Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wordless Wednesday...Two cuties
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Monday, October 13, 2008
10 Tips for Saving on Your Heating Bills
This was in my inbox this morning and I thought it was worth sharing these good tips for saving money....Kitty
Saving on Your Heating Bill
by Justin Ripley
You don't have much choice. You must heat your home.
With gas, heating fuel, and electric prices rising more and
more every day, many people are finding that the cost of
heating their homes is reaching astronomical proportions.
Unlike other monthly expenses that can be cut out of a
person's budget, home heating expenses are not an area where
we have much choice. We have to heat our homes during the cold
winter months just in order to survive. It's a simple as that.
Despite the fact that this is an expense we can not remove
from our budgets, there are a number of things that can be
done to trim those heating costs throughout the winter. Many
articles point to expensive remedies, such as installing
energy efficient windows or installing new insulation. While
these solutions work, it can take years to realize the savings
in lower heating costs. Conversely, most of these ten tips are
cheap, easy, and quick to implement. I hope they will save you
some money while keeping you warm throughout those cold winter
months!
1. Install a "smart" thermostat. While it may cost you
somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to purchase a
programmable thermostat, it should pay for itself within a
year. Personally, I bought a 7-day programmable thermostat as
soon as I moved into my new house and I love it. It was
relatively easy to install myself and now the temperature in
my home fluctuates throughout the day per my plan. The heat
drops down to 62 during the day when I'm not home (why keep
the place warm when nobody is home!) then charges back up to
70 degrees shortly before I get back from work. At bedtime, it
drops down to 62 again, and then it heads back up to 70
shortly before I need to get out of bed in the morning. It's
great!
2. Throw some extra blankets on the bed. Following the thought
from above, I sleep in a relatively cold environment. I find
it to be better for my lungs, and frankly, once you're nestled
under a bunch of warm blankets, it's quite enjoyable. Not
heating the house to 70 degrees throughout the night will save
a bunch of money on those heating bills.
3. Consider buying a humidifier. Moist air feels warmer than
dry air, and it's better for your skin and lungs, too.
4. Wear wool socks in the house. The floors in your house get
cold in the winter as heat rises and colder air moves down.
Cold feet make cold people. Wool socks are cheap, comfortable,
and will keep you and your feet warm.
5. Wear a sweater. Like the socks, this is a cheap and easy
way to stay warm throughout the winter and allows you to set
the thermostat at a lower temperature. I've noticed that in
today's modern world people seem to think they should be able
to wear shorts and t-shirts in their homes throughout the
winter. This is fine if you want to pay for it. I'll take a
lesson from my ancestors and just bundle up a little bit.
6. Let the light in. Be sure to open the window shades and
blinds during the day. Sunlight coming in will act as passive
solar heat and can make a significant difference in the
temperature of your home.
7. Turn the ceiling fans on. This one may sound a little
crazy, but it works. Most ceiling fans have a switch on them
that allows them to run in reverse. By running the fan in
reverse at a low speed, it will actually help circulate warm
air throughout the house.
8. Seal the leaks. At the beginning of winter, go around your
home and seal up any potential air leaks with caulk or weather
stripping. Most of the heat that leaves your home escapes
through cracks around the windows and doors. To the extent
possible, seal these up!
9. Service your furnace and/or heaters. A dirty furnace or heater is not efficient and
will cost more money to run than one that receives
annual cleaning from a professional. In addition to periodic
servicing, be sure to replace those air filters if needed.
10. Cook a big Sunday roast. Mom
always cooked a Sunday roast. Pork or beef with carrots,
potatoes, gravy, and all the other good stuff. It was a great
tradition to bring the family together at least one day a
week, and of course, the food was great, too. Cooking a
roast meant having the oven on for a few hours, and all that
heat definitely escapes into the house. It doesn't cost much
to run the oven, and it's also a nice way to spend a quiet
Sunday in the winter with family.
I hope these simple tips prove useful and help you save some
of your hard-earned cash this winter!
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Friday, October 10, 2008
Fab Friday
I say Fab because the weather is just that, fabulous! It is cool but not cold, the kind where you open up your windows and the breeze blows the curtains around, LOVE IT!
Grinding was suppose to start today but they have pushed it back until Monday, which is OK with me. Hubby can take an extra weekend to relax before he starts working nonstop for the next three months. The money is great, but he gets tired of it after a month or so. I don't blame him either, I worked grinding several years in the scale house, and it does take a toll on you. Seven days a weeks for weeks and weeks.
So for lunch hubby wants to go to his favorite eat out, Pizza Hut. I personally don't care for them but he loves it, so Pizza Hut it is. Then it's off to see mom for a bit at the home, a quick stop at the grocery store for a few items, and then home to wait for my dear friend Debbie who is coming for a weekend visit. With the holidays kicking up soon, we are getting a visit in before things get too hectic for visiting.
So thats pretty much me weekend, chatting, swinging, porching, garage saleing, malling, eating out, and did I mention chatting. The guys will be doing some hunting. So I hope everyone else is going to have a great weekend ahead. Call you BFFs and chat some.
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Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thankful Thursday/Using what the Army gave us
I have to give praise and thanks to the people who came to rescue during our time after Gustav hit us. We received help from several different organizations. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross gave out cleaning and personal items by the buckets full. We decided not to take any of these items. I was looked at as snobish by my sisters in law, but it wasn't that I thought I was too good for these things, it was that we didn't feel we needed it and would have rather had someone else have it that did need it. Also very thankful for the many power company trucks and workers that came in from other states to help restore our power lines. We actually had a crew from Alabama get us back on. Thanks guys!
Another group was the Army National Guard, they were a trememdous help to us. They gave out water, tarps, ice, and food, which we did need and took. The food came in the form of MREs, meals ready to eat. These packages are a wonderful assortment of foods. Everything from spaghetti and meatballs to Mexican food, and I have to say, that what I tasted was great. I didn't eat any of these meals due to the high fat and carb content in them, but my boys did. They are made for soldiers who need the protein and carb fill to keep going in the fields, so I understood why they were like that. These packages also contained several others items such as drinks mixes, crackers, a tube of peanut butter or cheese spread, poptarts and/or several types of baked goods (which were delish), candy, and packages of fruit, just to mention a few items. These meals are made to feed a person for the whole day on one meal pack if need be. They even came with these tiny little bottles of Louisiana hot sauce, which I thought was too cute.
*If my camera was working I would take a picture of one of these great little meal thingys.
I ended up keeping all the odds and ends that were in the meal packs that my boys didn't eat, such as the hot sauce, the crackers, the baked goods, the peanut butter, and the friut. The items have a shelf life of three years, so I stocked them on my shelf in my pantry, lol. So this morning I used some of the friut to make muffins with, and they came out so good too. I made cranberry and blueberry muffins. At first I thought Hummm maybe not, but to my surprise they were very good. My son ate 4 of them, so I know they were good, lol.
Well the weather is gorgeous outside, thank you God, so I think we will go do school on the patio. Have a great day everyone.
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Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Duggars
Has anyone been watching the shows on TLC the last two weeks about the Duggar family? I have, and I have to say that it's the best hour of TV I watch all week. Last night the eldest, Josh, asked for his girlfriends hand in marriage. To use the word "sweet" would be an understatement, lol. I have always felt so uplifted watching this family on TV, they are a true inspiration to me and others, I'm sure.
OH well, just my thoughts today!
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