Getting Ready For Thanksgiving

We went to the grocery store yesterday and bought all the necessary ingredients for our Thanksgiving Dinner. We bought a 25 pound turkey, stuffing, gravy sauce mixture, jellied cranberry sauce, a pie of pumpkin pie, among other things. Im sure its going be a nice family dinner with all the great foods to savor upon and I cant wait. We didnt have any turkey last year because our kitchen was under renovation and thats why having one this year is even more exciting for us. I hope everyone will have a nice Thanksgiving celebration, keep on loving, always be thankful for all the blessings that you receive. Count your blessings, its a very powerful thing! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Leap Year This Year

Normally, there are only 365 days in a year, but during a leap year, there is an additional day making it 366 days in a year. So when it is a leap year, instead of having 28 days of a February, there will be 29 days. And leap year only happens every four (4) years, and this year 2008 is a leap year! Today is February 28, so it means that tommorrow will not be March yet, one more day to enjoy February, so hopefully you savor and enjoy the day, it only comes once every 4 years.

According to Wikipedia, a Leap Year (or intercalary year) is:
A year containing one or more extra days (or, in case of lunisolar calendars, an extra month) in order to keep the calendar year synchronised with the astronomical or seasonal year. For example, February would have 29 days in a leap year instead of the usual 28. Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat at an exact number of full days, so a calendar which had the same number of days in each year would over time drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting (or intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year which is not a leap year is called a common year.

Valentines Day Greetings To All

Spread The Message Of Love

I just got a email forward from a friend, and its very interesting message from the Bible, that one way or the other, we came across, or have heard before in our life. But whoever it was, that surely had eye-for-details noticed that this phrase in the Bible actually have a hidden word in it:

'For God so loV ed the world,
That He gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life.'

John 3:16

Send it around the World! Spread this message of LOVE. Let see if this message will make it around the world by February 14th!

Lets Spread This Message of LOVE!
1- Dogs Circle 2 - Planting Diary 3 - Doinge 4 - Clicking Mouse 5 - Fifty States Travel 6 - Make Life Unexpected 7 - Honestly Fresh 8 - YOUR NEXT!–

>End here<–

And to all my blogger friends whose blogs are NOT LISTED here yet.. it's your turn guys! Grab it here.. And I would like to pass this Valentine Meme to all my fellow co-bloggers listed here:

Ground Hog Day

The other day, February 2 2007, was officially called the Ground Hog Day. I am personally not familiar with the animal Ground Hog, but according to my hubby that Ground Hog day is determining if winter is over or not yet over. When you lift the Ground Hog up into the air, and if it will create a shadow, then it means that there is still six (6) more weeks of winter! On the other hand, if the Ground Hog will not create a shadow when its lifted up, then it means that winter will be ending soon.

While watching the telivision the other day, on Ground Hog Day, we came across a NEWS show at KCRA and they had a segment in their show regarding the Ground Hog Day, where they actually had a Ground Hog animal that they lifted up, and guess what, it created a shadow! And you know what it means, there is six more weeks of winter! And we are so so ready to have some sunshine right now.

We live in CA so its dry and hot here during the summer, so we could definitely take more snow to give some more moisture in the ground, but not yet, because the snow that we had from all the successive winter storms that we had these past few weeks are still not melting, and we dont want to add anymore feet of snow in the file, that are quickly turning into heavy ice. We live near Lake Tahoe, if you are wondering how come we have snow here in northern CA!

Warm Air In And Cold Air Out

During winter times, we usually keep the heater on whole day. Many households have automatic timers for their heater nowadays so that it will automatically turn on and off according to the specified temperature. But even if we have heaters, fireplaces, gas heater, and/or wood burning stove on most days during winter or cold season, there is no excuse why we should waste heat energy and not be economical about our heat resources. To save some on your electricity bill, gas, wood, or wood pellets, trying to make your home warm this season, there are some things that we can do to make the house warm and stay warm:

Windows Closed Tight. If possible, dont open the windows because it will be wide route for the warm air in the house to escape right away, and you are allowing the cold air outside to go into the house easier, which would make the house colder faster everytime you often the windows. If you have blinds and drapes in your window, it would be better if you close them to so that it will help block the cold even more. Drapes with lining works the best in blocking the cold in the window, and keeping the warm air in.

