We're all a little Nutty

My brother Mark has recently started a new business doing energy audits for homes. He comes into your home to assess what areas or aspects of your home and its management are inefficient, energywise. Then, he makes recommendations for things you could do to improve, even linking you up with a contractor if necessary. He will coach you on making the repairs yourself if you want to save money in that process. He says that for homes older than 8 years, he would guarantee an energy savings of over 10% (some homes will be even higher) after minor repairs are made. He expects the audit to pay for itself (in energy savings back to you) in less than a year. The audit costs 12 cents per square foot of your home. That would equal $250 for a 2000 square foot home. In an effort to spread the word, he is offering it to family and friends for $100 for the next few months. Each audit takes 3-5 hours to complete. If you'd like more information, you can visit his website (www.consultethos.c...

Lizzie didn't believe that those words in the title are really a song. I'm the song personified tonight. Maybe it's because these days I hate Halloween. Maybe it's because I spent the entire day running to and fro and accomplishing nothing. Maybe it's because having a Halloween party 4 days before Halloween, requiring everyone to show up in costume and be fed sugar, makes me hate Halloween even more. Maybe it's because I didn't realize it was my friend's birthday, and therefore did nothing for her. Maybe it's because I got the email I expected from someone who read the news coverage about the balloon release for Red Ribbon Week, claiming we were irresponsible ecological terrorists. Maybe it's because I'm tired of being a single mom (I know...I'm a wimp...it's only the 3rd day). But, on the bright side: the snow melted AFTER Ian played in it; Dillon took 3rd place in the race he ran; Lizzie's costume looked cute for the first littl...

We've been to Goblin Valley 3 times, as a family, and a few other times with scouts or father and sons outings. We were supposed to go over spring break, but it was snowing so we wisely opted out. So, we were talking about it with some friends in our neighborhood and decided we needed to go there together. I don't know whether it was because my kids are that much older (and I'm therefore not toting anyone in a backpack); or because everyone (mostly) had a buddy to hang out with; or because we explored things a little differently than we'd done them before; but, it was the most fun I've ever had at Goblin Valley. The weather was perfect. The camping was free. We got to hike further into Little Wild Horse Canyon than we did before. Here are some of my favorite pictures: Mckay, in the distance Happy girls No trip would be complete without exiting or entering the cave of death. Our picnic cove. We gave Jeff a hard time about his beverage choice. Not appealing! Th...

I'm breathing a big sigh of relief today as we have just wrapped up another Red Ribbon Week, something I have signed up to oversee for several years, now. We decorated the school, signed pledges to stay drug free, had a teacher baby picture guessing contest (because our theme was "We were born to be drug free"), had a "run away from drugs" race, and then today, we released red balloons with notes inside that said, "Our school pledges to be drug free. If you do too, send us a letter...(followed by the school address)" We spent the morning inflating the balloons, some of which were floating low by the time we released them. But, overall, it was a grand success. Did I mention I'm delighted? I had a superb committee and it really wasn't a lot of work, but it is a relief to know that we don't have to worry about it anymore! Here are some shots of the balloons...

I took these pictures a few weeks ago after we had some serious rainstorms. I think it was the day they planted my new tree... Anyway, I was amazed at the amount of debris that was flushed out of my rain gutters -- more than I've ever seen before. I think the brown stuff is seed pods from the now-missing Cottonwood tree. I wonder how long they've been jamming up the gutters. And the black stuff is from the shingles on the roof. I hope they washed away evenly and that is not a representative sample from one small, now-leaky, area! Anyway, I thought it was interesting. It was a great visual reminder of why we need to drink lots of water.

OK. So the funeral was a month ago, but it made for a good title. Otherwise, our past week was spent celebrating one advancement or another. First, Dillon's camp-themed birthday party. Second, Lizzie's fairy-themed birthday party. And lastly, Ian's "potty school" graduation. Hooray! I won't even show you the kids' cakes as they are not works I am proud of. But, Ian's toilet seat doughnuts were a hit! We got them for 25 cents when the grocery store cleared them out on Friday night! And now, I am ready for a nap. That 6:25am alarm every day is killing me. We found out that 10 year old boys don't like to eat hot dogs they've roasted themselves. Lizzie was in heaven. After toilet seat doughnuts, we had a beanbag toss through the seat of the training toilet. Ian made it nearly every time...probably a symbolic accomplishment.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we began removing our last Cottonwood tree because it was sending up root stumps all over our lawn. We saved lots of money by doing it ourselves and we were very careful to protect the little maple tree struggling to survive next to it. We had planted it 5 years ago in preparation for the day we'd have to remove the Cottonwood. I posted pictures of the venture way back then. Finally, in July, we found someone who would come out and finish the job. We paid the guy way too much. He came over the weekend of the 4th of July, took forever to get the work done, and then left without finishing it, claiming he'd return the next week with better equipment. Mid August came and went and after trying to get 2 other stump removal people to come finish the job -- who never showed up -- we finally found this great company to do it. I cautioned him about the danger of working on our hill, which he assured me wouldn't be a problem for his skills in working the gri...