Third Annual Camping Extravoganza

Went camping!
Came back from camping!

Let's see - where do we start.

We left Rochester at 2:00 (ish) and convoyed with A and H&J. We drove across Minnesota to LaCrosse WI and followed the Mississippi River about two thirds the way down then crossed over into "Dairy Land USA". We arrived around 4 hours later and were relieved to find Mike ready to haul our stuff to the camping area (this was NOT a campground, just a hunk of land in Wisconsin)
Started putting up tents, ours first, H&J's, then A's. Got the Loo standing and ready and then put up J&D's. A&J showed up and popped up their tent then J&B showed up and popped up theirs. J&D showed up last, we already had the fire up! Mike provided us with enough wood to last all weekend and loaded it up to survive through the thunderstorms!
Friday we all had some drinks and goodies. Chatted about the drive and whatever else came out of our mouths. It was a bit chilly but it wasn't too horrible. Finally went to bed around 2ish maybe? I don't know since I don't use a watch while I camp. I was determined to sleep without the rain tarp on the tent so it could feel like we were under the stars. It was nice but C-O-L-D. I didn't sleep much. Finally put on some warmer pants and dry socks and fell asleep. Murphy kept us nice and warm lol

Saturday was nice and warm. We had breakfast, played some lawn games, took a nap, ate some lunch, and then Mike took us over to the tunnel that was to be for a train but it never happened, I guess...It was nice, and cold, and dark.

Got back to the villa and found that dinner was done. We had pork loin that had been marinated in all sorts of different marinades - but since it was smoked, it didn't really matter. We had pasta salads and chips to round off the meal. Later that night we played music and sat around the fire - again! Much warmer Saturday night.
Got up Sunday a little later than normal, had breakfast and watched as B&J packed up and then A & her son pack up too. J&B had planned on heading back early since J's uncle had died. A went home as it was already a long weekend for her toddler as it was! Which left us with 8. We had lunch and played more lawn games and hung out around the fire. Dinner was too be a deep oil fried turkey but no one thought to bring the oil so it was smoked turkey! We also had chips and calico beans. During dinner it started to rain so we all (10 people and 8 dogs) piled into one of the larger tents and ate dinner. After a while the g/f, dog, and myself ran to our car...it was hailing and we wanted to hear the weather so we left. There was a tornado that touched down near Galena IL, which was about 10 miles from where we were so it was really horrible weather. It died down a bit so we walked back to the villa and found that the loo had fallen over (thankfully the girls had cleaned it out earlier that day so not as much was left) and J&D's tent blew down and had 6" of water in it! Our tent had no water but was damp enough to just say we are going to the car to sleep. Woke up, ate some breakfast, tore down camp and then had some lunch and then packed up and headed home! We convoyed home with H&J and I slept ALL the way home. I had to potty and no one would stop so sleeping was the only alternative.
I finally got all the pictures on the net!
Oh and One of the J's and B got stuck in the mud trying to wash out the loo pail. That was hilarious. *snicker*

Confessions of a TV Junkie!

