Have you Hugged a Tree Today?

Today is Arbor Day in Wisconsin!

Since I didn't plan enough ahead for Arbor Day, I don't have a tree to plant. I did, however join the National Arbor Day Foundation for $10, and they will send me 10 baby trees to plant. We don't have room for all 10 in our yard so we'll probably give some away to family and friends.


What can a tree do for you?
- Reduce your air conditioning cost in your home by providing shade
- Prevent erosion and soak up extra water in the event of heavy rainfall
- Sucks up Carbon Dioxide and sends out oxygen
- Reduce noise pollution by acting as a noise barrier around your home
- Looks pretty and gives you warm fuzzies inside

Of course it wil be a few years before my itty-bitty sapling will be able to do all that, but everybody has to start somewhere.

Find out here when Arbor Day is in your state.

Wisconsin Hard Rolls Recipe

Oh, man, if you have never had Wisconsin Hard Rolls, you are missing out! I've been making them for the upcoming party and the house smells like a bakery.

Here's a recipe - link

Note - if you are making brat buns instead of hamburger buns, I learned yesterday (the hard way) that the second rise should only be 25 minutes instead of 45.

And don't forget the salt. I learned that the hard way too.

Enjoy!

Unethical way to get organic for cheap

So yesterday I went grocery shopping and saw that organic green peppers were on sale for $1.99/lb so I picked one out.
When I got home I realized that the cashier had charged me for regular green peppers - only $1.49/lb. The pepper I bought wasn't even in a bag, so the cashier could easily see the sticker and number on it, but she still undercharged me.
It only weighed about 1/2 lb, so the price difference was somewhere around a quarter. I'm not about to drive all the way back to the grocery store just to give them their quarter back. Maybe I'll take the receipt with me next time, but I'll probably forget. I feel badly about it though. This has happened to me a couple of times already (cashier charging regular price for organic produce) but I always catch it right away and tell them.

Question of the day is - all of you who watch your reciepts and comment if the store is overcharging you, would you also comment when the store undercharges you?

It's a drawing!

NCN at the No Credit Needed Netowrk is having a drawing for anyone who is a member of The Network. The winner will recieve a copy of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited

So sign up today!

HWW Award Winner - the Reel Mower

The Reel Mower

The HWW Award is given for a product that fulfills all the criteria of being Healthy, Wealthy, and (environmentally) Wise. I deem the first winner - the amazing Reel Mower.

Healthy - Mowing with a Reel Mower is a major work out. Just a half hour of mowing will make you feel like a bowl of jello and will rival a work out by any personal trainer. Plus, with the Reel Mower, the longer you go between "workouts" the longer the grass will get and harder to mow - great motivation to do it often.

Wealthy - New Reel Mowers are about half the price of a cheap gas powered mower. You could also put an add in the paper or Freecycle and see if anyone has one they'd like to sell. Or you could just go in your dad's shed and 'borrow' his (that's what I did)

Wise - No air pollution. No noise pollution. No gas to buy, or plugs to plug in. No danger of accidentally getting your hair stuck in a running blade. Reel Mowers are a wise choice for the earth, and for you.

Not much to say lately

I haven't been around much lately, but that doesn't mean I think of you all often. :) Things have just been really busy around our house.

We're having an appreciation cookout for Brent's church volunteers this weekend, and I'm trying to make it a zero-waste event (means nothing to throw away - all reusable or recyclable stuff). Plus I'm a little obsessive about homemade food, so I'm making the hard rolls for the brats, and Brent and I are brewing rootbeer to drink. And I have to clean up the lawn so it looks nicer than it does now. Whew!

The day after the party (what was I thinking) we are going out of town for half the week just to get away and relax, so packing and planning needs to be done.

This is coming on top of all the normal-every day obligations.

Not that I don't have time to write, because I usually write during my work break. Just I can't think of anything to say. Any suggestions?

Good and bad of bargain shopping

The Good: Finding normally overpriced hair products for super cheap.
The Bad: Becoming addicted to overpriced hair products but not being able to justify buying them full price.....

I found this awesome hair conditioner - Alba - for only $1 this weekend at the salvage food store. Normal price? $9 for 8oz and it doesn't sell around here so I'd have to pay shipping too.

Someone help me justify this! :P

The IRS are people too, right?

I have had to deal with the IRS much more in my lifetime than I would wish on anyone. Don't get me wrong, the people I have talked to have always been very helpful and don't seem like they are out to rob me blind. But knowing what you're even talking about is so darn confusing.

First, we were audited in 2002 - that was a PITA.
Then we set up our business wrong, or something, and I had to get that straightened out.
Then I tried to do the taxes myself in 2005 and spent a good week just staring at the IRS website trying to make sense of it.
Now the IRS sent us a refund that we didn't want.

