We reset our temperature in the house to 72 degrees today due to the amount of dampness on the island. The storms we've had these last 3 days have been terrific. Wind gusts have been over 40mph and rain was large enough to fill the driveway to about 2 inches. Fortunately, everything is graded so we don't get any water in the garage. And you say "So what has that got to do with an energy diet?"
Well, we're glad you asked. We usually keep our temperature at 66 degrees during the winter. But, in a situation like this, you sometimes need to reconsider the normal. Since dampness around the house causes the wind chill to be lower than the temperature on the gauge, you need to adjust for a little while to "take the chill off". That means you need to drop the temp down in a couple of hours to conserve on energy costs.
Small adjustments to any "diet" are only common sense to make life comfortable. As with weight diets, your energy diet can be "adjusted" to make life pleasant and not so structured to discourage continuation with the diet.
For you Yankees, we are sure that the temperature we keep of 66 would probably be too low. Of course a temp of 70 would be better for you and an "adjustment" to 72 on extremely cold days (outside temp below freezing) would certainly be acceptable. But remember, to drop the temp back when your days are warmer. AND, turn the temp down a few degrees at night. Extra blankets on your bed makes this possible.
This is just an introduction to "Your Energy Diet" which we are going to be posting starting tomorrow. Each day we will add a tip so you can begin to save money and save your "world". The environment is just as important to your health as what you eat or what exercise you get. We intend to give tips on your house, your car, and your lifestyle. As we said, these are tips and whether you use these or not is your decision. We hope you do.
Please don't expect any tips this Saturday, 1/26/08, as we intend to include fun among our tips. This Saturday here in Galveston is the begining of the public parades for Mardi Gras and we will be there. This is the "family" weekend and the activity is on the Seawall with 3 parades through out the day. Of course, we will be hosting a party between parades so blogging will not be possible. Hopefully, we will take some time to take pictures (rather than just "catch beads") and will then share them with you. (We'll explain more about "our" Mardi Gras in days ahead. It's not exactly like New Orleans' Mardi Gras.)
We hope you stop by tomorrow for the begining of "Your Energy Diet". Until then, Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Take A Walk
We are not "right on the beach" but are only sparated from it by a road and one row of houses. It's about a football field away which means it's very easy to get there for a nice walk each day.
Unfortunately, it's winter and for us that means about 50 degrees. So, it's a little to cool to go barefoot. I'll have to wear shoes for now which is definately not my style. I like to feel the sand with my toes. Just have to wait until March to kick off the shoes again. What's the point of this?
Taking a walk on the beach is my way to staying healthy. A brisk walk for a little while (and maybe a little jog) followed by a casual mile or two walk is a great health aide. You don't have to go to a gym and do a "killer" workout to get the exercise you need. You can just walk everyday around your neighborhood, or if you are lucky like me, on the beach.
A simple mile or two walk each day will give you the exercise you need and, believe it or not, time to think about anything you wish which, many times, leads to problem solving, planning, and simply feeling good. Give it a go. Take a walk.
Unfortunately, it's winter and for us that means about 50 degrees. So, it's a little to cool to go barefoot. I'll have to wear shoes for now which is definately not my style. I like to feel the sand with my toes. Just have to wait until March to kick off the shoes again. What's the point of this?
Taking a walk on the beach is my way to staying healthy. A brisk walk for a little while (and maybe a little jog) followed by a casual mile or two walk is a great health aide. You don't have to go to a gym and do a "killer" workout to get the exercise you need. You can just walk everyday around your neighborhood, or if you are lucky like me, on the beach.
A simple mile or two walk each day will give you the exercise you need and, believe it or not, time to think about anything you wish which, many times, leads to problem solving, planning, and simply feeling good. Give it a go. Take a walk.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Sale Day Alert: Use Technology to Save Money
What if you are in a big city where shops abound and you can’t keep tabs on all those sale days that you’re dying to take advantage of? How do you make sure that you don’t get left unnotified?
Here are some ways that can help you stay informed whenever your favorite stores announce sale or discount days:
Email Alerts
Stores are now learning to market their goods and services via email. You can opt for sale day alerts through typing in your e-mail to their sites’ email alert page.
SMS Alerts
A wide variety of shops are now getting more and more comfortable with the use of technology, specifically with the mobile technology on making their business grow. As a marketing tool, cellular phones are now used to alert customers of any announcements these technology savvy shops have to communicate. Usually, customers or clients are given certain keywords and numbers to get registered or to subscribe to any alerts.
RSS Feeds
Customers that are familiar with the Internet technology can also be notified of any rummage sales, garage sales or discount days using this web tool – RSS. RSS stands for really simple syndication. It is the use of RSS readers or news aggregators to help people compile the list of websites they like to keep updated with.
