I have to admit that I love to surf and I love to share what i find on the net with others.I am also trying to live a "greener" life and conserve any way I can.With that In mind,I just came across these gas saving tips.We all need to save gas these days.If you have any more fuel saving tips or ideas,please share them with me.;)


5 Tips for Making Your Car More Fuel Efficient
Tip #1 Don't start your car until you're ready to go. This may sound like a no-brainer, but we've all been guilty of starting the car only to let it idle while we get organized, make a phone call, or wait for another passenger to get in. That's a waste of gas. So make an effort to only have your engine running when necessary.
Tip #2 Stay off the brakes. Obviously, braking is an important part of driving. But riding the brakes can waste up to 30% more gas. So try to change lanes instead of slowing down for a car braking in front of you and avoid over-accelerating so you don't have to make any unnecessary sudden slow downs.
Tip #3 Turn off your car. Whenever you have to stop for more than five minutes, turn off your engine so you don't burn more gas than you have to. This applies to heavy traffic, slow drive-through lanes and waiting while someone runs into a store.
Tip #4 Make sure your tires are properly inflated. Tires are something we take for granted until we find ourselves with a flat. Keep them top of mind and make sure they're inflated to the proper levels every month. This simple act can greatly increase your fuel efficiency and could save you several hundred dollars a year.
Tip #5 Keep your car in shape. Just as your body runs its best when you eat right, exercise and get enough sleep, your car needs to be properly maintained for peak performance. So keep your engine tuned, check and replace the air filter regularly, and use the motor oil grade recommended by your car's manufacturer.
Follow these simple tips and you'll get more bang for your buck at the pump.

Quick Tip

I just came across this on another site and wanted to share.I do this already and I have a compost "barrel" too.I actually buried a few overripe tomatoes close to my newly planted Yellow Bells this spring and have two very nice tomato plants that have small fruit on them.You have to love free plants,especially veggies.This is a simple thing that everyone can do.You might want to chop up peelings and such,to hasten the cycle,but it helps keep what should go back to the earth out of the landfills.Also cuts down on the production of methane gas in our overfilled trash heaps.You actually can save a little money by doing this also,because it provides nutrients back to the soil.

So here is the paragraph that sparked this entry........."When peeling or cutting raw vegetables or fruits, please give them back to mother earth. Feed them to your plants and trees or dig a hole and let it disintegrate back to nature. Let this be food to them. It makes plants look gorgeous and you will feel the same. Onion peels, squeezed lemons, ends of any sort, banana peelings, etc." - Ann Hankins
draft