I got a DVR because I thought it would be more convenient to have a contraption that I didn't have to manipulate record shows for me. Not only shows, but I could fast forward through commercials! NO LONGER would I be a slave to the TV, wasting hours through commercials and boring Reality TV spots like when Ryan says, "And we'll find out......after the break" I know that we aren't going to see who is eliminated from AI until like 5 minutes before the end of the show, so guess what I can do now...I can get through the first 55 minutes in about 5 minutes of fast forwarding and not miss a hell of a lot. BAM! I save 50 minutes of TV watching right there. So I thought I would be a better person, have more time to do things around the house, more time to devote to hobbies and not be tied to a mechanical object that dictates to me when I need to sit down and watch a show.
Oh how wrong I was...well kinda. I don't only watch less TV, I watch less TV more. What do I mean? Well, funny be that if you have DVR you can record a show while you are watching one, or you can watch a show on the DVR while TWO other shows record. What did that mean for me?? No longer did I have to chose between watching Desperate Housewives and Family Guy, or Ugly Better and Survivor, or anything against American Idol. I could effectively DOUBLE my TV watching in less time than it would take to watch DOUBLE the amount of TV, but still more time than if I just watched the one show that I wanted to watch.
I found myself taping shows that I didn't really care about - Super Nanny and Wife Swap. I would record shows that I just "kinda" liked just so I could have something to watch when I came home for lunch. At one point I looked at my DVR TV show line up and saw 43 shows scheduled to be recorded. FORTY THREE! In one week! If those are all hour dramas (which most are!) that's a full time job!!!!
Enough I said. Enough. I got rid of all the shows that were on hiatus, the shows that were cancelled (or changed names like Big Brother and Survivor do that depending on their season title)
I got rid of the shows I just "kinda" liked and realized that I was still ahead of the game. Some of the shows were for Amy (Deadliest Catch, Wife Swap, Super Nanny). Then I felt better. I am seeing the upcoming line up for this season and I don't see much I want to add to my list. Last year at this time I was faced with such dilemnas as "I have 3 shows here! What am I going to do?" God.
So after all the weeding is done, here are the contenders that are still on the DVR

Brothers & Sisters (I like family dramas, there are just so many story lines)
Criminal Minds (I loooooooooove behavior analysis. I wanted to do that when I was a kid)
CSI (Vegas style)
Desperate Housewives (Falling out of love with it, so it may not stay much longer)
Dirt (again, falling out of love...think I won't record next season)
Dirty Sexy Money - LOVE IT
Eureka (it's cute.)
Family Guy (hello, do you know me at all??)
Ghost Whisperer (it still makes me cry)
Grey's Anatomy (because I'm part of that generation that is sucked in)
Heroes (they best have a good start to next season, I'm getting kinda bored!)
House (I will never take this off of DVR, even if they cancel it for 10 years.)
Monk (As much as I watch the show, sometimes I just can't figure out how it's done...)
Numb3rs (I might be done with this show too...not sure)
Private Practice (I'm on the fence still, but LOVE kate walsh!)
Pushing Daisies (it's on there for Amy, I personally think it's dumb)
Psych (Love Gus)
Riches (eh. This last season was kinda bad.)
Ugly Betty (This show makes me laugh my ass off)
Dexter (I need to get showtime back before this comes on again!!!)
The L Word (6 episodes left of the series...*sigh* Last season actually rocked!)
Weeds (again, right now I can take or leave it, but next season looks better, it's going to shake up a bit)
Ace of Cakes (I love to see what they can do with a lump of confection goodness)
America's Next Top Model (I missed this past season, I couldn't fit it on the DVR LOL!)
American Idol (I'm so hooked it's not funny)
Big Brother (Still, after all these seasons, I am still hooked on the antics of pent up house guests, so glad Ryan won!)
Deadliest Catch (For Amy)
Hell's Kitchen (Watch when I'm bored...it's the same show every season)
Project Runway (it's FIERCE!)
Top Chef (I'm falling out like with it. I can't taste what they are making and it drives me nuts)
Survivor (hello, how many seasons have I watched now? Why stop now??)
Amazing Race (I could take or leave it...I watch it if I happen to catch it now)

That's 32 shows if you are counting. If I got rid of all the ones I was iffy about it'd be 9 down, plus Amy's shows....I guess it's not as bad as I thought, but still. I spend way too much time watching TV. Admiting it is the first step.

I actually took a big step this month and said we should get rid of cable (DVR and all) and just have netflix. We'd watch what we could on tv when and if we caught it, but otherwise it was movies and extended basic cable.

I think I had to overdose and hit ROCK BOTTOM before I could make that kind of realization....besides I can catch American Idol and most other shows online anyway hehehhehe

Virtual Tour of my Carry Bag

Virtual Tour

Because I have very little to blog about I thought I'd take you a virtual tour around my hand bag.
This is not a land of ladies cosmetics or bobby pins. It's the bag of a commuter girl that has to ride a bus 30 minutes to and from work.

I use my over-the-shoulder bag when going to and from work, it holds more and is more comfortably slung across my body than my stiff purse or kelly-esque stiff purse.

