Kill Grandma? Debunking A Health Bill Scare Tactic

Listen to this:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111729363

Cafe Feminino

http://www.buywellcoffee.com/

Seriously. Buy it. If you like coffee you really have no other choice. I mean, you DO have other choices. But you SHOULDN'T. Here's why:

"BuyWell Coffee sources and roasts only 100% Certified Fair Trade Organic coffees. This is our commitment to our growers, to the planet and to you. BuyWell Coffee is the only premier coffee roaster committed to roasting 100% Fair Trade, 100% organic coffees that are naturally rich in antioxidants, handcrafted to perfection using 100% certified renewable energy. We commit to these principles in 100% of what we do. We source only the best coffees in the world that hold the double certification and are shade grown whenever possible. We look for more ways to become more sustainable and make our footprint much smaller. All the while providing exceptionally good small batch roasted coffee to our customers at an affordable price that everyone can enjoy."

Cafe Feminino is a specific blend I learned about via the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival a few years ago. These women are amazing! And Buywell pays them fairly, which is so so so important. Check out these links to learn more.

http://www.cafefemenino.com/

http://buywellcoffee.com/shop/altagold.html

Also, I just called the office last week to inquire about bulk purchases, you know, to see if they had any less expensive options. THEY. DO. I bought some that came out to about $6.20/lb. Hello, that is AMAZING for fair trade organic coffee. DO IT people. DO IT.

Confessions of a Budget Breaker

OK, so the hubbs has decided to implement a budget for the Schurz family. Pretty cool, huh? I mean, I’ve been trying to do the budget thing for a year, but we didn’t really NEED to and Hubbs just wasn’t into it. But he got to thinking about it recently, and read a Dave Ramsey workbook, and then we went and bought a new, bigger house, so here we are now in budget-excel spreadsheet-ville. I’m really proud of him and excited to think that we can pay down some debt quickly if we make good choices. It’s not easy, though, let me tell you. Of the two of us, I would have guessed I was the more money conscious one. Like I would tell myself, sure, you can have Starbucks. How about once a week? Sounds good. Or I’d be at the store and see that they had ONE DOLLAR CEREAL. Value brand. ONE DOLLAR! Is it tasty? No. But is it cheap? Yes. I’ve never been the girl who looks down her nose at brand names or won’t spend good money on a great pair of jeans. But I am the girl who gets her hair cut at Great Clips instead of Aveda and is even sometimes known to put a little water in the last of the shampoo bottle to make it last a little longer. Speaking of shampoo…I went with a few girls from work to the annual Beauty Brands liter sale. Never heard of it? Me either, but it happens to be this sale where you can get liters for $11.98. Great deal?! It is if the liters were normally $42! Who could pass that up? And they smell so wonderful! And they come in bright pink and orange colors with seductive names like Sexy Straight or Candy Curls (OK, I made that one up.) Hello, these are WAY better than plain old Suave or Pantene. $11.98 is a STEAL! Not to mention when I step out of the house in the morning I’ll probably look like Julia Roberts or Angelina Jolie or something. YES! I am the best shopper in the world! And I didn’t just buy one bottle. No no no, I bought 4. Yep, 2 shampoos, 2 conditioners. I know. I just saved, like, $2000 or something. Wait a sec. Then why is it that as soon as I walked out of the store I had buyers remorse. Could it have anything to do with aforementioned budget? Or aforementioned Suave, which is, by the way, .97? Hmmm, perhaps. So that night I say to Hubbs,
“I did something bad.”
“Oh boy, what did you do?”
“I spent money. A lot. On shampoo.”
“what? How much?” “$40 (said in timid, embarrassed, regretful little peep.)
“hahahahahahaha! No you didn’t!”
“WHY are you LAUGHING?”
“Because that is funny! I can’t believe you did that. You would NEVER do something so silly!”
Hmmm. I wasn’t expecting such a laugh out of the whole thing. But I confess it made me feel better. And it was a good point. Don’t get me wrong. I can spend money. I don’t have to ask permission. I don’t feel guilty when I shop. I’m not being monitored any more than Hubbs, we just want to be cautious. But I did feel a little ridiculous spending that amount of money on shampoo, which I never do. We’ll just chalk it up to learning. I probably won’t do it again. But in the meantime I’ll have some fierce hair. And $40 less in my personal budget category for the month ;)

Great quote

‘O Lord, deepen my wounds
into wisdom;
shape my weaknesses
into compassion;
gentle my envy
into enjoyment,
my fear into trust,
my guilt into honesty.’
~Ted Loder~

I love politics...

...and politics make me want to puke.

Just a few resources regarding the congressional bill regarding national health care. Educate yourself. Don't read people's blogs, forwards and commentaries to make your decisions for you. They could be wrong. (gasp!) Maybe this bill is the worst idea in the history of the world (I don't know, I haven't read the 1000 pages.) Maybe there are some good things and some bad things. Maybe it's a graet idea that isn't getting worked out just right. Maybe it's the best thing that could happen to US healthcare. Don't just take someone's word for it, though.

http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

http://www.mahalo.com/americas-affordable-health-choices-act-of-2009

http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf

http://washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_3200.html

http://www.hrsonline.org/Policy/LegislationTakeAction/affordable_health_choice_act.cfm

A trickster!

So yesterday I got home from work and Jeff got up to greet me. The conversation went as such:

Jeff: Hi! I finished painting the rest of the house!
Me: No you didn't! (with shock and doubt since the rest of the house included the entryway and stair ways that require a gigantic ladder and bravery and hope that my dear husband wouldn't careen to his death.)
Jeff: Yes I did!
Me: you did?
Jeff: no. Just kidding.
Me: oh man! Why did you do that?!
Jeff: haha, I tricked you!
Me: ugh. you are quite a tricker, mister.

Then, 15 minutes later I walk around the corner to discover HE DID finish it all! HE tricked me twice! He is so amazing. I really can't believe he finished it all. What a great, sweet, hardworking (and silly) guy!

Just a few things

Cade made a new friend! His name is Brandon and he's 12. He lives across the street and just came over a few days ago to see if Cade wanted to play. He seems very nice and Cade just can't stop talking about how nice he is and what a good friend he is. It's so cute! Too bad they didn't meet earlier since Cade only has a week left for the summer :( But it looks like he'll have someone to play with whenever he comes out here now. YAY!



The pond is basically finished! I am so proud of Cade and Jeff. It was a major project. It looks really cool and sounds nice, too. We're going to wait until next year to add all the plants we'd like since we're WAY over budget as it is. But in the meantime we picked up a bunch of day lilies, irises and raspberries from Patsy. Thanks!

Here it is midway through...


And here it is filled, waterfall and all!


Jeff also finished refinishing his table. It was too big for our dining room so he had to modify it by cutting it down :( At the same time he sanded the top and put a clear coat on instead of the darker coat it had before. It looks so good! I LOVE it!

That's all for now! Thanks for dropping by :)