Zoe Bag by Carolyn Mader

Awesome designer Carolyn Mader has a bag called Zoe on her site.
This pattern is free and so cute! Don't forget to take a peek at her other patterns. These bags are unique, creative and quite beautiful. Christmas is coming soon, so get your wool, needles and start felting some gifts!

Green Bathroom

I just received an email from the National Geographic Green-Guide-To-Go. Very interesting tips for making your bathroom - green. They mention bamboo towels and I have to say I've been told bamboo sheets are awesome - so maybe I'll try the towels too!

The BIG CIRCLE can help save the earth.

So, I have this thing I call the "big circle". I've always had the Big Circle, but now it seems more relevant than ever. Why? The cost of gas. I know I know...I'm sick of hearing and complaining about it, too. Just hear me out, though, because you might add the Big Circle to your routine. Today I had several errands to run, but I find I save time and gas if I plan out a quick map of where I'm going from home - then errands - then home. It's really a BIG CIRCLE that I drive in. Today went like this:

• Home
• Bank
• Sonic - get the poor starving kids some lunch before I rip my hair out
• Drop off donations
• Post Office
• Recycling Center
• Home

Now your circle will probably look different than mine, but instead of stressing out, wasting gas and driving zig zags all over town the cirlce just makes sense. So, next time you have a bunch of time consuming errands - take 2 minutes and plan it out. I even write it down sometimes so that I stay on track. It works - let me know if it works for you.

And now a thought for today - "bringing hope to the table". This is a campaign I saw the other day while grocery shopping. I was buying cheese. It was on sale - 2 for $5 with the slogan "bringing hope to the table". Does anyone else find this sad? What does this say about our economy? Are the American people losing hope as the cost of food, gas, etc. goes up? I wanted to cry when I saw this. Any thoughts?

Sing a song for the white vinegar...

Many who know me understand my severe gag reflex. At the top of my list is the smell of white vinegar and even apple cider vinegar. Ugh - I get sick just thinking about it. Anyway, I've put my nose aside to allow these awesome, good for the environment items in my house. A recent discovery - the founder of http://www.happyhousewivesclub.com/, Darla Shine, suggested on a forum to use white vinegar in the rinse cycle of your dishwasher. I've done this for 3 cycles now - ATTENTION EVERYONE - do NOT waste your money on rinse aids!!! This works GREAT!!! My glasses no longer have any soap residue. This is a non-toxic way to have sparkling glasses and dishes. Thank you, Darla!

Tonight my writing is short and sweet...I go now to attend to laundry so that I can get ready for this weekends camping trip.

Oh and a quick shout out to the Fathers - Happy Father's Day to you all!

Away I've been, but now I'm back...

Ok, I was never really "gone"... AND I did not blog due to lack of information...just lack of time. Again, I start with good intentions. =)

Let's start out with the green stuff. This is the kind of stuff that challenges me daily. I recycle just about everything that I can and still have to challenge the hubby and kids not to through that bottle in the garbage - I end each conversation with the length of time it could sit in a landfill.

Are you tired of junk mail and unwanted catalogs? - studies show that they are responsible for 40 percent of the solid mass in our landfills. Here are some websites that will help in reducing this issue:

http://www.41pounds.org/ - this organization will remove your name from mailing lists and donate a third of the $41 fee to a charity of your choice.

http://www.greendimes.com/ - for $20, this org will keep your name off of mailing lists for at least 5 years! On top of that, they will plant up to 10 trees on your behalf.

http://www.dmachoice.org/ - just click on "remove my name from those lists" on their homepage and they will direct you on how to proceed.

***According to Experience Life magazine - you will gain 70 hours a year of your life back that you would have spent sorting and shredding junk mail - "a simple way to save time and trees."

And now in knitting news: my beautiful sister is due to have a baby boy on September 23, 2008!!! So, I'm knitting a sweater for the baby. This sweater is a Debbie Bliss pattern from her Essential Baby book - a must read/buy! http://www.debbieblissonline.com/Book.asp?bid=42

I'm using Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca DK - beautiful soft yarn and great for this project - I did have to adjust my needle size, though.

This picture was taken on the 29th of May. I was almost done with the 2nd front - if you look closely, you can see the 4 button holes - this is a double-breasted sweater with a hood. I'm still looking for a good picture of the pattern finished to post, but for now this is what I have. Anyway, I'm a bit further now - the front pieces are attached at the shoulder now and the hood has been started - only 5 or so inches to go. *sigh* Then the sleeves...seam it up...weave in my ends...add the buttons and we are ready for baby. I have a feeling I will have plenty of yarn left - hmmm...enough for a little hat???

I leave you today with a word of advice - if your fridge starts making weird sounds you should not wait too long (let's say a few months would be way too long) to call your repair service. If you wait, you could have your entire fridge and freezer go out and everything will either go bad or completely defrost - can you say emergency BBQ? I am waiting in my 4 hour timeslot right now for my repairman!

Signing off for now and I hope to come back tomorrow as a woman with a fully functioning fridge!

Interesting sites

Here is a site that I came across today at my local library. http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp
Great games that encourage reading!

Also, ever wonder if you've had all of your veggies? Or better yet, have your kids? Check this out:
http://www.chickinfeed.com/

Teddy Study

Some do and some do not know that Quin is involved in the Teddy Study at the UC Denver. When he was born this study tested his blood and found the diabetes antibodies. Its a great study that is looking for environmental determinants that might be causing Type 1 diabetes. I'm glad to say that nothing has changed from his testing and he has no signs of diabetes so far. Here is a great kid snack recipe from their newsletter. Of course, Quin won't be able to have any until he is a year due to the honey.

Teddy Bear Snack Mix

2 Cups Honey Nut Cheerios
2 Cups Teddy Bear shaped graham snacks
1 Cup honey-roasted peanuts
½ Cup raisins

Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Safety Note: Children should be seated and supervised when eating.