We did our taxes way back in February, like good little non-procrastinators. We also had amended our 2004 taxes and were expecting a nice little refund from that. Well, we knew we were going to owe a lot on our 2005 taxes, so we asked that the 2004 refund be applied to our 2005 taxes. Cool, right? Well we got a check in the mail instead. So now we owe the IRS an extra $1000 and it's past April 17th. So I had to call them up directly and ask them what I should to do with this stupid check that I didn't want. It took me three calls before I got the correct menu button and 10 minutes on hold before I talked to a person. In then end, I had to write VOID on the check and send it back with a letter of explanation and a copy of the paperwork saying that I wanted it put with my 2005 taxes. She assured me I would not be penalized for being late, but I plan to call back in a month or so to make sure everything got straightened out.
I hope we don't get audited again, that was so, so annoying.

A little cleaning goes a long way

I'm deep cleaning our house right now. Just a little at a time - an hour or so a day, not even weekends. I started behind the back door by the cat area and then moved into the kitchen - scrubbing every stain and going through all our junk and deciding if we even use or need it any more. I've only gotten halfway through the kitchen, and it has made such a difference. Just looking at the clean stove and shelves has made it so much easier to keep the whole house clean. I don't want to clutter the area up with new stuff so I automatically put everything away. My housecleaning time is cut in half every day because of this. I knew that decluttering would make our house feel cleaner and lighter, but I had no idea that it would make such a difference. It might take me a month or two to work through the whole house, but it will be worth it.

Geocaching

Brent and I went geocaching for the first time today. It was super fun! We found the first one by a light post in a parking lot - took nothing, left a House on the Rock token. Second one we couldn't find - it was a multi-cache and I think we got the coordinates wrong somehow. The third one was stuck inside a tank.

The weather was sunny but a little windy. It was good to get outdoors, and Brent enjoyed driving around the city. We will definitely do this again.

Here is a pic of me signing the log at the third cache.

Debt milestone

In our mailbox right now is an envelope and a check paying off our credit card completely. It was a 0% intrest, so we weren't in any hurry, but since we got our tax refund back yesterday, we decided to get rid of it.

We really were only using our CC for emergencies, but now we have a nice little fund set up, so hopefully we'll never have to do that again.

Woohoo! One less monthly bill to pay!

Getting out of an upside-down budget

An upside-down loan is when you owe more than the property is worth - so that by selling it, you could not pay off the loan.

So an upside-down budget is when you don't make enough money to even pay your most basic of bills. Yes I just made this term up now.

I thank God that I have never been in this situation, but Brent has - right out of college he had a crappy paying job, and just could not make ends meet - and he wasn't being wastful either.

How do you cope with this? Good question. Brent said he would pay a debt bill one month, and then 'forget' to pay it the next month. He didn't really say much about paying or not paying utilities. I mentioned something about your credit score going down the toilet if you did this, but I guess when you have no money, you don't worry much about your credit score. Anyway, then Brent got some fraudulant charges on his phone bill which he couldn't pay, and since he had just gotten laid off anyway, he just moved away and ignored it. (For the record, I don't recommend this.)

So then Brent moved into a super low rent place (uh, his parent's basement) and got someone (dad) to help him get orgainized. Slowly he worked it all out, and shortly after we were married, he chased down all his old debt and cleared his name.

Anyway, I'm not sure what the point of this post is, other than to say that it is possible to get out of debt, no matter how hopeless it seems (and that is just as much encouragement for me right now as it is anyone else).

Ordered our CSA share this week

I was so excited to get this brochure in the mail, and I sent back my order right away.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It works by people buying 'shares' directly from a farm and then each shareholder gets a portion of the harvest. It cuts out the middleman (the grocery store) for the consumer, and it allows small farmers to insure a customer base without getting involved in mass production or having to do farmer's markets and such.

Brent and I ordered a half-share - suitable for 2 people - and every week starting in June we can pick up a box of yummy organic vegetables from a drop site a few miles from our house.

A half share cost $360, and we had the option of paying with three checks dated today, July 1st, and September 1st, so we did that. Or we could work on the farm to save on cost, but we decided against that.

Here's what we'll be getting in our boxes from June to December:
Beets, Bok Choi, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Couliflower, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Green Beans, Various Herbs, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Maple Syrup, Melons, Mushrooms, Onions, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Scallions, Soybeans, Spinach, Squash, Strawberries, Sweet corn, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, and Watermelons.

You can find out if there are any CSAs near you by going to LocalHarvest.org

Mission to Walmart

I have recently heard rumors that Walmart was going to start selling organic products for their low, low prices. I had to see for myself.

Brent had to go to a neighboring city yesterday for work and I tagged along. We passed a SuperWalmart on the way, and I decided to conduct my investigation. I had forgotten my super secret disguise, but I carefully covered my face so as not to be caught on the security cameras entering the building. Thankfully the door greeter was unable to see through my fake happy smile and discover me to be a Walmart Hater.

