June 29, 2008

Ok, so I've made my laundry soap and Mike is getting the cement poured for my clothesline as I write...I'm so proud of myself =-) The soap seems to be doing a good job, as far as I can tell! And I used the clothesline a few times last week but it started leaning more and more so it needed to be cemented into the ground. It's amazing the short amount of time it takes to dry the clothes on the line! Yes, they've been a little stiffer than I like, even w/softener in the wash load, but I just put them in the dryer for a "fluff-time" of about 10 minutes and it seems to help a lot! You can't be in a hurry, though, if you're line-drying the clothes and I've found I have to sort of plan my time according to daylight, weather, etc. I'll get it worked out and hopefully we'll see at least a little bit of it's usefulness in our energy bill =-)

Shelby got home and we still haven't seen much of her! She's leaving the nest a little bit at a time which is hard, but she's growing and maturing a lot and she had a great week at camp.

Alix is sewing, still, and also got some "fashion drawing" books from the library. She wants to design clothes...and move to NYC...and be famous...if anyone can do it, she can but I'm trying to stress more importantly is her walk w/Christ and how that will impact forever vs. all of our energy on things that will not last and are only beneficial in the short time we have here on earth...

ok, sermonette done!!
m

June 23, 2008

No new HTML on here yet. I took a "brain break" last week so I may try to start working on it again =-) Shelby is gone to camp this week so I may have a little extra time to get on the computer! Between her and Alix, I get little time on the computer...at least the one that I can use to upload pics, etc.

I'm in the midst of possibly buying a clothesline...my "go green" item of the month =-) I found it on Craigslist over the weekend. After receiving our energy bill last week and seeing that it has jumped significantly, I thought "why not?" in trying to hang clothes out to dry. My biggest complaint is that I want my clothes to still be soft and smell good. No offense, Mom, but I remember her hanging clothes out to dry when we were kids and they were stiff and didn't' smell good. I'm hoping to be able to get the clothesline and also be able to "master" the art of hanging clothes and having them still be soft. Any ideas or suggestions? Mike suggested a clothesline a few weeks ago, but he didn't make it sound "cool" and present it as a "go green" idea, so I dismissed it. Sorry, Mike! You're so cutting edge that I don't even realize it...=-)

I did find this little blog entry from someone else and thought it appropriate:

Clotheslines are the new cool
And just like that, drying clothes on a line is hip. It will help save the planet and it's a way to make a green statement.
Funny, just a few weeks ago, I considered it trashy. I saw my neighbors drying their kids' clothes on a fence and I thought: "How country." And not in a good way.
Then after last week's Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis, I saw my other neighbors doing the sun-dried clothing thing and I thought: "Tres chic."
You can find really cool clotheslines at Gaiam. You've got a choice between the Retractable Clothesline for 20 bucks, the Large Drying Rack for 89 bucks, and the new Breezecatcher Umbrella Drying Rack (pictured) for a 169 big ones. That's upscale, right?

Will keep you posted on the clothesline, if/when we get it. Hopefully it will be today and I can start playing with it this week!

June 16, 2008

Be watching ever so closely to my little HTML/CSS changes I'm working on for my blog page =-) I have a "dummy" page that I practice on and it's looking pretty good. My poor, 40-something brain is toast but I'm determined to figure it out!!! It's taking up a lot of my time but hopefully it'll be worth it. How? I don't know!!

m

June 12, 2008

On Tuesday Alix & I had the privilege and honor to welcome home a 90 yr old WWII veteran at DFW Airport. It's a rather long story and I'll provide the link to the whole history of why he was returning from Paris.

Anyway, I can't tell you in words what it was like to shake his hand and tell him thank you. Our whole world was shaped by the actions of him and his fellow service men on D-Day in Normandy. Mike & I watched the HBO special series "Band of Brothers" (on DVD) a couple of months ago. It was a little rough, language-wise, but it's true stories of a parachute troop and all they encountered during the time from their air-drop until they headed to the Pacific. It put it all in perspective as to what they faced and now, in the 21st century, they're all but forgotten, let alone honored (those that are still alive). If you get the chance to watch that series, I highly recommend it. Like I said-beware of a lot of strong cussing, but it was war...

So here are some pics of Pilot Mr. Moreland who actually flew on D-Day..and the link to his story. I am so glad we took the time to go and welcome him home!

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/682508.html is the first article and then this is the link to the article after the homecoming

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/693356.html

God bless the USA (especially during this election year...)

June 11, 2008

It's sooo hot here in TX. I know we're not the only hot place on the planet, but it just sucks the life out of you it seems! Our summer break has officially started and so far, I haven't heard the "b" word (bored)! Shelby's driving and has a correspondence course to take over the summer so she's working on it a little bit at a time. Alix is sewing...and sewing...and sewing! She's getting some private lessons from her Consumer Science (Home Ec) teacher through the summer and she's in the beginning stages of starting a dress. I've bought fabric for her to make my "go green" cloth napkins!

I'm taking it upon myself to try to learn HTML & CSS...at this point, I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to make a cute blog page =-) Yes, that's the only reason I want to learn to code is so I can make "cute" blog pages! I think there's a little potential income there if I can just get it up and going. I went to the library yesterday and loaded up on the "dummies" and "idiots" books so we'll see what happens! If anyone knows any tricks or the best (easiest) way to design blog pages feel free to clue me in!!

I'll put up a couple of pictures from Shelby's party. It was fun and she had a good time which is all that matters, right?! My brother, Jordan, drew the backdrop for pictures at her party. Cool!

Hope you are all well...I'll chat more later!

m

June 4, 2008

Well, tomorrow is Shelby's 16th birthday! I have been reflecting on it all evening as I'm here by myself and writing out a birthday card for her. Where does the time go? I'm so excited for her and this new time in her life, yet scared to death of the big world that lays before her. I'm finding that trusting God is going to be the only way to get through these years and each time that she leaves the house. I choose not to live in fear and "what if's" when she drives but to place her securely in her Father's hands and know He will care for her. It's such a great time in a girls life-turning 16. It's such a huge milestone and turning point in life. I'm praying that she continues to enjoy her life and friends and youth group and that somewhere along the way (when she's much, much older =-) she will run into the man of God's dreams for her and she will continue to trust God to bring him to her.

Ok...I just heard the garage door open so I'd better close this! She'll want on the computer!!

Later!
m

June 3, 2008

My "green" goal for the week...finish up using my paper napkins and try to use cloth napkins to cut down on the amount of paper that is thrown away. I'm hoping to hit up some thrift stores to see what they have in the way of cloth napkins. If nothing, Alix is really into sewing right now so how hard could it be to cut out squares and sew the rough edges to make them clean edges? (I obviously don't know the "correct" sewing lingo, but I'm sure you get the idea!)

Shelby and I watched Ryan, my nephew, today. He's sooo cute and soooo good! He had me laughing quite a bit! He's a good boy, but he sure is busy!!! Whew! Maybe this Shelby-getting-her-license-thing isn't so bad now!! =-) Love you, Ryan!

Getting ready to work on my grocery list/menu for the next week. I always feel stuck in a cooking rut so if anyone has any good recipes they're using right now, feel free to share! We love to try new things!!

Better get to working on it..ugh...
m