One from the Past ...

I really appreciate the compliments and comments for the week long updates. I am also very glad to say that I am at home to stay for a little while anyway. Of course that means that I will probably be writing a little less but hopefully I will be writing a little more about the girls.

Since returning home, I've spent the week wading my way through several hundred emails at work and another couple of hundred at home. In addition, I've got a tremendous amount of work to close out the MS project, and several other projects in the pipeline.

In the meantime, lets have a shout out for the ffffooooooottballlllllllllll season!!!!!! Elizabeth and I went to the Alabama Christian High School game last night against St. Jude High School. The game was the best high school game that I've ever attended. ACA won the game 34 - 27. The game was back and forth with several great hits and plays. Both teams should be commended for their effort.

Speaking of football, college football begins this weekend. Elizabeth and I have been glued to the various games since early afternoon. The only thing bad about the start of the college season is the quality of the season opener games. I hate to see blowouts, and that is generally the case for the season openers. Of course, Alabama is starting the season with Clemson, preseason ranked number 9.

Now, on with the main event ...

For several years, I was lucky enough to rewarded with a week at the beach trip (my company paid for the hotel or condo expenses for one week a year). Like many companies, we have looked for various ways to cut expenses, and regretfully our "free" week at the beach was one of those cuts. The beach being referred to was Panama City Beach, also known as the Redneck Riviera.

For the last year, Big E's mom and dad joined us for part of the trip. While we generally took this trip on our own, I really enjoyed having them with us. As you can imagine, we enjoyed going out to eat (something that I am always willing to do), and playing Yahtzee into the wee hours of the morning.

For one of our days out, we decided to play golf. Each year, Elizabeth and I would spend a day or two of our trip playing golf. Our favorite course in the area is the Hombre. The Hombre is a tough course, used yearly as a PGA Qualifying School course. If you are ever in the area, try the course, the course is tough but the staff is awesome and willing to help.

We decided to go play nine at the Hombre that day. To make matters even more enjoyable, we took the worlds greatest mother-in-law with us for her first day on the golf course. Understand, mom was not playing golf, she was there because she wanted to drive the cart.

I decided to pair up with her and let her "chaffeur" me around the course while BiG E and her father played and shared a cart. I usually like to drive the cart (this may have something to do with my OCD), but I was up for the challenge. With the exception of a few spots, she did a great job!!!

Around the fifth hole, we stopped at one of the many break locations (water and bathroom). The ladies decided that they needed a break from the action. I was thankful because the hole happened to be a very narrow shot lined with houses on each side. I was standing on the tee box trying to figure out how I wanted to approach the hole. After a few minutes, both Big E and her father appeared ready to play, so I positioned myself and readied to play.

About the time that I was ready to step up for my tee off, we heard the loudest and scariest screaming that I've ever heard. If I remember right, the screams were cries for help from above. Immediately, Big E sprang to attention and ran for the save. As for me and my father-in-law, we looked at each other wondering what in the world could possibly be wrong.

Now, if you looked at the website for the golf course, you know that the golf course is located on marshlands. So, my fear was a snake had found its way into the bathroom. Less than a minute later, I heard a second scream ......... of laughter and witnessed Big E running out of the bathroom. My mother-in-law noticed that a FROG was trying to escape the toilet while she was on it. At least I was partially right but thankfully I was wrong about the type of reptile.

Can you imagine? A FROG trying to escape while you are on the tiolet. That had to be absolutely terrifying to her, but one of the funniest things for me. I actually had to postpone teeing off in order to go potty myself. AWESOME!!!

We completed the evening with a great meal at Captian Anderson's restaraunt. If you havent eaten at Capn Anderson's, it is worth the trip alone.

Green Tip of the Post: Well, there isnt a new one. I have many of new posts but I've decided that we all need a little time to let the other posts sink in and become routine.

Getting the job done ...

Alright, I am home. Actually I got home around 7:00 last night. Amazingly, I didn't run into any rain on the way home. However, it's been raining ever since and shows no signs of letting up.

Rusty was so excited for me to be home that we had to go through our normal routine of throwing the ball in the yard. Everyday he will greet me at the door for a little playtime outside. Last night, he not only greeted me, but he demanded a little playtime. In fact, he interupted a little "us time" between Elizabeth and I to insure that he got his necessary attention first (now that is love or selfishness).

A big shout out to my wonderful bride who had restocked the refrigerator for me. After the drive home, I was really hoping for a cold one and I was not disappointed when I got home. Liquid dinner and bed, just what the doctor ordered.

I got a few things to go through today, so here is the conclusion to my work week:

Friday: Batesville and Hernando

Friday, we had what the worst installation of the summer. How about that for timing, finish with the worst install. Something went wrong at every turn. However, the agent and his family was very understanding and supportive through the whole thing, so it worked out just fine.