The lights were bright and the floors were shiny, but I didn't let that get in the way of my goal - to find healthy products inside a Walmart building. I browsed the large produce section, only to find no organic fruit, and only organic bagged carrots. That was it. I also spotted some organic tofu, and it $.25 cheaper than what I pay at the grocery store.
I moved on to the 'dead animal' section - nothing organic at all. No free range, no 'less hormones', nothing. There was some chicken labeled 'natural' but that didn't fool me. They must have thought 'natural' just meant it was a real chicken and not cat or something.
Next came dairy. I was really looking hard for some organic cheese, because that is something I always want to buy but never can afford. Nope, no organic cheese either. Or butter. Or sour cream. They did have Horizon organic Milk at $3.50 per half gallon and Silk Soy Milk (didn't catch the price). Whoopdie Doo - our small grocery store has more of a selection than that.
I was pretty disappointed but I did a quick rush through the canned goods and frozen section. I finally found something - they had Cederlane organic frozen dinners for a whole dollar less than our grocery. They even had Spanakopita, which I was so tempted to buy, but I resisted.

So that was it. I found Brent wandering around the electronics section - carrying a chocolate milk! What? He wasn't actually going to buy something, was he? I tried to use mind control to get him to put it back or set it down and forget it; but the Walmart Anti-Treehugger Rays were too strong, and he bought it anyway.

So my trip to Walmart was half happy and half disappointing. I was disappointed because I thought maybe Walmart had a glimmer of goodness in them, but it was not true (in WI anyway). But at the same time I was happy, because if I would have found substantial organic savings there, I would have had a major ethical dilemma to work myself through.

It was an informational trip. I was glad as we got back in the car and drove away. But then I casually picked up Brent's single serving milk and turned it over to read the information. Did you know Deans is putting High Fructose Corn Syrup in their chocolate milk? And on the front of the bottle it says something about it being 'healthy'??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Super cheap travel on the East Coast (or California)

Gotobus.com

And a link for those who live on the coast. A bus from NYC to DC is $25. Cheap cheap cheap!

Super cheap travel in the Midwest (or England)

MegaBus.com

This site advertises express bus service from Chicago to Minniapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, St Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Cincinnati. The cost ranges from $1 to $20 for a one way trip. Wow - $1 only. It seems the lowest prices are for the least demanded times - like 11PM or something. Still, $20 for a trip from Chicago to St. Louis is a pretty good price.

Here's my made up cost comparison for a trip from my house to St. Louis (which is a lovely place to visit by the way). I automatically doubled some of the costs to cover the trip home.

Driving
Leave our house and drive to Union Station in St. Louis - $218 (436 mi. at $.50 per mile)
Stop to eat at least twice, plus snacks at the gas station - $35
Cost - $506

Flying
Drive to the airport - $30
Get coffees and a magazine while we're waiting for the plane - $12
Plane ticket (2 people, round trip) - $525
Rent a car - $50
Cost - $659

Megabus
Drive to Union Station, Milwaukee - $27
Bring food along for the bus ride - $20
Ticket from Milwaukee to Chicago - $2.50 (2 people)
Ticket from Chicago to St. Louis - $16.50
Rent a car - $50
Cost - $132

This is clearly an economical way to travel. Of course you have to deal with bus seats, and you are at the mercy of the bus's timetable. But the savings are pretty clear. Plus the added bonus of public transportation being better for the environment.

If anyone gets to use this service, please let me know how your trip was and if you'd recommend it.

We're getting a pig!

Well, half a pig. The farm where we got our eggs (talked about it here) raised pigs this year and we're buying half of one. Poor thing is being killed today. I didn't get to meet it personally, or we may not have gotten it. Oh, now I'm sad....

But it will be freezer ready in about a week. We have to pay the farm $1 per pound (probably around $100) and about $60 for the butchering and processing. I try to spend less than $2 per lb. for regualar grocery store meat, and this is hormone free, almost organic pork. That makes me happy, at least.

I'm thinking that this will last at least a year - with only one meat eater in the house. We may have to fire up the big freezer again - which is a real energy hog (haha). But I think it will be worth it.

Almost Creditless April

Following in NCN's footsteps, I decided to use cash for my budgeted purchases this month. Pretty much just - groceries, gas, eating out, and allowance.

It kind of put us in a tight spot this first week, since we're not exactly used to dropping a couple hundred dollars out of one check. I will have to put off paying at least one bill until Brent gets paid agian (don't worry, it won't be late). But I think next week it will all even out. I hope anyway.

So far I only went grocery shopping, and spent $10 over my usual weekly spending. I suppose I will just have to be more careful as the month goes on.

Whew - back to normal

Took a little break from writing for a few days there. Between extra work hours, church stuff, losing sleep, Brent's birthday, a new video game and a new knitting project, I am exhausted.

Don't you just hate it when you are super busy and yet you get nothing done?

Today I am back to my normal work hours and a long to do list - which includes cleaning the house which I have neglected for almost a week now! That's torturous to me!