How do you use RSS feeds to get sale alerts? Here are the steps to learn how to use the RSS technology.
1. Sign up for an RSS reader. RSS readers or news aggregators are like machines that will be your repository of the news feeds or alerting devices of all the websites you want to keep on reading without visiting those sites every so often. The most popular RSS readers are Bloglines and Google Reader.
2. Start collecting RSS feeds. There are a couple of ways to gather RSS feeds. Go to a website, specifically, your favorite shop’s website. Then, look for an orange block with white arcs inside, which is the universal symbol for RSS feeds. Click that graphic and you will be lead to a page to help you subscribe. Choose the reader which you use and that site’s feed will get added to your list of sites that you subscribe to on your RSS reader. Just repeat that procedure when you discover the other web sites that you want to be informed about whenever they get updated.
3. Read the feeds whenever updates are posted on your reader. That way you will only go to the site if there’s something new or if there’s a sale day that’s announced. Less hassle.
Here are some ways that can help you stay informed whenever your favorite stores announce sale or discount days:
Email Alerts
Stores are now learning to market their goods and services via email. You can opt for sale day alerts through typing in your e-mail to their sites’ email alert page.
SMS Alerts
A wide variety of shops are now getting more and more comfortable with the use of technology, specifically with the mobile technology on making their business grow. As a marketing tool, cellular phones are now used to alert customers of any announcements these technology savvy shops have to communicate. Usually, customers or clients are given certain keywords and numbers to get registered or to subscribe to any alerts.
RSS Feeds
Customers that are familiar with the Internet technology can also be notified of any rummage sales, garage sales or discount days using this web tool – RSS. RSS stands for really simple syndication. It is the use of RSS readers or news aggregators to help people compile the list of websites they like to keep updated with.
How do you use RSS feeds to get sale alerts? Here are the steps to learn how to use the RSS technology.
1. Sign up for an RSS reader. RSS readers or news aggregators are like machines that will be your repository of the news feeds or alerting devices of all the websites you want to keep on reading without visiting those sites every so often. The most popular RSS readers are Bloglines and Google Reader.
2. Start collecting RSS feeds. There are a couple of ways to gather RSS feeds. Go to a website, specifically, your favorite shop’s website. Then, look for an orange block with white arcs inside, which is the universal symbol for RSS feeds. Click that graphic and you will be lead to a page to help you subscribe. Choose the reader which you use and that site’s feed will get added to your list of sites that you subscribe to on your RSS reader. Just repeat that procedure when you discover the other web sites that you want to be informed about whenever they get updated.
3. Read the feeds whenever updates are posted on your reader. That way you will only go to the site if there’s something new or if there’s a sale day that’s announced. Less hassle.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Check Out Our Newsletter
Just thought we would let you know that our latest issue of our newsletter is on line. Just for kicks, you should take a look. You might find it interesting and perhaps helpful. We know that some people are finding it to their liking and have expressed how helpful it has been to them.
Click here for the newsletter
Hope you enjoy it.
Click here for the newsletter
Hope you enjoy it.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year
The parties are over. The fireworks are quiet. The sun is shining. A new day has arrived and with it the New Year. Give thanks that you have started a new year.
We wish all of you a happy New Year and that this will be the begining of an awesome time in your life. You should start your resolutions now if you have decided to have a resolution or two. It's not to late to set a resolution and to begin.
If you are still having some residual affects from holiday stress, check our posts on stress. We should note that we left out a very important consideration to overcoming stress. That is the value of prayer. It is not just for the zealots, but what you should consider on a daily basis. Another consideration is to use your church and your minister to overcome stress. You would be surprised how uplifting and beneficial that this will be to your life.
Also, remember that your health is extremely important to you in begining this new year. This includes your physical, mental, and your environmental wellbeing. Take a few moments to do an inventory of your life, yourself, and your "world" to see how you can improve.
Remember: LIVE WELL, LAUGH OFTEN, LOVE MUCH
We wish all of you a happy New Year and that this will be the begining of an awesome time in your life. You should start your resolutions now if you have decided to have a resolution or two. It's not to late to set a resolution and to begin.
If you are still having some residual affects from holiday stress, check our posts on stress. We should note that we left out a very important consideration to overcoming stress. That is the value of prayer. It is not just for the zealots, but what you should consider on a daily basis. Another consideration is to use your church and your minister to overcome stress. You would be surprised how uplifting and beneficial that this will be to your life.
Also, remember that your health is extremely important to you in begining this new year. This includes your physical, mental, and your environmental wellbeing. Take a few moments to do an inventory of your life, yourself, and your "world" to see how you can improve.
