Engaged!

I've been pretty bad about updating, but figured I should finally get on it because I'm...ENGAGED! As of December 7.

With the engagement came the beginning of Operation Christy Wedding Hotness. The operation has included joining a new gym and getting "down and dirty" with my diet.

I've been going to the gym 7 days a week. One of the trainers at the gym created a workout plan for me that will be changed every 3 weeks so that I don't plateau.

So far I've lost 5 pounds! Woo!

More Green Tips

I've been doing some things around the house lately to be more "green." Here are some new ones:

• I installed a window insulation kit in the bedroom. Since we live in a rental, the windows aren't of great quality. The kit was relatively inexpensive and easy to install. It basically creates an air bubble around my window to keep out cold air, which is supposed to lower heating costs.
• Installed a new door insulator for the door that goes from the house to the garage. Last winter, I shoved towels underneath to cut down on the draft, but that didn't work so well. This kit was only like $7 at Walmart and has created a very tight seal under the door.
• Hung up thermal curtains in the living room. They are supposed to absorb heat in the summer and cool air in the winter.

I also signed up to not receive anymore phone books at this Web site: http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/

AND I found a few search engines that are supposed to save energy. I like this one the best: http://www.thegreenspider.com/

Mouse in my house!

The big news in our house this week has been the presence of mice.

I saw one scurry across my bedroom floor on Wednesday morning. After screaming and jumping on my bed, I called Seth to freak out. Obviously there wasn't anything he could do about it from work. We put out traps that night. A few in the kitchen and one in my bedroom.

The next morning I saw a mouse scurry into my closet as soon as I turned the lights on. I called Seth and he said to put an electric trap in the closet and towels in front of the doors so the mouse couldn't get out. If it spent all day in the closet with a trap, it was bound to die somehow. I put the electric trap in there with two sticky traps and plugged up the doors. Then I plugged up my bedroom door in case it magically found it's way out of the closet.

I was gone that night, but Seth sent me a message that the mouse had died...and presumably his girlfriend too. Two mice! One died in a sticky trap in my closet and the other one died in an electric trap behind my TV. Gross.

What's even more disgusting is that somehow the mice crawled in my bed and took a shit! There were little mouse poops all over my sheets. Needless to say, I boiled my sheets in hot water and sterilized my room the best I could.

We think the mice came in when I shampooed the carpets last Sunday. I used the Bissell Pro Heat that's been sitting in our garage for a year. Apparently that was their home. It's really the only way to explain how they got in the house.

Shotgun Sally

Seth took me to the outdoor shooting range by Cheney Lake yesterday. I've been shooting before with Sarah, but haven't been in a couple of years. We shot Seth's 270 rifle at both 25 and 100 yards. Seth bought a "Lead Sled" which is supposed to minimize recoil while shooting. My first shot kind of sucked, but all my other shots were "pretty good" Seth said.

I had a really good time and hope to go again soon. Seth and I are looking into buying a smaller rifle that would be better suited for target shooting.

I'll post some pictures of my target when I get a chance.

Living Green

Over the past year, I've really made an effort to live more "green." In many cases, it's not only great for the environment, but it's good for my health and pocketbook.

Here are some changes I've made:

• Recycling plastic, aluminum, magazines and newspapers. Kansas is pretty sucky when it comes to recycling, so I'm only able to recycle #1 and #2 plastic.
• Washing our clothes in cold water.
• Using reusable canvas bags at the grocery store instead of plastic bags. Any plastic bags I do have, I use as trash bags.
  
• Recycling yogurt, butter and Cool Whip tubs for Tupperware use.
• Using earth and human friendly household cleaners from Method. I used to use Swiffer floor wet sheets, but now I use a washable microfiber sheet (also from Method).
  
• Using dish towels to dry my hands in the kitchen instead of paper towels.
  
• Unplugging appliances and turning off power cords when they're not in use.
• Using only CFL light bulbs.
  
• Reusing glass jars from spaghetti sauce and jam. I've used one as a vase and another as a button jar. I plan to use a lot of them to put nuts in as Christmas gifts.
• Re-purposing old furniture.

My office is trying to go green, too, but most people don't care and continue to throw their recyclables in the trash can even though there's a recycling bin... RIGHT THERE!

Savings Galore

At first, the thought of having to spend less was a little disappointing, but now it's become quite exciting.

Some things I've been doing to save:

• Using coupons. I almost always get a coupon with my receipt at Target and it's usually for a product I buy regularly. Just today I was able to save $6.53 on my groceries.
  
• Switching to private-label brands. On items like bread and pasta, I buy Market Pantry, Target's house brand.
• Buying fewer organic items. I'm trying to only buy organic meat, produce, and dairy.
  
• Selling old books. In the past week, I've made $11.50 off some old paperbacks. Book-A-Holics at 21st and Tyler will give you 10% of the publisher's price if you sell and 20% if you trade.
  
• Combing my laundry with Seth's. We used to wash separately, but now I wash our clothes together and in cold water. We've definitely seen a difference in our water bill.
• Unplugging appliances when they're not in use. Most electronics suck electrons from the outlet even when they're not in use. I unplug the microwave, toaster and cell-phone chargers and turn off my power strips when I'm not using them. This, on top of not running the AC for the past month has decreased our electric bill by $22.
• Unexpected income goes straight to my savings account. I've also set up for a portion of each paycheck to be directly deposited in my savings account instead of the entire balance going straight to checking.

I've been doing all of this for a few months now and I'm really starting to see the benefits. My bank statement is shorter due to less frivolous spending, my checking account cushion is growing and the bills are going down.

I'll continue to update on my savings as I come up with more creative ideas.