For lunch we ate at a local sports bar / dive / dump called Loves. This place was huge and apparently is visited by many professional sports people as there were pictures and autographs of hundreds of athletes lining the walls all made out to the owner or the restaurant (many actually taken at the restaurant). For lunch, I ate: Spaghetti, fried okra, fried okra (yes, two helpings of one of my favorites), and slaw. How is that for a meat and three? I question the cleanliness of the place, but the food was awesome.

The ride home went a little like this: Southhaven (a suburb of Memphis), Oxford, Tupelo (two Elvis sightings!!!), Jasper (I made a wrong turn), Sumiton (same wrong turn), Birmingham (only for a minute), Clanton (a quick potty stop) and Montgomery. There were hundreds of little towns along the way too.

Bottom line: I'm done. We have four more installations next week but that is being handled by one of the other guys. Now I get the dubious job of putting together the financial analysis of the project with go forward cost savings, etc. That should make for a nice little presentation.

One final word about the summer road trip: I now have a lifetime supply of shampoo, soap, etc. How's that for green, I took all the little bottles that the hotels offered. Actually, me and the guys have a special plan for these items for our work mates. Should be fun.

Now, to address a few of the previous comments, I was working while on the road! However, nobody wants to read the details about a network conversion and computer installation (unless you are truly lonely and bored), so I decided to write about the locations and food instead. In addition to driving, working and eating, I also found a little time to do some shopping on Thursday. There is a really small factory outlet center in Batesville, so I picked up a waffle maker, some really cool "flat" measuring cups and a microfiber duster (more on this guy later).

Mom and the girls have all been running errands and what not today. This has been a little blessing for me. I've managed to watch a movie (The Gladiator), and do nothing but hang with Rusty. This dog is cracking me up today, as he has not left my side all day. I was hoping to cut the grass, edge, and all of that stuff but the rain has sort of dampened (pun!!!!) that idea.

I think I am going to take them out for a really nice dinner tonight and send the bill to Alfa. That would be cool!!!

Lets get caught up on a few things around the house now.

The bathroom is done. I posted pictures of that last week. It wasn't free by any means to have that tile work done, but it was worth every penny!! That bathroom looks so much better now. It makes me wish we could afford to do our bathroom too.

This week, Elizabeth informed that she had Pella Windows come out to measure the windows and give us an estimate on replacing them. We really need to replace the windows, but why does she have to wait till I am gone to plan this stuff? We have ten windows on the front of the house alone (plus another 10 around the rest of the house). Plus, if we replace the windows, that will lead to painting the house or vinyl siding, etc. Either way, more money and work for me. I really love that woman, but can't I just spend the next couple of weeks playing golf, finishing other projects, finishing JR and Kim's bathroom, etc.

The girls started back to school last week, or the week before, I don't remember. Also, our niece started Troy State University in Montgomery. So the house should be getting back to a normal routine. That also means that I should start having more stories about the girls.

Speaking of the girls, they have started a little tradition this summer as a strike against my OCD. OK, so I admit that I am a little OCD about various things; don't leave crap laying around, don't mess with my stuff, and poker chips should be neatly stacked according to denomination. One of the biggest, "don't mess with my stuff" areas is my computer and computer desk. We bought a second computer just so the girls could have one and leave mine and the surrounding area alone.

Throughout the summer, my area has been invaded and they have enjoyed leaving me a little something with each return visit. Ultimately, they settled on combining two of my favorite things and posting it on my desktop. I love professional wrestling, something that has intrigued me since I was a kid watching good ole wrassling on Saturday mornings taped live right here in "Monkey Town, Alabama".

I really like the Mexican and Japanese wrestling events that incorporate the high-flying, fast paced, and ornately dressed "luchadors". Every masked wrestler has a story and most are very protective of the mask and the history behind it.

Apparently there is a group of people that find it fun to dress there dogs like little luchadors. So each week I have returned home to find the picture on my computer's desktop to be graced by a different "wrestler". Check out these photos:




This dog is wearing what appears to be an actual mask. I believe this one would be a Japanese wrestler by the design.

I love this picture. What amazes me is that the dog and the costume really work together. Look at that face!!! I don't know who the costume is patterned after, but it works for this little guy.

OK, so if your going to put a costume on the dog, make sure it is at least a tuff little guy. Look at this little thing, its too cute to take seriously.

Serious or not, Sumo dog is awesome. Next time, at least remove the tag for the costume though.

This is Big E's favorite. That poor dog's eyes tell the whole story ... "I need a new owner!"

