Going Green

I like to think of myself as greenish. I am not totally Green yet, but I am getting there. I sometimes laugh and say that I was Green before Green was cool.
For example, I remember being in 4th grade when my teacher taught us about the environment. We raised enough money to buy some land in the rain forrest. (Umm, I am not really sure how that all turned out). Anywho, I found out about all the pollution in the air, and so I joined GreenPeace. Yes, as a 4th grader I wrote to GreenPeace and for the next 10 years they sent me all of their literature. After I got their literature I was so moved that I took all the change out of my piggy bank, put in an envelope and wrote GreenPeace on the envelope and dropped it in the mail. I think the mail man scored big that day-- he got a tip that I am sure was no more that 5 bucks. I then threw a fit when I saw that we used the plastic bags from the grocery store so my mom purchased some canvas shopping bags and we used those for a while! So as you can see, I was Green way before Green was cool!!!

In reality, I do my best to be Green, however, because of our circumstances we are unable to make major changes. We rent our house, so we can't make any structural changes, there is no mass transit at all in the small town where we live, and I commute 100 miles a day to work. So I have some major strikes against me.
But I do still use Green bags, turn off the lights when I leave a room, carpool to work everyday with 4 other people, combine all of my trips in town, and recycle. I know that my habits are not earth shattering, but I believe that even a little bit helps. So I am doing my part as best I can.
Do I feel guilty at times for not being as Green as I can? Yes. Do I truly care about this planet? Yes. Do I feel a sense of obligation to do as much as I can for the earth? Yes I do.
I am taking simple steps to Green up. Like I said, it may not be earth shattering, but this is simply all I can do.

Grocery Shopping

One thing in my life that is not simple is grocery shopping. Even though it is not simple, I really really like to go to the grocery store. I like to go by myself, look around, compare prices and products, and eat the samples. (So nummy!!!) All in all, I have a great time. The part of my trip that is not simple is the checkout process. 1st, I am a pretty big coupon user. (Annoying to those behind me, I know) I feel like it is such a waste not to use them. Honestly, it takes less than 5 minutes to clip them from the paper, and you can save so much money. 2nd, I use green bags. I am not sure of the proper etiquette for using green bags, but it always seems to annoy the cashier when I hand them over. Plus, when I get to the checkout stand, my type A personality really shines. One of my love languages is efficency, and so I like to get things done really quickly, and do them right the 1st time. So there I am at the checkout with my coups, and green bags, and I am adamit about not using plastic bags, and so I try to make sure that all of my green bags are loaded, because sometimes the checker does not fill them to the top. I have been known to condence 2 bags into one so that the checker does not have to use the plastic ones. So, to all of those checkers out there, I am sorry, but thank you for your work. (I am always very friendly, and sometimes I get pretty chatty with yall. Some people are super rude and I do not like that.) Anywho..... here is a quick story.......
Usually, I do all my shopping at Walmart because I can get everything I need in one place for a really great price. Now, I know some people are not crazy about Walmart, but thats where my Mom has shopped all of my life, so it is how I grew up. However, latley, I have been going to a grocery store called HEB. I don't think there are HEB's up North, but they are all over down South. Let me tell you why I switched....
A few weeks ago I ran into HEB to pick up something quickly, and a huge special caught my eye. Each week HEB has this special called the Meal Deal, and its awesome. Here is how it works, 1st you buy one item, i.e. a roast. Then they have 6 or 7 items that you get for FREE, to make a complete meal. For example, a few weeks ago I bought a roast for $10.00, and I got soda, foil, biscuts, gravy mix, butter, and a bag of salad for free. It was so great! So each week I check the paper and if they have a good deal, I go buy it.

So thats it. Thats my adventures in grocery shopping. Not simple, but it is one of my pleasures.

Rolling Change

I know that what I am about to say might make me sound (A) Crazy, (B) Neurotic, (C) OCD, (D) All of the above.
I like to roll change. There I said it. No that is not code for doing drugs, it is true, I like to roll change. I like to put in a movie, take a big jar of change, and put the change into paper rolls. I like to do this because you take something in total chaos, and organize it. That is the goal--- I like to organize! It brings me so much pleasure to take somthing in dissaray, and make it nice, neat, and easy to find.
Rolling change has become a tradition that I have with my dad. Every day, my dad come home and puts his pocket change into a bowl by the door. When the bowl gets full he dumps the change into a box in his closet, and then at Christmas time, we roll it together.
So that's it, that is my neuroses, I like to organize. I like when things are neat, clean, and organized. I don't like clutter, or messy, I like clean! And I like to do it!!!

Simple Living

I have this sign in my house that sits on above my front door that says " Live Simply, Live Well." If my life had a bumper sticker, that would be it. I have come to embrace this motto as my own. So what does it mean? What does it mean to "Live Simply, Live Well?" I am sure there are thousands of possible definations, but for me, it means living a life that is unobstructed by chaos, drama, and stuff. I am by no means a minimalist, (think Moby on MTV Cribs) that is not me. I don't like steril, cold, or dry. Just the oposite, I like warm, inviting, funny, and cozy. For me, living simple means getting rid of clutter and junk. It means not spending money on things that I kind of like, or kind of want. It means spending my resources on things that I truly desire. I don't want to fill my home with things simply because I can. In the same way I don't want to fill my heart and my life with junk that only takes up room, and distracts me from the things that are of value and have worth.
So who am I? I am a woman who loves Jesus Christ with all of my heart. I am a woman who thanks Him every night for all that He has given me. I am a woman who has been blessed to have found the love of my life at an early age, for my readers, I will refer to him as P. I am also blessed with a wonderful family, and wonderful inlaws. Both sides of our family are wonderful and offer so much love, encouragement, and insight into lifes challenges.
That is me in a nutshell. This is my small, simple space where I will share my joys, challenges, frustrations, hopes, fear, tips, tidbits, and more. Thanks for reading.