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Rainy Days

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There's nothing like a couple rainy days to work on inside projects. Sunday it rained hard and steady all day long and yesterday it started raining after lunch (seconds after I got my clothes off the line) and rained into the evening. I used this time to finish up a few tasks that needed to be completed in the house, a slide show for my grandparents 50th anniversary, some scrapbooking etc. If it wern't for the computer I could have been so much more productive though. We've decided to turn off the satellite for the summer because really who needs to be sitting inside watching TV when it's nice out. My extra time has however been spent on the computer, not exactly what I had in mind. While I'm on the computer Nollie keeps herself busy pulling books off the shelf, taking CD's out of cases, flipping through magazines, pulling anything off the desk she can reach and if I let her she'd be chewing on the computer cords under the desk, so when computer time is over I usually have a monster mess to clean up in the computer room. That's my payment I guess, plus Nollie can only handle so much of me being on the computer before she gets antsy so she prevents me from getting stuck for too long.

I went to Wainwright for groceries yesterday and stuck to my budget. I knew exactly what I needed to buy and had a good idea of how much everything would cost and at the end of the trip my total was dead on. Nollie stayed happy through both Walmart & Extra Foods and my $15 off coupon covered my gas to get there so all in all it was a great trip. It's too sad that a trip to Walmart & Extra Foods is an exciting day out for me.

Conscious Living

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I've been trying to live more consciously lately. Conscious of the energy I'm using, conscious of the money I'm spending, of the chemicals I'm using, etc. I already use cloth diapers, hang my clothes to dry when I can, plant a vegetable garden, replace burnt out bulbs with CFL's and I'm not a big spender for the most part. There is however always room for improvement. I've since gone through the house and unplugged anything not in use, I put the TV, DVD Player, Nintendo, satellite on a power bar and turn it off when not in use (they all use power even when their off.) I'm cutting back on my trips to town to save on gas, I bought cloth bags for grocery shopping, I subscribed for e-billing on any bills that I could to cut down on paper, I've been looking into natural cleaners. I've started a price book to keep better track of grocery prices (I can never remember what items cost so when I see a sale or see it at another store I'm not sure if it's a good deal). Just today I took out a needle and thread and sewed up the seam on my slippers that had come apart rather than ditching them for a new pair. I'm always looking for new ways to save money or cut down on waste, energy, gas etc. but I'm always looking for the easy way I'm not willing to go out and make big change like some of the people who's blogs I've been reading. The "No Impact Man" has shut off his electricity, given up all plastic (I still haven't figured that one out I mean it's virtually everywhere), eats only items grown locally, doesn't drive or even take public transit anywhere, and I believe he's given up toilet paper, the list goes on. It's only for a year but how many other people would do it. There's another group trying to reduce their carbon emissions to 90% below the American average. Less electricity, water, garbage, gas, eating locally, less consumer goods. I'm not going that far but reading about their journey inspires me to make my own small changes.

Dog Dish

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Here's a new photo of Nollie from yesterday. She was crawling around at my feet as I hung the clothes on the line and she crawled right into the dog dish and sat down. Too cute.

Summer Fun

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We've been enjoying the sunshine and trying out some new activities. We picked up an old swing set from some friends who were moving. Nollie just loves the swing and giggles away as we push her. I'm not sure if I should be worried by this but she tries to climb up the slide already. She doesn't like the feeling of the grass so she doesn't go far off her blanket outside but I'm sure that when she figures out this walking thing she'll move around alot more. She still tries out walking but doesn't get more than one or two steps without falling. We got a little pool and enjoyed some splash time on the deck. Nollie also got to try her first corn on the cob. You should have seen the look on her face when she bit into it and it tasted good, she got quite excited.

Curt is still spending lots of time with the "Provost County Lawn Choppers" fixing up his machine. Maybe he's just hanging out b.s.'ing with the guys, but he's enjoying himself so that's ok with me. I'm continually working on the yard, it seems to be an endless task on an acreage. My garden is coming up, but so are the weeds, so I'll have to work on them before they get out of control. I started many flowers and plants from seeds again this year. The plants have done better than last year but I've still got a long way to go. I look at all the plants at the garden centers and green houses and they just look so much better. Mine look so week and many of them don't survive the transplant to the outside. Oh well, I'm learning alot and watching the seedlings sprout up inside is my favorite part. No one really sees my flower beds anyway so it's not a big deal. I'll just keep trying and learning. I'd really like to have a greenhouse to start my plants. Maybe for next year.
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