Earth Day Photo Collage

ENJOY

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Today is the day lets all sing:

HAPPY EARTH DAY TO YOU!
HAPPY EARTH DAY TO YOU!
HAPPY EARTH DAY DEAR EARTH!
HAPPY EARTH DAY TO YOU!

Time to celebrate what will you do today (and every day) to show your love of the planet that keeps us alive.

Here are 10 Easy ways to show the Earth some love:

1. Walk... Where ever you need to go today leave the car behind and hoof it.

2. Plant an organic garden... whether flower, veggie, or cactus... a garden with no chemicals dumped on it will help every living thing.

3. Set up a bird bath. Our feathered friends do more then sing for us in the spring. They also help control the bug population so give them a place to drink and bath.

4. Check your plumbing.. leaks are the biggest waste of water there is.... next to having grass in the desert :P ... REALLY PEOPLE YOU HAVE TO TRY AND GROW GRASS IN THE DESERT?

5. Help ban the spraying of mosquitoes. I truly believe this practice will kill us all. They spray this poison in the air to kill mosquitoes and kill every other insect as well. Nature has her own way of controlling them. If you want to help ma nature along then get together with your community and place bat houses and purple martin houses around your neighbor hood. These are hunger predators that just love mosquitoes. Then make sure you are emptying any container that holds water to prevent them from breeding around your home. Even that bird bath I suggested in number 3 should be cleaned every day!

6. If you are still drinking bottled water then take a walk to the nearest store and buy a reusable container... what are you waiting for they have already done studies to show that most bottled water is only tap water in a bottle . So save money and the environment and skip the plastic.

7. Replace your light-bulbs.... ok I know you have been procrastinating but today is the day to finally get around and put in those money saving compact fluorescent bulbs.

8. Write your congress person. Lets face it there are a lot of things that need fixing in our government when it comes to the environment and the only way they will listen to us instead of the big business that are padding their re-election funds is if everyone is united on the need to fix the problems.

9. If you haven't started yet the get that compost pile started. This is natures own recycling system and it saves you money ....Think FREE Fertilizer.

10. Stop junk mail -- To help stop junk mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 11 West 42nd St., PO Box 3861, New York, NY 10163-3861. By writing to them, you can help reduce junk mail by up to 75%. the recycle the rest.

Make It Yourself Monday

I love baking mix it makes cooking so much easier. I even have the Bisquick cook book. I didn't like the ingredients in Bisquick so I started surfing the web to find a home made substitute. I found this one on a site called Bisquick Recipes (not actually sponsored by Bisquick). But along with how to make your own Baking mix they have plenty of ways to use it. When I get off my diet I"m going to have to try the chocolate cobbler.


Baking Mix:


Ingredients

8 c. Flour

1 1/4 c Nonfat Dry Milk Powder

1/4 c Baking Powder

1 Tbls Salt

2 c Shortening

Take baking powder, milk, flour and salt in a large pan and mix well. Cut the shortenings in it till it resembles the coarse corn meal. Store in tightly closed containers in dried cool place.

Being green and cheap doesn't mean sacrificing comfort it just means finding a better way to do it! Now its time to cut those energy costs while still staying cool this summer.

• Try whole-house fans help cool your home by pulling cool air through the house and exhausting warm air through the attic. They are effective when operated at night and when the outside air is cooler than the inside.
• Set your thermostat as high as comfortably possible in the summer. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall cooling bill will be.
• Use a programmable thermostat. it will allow you to set the A/C to a warmer temp when you are not at home to save electricity.
  
• Don't set your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your A/C. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and, therefore, unnecessary expense.
• Consider using an interior fan in conjunction with your window A/C to spread the cooled air more effectively through your home without greatly increasing your power use.
• Don't place lamps or TV sets near your A/C thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the A/C to run longer than necessary.
• Plant trees or shrubs to shade A/C units but not to block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses as much as 10% less electricity than the same one operating in the sun.
  
• Consider planting a large deciduous tree on the southern side of your home. The leaves will shade your home in the summer and when the leaves fall will allow the sun to warm it in the winter

Make It Your Self Monday

Just in case you this is your first visit to my blog. My Children are on the Feingold Diet. This Diet removes Artificial Flavors and Colors and certain preservatives from you diet. We started this diet when my daughter was in 1st grade because her teacher wanted to have her diagnosed with ADD. We decided to try everything else before even considering Drugs. For us this diet has worked wonders with about a 95% improvement in her behavior. That being said we had to give up alot of premade items that you get from the store and start making things by hand. Well I've decided to share some of those recipes with you. I have found that homemade is not only cheaper but it taste better too. Today I'm going to share a few of our simple favorites just to get things started and as I go along I will try to include pictures of the finished dishes..... now where did I put that camera???

