporation.
Unlike service stations,
here where I work, every truck
that we load is temperature
compensated so that every gallon is
actually the exact amount.
Another reminder. If there is a gasoline
truck pumping into the storage tanks when
you stop to buy gas,
DO NOT fill up--most likely the
gasoline is being stirred up as the gas
being delivered, and you might
pick up some of the dirt that normally
settles on the bottom.

I edited this email and took names
out as not to
get anyone in trouble.

The First Email "Keep Alert @ The Pumps"

This was sent to me and did happen to these people it has not been brought up on snoops.com as far as I know. I am just sharing it with you to make you keep alert at the pumps. You never know when it might happen and if it does get the number off the side of the gas pump and report that station immediately. If I find the number I will add it to this post. All tho it may be state specific.



Dear Friends:

Yesterday I learned from a fellow Freemason of two instances where gas station owners are setting their pumps to start at $1.25 instead of $0.00 when you buy fuel at their stations.

The first instance happened to my fraternity brother himself at the Phillips 66 station in Harrisonville, MO, across from the Cass Medical Center. When my friend lifted handle out of it's holder and pushed the 87 octane button he happened to glance at the screen which shows how much you've been charged and how much you've pumped prior to pumping any fuel at all. The amount
pumped was zeroed out, but the price screen read $1.25. He attempted to clear this and the amount charged always remained at $1.25. A gentleman pulled up on the opposite side of the pump and started to fuel his vehicle when my friend warned him about what had just occurred on his side of the pump. The same exact thing happened on the other gentleman's side of the
pump. They both shut off their respective pumps and went in demanding to see the owner. The owner pretended that he didn't understand what was happening and spoke to them in broken English as he was obviously Middle Eastern. Both men left him and his station without purchasing any fuel.

My friend was relating this story to one of his customers at his place of business when the customer stated that the exact same thing had happened to him at the Valero gas station located at Highway 7 & Walnut in Blue Springs, MO. The pump simply went to $1.25 before any fuel was pumped at all. When the man attempting to fuel his car went into the station to report the
problem there was another Middle Eastern man in charge of the station who pretended to be busy on the phone and refused to speak with the man attempting to report the problem. He also, left without purchasing any fuel.

The next weekend my Masonic brother was returning from a fishing trip to the Lake of the Ozarks when he stopped for fuel in Warrensburg. There was a man wearing a state of Missouri uniform checking the pump next to the one my friend was using. My friend approached the official from the state and relayed his stories about the two gas stations with the pumps that wouldn't
zero out for amount charged when first turned on. The state official took down the locations of the two stations, stating he was very familiar with the one in Harrisonville doing this as they'd had to fine him before for overcharging. It seems it's a common practice among some station owners to assume that most Americans who use fuel cards don't look at the pump screens
before they fuel their vehicles. Therefore, the station owners will receive an additional $1.25 per purchase 24/7/365 to put in their own pocket as profit. The official stated that he would report the instances to his supervisor.

The following Friday the same state official came to my friend's place of business and reported that they had busted BOTH gas stations for charging too much on purchases made at their stations and that they would both receive hefty fines. He told my friend that there is supposed to be a 1-800 number on each side of a pump where people can report fraud to the state if
they believe a station is overcharging.

I am sending you this not to spread rumors about Middle Eastern gas station owners, but to warn you to be very vigilant when buying fuel. Always LOOK to see that both the amount of fuel pumped and the amount charged have zeroed out prior to pumping your fuel. No one receiving this is a millionaire, that I know of so, (if you are, please send some this way)I know you don't want to spend an additional $1.25 each time you purchase fuel.


Stay alert and don't get cheated at the pump.

Car Pooling

In the recent time of the ever ending gas prices, my husband started riding back and forth to work with a buddy of his that lives here in our town and works at the same place he does. They take turns driving one drives one week the other drives the next. That has helped our budget quite well going from $100 to $200 per week on gas for both our vehicles to around $125 for two weeks, some month are a little more depending on how much driving I have to do through the month. If you have the chance to do it, it will save you a bunch. The other pluses are to our environment, decongests our road ways, and wear and tear on your cars.

This was taken from the "Green Living Tips" website: (colored)

According to a recent US study, "Commuting in America":

- U.S. drivers wasted 4.2 billion hours sitting in traffic in 2005
- Traffic delays chewed through 2.9 billion gallons of fuel
- In Los Angeles, the average driver wastes 72 hours per year going nowhere.

That makes you think a little about why shouldn't we car pool when we can. I think of this and see the Garfield poster that says "WELL DUH!!!!!" lol.

According to the American Automobile Association, it costs an average of 26.2 cents per mile to drive a car; and that's just gas and wear and tear combined.

According to the SightLine Insitute (single passenger statistics):

- A small car emits around .59 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile
- A medium car emits around 1.1 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile
- An SUV/4 wheel emits around 1.57 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile

Some of these stats just astonish me and make me wonder why the American public doesn't suck it up and either:

1. Car pool with other co-workers

2. Ride the bus or train, some cities are even going as far as to find alternative fuels to power these types of transportation to help their carbon footprint kudos to those cities.

3. Ride a bike or walk if you don't live that far from work.

4. Telecommuting is a popular new way to work, you work for the same company but from home only having to got to the office once or maybe twice a week or not at all.

5. Some companies are finding that a 4 day work week helps their employee's by giving them 10 hour days or 4 days and still get paid for 5 or 40 hour work weeks. Cheaper for the worker and the employers say that job productivity is much better.

I actually have a friend that telecommutes (only because he had to hold a job and made a big boo boo and lost his license due to a DUI, yes he learned his lesson too.) he loves the fact that he can work from anywhere in his house, be in his pj's, and do pretty much anything he wants while working all in the privacy of his home. His pocketbook loves it too, because his job is like 50 miles from his house.

A friend of mine sent me a email a few weeks back that had tips to help you get what you pay for at the gas pumps. The best times to fill up and what to watch for with scams. Which most of these tips make a lot of sense I will post that email here and another that I think is important to let you know about later this afternoon.

There are all kinds of services that can hook you up with the right car poolers just Google car pool town, ride share, or lift share. Good luck in your search ;) if you intend to conduct one. Well its off to find that email have a great day all.

I do appologize for the different fonts it went all haywire on me when I went to italisize something UGH!!! Oh well I guess this just proves it to be a learning curve for me