First thing I pull out is my bus ticket - it's red with 7 punches punched
Calculator - never know when you might need to calculate (not that my phone doesn't have a calculator on it or anything)
Stride - winterblue gum
iPod and head phones
Two tubes of softlips - One Vanilla and the other is winter mint (which I am now applying to my lips)
RPU bill - I have no idea why it's in my carry bag
Happy Bunny note pad for ideas to jot down
Wallet which has various receipts, a nickel, work key, license and Mayo Health Club card, and some various eating out punch tickets. Of course the pet co and petsmart scan cards.
Check book
2 Oranges
Sudoku book and favorite pen
Date book with all sorts of goodies in it! Stamps and private passwords and reminders and directions
2 Coke bottle tops that I stole from the recycling bin (HEY If they aren't going to use their 3 points, I certainly will!)
Random pens, none that are my favorite, but will work when in a shortage
Keys! House, desk, and car key
Cell phone - nope, no messages.
Camping sign up sheet
andddddd
Hand Sanitizer. Cos you just don't know about public transportation.

And that is what it's like to find yourself wedged into my carry bag.
On the way HOME from work I scrunch up my lunch bag and shove it in there too.

New Business for me!

Unique Gifts for Graduations! Anniversaries! Birthdays! Weddings! Vacation Memories! Milestones! Retirements!

Do you have a special occasion coming up that needs a heart felt gift?
Send me your pictures either on CD, on a photo card, or to be scanned

What you will get:
- A personal discussion to go over the details and options
- Your pictures set to the music of your choice in a variety of different formats (Discussed at meeting)
- A copy of scanned photos on a CD
- As many copies of your DVD that you want (Additional per/CD cos incurred)
- Your DVD will be ready on your schedule, not mine (proper allowance for time, please)

Pricing varies - Please email for quote
Prices vary based on amount of photos and services needed

Min picture package: 100 pics Approx Running Time : 10 - 15 Minutes DVD
Ultimate Package: +/- 900 Approx Running time: 1 hour DVD

And the winners are...

And dang that Paul for doing this and inspiring me to do the same. I don't mean to copy ideas but it was a good one.

Here is a list (and how I got the list) of my top ten favorite songs.

I started my list with 32 fabulous songs ranging from my childhood to adulthood. Immediately I decided to eliminate the songs that came out before I was born. There went Abba's "Fernando", Beatle's "Eleanor Rigby", Grateful Dead's "Scarlet Begonias", Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", and Pink Floyd's "Mother".
This left me with 25 fantastic brilliant songs. I decided to further down my list by eliminating songs I hadn't heard within the past year. This got rid of Blair's "Have Fun, Go Mad", Blur's "Song 2", Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", Devo's "Whip It", Styx's "Mr. Roboto", and Men Without Hats "Safety Dance".
21 songs, and how the heck am I supposed to pick which ones I like the best. So I decided to have a contest with the songs. "Which would I rather listen to right now" contest and pit them against one another. Oh it broke my heart to loose the rest.
I cut loose Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes", Lo Fidelity All Stars "Battle Flag", Antje Duvekot's "Dandelion", Ani DiFranco's "Little Plastic Castles", Madonna's "True Blue", Debbie Gibson's "Lost In Your Eyes", All Saint's "Never Ever", Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse", Beastie Boys "Paul Revere", Peter Gabriels "In Your Eyes", and Beck's "Ramshackle".

What could be left after those awesome songs were let go, you might ask?!? Well hold on to your seats for this fine chunk of awesomeness.
(And these are in, by no means, ANY particular order, I could barely let go 11, never mind rank 10!)

To Let You See Me - Melissa Ferrick (1997)
Bring The Noise - Anthrax (1991)
Grey - Chris Pureka (2004)
Once In a Lifetime - Talking Heads (1980)
In Your Room - Bangles (1988)
Magnolia Street - Catie Curtis (1999)
Come On Eileen - Dexy Midnight Runners (1982)
Call & Answer - Barenaked Ladies (1998)
Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys (1986)
Bittersweet Symphony - Verve Pipe (1998)

And that, my friends, is the most eclectic top ten you could possibly ever find. (Well, MF, CC, and CP kinda all go together)

Hodge Podge Post. EVERYTHING!