My friend M. gave me this recipe.
Hot Chocolate Mix:

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup baking cocoa
* 2 cup granulated sugar
* 5 1/3 cups powdered milk
* A dash of salt
Mix all ingredients well and store in an airtight container. (recycle an old jelly or peanut butter jar.)

To Use:

Put three or four teaspoons of mix into a cup, add hot water and a drop of vanilla. Stir well.

Now you will notice that once you've made it, it is just as easy to use as the store bought stuff.


My son is a lover of Taco's he would eat them for every meal if he could and this next recipe is great to have on hand when making any thing take on a Mexican flare. I found this recipe in a cook book I got from the library... Unfortunately I didn't write down the name of the book just the recipe so I can't give credit where credit is due...

Mexican Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup flour
2 T. chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
4tsp salt
4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano

Place all ingredients in a blender and cover. Blend for 5 seconds or less until powdery (don't over do it) Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. (Save up those old spice containers to use for your new found mixes.)

3 Tablespoons = 1 package of taco mix.

And the last recipe for the day is another easy to use seasoning mix. I got this from the same book as the last one..... I think I will have to go back to the library to see if I can find it. I might even add it to my permanent collection.

Italian Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup dried basil
2t. dried sage
1/4 cup dried thyme
1/4 cup dried rosemary
1/4 cup dried oregano

Once again place all ingredients in a blender and cover. Blend for 5 seconds or less until powdery (don't over do it) Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Enjoy

10 Ways To Promote Covservation in Your Daily Life

I received this list from the World Wildlife fund when I donated to them and though it was a pretty good list to share with everyone.

1. Don't buy furniture or decking made of tropical hardwood (like mahogany) unless it has a Forest Stewardship Council label. The FSC label guarantees that the manufacturer abides by established environmental standards for sustainable and well-managed forests.

2. When possible, choose and electric company that does not produce power from polluting sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear fission.

3. Replace standard light bulbs with energy- efficient fluorescent. (This reduces emissions by 500 lbs per year per light bulb.)

4. Install low-flow shower heads that use less water (This reduces emissions by up to 300 lbs per year.)

5. Plant local species of trees.

6. Buy only those seafood products that have the Marine Stewardship council label. The MSC label guarantees that the manufacturer standards for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.

7. Avoid air fresheners and other perfumed products. Freshen your air by opening windows or using baking soda, cedar blocks or dried flowers.

8. Buy organic cotton clothing, fruits and vegetables and other goods to reduce the use of toxic chemicals.

9. Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket. (This reduces emissions by up to 1000 lbs per year.)

10. Buy a car that gets at least 30 miles per gallon. (This reduces carbon dioxide by 2500 lbs per year, compared to a car that gets 10 mpg less.)

DON'T FORGET EARTH DAY IS APRIL 22.

10 Free Ways To Save Water

As you know the motto of my blog is Save Money Save the Environment.... Ok well maybe I never said it but it makes a good motto don't you think?

Here is my Top Ten List on how to save water (which saves you money) and not spending any money to do it.

10. When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water. Or better yet do what I do... (This is with the understanding that with the first solution you will have to dump the rinsing water to get fresh soap free water at least once.) Place silverware in sink fill with just enough hot water to cover. Then when you rinse do it over the sink that the silverware was in to allow enough water to cover the plates or bowls. Then wash the plates or bowls and rinse over the same sink to allow the fresh hot water into the sink. Wash glasses and rinse the same way. Then you will have a nice hot sink full of soap water to do the pots and pans. Rinse these in a separate sink or drain the sink some to allow for the water. This way the rinse water is getting a second use as wash water wasting less water.

9. Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn or garden is watered and not the house, sidewalk, or street. This is assuming you are not currently in a drought in which case to Hell with the Lawn save all the water. I would advise planting local plant that require less watering but this is things you can do for free.

8. Do laundry or run the dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

7. Use the garbage disposal sparingly better yet set up a compost and put your food waste there instead. (except meat and dairy which isn't suppose to go down the disposal either!)

6. Keep an eye on your water bill. A sudden increase may indicate a leak some where.

5. Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation. Use a drip hose and get the water directly where you want it with out the evaporation from being tossed through the air from conventional sprinklers. Also don't water on very windy days the water won't be going where you want it too.

4. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway and sidewalk and save water every time. You'll get some wonderful free exercise as well.

3. Turn off the water when soaping up in the shower and save several gallons of water. Also turn off the water when brushing your teeth....but then again you already knew that didn't you.

2. When you give your pets fresh water use the old water to water your house plants. This includes the nutrient rich water you remove from your fish tank when adding fresh water.

1. Fix those leaks... Every drippy faucet, running toilet, and drippy shower. Don't forget to check outside as well as in for leaks.

Spring is in Bloom

A few Spring Blooms for you to enjoy!