Want your own mask, try this website: Highspots. This is where I got my mask. I refer to my alter-ego as "El Shocko", since it is so shocking to see me coming at ya!!!!! Anyway, send me any links related to lucha-libre, masks or Mexican inspired art (particularly related to the March of the Dead ceremonies) or better yet, send me masks, etc. I promise if you do, I will photograph myself and the item and post it.

Green Tip of the Post: Try the following as replacements:

1. Cloth napkins instead of paper ones. They can be washed and reused. In you don't have enough cloth napkins, try hand towels (my favorite) instead.

2. Use special dusting tools, like the microfiber dust cloth that I bought last week that can be reused rather than buying those easy to use dusting wipes. If you don't want to pay $8 dollars for a dusting thingee like I did, use an old t-shirt, etc. till its not usable anymore. Either way, use something that you can wash just don't use an old pair of drawers (you know what I'm talking about), those skid marks might not attract the dust and why do you want to handle those anyway?

3. Like paper plates? Most paper and foam plates are bad for the environment, whether in the production or disposal stage, try these instead. As you can imagine, we use paper plates for our house and events, but at least these are made from natural ingredients that won't harm the environment.

For those living vicariously through me ....

Thursday: Batesville, Senotabia, and Tunica.

First off, that is a really big word, so here is a direct link to the meaning of the word ... here. Ha Ha Ha ... I got you. Thanks for the comments, you are right, I am driving and eating a LOT, but I promise that I am working in between too.

Speaking of working, I managed to knock out the installation early today (around 11:00 AM) so I got a little extra time to drive. Since I had the extra time, I drove over to Tunica. Tunica, Mississippi is a fairly small town (mainly a farming area) that has seen a great deal of expansion over the years due to its river gambling (the town is situated on the Mississippi River).

I was hoping to see the river, but instead I saw a large number of casinos, hotels, and tourist attractions. I took a back road in to the area so I did get to see a lot of farming land, and the levees protecting those areas. While I regret not seeing the mighty Mississippi, seeing the size and volume of the levees was awesome. In addition, the farming land was beautiful. I hope that Big E and I can return at some time to spend a few days checking out the area and maybe playing a little Blackjack, too.

Once I returned back to Batesville, I went to the local factory outlet to do a little shopping. I know that I have taken a few stabs at the ladies lately for their endless search of "sales". However, today I decided to take advantage of the opportunity myself. I was really hoping to find a few good deals on some new polo shirts and maybe a new pair of sandals (to show off my toes). While I didn't find either of the two, I did pick up a new waffle machine and a cool set of collapsible measuring cups. I hope that Big E will take this as a hint for a nice Saturday breakfast.

As for food today, here is the lineup:

1. We ate lunch at a local place called Penny's Pantry. Basically, this was a small sandwich shoppe. The chicken salad sandwich was very good. I tried dessert (odd for me), Mississippi Mud Pie. I'm not really sure what is in this concoction, but it is extremely rich (ie. contains an insane amount of sugar) and was what allowed me to make the trip to Tunica and home (sad that I now refer to Hampton Inn as my home) without falling asleep. Interestingly, there was a foreign film crew at the sandwich shoppe today to film the tiny location for an upcoming show about great places to eat in Mississippi.

2. Chilli's for dinner. Most of you have been to Chilli's, if you haven't, try the fajitas. Thursday is a great day to go to Chilli's, as they have a 2-for-1 deal on "diet cokes". YUMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

Now, I am watching the quarter-finals of the Little League World Series. Forget the Olympics, this is the real deal. Florida versus Louisiana for tonight's entertainment.

Tomorrow is a big day, the last one (scheduled) for me. I have what appears to be a relatively easy looking installation, so I hope that I can finish it before lunch. I have what looks to be a seven hour drive home to Montgomery. I would like to cut a little time off the drive, but I think that I will be heading back through Columbus before heading home. Regardless, I should be home tomorrow. If not, I will probably stop somewhere between Starkville and Tuscaloosa OR I will head in a different direction and stop in Pearl Mississippi. If I decide to go that way, I will have an update tomorrow. If not, I will update the blog at an undisclosed time in the future.

Baby, warm up my side of the bed and tell Rusty that daddy will be home. That is the plan!!!

Either way, "momma I'm coming home" (Ozzy Osborne). I really am excited about getting to the house (finally) but I must admit that after spending the summer on the road, I kinda hate that we are finishing the project too. We have done a good thing for the company and the people of both Georgia (last year) and Mississippi this year. I have enjoyed spending time with all of the good people throughout these offices and hope that we have bettered their ability to do their job. In an age where jobs come and go and the concept of caring about the company that you work with is all but lost, I must admit that that I care and I hope that what we have done is appreciated.

Green Tip of the Post: I hope that you are enjoying these tips. Many (if not all) are tips that I have grabbed from other websites, people, etc. Regardless, I hope that you can consider at least some of the tips for your life.

