LOOSE ENDS

DAY 186

New month! New challenge! I will be phasing out my current health and beauty aids to trade in for more natural, recyclable and greener goods...but first a few things to tidy up...

Back to food for a moment...I found a tasty non-soy, non-dairy energy bar with 5-6g of protein, not much but something anyway! Lara Bar - Cashew Cookie (good taste) and Cherry Pie (great taste)...yay! A little variety to my “have some almonds” approach to travel food with protein...Note to self (and you) – consider carefully, the “Two Moms in the Raw” bar from Starbucks...VERY raw – very natural, very rustic, very vegan, very organic, very gluten-free, VERY fiber-y...all good, just know that before purchasing...

More food: I made a peach pie today with a simple crust from scratch – gave it away so I sure hope it turned out OK! It took more time than taking a frozen crust out of the freezer but nice to know there were just four ingredients – flour, sugar, salt and butta :) Simple however does not mean easier!

Moving on...say hello to Wendy Thomas (Spencer’s Mom – he’s a student leader at Rivier College I met last year)...Wendy has trimmed her weekly grocery bill for a family of 8 (eight) to $140...yes, that’s right $140! Check out her blog http://www.simplethrift.wordpress.com/ and read about her methods, her family and her chickens! At a recent retreat, Spencer asked us “Who wants to see pictures of our family dressed as pirates with chickens on our shoulders?” Johnny Depp fans :) My answer was, “For sure!” and from there I learned more about Wendy and what they all do as a family to conserve, live simply and eat locally. Inspiring!

Finally, back to prior months...habits/learnings that have stuck...
1. Air drying as many items as possible vs running the dry for hours
2. Always bringing a travel mug, water bottle, and silverware (To Go Ware)
3. One light on at a time...home and hotel
4. A lot less TV (57 channels and nothing on a one of ‘em)
5. Donuts (and chocolate) are not good (bad, actually, very bad) for me

Oh and by the way, my June electric bill was ultra-low – I did not turn on any lights except the back porch light at night to keep the Boogey Man away and in my office the night my printer crashed. My June 2010 bill was $18.40 (May was $23.09, July was $33.81 and my June 2009 bill was $40.33 - nice) Our electric is really cheap in my town - our village has our own electric company overseen by a Municipal Commission and financed entirely by customer rates – excellent!

OK, so bring on the olive oil, oatmeal, sugar, and honey and land-fill friendly lids – I am going natural with my “beauty” regimen...this is going to be interesting! Hopefully in a good way....

Have a Nothing New Day! Kristin