so I was trying to think of a good theme for the week…because anything with a theme is better:) And I thought with the Earth Day coming up and the launch of Knoxville GreenPages a green theme was in order. A caveat….if you know or have a green business, send it on in via the website. We hope to get a good directory going for the Knoxville area. Spread the word too, this is a great resource!!

So, I try to be green as much as possible but definately am not an expert or go all out to be green (I don’t have solar panels in the back yard or make Brad bike to create energy to make toast…nothing like that!) but we do do some things around our house that are green and easy to do…so here are my 5 sexylicious, easypeasy things to do to make your world a little greener!

1. Buy (and use!) reusable shopping bags! Stay tuned in the next couple days on a great deal to get custom shopping bags on the cheap! Reasons I love my bags…they hold so much stuff and fit great over your shoulder if you want….no more killing your fingers hauling 10 plastic bags filled with one item each! I keep mine in my car so I don’t have to remember to bring them.

2. Get new light bulbs! Do you know they are planning on phasing out regular lightbulbs and only sell the energy efficient. They can be a little pricey at first so rather than going and dropping some money I have been picking them up as they have been on special or as we need them. They definately save some moola too!!

3. Buy Reused!! I am convinced (and kinda want to do my own little experiment!) that I could live fine without ever buying retail (save for food shopping). If I want something or know that we will need something soon I go to craigslist, ebay, knoxmoms. You would be amazed at what you can find. Just last month I got a brand new flash for my camera at 1/2
the cost because some guy in TX bought two and decided he only needed one. For bean’s clothes, I always go to Little Chicks and Dudes. And yard sale season is upon us!! Basically just think outside the box…it can save you lots of money and save the earth all at the same time!

4. Turn off the water! This is probably my biggest pet peeve and the most used sentence at dish washing time because Brad loves to rinse the dishes, put them in the dishwasher and just leave the water a going . Do you know that you pay for water twice. Once as it comes out of the faucet and once when it goes down the drain! What a waste! So turn off the water in
between using it when washing dishes, brushing teeth, etc. Also, they have great buckets that you can get to put on your downspouts to collect the water so you can use that to water your flowers/lawn. They are on my list of things to get:)

5. Clean green! So, two ways to do this. One is to buy the green products, such as Seventh Generation, Method or the new Green works, which is what I usually do. The other way is to make your own w/ vinegar,etc. I have always shyed away from this b/c the word “make” sounds to me like too much work, and than storing it, etc. However, this week I bought a giant thing of vinegar and said the heck with it, I was going to do it and do it the Shannon way:) So, I cleaned the bathroom this morning my new Shannon way and it was a success! All I did was get a bowl, put some vinegar and water in it, get a cloth and wipe away. Afterwards, I threw it away. I suppose I could get a spray bottle and store it but this works for me…and that
is what you want, something that works for you. You can find some good recipes for natural cleaners online. I know they say baking soda is good for tubs and grime.

So, go have fun in your life and be green!

Yay for posting on the right day! This week I thought we would go with a random facts theme…so here are 5 random facts…post yours as well!!

1. CD that is in my car right now: Yael Naim (“Im a new soul” song from the apple commercial…love it!)

2. My reality tv show guilty pleasure: Girls Next Door ( I can’t help it..it’s so over the top that you have to watch. Brad refuses to watch it so it’s my 30 minutes of me time sitting on the couch….yay!)

3. Place I’ve never been and would love to go: Ireland ( you would think that all the times I go to England I could just hop on over there, but nope, never been….and I would love to visit Shannon, my town! )

4. Favorite subject in elementary school: spelling

5. Something I need to work on: eating too many carbs, picking up after myself:) (Brad is saying “amen” to this one since he is the clean freak of the family and my perpetual pile of clothes in the bedroom drives him crazy! )

Apologies to all !!! I completely forgot about 5 on Friday!! i have been feeling under the weather and it has gotten the best of me…never fear though, I am on my way back to norm:) It may be a good thing that I forgot because I totally got inspired on Sunday for my special 5 on Friday. We have been going to this church, Knox Life, and loving it. The whole vision is to love God, love people. It completely fits in with my whole thinking on the world is our church, you can hold church anywhere, even Jesus didn’t have a “church” that he went to every week, etc (I’ll spare you from my soap box!) Anyways, with all that said they have weekly things that you can do to impact Knoxville. I was wanting to go to one this weekend but already have a full schedule, which got me thinking that there are so many things we can all do, even in our busy lives, that can impact the world. Then we sang this song with the lyrics “you have been changed, so bring change, so bring change. You have been blessed, so go and be a blessing”. Ties right into my life quote “be the change you wish to see in the world”. And that, my friends, is this special 5 on Friday. And I commission all of you to try at least one of these and also post comments of any other ideas you have…because this 5 is just a taste of what you could do!

So, with all that said, 5 ways you can impact the world (even in your busy life!)

-Want to do more for a ministry that you love and support its mission, sign up to be a prayer partner and, if time, take even an hour to volunteer.

-When you drive past someone on the street, rather than offering criticism about how they got there, etc, say a prayer for them, that God would impact their life.

-Donate things that you no longer need to an organization. Foster home organizations, such as Omni and Youth Villages, are usually in need.

-Plan on doing a good thing with your children, such as making cards to give out at a nursing home. This one simple act can impact their youngs lives in ways you would never imagine!

-And most importantly of all, “preach the gospel, if necessary, use words”. Be on the constant lookout for opportunities to bless someone. It may be as little as offering a helping hand or a smile. You never know how God will impact you.