American Idol

Who didn't see that coming? Enough said.
I'll be happy with whoever wins. They are all good. I'd prefer for DCo to win though. Obviously.

Softball

Had a great game last night. I don't play on the team but I have my own shirt! I'm #1 because I'm cool like that, but my friends decided to name me, and it came out "Boston" YAY!
So anyway, I kept book last night for the first time. I enjoyed it. I didn't like hollering out the names, but I got used to it!
We won! Monday we won something crazy like 32 to 12, last night it was 24 to 12. Everyone had a great night, specially GP and the g/f! Z was a great pitcher and everything was fun. We didn't get home until 11 though, so I'm still kinda sleepy

Camping

Before camping, the g/f and I went over to our friends house - the girl who is hosting the event and her g/f. We hashed out all the details of how to feed anywhere from 14 people to THIRTY FOUR people! Our first annual Memorial day camping trip was for my birthday, 10 people were there....last year we grew to 19ish. This year it's 34 and 5 of ours from last year won't be going!
We decided to make one night - on your own, one night of ribs/pork loin, and the next night would be a deep fried turkey. Charge people $10 or so to have 2 hot breakfasts and 2 hot dinners. The rest of the cash, if any left over, would go to H's parents for hosting our troop. There will be no reason to pay for a campsite or firewood since it will all be provided. I sent out a lengthy email today and haven't heard anything back yet...except from B saying "THIRTY FOUR?!? Christ Ro!" so lol...

This Weekend

That's about it. Heading to Cologne this weekend for some R&R with the brother & Sister - in - law and nephew (on the g/f side). The SIL called today and asked me what kind of ice cream I liked from Schwann's and I about lost my head with excitement to yell out "COFFEE" I swear it sounded like I had tourettes, since taken out of context all anyone heard was me holler "COFFEE" down the hallway. But she laughed, and I groaned and all is well. Going to be brining our small camping grill to make burgers on for Mother's Day. The g/f's mom will be in Arizona and mine will still be in MA the SIL is the next one in line that is a mom. Might have to make her a cake with the nephew or something. That'd be fun! I might make up a batch of sugar cookies and have him decorate them for his mom. They love my cookies. (Because I can BAKE like a champion)

Brianna Lane

I'm listening to Brianna Lane right now...I've been listening to her for a couple of years now and have had the greatest pleasure of meeting her several times and having once also spent a night at her house since she is roomies with a friend of ours. I can say w/o bias that she has such a remarkable voice and her song writing is outstanding. She really captivates my imagination while she sings. She keeps my interest, so visual, and so impactual. If you ever want to try out a new artist - PLEASE try out Brianna Lane I promise you a good listen and hope you buy her albums. (Of course, you kinda have to like women singers, ones that play their own guitars)

American Idol - Final Four

I have to say that I'm quite amazed that the final four on AI consists of Jason and Syesha. I knew David A and DCo would be there, but Jason and Syesha? I thought Michael Johns and Carley would be there, or Brooke (never thought Carley would go before Brooke though!)
I've had a few favorites through the competition this year and DCo has been my top favorite followed in random order on a week to week basis: Jason, Carley, Brooke.
Last night we were watching AI and right smack in the second line of DCo's first song we had a Weather Advisory come on.

So with David A - I'm sick of ballads. The only time I've seen him get a bit edgy and "rock" was Neil Diamond week with Sweet Caroline (Which, he massacred by far) and with Coming to America (and he even made it ballad like). I'm listening to his "Stand By Me" from last night and I am not overly impressed. I can hear him inhaling and it drives me mental.
However, "Love Me Tender" was good. I am, by no means, an Elvis fan so I'm not biased. I like how he arranged it ... still don't like listening to him inhale!!!!
Solidly - I would have to say that if he wins I'll be ok with it, but will not listen to his music.