Well,here it is July 2nd and I am officially going to take my blog a little more serious.I know,I know !!!!! Me.....taking something seriously.It does sound funny doesn't it.LOL !!!
I really need to be a bit more attentive and try and post more often.It seems that some folks are making money with their blogs and I am all for making money.Especially seeing that I am unemployed at the moment,which I have enjoyed to some extent.If I could make enough to support myself and not worry about bills,then I probably wouldn't go back to work for awhile,unless a really great offer comes my way.
At any rate,I'm not just setting around waiting to win the lottery.One would have to play to win,and I don't play,so my chances of winning are about one in a zillion.We,my BF and I,carried the aluminum cans to recycle today and walked away with $40.00 that I turned around and put in the gas tank.So,I will be picking up cans where and whenever I get the chance.Pretty much free money.I told BF that next time we needed to take a pair of scissors so we could cut the knots where the bags are tied and reuse the bags.Hey...less money in the trash that way.We picked up cans last fall and discussed then that we needed a "poker" stick to use.I don't want to spend $6.00 on a pole,so I have been hoping to see one in someones trash,but so far no luck.i might have to bight the bullet on that.We basically just need two wooden poles that a nail can be driven into.I need to look around more and come up with something.
I have to admit,I'm pretty frugal and I am a craigslist stalker. The stalking part has just happened since I've been unemployed.I haven't found much that I am willing to drive very far for but I keep looking. LOL !! We have picked up free bricks,cinder blocks,old windows and a barbell with a few weights.The posting about the weights was interesting.I replied and the guy replied back,saying "Come on over and bring a flashlight cause we aren't home." Well,of course we didn't go.I am not about to go onto someones property at night.He had a nice two person swing he was getting rid of to,but we missed that.We picked the weights up the next morning and apparently the guy was moving.Anyway,on our way home,I decided to go by a thrift store and see what people had dumped. Don't get me wrong,I wouldn't take their donations.People dump stuff all along the road behind this place and the guy that runs it said that if it isn't inside the gate and it isn't on their property,then he wasn't going to keep cleaning up all the trash that everybody leaves.Well,we hadn't been by in awhile and they are closed on Sundays,so I thought there might be something I could salvage and add to the yard sale stash.We turned the corner and saw a table laying on it's side,across the street.Yippee !! Mind you,this isn't a little side table or an end table.It's a dining room table. Yippee !! I am a furniture fanatic,so I get extra excited.
Well,I parked and we hopped out.We could only see the bottom and the legs.As we walk around to see the top,I realised why it had been dumped and no one wanted to bother with it.Stuck to the top was white cotton fuzzy stuff.We still aren't sure what it was and at this point it doesn't matter.I looked at BF and said "What do you think?" He shook his head and said "Not sure."
My reply..."It's real wood.Can't we clean it up?" Of course we can clean it up.He says,"I guess,it won't hurt to try." So,I back the truck up and here we go.Now we have a set of weights and a table on our little truck.We decide to head to the house and take a better look at our find.We unload it and since we don't have a shop,we bring it into the backyard.My neighbors love me !
Well,it looks terrible,but I am not about to give up.BF says it looks like some sort of wax and proceeds to find a scraper.We decided to leave it in the sun to soften it up and that worked pretty good.Well,without giving you a blow by blow,the top has been scrapped and sanded and looks really good.We went to wally world this morning to pick up some stain,but I chose a color that is way to dark,so off to wally world again.My mom dropped by yesterday afternoon to see how things were going and she was surprised how good it looks.So for the cost of sandpaper and stain,and maybe a clear coat,we will see a nice little profit.Yippee!!
The same place we found the table at has a 99 cent furniture sale on Thursdays,so guess where we will be going in the morning.For a few bucks,we hopefully can turn some of the cast offs into real cash.We wish we had a shop to work in,but right now,it has to be the back yard.Again....my neighbors love me.LOL!!!!As soon as he finishes it,I'll post pics.I didn't think about taking "before" shots,but I did take a few right after he finished sanding,so I'll include those as well.
Laundry calls and I must answer.See ya later.

Please Vote !!!

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO VOTE!! DREAM WEDDING

ScrappinBee from the Cricut Message board posted about her BFF getting married and having a chance to win the wedding of her dreams!It is an awesome prize package.Their love story of how they were sweethearts as kids, lost contact and then were reunited after 27 years brought tears to my eyes.
Please read Norma's story here: DREAM WEDDING . Please vote for Norma Anne and Henry!You can vote as often as every 12 minutes! So please check back on the site and vote when you can! I have the site opened in a separate window,so all I have to do is click,click,click.I would love to help ScrappinBee's friend win the wedding of her dreams!! Won't you please help ???

Finally In My Craft room Again

I have finally made it back into my craft room. YEAH !!!! I should say,what is currently my craft room.I will be switching rooms in the near future.As many of you know,I am addicted to the Cricut MB.Well,that addiction has gotten me involved in several swaps and an ABC RAK.In addition to these,I am also part of a birthday club and now a Secret Sister swap on the same MB.
All of these things are making me use my creativity and my stash.I have quite a bit of supplies,and since I am not employed at the moment,I really don't need to be purchasing anything else.I actually am considering selling a few extras that I have,just need to decide.

Today brought the beginning of my first two page lay out.I am determined to finish it tonight,but seeing that it's 12:48 and I am posting here....lol.....it might not happen.I am not one to just go glue it all together just so I can say I did it.I like to take my time and seeing as this is something I am going to put in my E tsy store,I don't want to finish it if my eyes are glazed over.Oh yeah,I have decided to set up a store at E tsy.I was not focused enough this morning to read everything and figure it out,but I think it's pretty simple and straight forward.I will go over it some time tomorrow and get it set up.No immediate plans for items to sell,but I am going to make a few cards and some quick items to get the store up and running.I am excited about it.I have an eba y account also,but have never tried to sell anything.So much to read and then having to write so much about the items......uuuuggghhh. I know,I know.....it's important,it helps you sell,etc., etc.
I still plan on doing eba y,but I am more interested in getting the other started.