Open Doors Only When Needed. Just like the windows, doors are big opening that will easily allow warm air to escape and let the cold air to get in. Try to minimize opening the door all the time, only open them when you needed to, and dont let it open too long because it will only take few minutes for the air to escape, and before you know it, you need to turn your heater up again, eating more energy.

Temporary Seal Unused Vents. For example, if you are using the wood burning stove, not the central electric heater in the house, then you might want to try to cover the heater vents (only if they are in used), specially if they are run through the areas in your house that are not insulated, and the vent is not wrapped with insulation. Non-insulated heater vents that have direct exposure to the temperature outside, and is connected directly to several rooms of the house, will be another way for cold air to get through inside.

After Christmas Sale Brings Huge Savings

My hubby and I truly like the After Christmas sales, where most seasonal items like Christmas gifts and decors are marked down generously in most stores! So generous, you can usually expect around 65 to 75 percent off specially during this time of year, more than a week after Christmas. The good thing about After Christmas shopping is that all items that you buy that time, you can definitely use the following year and the years to come! The only main difference between shopping before Christmas, and after Christmas is the huge savings that you make.

We just went shopping at Walmart today, checking out their leftover Christmas gifts and decors, all marked up 75 percent off! We grabbed a lot of stuff, and everything totalled to only around thirty (30) dollars in christmas items. But if we had bought all those items at normal prices, we could had paid around one hundred twenty (120) dollars! So it is saving us ninety (90) dollars by buying them this week. We will just store them properly for the year, and looking forward to using them for next holiday! Its not about being cheap, its about saving and being wise about shopping.

Finding The Time To Work On Your Goals

Are you that type of person who believe in New Years Resolution? Do you make a list of things that you wish to achieve on New Years Day?
I personally think that although a person really do not have to wait at the start of a year to be able to achieve the things that she/he wants to achieve, to be able to start to do the things that she/he wants to do, or change things that she/he wants to change. Because all it takes is willingness, perseverance and the will to do it at anytime and you can start anytime, right?

But if for the whole year through you had a hard time getting motivated and finding which morning/day you are gonna make the move and try to work on achieving your goals and hopes, then probably the New Year might be a great time to start. New Year day is time when a lot of people reflect on the things that happened and occured during the past year, and you have great recollections of a lot of things...and possibly thinking of the coming year head also like which things you want changed, which happenings you dont really want to be repeated...

So if you have things to do, things to achieve, you can start at anytime, but if you have a hard time finding the time or day to actually do it, then New Year might be a great time to start and made that commitment. Be very objective and made the commitment and find the willingness to do it, with that you are already taking the first step towards achieving your goals or hopes. Every step forward that you make, will bring you one step closer and closer to your goals or hopes.

After Christmas Sale

After Christmas sale is currently going on! Usually, it starts on December 26, a day after Christmas Day! Most christmas decors and gift items are all marked down heavily, mostly around 35 to 50 percent off the suggested retail price of the item. Why most stores drop down their prices of seasonal and holiday items? Because most of these items are seasonal and they dont want to wait for another year to sell them, they dont want to complicate their inventory records that would mean more confusing lists to keep track of their products which will also complicate their accounting record for filing taxes too. And most of all, unsold seasonal items that dont sell will definitely need storage and warehouse areas, which is more likely mean an added cost for most business because aside from their needs of storage for regular items, they would also be needing additional storage for all seasonal items, if they wont sell or get rid of them. Most stores would rather get rid of occassional inventories by marking them down big time, so that they can get rid of them easily and fast, and eliminate the hassle of recording, storing anymore.

So if you have extra cash you can spend after Christmas, and want to buy early decorations for next year, and have room to store items for next holiday, after Christmas sale is a great time to buy, without spending a fortune! You can save tons of money, and a lot of times these same items will be high in price again as soon as the next holiday is coming near nest time. So checkout your favorite stores these days for awesome deals of seasonal items.

Holiday Greetings

Just want to greet you ALL advance

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

From Our Family To Yours

Are You Winterized?

Are you ready for winter? For countries like US and Europe where winter happens every year, there are some things that you need specifically for winter time and get yourself ready for it.

Warm Up. It is always good to be sure that your heater is up and running, or your wood burning stove and fireplaces are clean and ready for winter wood burning again. For those who use and depend mainly on eletric heaters, winter storms can cause power outtage and it would be better to have a back-up heater on hand like gas heater, wood burning stove and/or fireplaces.