DCo - "Hungry Like The Wolf" was pre-empted for me, so I'm listening for the first time right now. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favorite of his songs, still I liked better than David A. "Baba O'Riley" was fantastic.....It's only teenage wasteland. This was definitely his week to shine, and my my, I think he did! I'm glad to see him with his guitar and without. He is pretty good, and the only Idol I have ever purchased anything from.

Syesha - When she started singing "Proud Mary" I thought - Uh oh! This song is way too big for her, the judges said pretty much the same thing. BUT I liked it better than that of the original. Her second song "A Change is Gonna Come" was very nice. I didn't know the original so I had nothing to base it against, but I really enjoyed it. I was moved during the judges review when she cried like she did. (No, I did not cry, but I felt something for her feelings) Overall - I think she had a solid night, but I think she will be in the bottom 2.

Jason - Jason Jason Jason...forgetting your lyrics this far in the game? Tsk Tsk. However, if any of you have seen the same performance from Bob Dylan himself you'd know he has forgotten his OWN lyrics to his own songs, so who are we to critique that? I figured that he'd do a reggae hit "I Shot The Sheriff" wasn't what I thought, maybe "One Love" but...I can't talk to that song, I'm not a fan of reggae music so I didn't like it. "Mr. Tambourine Man" - a drug song. I'm not shocked. (Followed from a Reggae hit?) Even though he forgot the lyrics and my defense of that, I still didn't like his vocals on it.
Obviously, if he doesn't go home, it's because he has a huge fan base that overlooks such things and he played to them.

I checked DialIdol.com and found the DCo was #1 (YAY), Archie was #2, then Syesha, with Castro OUT. I can see that.
Fox is pimping Archie to win. He should just go be with Disney and forget the rest of this.

Robin Scarey - CANCELLED!

The "Powers-that-be" Be at it again.

I was flipping through the internet yesterday - through my daily onslaught of trashy tabloids via email and there were 4 words I saw that I just didn't want to see! In simple, but non-retractable words I saw "Men In Trees, Cancelled" NOOOOOOOO I wailed (in my head)! It can not beeee. I always enjoy the light hearted dramedy and their beautiful scenery that makes me say "I want to move to Alaska" every single week. I am captivated by Jane and her Snow-Plow/Sanitation Worker husband Sam....the saga of Patrick losing his memory and poor sweet Annie's battle to move on. I even bawled with Marin when she thought Jack wasn't going to return even though the spoilers told me he would. I enjoy watching Mom-Mai and Chief Celia battle for Patrick and by god, I even like Ben the bartender and Theresa. (I don't like the hooker and the priest though.)
Much of my disappointment sits with this shows constant moving around. It was most likely their demise. That and it didn't have a lot of publicity.

**UPDATE 5/9/08** Appears they have now cancelled Women's Murder Club too. Rat bastards. **Update Done**

Of course, with the cancellation of ANY good show, I had to think back to OTHER good shows robbed of their future by being yanked just too soon. Studio 60. Definitely yanked too soon. That show made me howl! Book of Daniel. It was cute and witty....and so what if the guy thought he was conversing with Jesus. Close to Home (between Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs). And even though it ran for a few seasons - Everwood was definitely axed before it's time. Sisters was a mid-season hitter that didn't make it. Cashmere Mafia doesn't look like it's coming back either! I even liked Big Shots with all it's business with the fellas. The L Word shouldn't be done after 5.5 seasons...I wish it to go longer, obviously (good solid run for lesbians on a premium channel!) Popular should have stayed good, like season one! Wonderfalls! I loved that show. Definitely loved that show! Quite the obvious show that was cancelled before it's time was Family Guy but by thanks to the nice powers-that-be, came back and proved to be a billion dollar windfall, now signed on until 2012!!! 4400,

I think that is as far back as my memory goes, come back to me with other one/two-season "Cancelled before their time" shows. I love to travel down memory lane

On the day I turned 33...

