One Small Change: Bye Bye Paper Towels

Ok, so here comes February's change; to stop using paper towels. I grew up not using paper towels but we always had a dishtowel or wash "rags". My mom didn't realize she was being ecofriendly but she did it out of a need to save money. There are many times during the year we do not use paper towels for the same exact reason. So, it wasn't hard to decide that this month and probably the rest of my life, I will not buy paper towels. I still may keep one roll in the house for guest but not for the four of us!

You can read about Hip Mountain Mama's One Small Change vision here. I encourage you all to participate.

Check out this pdf for information on facts about paper waste... http://www.id2.ca/downloads/eco-design-paper-facts.pdf

One Small Change - Crispy Jeans

On January 1st, I decided to take part in Hip Mountain Mama's One Small Change vision. You can read about it here but she is asking for one small change to make a positive green impact.

Jeans seem to take forever in the dryer so I thought if I could hang dry them then that would save energy and money. I loved how my family was really willing to get on board with doing this. We had them hanging anywhere we could find at first but then J took one of the shelves out of the closet and laid it from the dresser to the window. We have kept the shelf there the entire month and I do not plan on moving it!

We plan to hang dry as many of our jeans as possible. There is always going to be "Mom, I don't have any jeans clean" and I will put them in the dryer for those emergencies!

Tomorrow begins our new change for the month of February which I will blog about sooner than later. But, to give you a hint - paper towels.

Tearing Down the Wall - Ouch

As I write this, tears are streaming down my lips, face and neck. I was told once to not wipe my tears and to not be afraid to cry. Well, if that person could see me now! Technically what has happened is I have torn down the wall; The wall I built in childhood to keep out the mean people that did bad things to me. This wall doesn't serve me anymore as an adult but now I have to manage not having that kind of protection. I am learning to protect myself in new ways and it is the hardest thing I have ever done.

Yes, I've given birth to two beautiful girls but that pain went away within 72 hours. The pain I feel now has lasted since about August so I'm rating it pretty high on the pain scale because of its longevity. The good news is I can FEEL again and the bad news is I'm just a tween when it comes to those FEELINGS. My pain just comes rolling out of me so forcefully and it expresses itself in tears. I pray to God to please dilute the pain and to please show me a way to deal with feeling so hurt. It comes and goes in revelations but mostly it goes. I know God is working with me because I can feel a warm glow at times...Thanks be to God (heads bow).

That's all for now...

Deciphering Emotions

First let me say that this is something I could write about for hours but I'll probably get off on a tangent and not make any sense so here goes a smalllllll tangent.

It takes more energy to be assertive than being aggressive or passive. Energy can be derived from many emotions including anger. Anger produces a stimulant that can speed up our heart and make our hands shake. It is fair to experience every emotion but each emotion has an appropriate response, time and place. Many people are just straight angry while others convert their anger into sadness. Ask yourself the next time you are overwhelmed: "Am I angry, sad or scared?" If sad then crying maybe an appropriate response; If scared then anxiety and angry then...?WHAT???

I don't get it. I've never noticed that I do not have an "appropriate" response to anger. I'm a converter of anger into tears as that is hard wired in me. So, now it is time to learn a new approach for deciphering emotions. I mean, who really stops and thinks every time they are upset to ask themselves if they are mad, sad or scared? It's strange but I think this is needed at times for emotional development. So, let's try doing this for the next week and see how it goes.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Growing is, well, not fun really but it's worth it.

Sweet Humans?

What happened to the sweet humans who thought of God everyday? Are they so focused on money, power and self that they are no longer "sweet"? Humanity has been on my mind lately because I have been exposed to humans that are superficial and without integrity. I usually think of integrity as "keeping it real real" but it is really the integration of your environment to yourself. It's not the other way around where you submit yourself so the environment can shape you; you shape your environment. That's all for now.

The Government Can

I'm very thankful the government does tax the sunrise because I prepare tax returns everyday & I like having a job. Tim Hawkins has clean family comedy with an edge. You can read about him here. He is so funny though as he explains in song why "The Government Can".... Enjoy!