Check this out...

Friday, September 24, 2010

short post today...

Hey all, sorry I've been a little absent lately. Our family has had a really rough couple of weeks. We lost my husband's grandfather this past week, last Thursday to be exact. He had physically taken a turn for the worse a couple of weeks ago & then passed on rather quickly since then. So my post tonight is to simply remember & honor him.

I would like to thank him for helping to raise my husband & his brother & for being a positive force in my husband's life. I am so very thankful that he lived to see his 5 great-grandchildren thus far.

Thank you Dickie & Rest now In Peace.

Love,
Colette, Bob, Patrick & Casey

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Coolest Store I've heard about in a long time....

We were watching DIY (Do It Yourself) network, which we love & there are always great tips, some expected & some unexpected... this was one of those unexpected tips which was both environmentally friendly, budget friendly & best of all for a good cause!! (Habitat for Humanity).

They mentioned if you have a home improvement project coming up to check out a store called: Re-Store. It's run by Habitat for Humanity, here is the blip from their home page:

ReStore resale outlets

ReStores sell new fixtures (like these toilets) as well as gently used furniture, home accessories, appliances and building materials.

Habitat’s ReStore resale outlets sell reusable and surplus building materials to the public
While every ReStore is a little different, most focus on home improvement goods like furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances.

ReStores accept donated goods which are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price. The proceeds help local Habitat affiliates fund the construction of Habitat homes within their communities.

Promoting reuse and recycling
ReStores provide an environmentally and socially responsible way to keep good, reusable materials out of the waste stream while providing funding for Habitat’s community improvement work.

Find a ReStore near you or donate materials
To shop, follow the links below to find a ReStore near you. To donate materials, please contact your local ReStore by following the links below.

The DIY segment didn't include a website, but here it is: http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx?tgs=OS8xMi8yMDEwIDY6MTM6MzAgUE0%3d

What a phenomenal idea & for such a great cause!!

To find a store near you, use the following link (in U.S., they also have a link for Canada):
http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx From there you click on your state.

I thought this was super exciting, especially coming from a totaly DIY nerd!!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Green Jargon Friday - "Carbon Footprint"

Simply put your "Carbon Footprint" is the amount of carbon dioxide emissions created by a person or industry. To further explain it is the amount of carbon dioxide output by yourself, your home, your vehicle, your every day life. There are several sites that can estimate your carbon footprint & offer tips to reduce it.

Why would you want to reduce it you may ask? Well, because the earth can only maintain so much carbon dioxide, we need oxygen to survive, so we want more oxygen & less carbon dioxide, or the earth and it's inhabitants; humans, cannot possibly survive.

Here is a site where you can measure your carbon footprint: http://www.conservation.org/act/live_green/carboncalc/Pages/default.aspx?gclid=CLiwk5qh7KMCFZZM5QodZh0k3w

There are many sites with suggestions & tips to reduce your footprint, I will give you one example: http://www.whatsmycarbonfootprint.com/reduce.htm

Now, this is an interesting site I stumbled upon while doing some research http://www.carbonfootprint.com/ If you have some time check it out!!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

What is Happiness to you? Can you find it every day?

I read another blog: http://affaircare.blogspot.com/2010/08/add-happiness-every-day-of-month.html about Happiness and August being happiness month, so on and so forth. So, it got me to thinking.... how happy am I every day, what about my husband and my children, are they truly happy? How can I make them & myself happier? Would love some comments/feedback on this....

What truly makes you happy? Do you have a "happy" moment every single day? How can we be happier people?

For me I believe it changes with the stages of my life.... for example, when I was single, had no kids, I was happy to buy something new & get overtime at work, so I could buy more stuff! (seems rather silly now - a lot of the stuff I bought I mean) I was also happy to go out w/my friends and dance & drink & meet guys. Then I met my husband, and I was happy to be w/someone like him, someone handsome & intelligent & a good man, very happy to spend time alone w/him, or even w/our friends. Then we got married & I was happy to be a part of a married couple, happy when we got weekends alone sleeping late in bed & going to breakfast together; taking vacations together. Then we had 1 son & now 2 sons & I'm happy to have a conversation w/my husband after the kids go to bed, I'm happy when my children make new friends, I'm extatic when my children laugh & they are happy, I'm happy to stay home & raise them & I'm happy to meet other moms, both like me & very different from me.

I'm not happy about having hardly any money, barely enough to pay our bills, because I do stay home & when I have work from home (which I always try to do) I am very happy to contribute financially & make our family more comfortable. In those moments when I'm feeling sad about cancelling plans for a "mom's night out" w/some girlfriends, because I literally couldn't afford to do something so "selfish" I sit & write & then look for more legitimate work from home.... I also concentrate on how smart my children are, how healthy they are and how hard I work and struggle to give them everything, gymnastics class, organic, farm fresh, local food & how good of a cook I am to prepare delicious meals for us.

I have a passion for being a mom & a wife (& a bit of a "greenie") & this, yes this after 11 years as a "corporate" person is definitely what makes me happy!! I was interupted about 50 time while writing this by my son & we cracked up laughing every single time!!