Staying with the "Green Living" ideas,lets see what I can find to add to my little blog....hhhmmm.......I found something.A lot of people aren't aware of this and I came across this article online,so here is some food for thought.

Bees and your food
Bees, food security and you
Michael Bloch

Imagine if 1 in 3 pigs started dying mysteriously or 1 in 3 cows? That would be likely to hit the front page and additional millions, perhaps billions of dollars would be immediately poured into research to find the cause and cure.
Let's say that major food crops were under a real and imminent threat - likely that would evoke the same response.
But it hasn't.
Bee Colony Collapse Disorder killed off about 29 percent of the USA's bee population last year. The bees are dying at unsustainable rates, but this crisis gets little coverage given the major threat it poses.
So why is it a crisis and what's the link between bees and food?
Bees do so much more than supply honey and beeswax.
Bee pollination of crops, something that most farmers heavily rely on, is responsible for as much as 30% of the U.S. food supply. Where bees are not available, they are called in, with apiarists (bee keepers) travelling around the country to provide the services of their hives.
Unless the cause and cure for Colony Collapse Disorder is found soon, many fruits and vegetables may disappear entirely from US produce. The flow on effects are mind-boggling. It's not just fruits and vegetables affected, but also stock feed and grains.

That's pretty frightening stuff. Other insects play a role in pollinating some of those crops, but even in those cases, to take 30% of the pollinators out of the population will have dramatic effects. Sure, I guess the USA could just import all those foods in if need be, but imagine the impact on food prices- and then there's the issue of food miles and the toll it exacts on the environment.
While the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder hasn't been pinpointed as yet, it's thought to be a result of parasites taking advantage of warmer, more humid conditions in some areas and possibly the effects of pesticides; a mix of poisons that have hit critical mass.
Those outside the USA shouldn't feel too comfortable that it's not happening in their back yard either - it could do.
What can you do?It's time to make some more noise about this. Talk to others about the issue; write to government representatives explaining why it's such a concern; point them to further information. We can also all do our bit by making our yards attractive to non-commercially kept bees; by planting flowers; or better still, a vegetable garden and most importantly - using less pesticides in our own gardens.
"Wild" honeybees may be all that's left soon, and in small numbers - where they haven't been affected by colony collapse disorder or have perhaps developed some sort of immunity to whatever causes CCD, they may be the populations that help save the species - and some of those may be visiting your yard. Planting your own veggie garden may also provides additional food security if the worst should come to pass - even without bees, there are ways to manually pollinate; but it is time intensive.
If you can't grow your own food due to lack of space or skills, consider joining a natural food cooperative - you can pick up the knowledge you need through those networks and also get organic fruits and vegetables at reduced rates in exchange for a little work, or check out community gardens in your area where you can rent plots at quite reasonable rates.
Perhaps consider keeping your own bees if your living arrangements allow it? There are many hobbyist associations around the world that can help you learn what you need to know - search on the term: beekeeping association countryorapiarist association country.. where country is your country or sateAs someone put summed it up nicely: "prepare for the worst while working for the best"

Michael BlochGreen Living Tips.comGreen Living Tips is an online resource powered by renewable energy offering a wide variety of earth friendly tips, green guides, advice and environment related news to help consumers and business reduce costs, consumption and environmental impact on the planet.

New Goodies on My Blog

Busy day her at the home front......busy and hot !!! A cold front is supposedly moving in tonight and I am so relieved.Trying to live " green" and not cut the air conditioning on till I just can't take it any longer.Another day like today and I will be turning it on.I just can't take the heat.

Did a lot of cleaning and moving stuff around today.Had to get an oak table,a wardrobe and another table from my mom's today and to do that I had to move things around here.Well,all three pieces are in and we are both happy about that.

