Are you looking for a great book to read?  Do you like being drawn into a good book that you can’t put down?  Then I highly recommend that you read “Green Lake” by S.K. Epperson.  This book touches on almost every subject that many people have a difficult time understanding or relating to.  These topics include: divorce, alcohol abuse, murders, homicides, racism, suicide, pedophiles, attraction to dead corpses and sexual urges with the corpses, arson, abusive relationships, sexual…

Nobody would argue that people are busier than ever these days.  Between work, spouse, children, home and other commitments, there is more and more competition for our time.  And those companies that manufacture goods understand this and cater to the demands of convenience and ease.  But at what cost?

After…

Not everybody is in a position to go out and buy a brand new, energy efficient vehicle.  But there are several things you can do with your car right now that will make it more energy efficient.  This will help you to go green and save green in the process.

1.  Make sure that your tires are inflated…

One of the steps to Going Green is conserving our natural resources.  And one of the natural resources that gets wasted the most is water.  Here are some steps that your family can take to conserve water.  This will not help our environment, but save you money as well.

1.  Shower instead of bathing as…

I don’t know anybody who enjoys dry cleaning.  If you want a really funny story about dry cleaning, you can check out my friend, Vicky, at the Pursuit of Normal here.

But besides the…

Most people I know are eager to welcome the approach of Spring and all that goes with it:  opening the windows for fresh air, planting flowers, putting out the patio furniture.  What most people are probably not thrilled about?  Spring cleaning.

The idea of giving your house a good old fashioned…

Oh how we love our plastic!  Nothing has shaped the modern world quite like it.  And it’s virtually everywhere you look:  vinyl flooring, electrical conduit, fencing, water pipes, windows, shower curtains, decking and wallpaper.

Polyvinyl chloride is one of those materials used for its durability and cost effectiveness.  It’s also very low maintenance and can be made softer and more bendable.  PVC is now a popular choice for outdoor furniture, upholstery and even clothing.

But…

I’ve written a few times about the progress I’ve made in my journey to go green.  While I certainly have a long way to go, I’m not the big-haired, wasteful consumer that I used to be.  And since we all struggle in our journey to do better and be better, I’m continuing my weekly entry of “favorites” that help me day to day.

Mini Trampoline

Honestly, I have never even considered buying a trampoline for my kids.  OK, maybe I did.  But only for about 5 seconds.  I have heard…

Leave it to Hollywood to have its finger on the pulse of what’s popular in America.  Usually, if there is a new “movement”, celebs jump right on the bandwagon because they know it will keep them popular and relevant.  So, I decided to do a little research to see if there were any Hollywood types who really took…

Last week, I started a new blog segment that I refer to as my Friday Favorites.  These are things that I have discovered over the past couple of years.  Who knows what you might find here?  It could be a food, an appliance, or even a destination.  But each item, in its own way, contributes to the awesomeness otherwise known as my green lifestyle.  So without further ado, here are this week’s Friday Favorites:

“Cause” It Tastes Great!

Have any of you ever heard of Project…

I have never, nor do I anticipate ever being, a touchy-feely kind of person.  You know how some people will greet you with a hug, or a kiss or want to touch you when they talk to you?  That is SO not me.  In fact, those types of people make me really uncomfortable and want to run in the other direction.

It’s not that I’m not affectionate or anything.  I still kiss my son (who is almost 14) on the forehead every night and I’m delighted that he wants to give me an occasional…

When I made the decision, really made the decision, to adopt a greener lifestyle, I had people say to me “I’d love to go green but I can’t afford it.”  Have you ever said that?  Thought that?  If so, I will refrain from telling you what I said in return.

The point is that if you think about it,…

When most people think about staying in a nice hotel, eco-friendly doesn’t exactly come to mind.  Think about all the people taking hot showers, running the air conditioning in their rooms, and watching TV, not to mention washing all the towels and bedding.  It’s mind boggling to think about how much energy is being used.  But, believe it or not, there are hotels that not only care about offering comfortable amenities and convenience to their guests, but care about our planet as…

I absolutely LOVE my local Whole Foods Store (if you can call an hour’s drive one way local).  When you walk in the door, you are met with a HUGE produce section that looks alive.  It’s almost like a giant piece of artwork.  So many different colors, different textures, and different smells are just waiting for me…

I’m not sure why, but “mail time” is a big deal in our house.  When my son was younger and I was trying to think up kid-friendly chores for him to do, getting the mail and bringing it into the house was a favorite of his, especially if he was expecting a card with money from his aunt & uncle or his grandparents.  Even my husband will regularly ask me “did anyone get the mail today”?…

I think most people would agree that water is vitally important to good health.  After all, our bodies are mainly comprised of it.  And we need to replenish it frequently because it’s used by our muscles, organs and tissues and we lose water through perspiration and waste elimination.  But while modern day society has embraced the concept of drinking water regularly, we have created a whole new set of problems for ourselves.

When I was a little girl, drinking water meant you needed a…

June 12, 2012, by Bassem Ghali, Green Lotus

We are all noticing more local search results “7-pack” posted at the top of any major search engine results page. Does this mean You can rank higher than your competitors by simply listing your business address, and phone number, on Google, Bing, Yahoo local center? YES, if you do it right! Don’t worry though; I’m listing best practices for…

I have a confession to make:  I was not always a Green Mom.  Just like I wasn’t “born” being a mom, I wasn’t born being green either.  Growing up, I ate vegetables out of a can, drank water out of the hose on hot days, and consumed waaaaay too much sugary cereal.  As a teen, I sprayed too much hairspray from an aerosol can, threw things away without thinking, and drove every chance I got, even if I was only going down the block.

When I did become a mom, my attitude…

Boy, what a difference a couple days make!  This past weekend, I was so excited that temperatures were warm enough to run errands on my bicycle.  Not so this morning.  This morning, we were greeted with a wind chill of -14 degrees.

For those of you who are not sure what a “wind chill” means, that is the number assigned to what the temperature feels like if you factor in the wind.  For those of us here in the Midwest, it just means brutal cold! And while yes, we should expect…