Remember: LIVE WELL, LAUGH OFTEN, LOVE MUCH
Friday, December 28, 2007
Life After Christmas
We don't know how your Christmas went, but ours was unbelievable. It started on the 23rd and ran for 3 days ending, finally, at 10 PM, the 25th. A whirlwind of parties at various relatives' homes all over southeast Texas. And now, supposedly, the "let down". Whoa, not necessarily.
The New Year arrives in a few days and that could be, for some of you, another round of parties. If it is, and you haven't set up your party plans, you could have some problems unless you are attending someone else's party. That is not the case for us.
We will be having a party put on by 2 of our teenage grandchildren for a group of their friends. But, true to normal teenagers, they have set up no plans other than invite a dozen plus of their friends. NOW WHAT?
During our annual after Christmas buying spree on the 26th, we quizzed the kids, got their input, then layed out the rules and plans for the party and bought what was necessary for the party. All done in about 2 hours. How? Organization.
Living at the beach has required that we have plans set up for just about any type of party with limited notification in advance. Yes, we do keep plans and lists of party requirements for just about any type of party. These are simple outlines with with a general check list to keep us on track. Is it hard to do this? NO!
Simple organization is all it takes. Sit down with a pad of paper and start writing your ideas down. Review what you wrote, add or subtract ideas, prioritise the items, and save for your future (put your list somewhere you can easily find it like on your refrigerator).That is all that is needed to begin your organization.
And why are we doing this and suggesting you do it too? To enjoy life, CUT DOWN ON STRESS, and have fun. Remember, stress can and will mess up the holidays IF YOU LET IT. Don't be a victim of stress. Organize, prepare, enjoy!
The New Year arrives in a few days and that could be, for some of you, another round of parties. If it is, and you haven't set up your party plans, you could have some problems unless you are attending someone else's party. That is not the case for us.
We will be having a party put on by 2 of our teenage grandchildren for a group of their friends. But, true to normal teenagers, they have set up no plans other than invite a dozen plus of their friends. NOW WHAT?
During our annual after Christmas buying spree on the 26th, we quizzed the kids, got their input, then layed out the rules and plans for the party and bought what was necessary for the party. All done in about 2 hours. How? Organization.
Living at the beach has required that we have plans set up for just about any type of party with limited notification in advance. Yes, we do keep plans and lists of party requirements for just about any type of party. These are simple outlines with with a general check list to keep us on track. Is it hard to do this? NO!
Simple organization is all it takes. Sit down with a pad of paper and start writing your ideas down. Review what you wrote, add or subtract ideas, prioritise the items, and save for your future (put your list somewhere you can easily find it like on your refrigerator).That is all that is needed to begin your organization.
And why are we doing this and suggesting you do it too? To enjoy life, CUT DOWN ON STRESS, and have fun. Remember, stress can and will mess up the holidays IF YOU LET IT. Don't be a victim of stress. Organize, prepare, enjoy!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Tips For Resolution Success
One of the main topics at New Years parties is: "What resolutions have you made for this year?" Of course, you will also hear: "I probably won't keep it. I'm just not successful with resolutions." Why is that? Maybe a few tips for success will help.
1. Don't make it if you plan to break it.
2. You must be committed and sincere.
3. The resolution must be something you really feel is in need of change.
4. Don't choose a complicated resolution. Break it down into easy steps. Be organized.
5. Educate yourself in how others have achieved success for a similar resolution.
6. Plan your "attack" and work your plan.
7. Try to add fun ways to be successful.
8. Put your ultimate goal in writing. Motivate yourself by writing down how you will be when you have accomplished your resolution. Then, read it out loud to yourself each day.
9. If you need help or encouragement, GET IT!
10. Don't procrastinate!
These tips have helped us achieve our resolutions as well as any goals we want to accomplish. We hope thes will help you be a success this year with your resolution(s).
1. Don't make it if you plan to break it.
2. You must be committed and sincere.
3. The resolution must be something you really feel is in need of change.
4. Don't choose a complicated resolution. Break it down into easy steps. Be organized.
5. Educate yourself in how others have achieved success for a similar resolution.
6. Plan your "attack" and work your plan.
7. Try to add fun ways to be successful.
8. Put your ultimate goal in writing. Motivate yourself by writing down how you will be when you have accomplished your resolution. Then, read it out loud to yourself each day.
9. If you need help or encouragement, GET IT!
10. Don't procrastinate!
These tips have helped us achieve our resolutions as well as any goals we want to accomplish. We hope thes will help you be a success this year with your resolution(s).
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