For weeks my inbox has been flooded with PR requests to review earth-friendly products to share with my readers. "Do you have a green guide gathered together for Earth Day?" The PR people ask me. No, I do not. Here's why.I celebrate Earth Day every day. Not just one day a year where I buy a reusable bag. When I review products at Mummy's Product Reviews (MPR) I try do review as many sustainable, eco-friendly products that I can get my hands on. In the past few years I have consistently tried to make less waste, recycle more, use my reusable bags to shop and tote things around and freecycle my heart out. I donate a lot of items instead of throwing them out. I use household cleaning, beauty, health and kid/baby products that have less packaging and chemicals than the typical alternatives. … [Read more...]
Yeah, Because You Want My Two Cents
The following is a January 10, 2008 blog post that just feels right to post again. Have a safe, happy, healthy new year Internets! I for one, am keeping it simple this year. I'm not looking to spend time with the police again this year or getting bail money for a certain loved one from an ATM stationed in a high stakes poker room.See sign above? Yup. Really nothing more needs to be said but sometimes I find myself in conversations with people who talk as if they have no control over their lives. It baffles me. I'm not saying I'm some life coach or guru of sorts. Far be it from me to dispense any real advice but uh... I'm about to. Why? Because when I hear people talk like this I get mad. Damn mad. So mad I think of this scene from Network.Your life is your own. Yours. You have to live it … [Read more...]
Less is More
Want to buy a house for $50K? Well you can right here in the DC Metro area. It's true and it's unreal all at the same time. Everywhere you look these days houses are going into foreclosure, being abandoned and just taking six months or more to sell at prices lower than the appraised tax value. House flipping has naturally taken a hit as well. With our most recent flip we sold it not in our regular fast pace of less than a week or even less than 24 hours but it took two months, two price drops and accepting an offer that made us little profit. It's disheartening at best but it is a sign of the times.Reading the Washington Post fashion section in the Sunday Source this past weekend it became clear that even in that realm things are taking a hit. Designers are not offering up a lot of … [Read more...]
Earth Hour- TONIGHT! Are you Ready?
Maybe you have heard of it, maybe you haven't but tonight all over the world between 8-9 p.m. we are powering down. For one solid hour there will be no lights on in my house. Just candlelight. Earth Hour is a great way for your whole family to get involved and learn about conservation. While T.D. will be in bed by that point, the dog and I will sitting quietly. On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund. Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 … [Read more...]
What Would You Do With One Extra Day?
Today should be the last day of the month, but we are in a leap year. Think of tomorrow as our bonus day! For most of us it will be life as usual (wake up, wipe kiddie snot, work, wipe more snot, sleep, repeat), but think of this- If you could have one extra day to do something, anything- what would you do? Would you spend time with family and friends? Would you rather spend the time cleaning the house or tackling projects around your home?Yahoo! polled over 2,000 people and found these results-80% chose doing something fun like hanging out with family/friends, going on some wild excursion or shopping63% said they might work, do some sort of organizing around the house or clean the garage40% would do some online clean up, like cleaning their email box, their many online profiles or back up … [Read more...]
She’s Two- does she really need that party?
T.D. turns two on Sunday. It's T.D. the 2.0 version. As the date draws near I have begun to feel real anxiety about my lack of planning for her big day. There will be no party. Only cake. No balloons, no company invading our home for hours with little tykes to hurl cake around. We’ll take pictures as she blows out the candles, if she even does that and we’ll make a fuss, but that is all.We thought about taking her to lunch but her favorite eatery, except Chick Fil A is closed on Sundays. We thought about a lot of things and came to the decision that we not only wouldn't go nuts on a party but we would not be buying her loads of presents. Christmas was only two months ago.When I look at what we’ve bought her thus far for presents I feel like I’m looking at birthday gifts from the … [Read more...]
What the Hell are You Waiting for?
See sign above? Yup. Really nothing more needs to be said but sometimes I find myself in conversations with people who talk as if they have no control over their lives. It baffles me. I'm not saying I'm some life coach or guru of sorts. Far be it from me to dispense any real advice but uh... I'm about to. Why? Because when I hear people talk like this I get mad. Damn mad. So mad I think of this scene from Network. Your life is your own. Yours. You have to live it as if each day were your last (that doesn't mean quit your job or rob a bank either). I know real pearls of wisdom right there. But seriously, if you are waiting for some big moment in your life to happen to make it all amazingly better (to bring romance into your life, adventure, fix your spouse, or even you) it is not going to … [Read more...]
Continuing in the vein (OK that just sounds gross) of Project Life Change I'm not working today. The pull is strong and it means that tomorrow I will have to work doubly hard but I feel it is time for a day of rest. I knew going into this work from home thing that in effect I would never actually leave work. Especially when I happen to leave my laptop on all the time and out in the open. It tempts me. Holding court on whatever surface it lands. Beckoning me like a siren to type more words. Blog one more thing. I will resist today and live in the day.I'll take a walk with TD despite the fog rolling in off our almost completely dried up river. We will do some fun crafty project involving leaves I think and read lots of books. We might return some picture frames as well but at least I'm not … [Read more...]
Reduce the Crazy- Project Life Change
So there I was reading all about Project Life Change from some great bloggers and I thought, well what a swell idea but I've already done that. Remember? I quit my job back in January to stay home with T.D. and pursue my writing. A life long dream. What could be better than that?Except for one thing. It's called balance. Coupled with my inability to say no to a writing gig or almost anything else and I am swamped! Swamped with writing for free half the time too. Sure I get loads of free products and that's great! My friends think I'm the luckiest person for all that stuff that arrives daily at my front door. Except that they don't have to review it. I get bogged down in the boxes and using things and keeping such a tight schedule. I have stopped enjoying it. I want to do different things … [Read more...]