Going Chartreuse

It's been a minute since I developed an interest in being more environmentally conscious. Going green can be such a huge lifestyle change so I thought it would be best for me to tackle it in very small baby steps. My first steps taken were purchasing reusable grocery bags and replacing blown light bulbs with those CFC energy efficient light bulbs. Okay, those steps are operating effortlessly now so I think it's time to make another move. So, what's next on project going light green, chartreuse if you will ... a couple of cleaning supplies.

1. All Purpose Cleaner. The Healthy Hostess has several simple, green clean recipes that I will try eventually. The first on deck is her all purpose cleaner recipe below. You can check out other great recipes for oven and toilet bowl cleaners by clicking on her link.

• 2 cups of white distilled vinegar
• 2 cups of water
• optional - drops of essential oil (your choice)

2. Laundry Detergent. Now I must admit, I'm a little shy about this one because I've bought into the spiel that I must purchase one of the top brands to get the best results. Nonetheless, I'm going to try it since trusted bloggers such as The Lost Goat and Jabs at Debt Free Adventure have all tried it with great success. There are also a host of great tips and recipes here, at Tipnut. I plan to make a powder version with this simple recipe found on both Jab's and Tipnut's sites.

• 1 cup or 1 bar of shaved soap (Ivory, Zote or Fels Naptha)
• 1/2 cup of borax
• 1/2 cup of washing soda

Basically it's a 2 to 1 ratio from what I can tell; 2 parts shaved soap to 1 part borax and 1 part washing soda. Jab did a great job with his pictorial tutorial and he does an excellent job with the cost breakdown as well - I'm not as much concerned about the cost but it's great info.

Who knew I would be so excited about making my own laundry detergent. Geez louise, what's happening to me? Hmm, I'm not sure but I like it so off to the store I go. Have a great weekend everyone!

***FYI ... I'm not sure why the hyperlinks don't show up with a line under them if you receive these posts via email. For those who receive e-mails of the posts I believe the hyperlinks show up as blue colored words, such as The Healthy Hostess and Tipnut. Just in case it's not blue for all e-mail readers, you can tell if a word is a hyperlink or not because it would be the same color as the post's title. For those who read via the blog, the same is true except the color isn't blue - it's the same reddish-orangish color used for the title and signature. Are we all clear as mud now? Thanks loyal reader who brought this to my attention;-).

Summer Goal Update 2

If at first you don't succeed, try again, and again, and once more. Yep, that's what I'm going to do. I set a goal to run 100 miles by the end of August. It can be argued that I failed miserably. Seriously, from the looks of it I wonder if I even tried?! Oh well, I'm lacing up the running shoes and striving to accomplish the goal again through the end of September. Even though I didn't come close to my goal, I did better than the sidebar reflects. Somewhere along the way I stopped updating my tracking sheet, thinking to myself "I'll remember how many miles I ran and update it later." Yeah, NOT! So here I go once again, 75 miles to run by September 30th. Can I do it, yes; will I do it, hmm, we'll see. Here is the infamous crossroad that often eludes many, the intersection of desire and discipline. We often have desires for a preferred end but lack the discipline or stamina to see it through. The way I see it, desire is the vehicle and discipline is the gasoline, you can only run on fumes for so long. Someone once told me to never let my car get below 1/4 of a tank of gas because garbage can get into your fuel line which will eventually cause your car to run badly. The same is true with our goals, when we become less and less disciplined, "garbage" begins to fill the gap and before you know it, we're off course and heading towards a different destination - the repair shop to get retooled and refocused, if possible. Now that I'm refocused, let's see if I can keep the tank at or close to full.

Summer Goal - Update 1

The summer goal ticker has been updated to show my progress through yesterday. I didn't make as much progress as I wanted to because my car was out of commission for several days and the weather has been hellish hot - meaning I couldn't go to the gym AND I was not about to run outside in all of that hotness. On the one hand I'm pleased with the results thus far but, on the other hand, 87 miles remaining seems like an awful lot for a chic who doesn't like to run much. As of today, I have exactly 7 weeks and three days left, let's see if I make it.

Things Are Moving Along

Hey ladies and gents, I had a meeting with a potential client two weeks ago. I'm now into the final phase, they've asked me to submit a written proposal. Unfortunately I can't go into many details but I promise I'll tell you all about it when I'm able to do so. Just know that I'm working toward my desired goal ... a career change.

I read this quote yesterday and I've been sharing it with anyone who would listen. Here goes, hopefully you find it as inspiring as I do:

Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it, I say! Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.

~Pope Paul VI

Caveat - in the spirit of the quote, I don't think Pope Paul VI is suggesting that one embarks on a life of reckless abandonment and careless decision making. Quite the contrary. I believe he was encouraging us to live life on purpose. No longer passively living and merely existing. It's been said that most people's favorite day is "someday" and "one day," neither of which are real days of the week. How about changing someday to today and one day to Thursday ...

Okay, off to writing my proposal now! You guys are so supportive so I'm thanking you in advance for your encouragement.

Summer Goal

I officially have a new short-term goal to accomplish. If you haven't noticed, there's a new ticker on my blog, 100 miles by August 31. For the record, I'm no runner so I'm not sure how realistic or unrealistic achieving this goal will be for me. Since the GA heat is out of control, I'm giving myself some grace to complete the miles on the treadmill or outside. I really want to push myself to complete this goal and since weight loss is not an end result that motivates me, I need something else. Something tangible, something desirable. Hmm. Any suggestions? Should I treat myself to a day at the spa? What about a mini shopping spree? Dang it, is this the best that I can do?! Help .....

R&R

Yippee!! I'm heading out of town with great expectations of getting a little r&r, rest and relaxation. I'll touch bases when I return on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Not So Good News

"Police are looking for a BMW that may have started a fatal chain reaction car crash that claimed the lives of 5 people, one an infant." Over and over again, that was this morning's headline news on every news channel in my city. At 7:46 am, I received a call and learned that one of the cars involved was carrying a dear friend and her family, a spouse and 2 children. Speechless, amazed, confused, perplexed ... the call put a knot in my chest that has yet to leave.

Death has an uncanny way of causing many (or maybe just me) to take an immediate inventory of life. Are we living life to the fullest? Are we enjoying the present because it really is a gift? Are we appreciative to our family and friends, and more importantly, do they know it? How many friends have we scheduled and rescheduled and rescheduled lunch with, never really having the time to do so because we're all so "busy"? At times I can be such a planner and goal seeker that as a result I get off balance.

My friend was truly a person who was bigger than life. She dedicated her life to motivating and inspiring others and I'm not joking, this is really what she did. She was "that" kind of woman - you know the kind - the one who makes lemonade out of lemons, the one who can see the diamonds in the dirt, the one who can work around the thorns to get to the roses, that woman. A woman's woman. From my vantage point, she definitely practiced what she preached. Her life was a celebration, she was an over comer, she pursued her dreams and helped others to pursue theirs as well. She will be deeply missed but this I know, because she impacted so many people's lives, her legacy will continue.

I've been struggling with making a few decisions primarily because of finances. Now yes, money is important but I get sick and tired of it being the driving force in many of my decisions. In an instant our entire world could change so now that I've been painfully reminded of that, I need to take inventory and make sure that I'm living in today and not just for tomorrow.