Gimme A Break

I’ve noticed many companies are going, or at least trying to go green this year. For one thing, I can’t afford to forget to bring my eco-bags with me when I go shopping. Different stores have designated different days of the week when they will no longer issue plastic bags to you when you make your purchase.

Yeah, admittedly I used to forget to bring my eco-bags along but these days, I really can’t afford to do that any more or I’ll be lugging my groceries piecemeal to my car and that certainly won’t be pretty . Initially some stores were kind enough to give out free recyclable bags with purchases exceeding a certain amount. But not any more!

With so many businesses on the verge of going green, 2010 seems set to become the year for investors to turn their attention to energy efficiency companies. If you’d like to launch a profitable business in the energy saving sector, you can get more information from the engin blog where there are detailed discussions of the wealth of opportunities out there.

Meantime, the idea is to try and find ways to recycle and reuse stuff instead of throwing it someplace where it’ll clog up the environment.

• too much plastic
• green tea, lovin’ it
• a holy morning
• do-good neighbor
• sitting out the crisis

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For months now, I’ve been complaining about the heat and many of you have been complaining about the cold. While it’ll probably be a long while before things get any cooler here, I’m so happy that the weather is indeed warming up for many of you.

I guess it must be a great feeling to finally be able to get out of the house into the fresh air and sunshine again. Hope you haven’t forgotten you have a garden out there . You’ll probably want to get a bit of work done to chase away some of the cold weather blues from your garden and make it an ideal place where your kids can run about and you can invite a few friends over for a barbecue or something.

I hear that Wickes are the people to call for your garden landscaping needs. They can install a shed, deck or a summer house, or a fence for your added privacy. They carry a whole range of tools and products for maintaining your garden. Whatever you have in mind, you can just talk it over with them and I’m sure they’ll be only too happy to work something out for you.

• brandishing power tools
• moody does it
• shoo, sun!
• slow but at least I’m blogging again
• a new faucet for nothing

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I’ve recently had to spend money on a new washing machine and obviously I’m none too happy about the expense. If I’d had more time to shop around, I might’ve saved some money and time.

If my kitchen sink should break down, I know just the place where I won’t have to pay through my nose for undermount kitchen sinks! Mr Direct does same day deliveries and they’re a trusted source for their brand of kitchen sinks.

I’m just happy I found out about them so I can keep them on file just in case. Working from home means I have a tight budget to keep so whenever I find a great source for stuff I might need, in it goes into my favorites folder .

• a small price for peace of mind
• dealing with the business jitters
• full of initiative
• tale of my kitchen faucet
• flashy flash templates

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Okay, I hate to complain when almost every other blogger is complaining about the massive amounts of snow they’re having this year and being snowed in and cut off from their everyday lives.

But heck, it’s quite the opposite here. Our days are in the 90’s and the heat and humidity is just driving me crazy. I can’t open my windows because then hot air gushes in and fills up my house, making it even hotter.

And the humidity of 90+% is something else. I can be sitting here at my computer, typing away and drops of perspiration would be running down my temples and back. Can you beat that? Aargh! Just glad we got our air-conditioning fixed yesterday so we can at least sleep at night.

• my home sauna
• sparkling clean car, yeah right
• rain at last!
• catching up on my beauty sleep
• misbehaving car

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I’ve just noticed that no matter what time of year or how the state of the economy, there is still construction going on everywhere. I guess people just can’t look at house plans and be happy until they actually buy the property and move in .

Yes, I have my dreams too and I have set my eye on a home plan that I saw on www.HousePlansandMore.com. They’ve got some of the best plans around and at affordable prices too. I won’t tell you which one. You’ll have to go have a look and make a guess .

They have a few cottage plans that I love too. But then, unlike many people who can just head out with their credit card and say “I’d like one of those please”, I can only drool over these beautiful plans – for now – until I strike the lottery or something. See, I’m still going to buy the property and move in. Sooner or later. Right now, I’d say later. Much later .

• where to go on our next vacation?
• medical professionals gone fashionable
• would you like to take up pottery?
• American Residential Law Group FAQ page
• free resource for credit repair

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I was out all day yesterday with my daughter. We went to two grocery stores at two shopping malls and that took up the better part of our Saturday. When I got home, I was too tired to eat so I hauled the rest of the kids and we headed out for fish and chips. Yum, it’s served in a saute pan, quite a neat idea.

What’s not so cool is that I couldn’t find an oven I liked enough to buy even after checking out a few stores. They were either too small or the door was opening down, which I find quite weird. I have no idea when I’m ever going to find the oven of my dreams.

• mall nostalgia
• keeping track of my amateur driver
• that elusive carry-all bag
• how to keep your home cool
• times are bad

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At around this time of year, many of my friends’ children are leaving home for college. Well, some are going to far away places, others are luckier to be within driving distance of their parents’ homes.

Since many of these teens are leaving home for the first time, their parents are all flustered over finding the best accommodations for their kids. Money is one big issue, of course. But to be honest, there are many concerns and it can be a very stressful exercise ensuring that the kids live in a safe neighborhood which is preferably close to college and amenities (unless they have a car).

One of my friends is trying to find some suitable accommodation in Boston for her daughter. They’re painstakingly going through lists of Boston apartments in the hopes of finding one that fits their budget and logistics concerns.

Then of course, there are the secondary concerns of whether her fussy daughter will like the place. She’s very athletic so a pool and gym are a must for her even though her mother says she could always use the one on campus. Well, last I heard, they haven’t sorted out this issue yet. So yes, it can get sticky!

• a parent and a friend
• fun activities and events for your kids
• looking for the right player
• home-made vs commercial
• crossroads

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I don’t know about you but I depend a lot on the internet for ideas and advice. Instead of googling for something and sifting through the results, I go straight to the home and family articles at the Article Alley. They’ve got useful tips and ideas and I’ve learnt a lot from reading their articles.

• brain strain
• eight glasses a day
• fun activities and events for your kids
• a home lived in
• the price of a mom?

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The digger came and there was more digging on the main street outside our house. You wouldn’t believe the noise. I couldn’t hear myself speak. I wouldn’t have minded so much if they hadn’t been digging barely 48 hours ago but now they’re back! Again?

So yeah, after one group digs and patches up the road, another group comes in, digs up the same patch and then patches it up again. Ridiculous. Definitely no planning and coordination!

• happy new year
• sheer stupidity, bad attitude
• the stress of driving
• drumming up ideas for a good cause
• square steering wheel

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OMG, I’ve been so busy I didn’t even realize we ran out of hair shampoo. I used to be the chronic bulk purchase freak but my kids have been complaining about how certain brands of shampoo have been making their head itch. OMG!

So I’ve buying one bottle at a time of different brands to try out. Hence the problem of not stocking up. We’ve never run out of shampoo before . Better put it on my grocery list right now before I forget.

• grocery shopping just got harder
• out of battery
• what’s up on The Tennis Channel?
• you can bid 4 prizes
• self-confessed shopaholic

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