Or should I say weekend, or entire WEEK? The G/F treated me to HuHot on Thursday and then a movie! Friday night we spent time with J & B playing cards, Saturday night was the PARTY at J&B's! Sunday we were at J & B's for a cookout. Such a nice and relaxing time!
The party was very nice. Kate was there, Vaz & her g/f, Alissa and hers, H & J, Dana (Jamie was away), Amber, J & B, G, Rox and Amy came over for a bit! Gary & T were there too along with the boys and their girls. Rox brought me strawberry pretzel desert! Nice! Kate got me a gift card for iTunes, way more than that was expected, but love her for it dearly anyway!
I had a tiara, it said BITCH. It rocked.
Did I mention I might have had too much to drink?
I had a very nice 33rd birthday. Not many people remembered it though...Only Susie online sent me a Happy Birthday note....(all my friends here remembered because of the party), and my mom and sister called. Meg didn't, nor did Chris, or my gram...the three that usually remember. Ah well...It's still 100 times better than my 23rd birthday. - Another story for another time
(Gram, Gramp and Meg ended up calling...they didn't forget)

Baby Mama

Oh what a funny movie Baby Mama is. If you live under a rock and don't know what this movie is, it's about a woman (Tina Fey) that has put motherhood off and finally wants to have a baby. Apparently, medically, she can't. She harvests her eggs, gets some sperm and has them implanted into a surrogate (Amy Poehler), someone that appears to have less class and intelligence than that of Tina Fey's character.
Steve Martin plays a whacky-earthy-health nut - guru that lightens the mood and at one point made me feel really uncomfortable with his eye contact!
Oscar (Conrad from Weeds) gives some humor as the door man who applies the name "Baby Mama" to Tina's surrogate.
Not to mention the lisp-having birthing coach Siobhan Fallon!
I really enjoyed the movie and I'm pretty sure I snorted once or twice. I believe half way through the movie I though "I need to own this when it comes out".
I've been missing Ms. Fey on SNL, especially when she is with Amy. I was thrilled to see them back together again!
Other SNL cast members that appeared: Will Forte, Fred Armisen,

If I Only Looked at the Map...

I'd have KNOWN that the bus I should be taking lets off 2 blocks from my house rather than having to walk down to John Marshall, get a transfer, wait 20 minutes and finally get to work. I can take just ONE bus and spend just 19 minutes on the bus and walk just two blocks. AND I get to sleep in! Rather than walking 15 minutes to get the bus and catching it at 6:53 AM, I can walk 5 minutes and catch it at 7:12 AM! That's about a half hour extra sleep! Now I'm liking the bus much better than before. I can get HOME at 4:30 instead of 4:45 too... That's nice. Nice. Nice.
*Sigh* Why didn't I look at the map? (I'll tell you why, because the title of the map was non-descript and indicated it was picking up and letting off elsewhere!)
I feel like singing "I'm A MAP"

It's not EASY being green, but it can be done!

Going Green Project

Goals:
Use less water
Obtain/Create less waste
Recycle more
Reduce fossil fuel usage
Use own purchased bags at store
Educate others
Reduce energy consumption
Save the rain forest (and some will laugh when they read that sentence if they know me *REALLY* well)

How I'm/We are doing:

I suppose having grown up in an area that recycles cans for 5 cents a can I am used to the act of separating my garbage. I have now become a little more attentive to my separation lately.
I have a bag full of cans that needs to go to Watson's. I get paid for it! They pay per pound, not per can but that's alright, money is money.
We have purchased a recycling/bin station that we use in our garage so when the paper bags in our kitchen fill up we bring it to the garage, when those fill up we set it out for the recycling truck.

Using less water is something I'm still struggling with. We have started to take the water gathered by the humidifier and use that in our washing machine. While it only gathers about 1 - 2 gallons at a time, at least it's 1 - 2 gallons. We would like to start using the grey water around our house for outside watering but haven't started that yet.
I make a very conscious effort to turn off the water while brushing my teeth.
I don't ever take a bath, only a shower, so that uses significantly less water.
We try to conserve while using the toilet as well.
Washing dishes will always be a tough one for me. I can NOT put my hands in cold water that has bits of food floating around, gloves on or not. I have, however started having a pan full of water, dipping my sponge in there and getting a lot of dishes soapy then rinsing them off instead of letting the water run.
This summer I will be setting out some pails to collect water so that I can use that for washing the car or cleaning the grill or watering the plants / lawn when there is less rain.