Bundle Up. It is time to dig the winter clothes again, sweaters, jackets, coats, warmers, etc. Many people advise to practice clothes layering where you can stay warm safely and if it gets really hot, you can remove the outer layer and still have more clothings to keep you warm for the cold weather.

Hot and Warm Drinks. What can make you feel better this cold freezing temperature than a cup of hot choco or eggnog. Also great to warm up your body easily during this chilling time is a warm chicken soup or a quick fix and inexpensive noodle soup.

Non-Slip Gears. With freezing temperature outside, standing water and moist areas could easily turn into ice even your decks and driveways. It is hard to see sometimes but if you walk on an icy area it is definitely very slippery and very dangerous. Try to de-ice this areas by having bags of salt handy that you can spread to the icy area, and it is advisable that you put a shoe chain in your rubber shoes or boots to gain some additional tractions.

Protect Your Eyes. During snow days, it would be best to wear some eye-protection with proper shading on it to protect your eyes. Frequent exposure to the bright snow without any eyewear with some kind of shading can be very damaging to your eyes, so better safe than sorry. Safety first is always a great idea!

Tire Chain and Shovels. If you plan to travel in a snowy day, it would not hurt to carry a tire chains with you incase it gets really heavy and stormy, and for those who are not driving a four-wheel drive in a snowy day, it would be quite a challenge and the road might be slippery when icy or snowed on, and having tire chains handy is not a bad idea. And shovels. Nowadays, you can buy portable shovels that you can easily place in the trank of your car everyday that you can use in times of need specially during snowy day and your tire get stuck and the only way to unstuck is dig around the tire, if you dont have shovels, digging the snow by hand and frezzing it is not a good idea.

Retain Indoor Heat. To avoid loose of so much heat in your house, it would be best to use double-pane windows. Also try to avoid opening the doors and windows often/constantly to avoid the cold air to get in to your house and the heat to escape. Try to close the window blinds and drapes preferably with rubber-backing to help keep the cold air in the window from travelling further to the room or to avoid the room heat escape to a bare window.

Happy Holidays!

Written by JAZEVOX. All Rights Reserved.

Minimize energy bills for your holiday decors

Christmas holiday months is the common time of the year when most household electricity bills goes up than normal, this is because we usually put up all kinds of holiday decorations both inside and outside our homes for the holidays and most of these decors consume electricity. The more decorations, the nicer it looks, and the brighter it gets, the merrier and livelier. But effects of all these glimming lights also cause a fast rise in our electricity bill. Although, I cannot tell give you a solution that makes the electric company to wave your electrical bill this season, there are infacts somethings that each one of us can do to minimize the energy consumption this holiday, like using automatic timers.

Nowadays, you can buy different types of timers for both indoor and outdoor that you can use with most electrical decors to control the on and off of the decors automatically. Most timers are reusable, that is why even if it will cost you more to buy the timers the first time, you can use and reuse these timers for years to come, so the cost will not be so heavy if you think of it this way, the long period. Automatic timers will come really handy when you dont want to plug and unplug each electrical decors every night or day.

There are different types of timers, one of the most common one is the automatic on/off, where you can set the mode and adjust the desired time frame when you want the device to go on and off. This type of timer will be great if you wish your decors to turn off as soon as everyone is asleep, say 11 pm, when almost everyone is sleeping or trying to sleep and cant really see your decorations anymore so might as well have the decor off and save the energy. And have it set to turn on in the morning when everyone wakes up, lets say seven in the morning. And you no longer have to sweat worrying and thinking if you turn on or off the decors. Some decors that will be great for this type of timer is blow-up santa balloons, etc.

Aother type of timer that you can buy is the Dusk-to-Dawn timer, where it has a built-in sensor to determine the outdoor light, which will usually works really great if you setup icecles and christmas tree lights outside, where it will turn on when it started to go dark outside and turn off as soon as the dawn arrives. This will save you lots of electricity and no more reasons like you forgot to turn it off in the morning , or you woke up late and have the lights running while the sun is out for 2-4 hours more..

With the global warming being a worldwide concern and everyone is affected, it is time that each of us do a little something to help, and one way to help is use less energy! If each one of us use less energy everyday this holiday, multiply by the billions, that is a lot of energy save everyday!

Hopefully this holiday, you save some energy, save some money and help save your planet as well.

Written by JAZEVOX