EMM: Change Your Bulbs

Today is all about saving energy. As the daughter of a man who's worked more than a quarter of a century for the power and light company, I should be great at this. I definitely remember hearing "Turn out the light!" growing up. And it must be a part of my subconscious since I say it to Paul all the time too. Of course now there's more to it, you can switch out your regular light bulbs for the more energy efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) ones. That's the action for the day, pretty simple really. And that's just what I did. I purchased a pack of 4 and replaced the bulbs in the office ceiling fan. Not only should I save money on my electric bill and purchase fewer bulbs, but also prevent the release of carbon dioxide (apparently a good thing).



I did a quick inventory and will continue to replace those bulbs I can I the old ones burn out. We have 3 ceiling fans and a couple of lamps that I know I'll be replacing. We also have about 8 fixtures that have glass globes that I'm not sure the CFL's will work with but will try. Unfortunately, our dining areas, entry, bathrooms, kitchen and master closet all use specialty bulbs, so I won;t be able to replace everything but 15 for sure and probably some of those globes too. Not bad for something so easy!

Done! Tagging

So I finally completed this task. I needed to get everything ready for this huge consignment sale that we have here. This always takes me a little longer because our home printer doesn't print the tags clear enough so I have to print them elsewhere. I have about 100 items I'm putting in the sale (I tagged about 20 more but they were summer clothes). Of course, this task is really never completed because Sophie outgrows her clothes constantly.

The crazy thing about the consignment sale is that I get most of Sophie's clothes at the sale...and consequently a lot of those same clothes are getting tagged to go back into the sale. One good thing though is that there are 2 different sales and whatever doesn't sell at the first one is ready for the second a month later. One tag, 2 sales. Done and done!

Done! Sophie's Wall

Before she could stand we had this over her crib.

Once she could stand, we moved it over to where the rocking chair was. My mom fixed a quilt that matches her bedding so it could be hung on the wall, but I am still worried that she will be able to pull it down, so until she gets out of the crib (or we have taller ceilings), I've decided to just put these vinyl letters on the wall.

I know it's really hard to see them in these pictures (and in person too). They aren't as big as the package's picture, but for now it will be okay.

Happy Birthday, Becky!

We went to the church tonight to celebrate the nativity of the church's Administrative Assistant. Her son (the guitar player in the picture) is part of the band and so she asked them to be the entertainment for the night. We had a great dinner of barbeque and then got to hear the great music. Sophie loved the sausage for dinner. I was hoping she'd dance for Becky but she got distracted by her lemonade.

EMM: Protect Yourself

This week the book looks at protecting yourself with Internet security. There are some common sense things regarding your passwords and such. We all know the tips to keep passwords from being hacked. Personally, I have a hard time with this because I have a hard time remember multiple passwords. Of course with websites requiring increased measures (i.e. longer passwords that include a number, letter, and symbol) I'm having to change passwords I've had for ages anyway, so I might as well create different ones for different sites. Below are some other tips to keep in mind to protect yourself:

• Don't use automatic log-in features.
• Utilize anti-virus software and a firewall.
• Log off the Internet and turn off your computer when you are done.
• Don't open emails from people you don't know.

So, now go change a password or 2!

EMM: Help the Hungry

Before we had Sophie, Paul and I helped out at a local shelter a few times. Our church provides and serves meals several times a year. Now that she is here (and too young to volunteer), we can still help by providing sack lunches. I know that the next scheduled time is already covered by our youth group but I will contact the coordinator and set up something for the next time.

I've also been trying to watch how much I buy at the grocery store. There are times when I am too ambitious about how much I'll need for the week and I end up throwing out food that has gone bad.

How can you help feed the hungry?

EMM: Write a Letter

Last week we got rid of junk mail and this week we are sending mail to a military hero. You can send something to a soldier you know or ask friends, co-workers, or chaplains to help you find one. The website offers some suggestions for what to include in your letter. It also has links to sites that will connect you with soldiers. I used the Let's Say Thanks site to send a printed postcard. It's not quite the personal touch you'd think, but I am going to have Sophie help me create a card to send later this week. My mom's group is also setting up an event to put together care packages for those overseas. Regardless of how you may feel about the military actions that are currently occurring, those serving deserve our respect and appreciation.