I'm still not sure how to execute the "Obtain Less Waste" option.
I don't purchase CD's anymore, I buy all my music on iTunes and burn my own CD's when needed.
I don't bring bags home from the grocery store unless it's an unexpected stop. I try to get only paper bags for reuse in recycling, but will take plastic. I then take the plastic bags to the Dog Park where people use them to clean up after their dogs. They are always appreciative.
When asked at the store if I want them to print me out a receipt, unless I need it, I say no.
If I can carry it to the counter, I can carry it to my car.
I reuse my water bottles SEVERAL times before putting them into recycling
I burn my junk mail when having a camp fire. It's great for kindling, bad for things flying up into the air, but I use the screen and it's all good. (and no, I don't burn the plastic in the envelopes, or the glossy colored pages)

I have started taking the bus....so has the g/f (well, she hasn't yet, because her recent schedule doesn't allow for it, but will starting Monday).
Not only is this good for the environment, but for my pocketbook as well! A round trip to work twice a day (I usually went home for lunch) is 9.2 miles. That's 46 miles a week, 184 miles a month, 2208 miles a year! With gas at $3.50, I am saving about $650 a year on just taking the bus!!! Plus, ya know, the environmental factor.

For Christmas I asked for those green bags you get at the grocery store. I think I got 10 or so. I also purchased some heavier canvas bags at Old World Market for some heavier items.
I always forget them in the car, but always trudge back out and get them. They are *NOT* that expensive - maybe $2.00 each! HyVee at Barlow's even gives us a 5 cent discount for every bag we use instead of theirs!! I figure that if I use my bags everytime I shop (except for those surprise trips listed above) I use 7 bags for a big trip to the store, 2 - 3 on small trips. Looking at my check book register I see that I've been to HyVee/Cub/WalMart 18 times since 3/26 (so that's approximately a month!) and gauging on the price spent I figured I used about 50 of my own bags. I got back $2.50 (if I did all my shopping at HyVee) Which clearly pays for itself. In a year all my bags will be paid for! They are super sturdy and can fit more in them than a regular bag also.
I heard that some places in California may start charging 15 cents per bag use. Using my 50 per month, you'd pay $7.50 a month just on bags. $90 a year! I wish Minnesota would start charging for bags!

I've sent out two mass emails so far - one for Earth 60 and one for Earth Day. I included some helpful tips on how to easily save energy and recycling and whatever. I hope that people read it. If not, at least I put it out into the ether.

The g/f and I got a new furnace this year. I didn't notice anything on our heating bill, but I'm hoping it beats the old beast we had before. I want to get better at replacing the filter though. That should save a bit of money and reduce energy usage.
Our dryer used to take 2 cycles to completely dry a decent sized load. We paid $75 to have a hole drilled into our house so that we could properly vent the machine and now it only takes one cycle!
I wish we lived someplace where we had a bigger yard so that we could line dry, but that's out of the question. I do, however, rack dry a lot of shirts and sweatshirts and sweaters.
We are in the process of replacing all of our light bulbs to those curly que ones. As our old light bulbs burn out, we put the new ones in.
I try to unplug things we don't use often.
I'm trying to be very conscious about shutting off lights (I do leave one on for the dog when we aren't home at night though)
I've been paying attention to shut the TV off before I leave the house! Go me lol

And saving the rain forest. LOL
I have absolutely NO idea how to save the rain forest except that I play Lil Green Patch on Facebook. I have saved 19 square feet already and in March the entire facebook community saved 13,644,308 Square Feet! Just by playing a silly online game! The sponsors of the game contribute money for our usage. It's neat. I send plants to my friends and they send them back to me. Not to hard. I can only send 20 per day, but still...it's my own little part.

So that's me, that's the green me. I'd love to hear any more ideas anyone has!

Oh and be sure to watch the Human Footprint on National Geographic channel! It's very eye opening!