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Saturday, September 18, 2010
Ren Fest Fairy
Ahhhh, here is our annual tribute to the Ren Fest Fairy! Twig ROCKS! Even Josh has a crush on her...and now I think Rowan is hooked too:)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Big Baby Day!
Today is a big day for the baby count. I think I am up to about 30 people whom I know having babies this year. Today, two very special families are growing! Not that all the other babies this year have not been special, every small person that enters this world is a miracle, but the fact that two of these babies are being born on the same day makes it extra cool.
Baby number one comes as a somewhat extension of our family. Josh's best friend dating back to when he was five years old and Jimmy was 3, and from whom our Rowan James gets his middle name, welcomed Gabriel James McKnite today at 1:07 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 20 inches. Mama Erica did great and Big Sister Ashley is excited to play Mini Mom! We love you guys!
Baby number two is a mystery as of yet (boy or girl? Here yet? Not sure!), but he/she is on the way. My very good friend Cheri and her hubby Ben were induced this morning (well Cheri was, anyway) and their baby should be here any minute! I am so excited for Cheri to be a mommy! And I'm excited for Cheri's mom, Arlene to be a grandma again!
Baby number one comes as a somewhat extension of our family. Josh's best friend dating back to when he was five years old and Jimmy was 3, and from whom our Rowan James gets his middle name, welcomed Gabriel James McKnite today at 1:07 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 20 inches. Mama Erica did great and Big Sister Ashley is excited to play Mini Mom! We love you guys!
Baby number two is a mystery as of yet (boy or girl? Here yet? Not sure!), but he/she is on the way. My very good friend Cheri and her hubby Ben were induced this morning (well Cheri was, anyway) and their baby should be here any minute! I am so excited for Cheri to be a mommy! And I'm excited for Cheri's mom, Arlene to be a grandma again!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Energy Saving Tips
Three quick and easy steps to save energy
Some energy-saving tips can be done once, but they will continue to save energy indefinitely. Below are three things you can do on a Saturday morning in September to begin saving energy right away.
1. Set your water heater to 120 degrees.
Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home. In addition, water heated above 120 degrees Fahrenheit can damage human skin. To save energy and reduce the risk of scalding, set your water heater dial so that it heats the water to 120 degrees or less. Here is how to test the temperature:
Run hot water out of any sink in your house.
Fill a glass with hot water and submerge a personal or cooking thermometer into the water.
Read the thermometer. If the water is higher than 120 degrees (or simply hotter than you want it) turn the water heater temperature dial down. As a reference point, water that is just too hot to touch is around 107 degrees.
Wait a few hours and test again.
Repeat until the water is at the desired temperature.
2. Adjust your computer's power management settings.
Power management puts your monitor and hard drives into a low-power "sleep" mode after a period of inactivity. Using power management features on your computer can save more than 600 KWh of electricity and more than $60 a year in energy costs.
The two biggest users of power are the display and the hard drive. To improve the power efficiency of your computer, use the following power management settings:
Monitor sleep: 15 minutes or less.
Hard drive sleep: 15 minutes or less.
System standby: 30 minutes or less. Standby mode turns off the monitor and hard drive, and switches the computer to a low-power state.
Power down manually: Every day after you are done using your computer.
3. Install a programmable thermostat.
A programmable thermostat will automatically reduce the heating temperature in your house while you are gone. It is the easiest way you can save energy and money--up to $180 per year.
Set the thermostat to scale back by 8 degrees Fahrenheit when you leave for work and go to bed.
• Living Green 365 Newsletter
Some energy-saving tips can be done once, but they will continue to save energy indefinitely. Below are three things you can do on a Saturday morning in September to begin saving energy right away.
1. Set your water heater to 120 degrees.
Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home. In addition, water heated above 120 degrees Fahrenheit can damage human skin. To save energy and reduce the risk of scalding, set your water heater dial so that it heats the water to 120 degrees or less. Here is how to test the temperature:
Run hot water out of any sink in your house.
Fill a glass with hot water and submerge a personal or cooking thermometer into the water.
Read the thermometer. If the water is higher than 120 degrees (or simply hotter than you want it) turn the water heater temperature dial down. As a reference point, water that is just too hot to touch is around 107 degrees.
Wait a few hours and test again.
Repeat until the water is at the desired temperature.
2. Adjust your computer's power management settings.
Power management puts your monitor and hard drives into a low-power "sleep" mode after a period of inactivity. Using power management features on your computer can save more than 600 KWh of electricity and more than $60 a year in energy costs.
The two biggest users of power are the display and the hard drive. To improve the power efficiency of your computer, use the following power management settings:
Monitor sleep: 15 minutes or less.
Hard drive sleep: 15 minutes or less.
System standby: 30 minutes or less. Standby mode turns off the monitor and hard drive, and switches the computer to a low-power state.
Power down manually: Every day after you are done using your computer.
3. Install a programmable thermostat.
A programmable thermostat will automatically reduce the heating temperature in your house while you are gone. It is the easiest way you can save energy and money--up to $180 per year.
Set the thermostat to scale back by 8 degrees Fahrenheit when you leave for work and go to bed.
• Living Green 365 Newsletter
Monday, September 13, 2010
Our First Day in Pre-K
Yes, I mean OUR first day. Josh, Riley and I had our first day of Preschool today. The first day is a 1/2 day where parents come and stay with the kids for an hour...fill our all our homework and see what the kids will be doing. I'm pretty excited about her teachers and the school. She will have High School helpers in her class as part of their Child Development courses and she will have outside playground time too. She cried when we left, she didn't want to come home! Wednesday, I leave her for the drop-off start of the school year. From now on I have 2 hours two days a week with just me and the Doodle Monster. What to do...Anyone want to meet me at Caribou? Not enough time to shop or anything... I'm so proud of my big girl! (Now if I can just keep myself from crying on Wednesday~!)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Zoo with Jack and Emily
We had an amazing day to go to the Zoo yesterday. The weather started off a bit cool, but we headed to the gift shop for sweatshirts and we spent the whole day with Jack and Emily, Riley's buddies in the neighborhood. (Riley has a little crush too, but don't tell!) Riley's favorite part of the zoo was the geyser at the Russian exhibit...and going with Jack and Emily...Jack LOVED the Gibon - the white guy in the picture (I'll post video of that if I can figure out how...the thing was LOUD!) And he liked the tank that you can touch the sharks and stingrays. Emily liked holding Doodle's hand:)
We also had a great day for viewing the animals. The weather was comfortable so the animals were active and playful instead of lazy and sleeping like the hot summer days we have been there. Check out the Bear!
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