It's really late,2:18 A.M.,and i should be asleep.I just wanted to make a quick post and draw attention to some new goodies on my blog. I love to play with all the add on things and I have added a few today. I picked up a widget. Really cute,playful kitty. Also,a really cool clock,which I should have paid more attention to earlier and headed off to bed.....LOL. Also,I added a guest book....it's at the bottom. Be sure to sign it.I love seeing where every one's from.

Have a good night and a wonderful day tomorrow, Roxanne

Living Green & Saving Money

O.K. ........ I know,I know.......I still haven't posted a card or any of my creations. To be honest,my scrap room is a total disaster area and I just haven't felt like cleaning it up. I have to get in there soon though,because my Birthday Club Buddies are patiently awaiting their packages and I want to make some goodies to go in their gift boxes.
Along the same lines as cleaning,I am trying to live more "Green" just like hundreds and thousands of people all over.So,I have several different sites under my favorites and this one I came across the other day and it has a list of more natural items you can use to clean with.I thought I would add it to my post today and hopefully spread the word.I haven't had an opportunity to check the site out completely,so I don't want to include a link yet.I will just add the list and........ Happy Cleaning everyone.

Cleaning That Comes Naturally
Guest Author - Kathryn Weber

The reward of cleaning is that fresh, sweet smell of a home that comes after a thorough cleaning. And while that clean smell is appealing to some people, it is a turn off to others because it makes their eyes water or their skin itch or throws them into a sneezing fit. Because of the harsh chemicals in most cleaning products, the desired effect of relaxation from your clean house can quickly turn into an auto-immune nightmare.Who should clean naturally? You may want to switch from chemical cleaners if you have children whose health you are concerned about, or you have someone in your home with an illness, or if you just want to use natural products in your home instead of harsh cleaners that have known carcinogens.There are a number of recipes for cleaning agents that will help get your house clean and without the worry, smell, or concern of strong chemical cleaning compounds.

Brew up a batch of your own homemade cleaners and you will find that your home is just as clean, doesn’t have that awful chemical smell, and saves you money, too. When you make own house cleaners, you will find that it costs less. That’s because the ingredients that you buy are mixed with water and will usually last a long, long time! So just think about that the next time you reach to pick up a cleaner off the shelf that's expensive and is made up of mostly water!Instead, next time you want to clean, head to the store first and pick up some supplies to brew your own cleaners. Then, you’ll find that the best clean not only costs less, but it's a clean that comes naturally.
Supplies needed for making your own cleaners
Plain sudsy ammonia
White vinegar
Essential oil in your favorite scent: orange oil, lemon oil, or lavender
Borax
Ivory dish soap or soap flakes
Good quality spray bottles
Rubbing alcohol (large bottle)
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda or other soda found on the laundry aisle
Distilled water (optional). You don’t have to use distilled water, but if you have hard water, you can be depositing minerals on your surfaces every time you use a cleaner.
CLEANING RECIPES I find that I only use a few types of products to clean the house. These are dish soap, all-purpose spray cleaner, window cleaner, and scouring powder. Here are recipes for these products that are indespensable for household cleaning!
Lavender Dishwashing Soap: 2 Cups soap flakes1 gallon water25 drops of lavender essential oil (you can change this to lemon or orange or other scent)Place soap flakes and water into a pan. Heat over medium heat stirring occasionally until it boils and until soap dissolves. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes to thoroughly combine the ingredients. Remove from heat and let liquid partially cool, add the essential oil and stir. Pour into a clean plastic squeeze bottle or re-used dish soap bottle.
All-Purpose Spray Cleaner :1 tablespoon Borax 1/2 cup liquid soap (can use the soap in the dishwashing soap recipe or Ivory or other type of dish soap)1/2 cup white vinegar 1 gallon hot distilled water 20 drops essential oil such as lavenderCombine all ingredients. Use as you would any other cleaning spray.
Glass Cleaner I: ½ cup sudsy ammonia2 cups rubbing alcohol1 gallon distilled waterMix together and pour into spray bottle.
Glass Cleaner II:2 cups sudsy ammonia½ cup vinegar1 gallon distilled waterMix together and pour into spray bottle.
Scouring Powder:1 cup baking soda¼ cup washing soda (such as Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda)Use like regular scouring powder.