Vampires: Did you know that you have vampires stealing electricity in your home? Don't worry about covering your neck, but you might want to check your electrical outlet.

Is your microwave plugged in, what about your cell phone charger, tv, vcr, dvd player, and many other electrical items. Most of these items are robbing you (stealing actually) of untold numbers of hours of electricity everyday. Think about it, does your coffee maker have an automatic starter on it? Does your microwave, computer, cable box, etc. have a timer on it. Then you are spending money and you don't even realize it. As a computer guy, I never thought about the fact that our computers are stealing electricity even when they are "off".

Today there are surge protectors that actually help. Check out the following link for a surge protector that can help. If you don't plan to spend the money on a surge protector to help, consider unplugging appliances that are wasting energy.

How important is this? How about a 10 - 15% savings on your electrical bill? According to the Electric Power Research Institute, the average house has 27 "vampire" appliances functioning in their house each day. I bet that is you, it is me. Imagine saving 10% on your power bill each month!!!

One more for the mother-in-law ...

Wednesday: Oxford and Batesville

Its mid-week and I'm about mid-done!!! Another fun day of computer installations. For lunch, we ate at a really small place called Mama Jo's in Oxford. I think that was the name of the "restaurant"? This place didnt have a sign or any other marking to denote that we should eat there. On the inside, we were promptly greeted by a lovely gaggle of older ladies that offered a traditonal southern meat and three kind of lunch. Meat choices consisted of overly fried pork chop, hamburger steak, some kind of liver, and traditional southern fried chicken. The vegetables of choice (today anyway) were green beans, purple hull peas (with more fatback than peas), mashed potatoes (trust me, these were hand mashed), and macaroni and cheese. Best of all, we fed six people for 50.00 dollars including apple cobbler, lemon cake and tea for everyone. Dont ask me how to get there, I dont know.

After saying goodbye to Oxford, I headed out to Batesville, Mississippi. You can learn more about Batesville here. Thankfully, the drive was short and straight. Not too much to say about Batesville, I took a short drive around the town this afternoon and the best thing I can say at this point is that the town is only about 45 minutes south of Memphis. I doubt I will make it to Memphis (too bad since I love BBQ), but I might try to make it over to Tunica tomorrow afternoon.

Green tip of the post: Saving water is cool and easy. Here are a few ideas in the bathroom:

1. Replace the old shower head with a new low-flo shower head. Modern low-flo shower heads aren't free, usually costing near or more than a 100 dollars but they can cut your water usage by as much as 40%. It will probably take a year or two to pay for itself, but you can feel better that you saved resources (something that is quickly disappearing, think about the drought we've been under in the south) along the way.

2. How old is that toilet anyway? Most modern toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) or less. Older toilets use 3.5 gpf. Considering the average toilet is flushed at least eleven times per day, that is a considerable amount of additional water used. When we updated the girls bathroom this summer, we replaced their toilet with a new 1.6 gpf toilet. I figure that we will save enough water every year to fill a minimal of four eighteen wheel trucks per year. I don't know how much money that will equate to, but I bet it will pay for itself ($150 dollars for the toilet) in less than a year.

3. Don't have any money to spend saving money (isn't that like buying clothes on sale?), then try this simple step. Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth! Want to know how much water that will save? Try placing an empty gallon jug under the sink while you brush. I bet you could water your plants in the house with the water you collect.

4. Speaking of watering the house plants, collect the water you run in the tub waiting for the water to heat up and use that water to water the house plants.

Have a great day. Its time for me to eat.

Night two for the week ...

Today went pretty well. We managed another successful implementation of new computer technology. I'm pretty wiped out so there isn't much to say about the day.

Tuesday: Oxford

Notice that I was in one town today. I don't get days like this too often, so I am happy about not having to travel to far. A couple of interesting notes about today though ..

1. We ate lunch at a small Japanese Steak house called Kabutki. Anyone familiar with Elizabeth and I knows that these are our favorite places to eat. Finding one in another city is usually not that difficult to do, but finding one that shares the name of our favorite steak house back home is different. Of particular interest at this location was the "hot" sauce that was offered with the rice. I'm not sure what was in the "sauce", more like a paste, but it was a little warm and had a very interesting taste. I will have to add this to my list of steak houses when I get home.

2. The college kids began to arrive today or maybe last night. All I know is that the town must have grown at least two times bigger overnight. Traffic was terrible this morning and even the locals were complaining about the number of new arrivals.

I didn't learn anything cool about the town today. In fact, I am so tired that I didn't bother to even go for a run or walk today. Three tacos and a couple of diet cokes for dinner and I am back at the hotel looking for an early turn in tonight. Hopefully I will get a good nights sleep and have more to offer tomorrow.

I will be in a new town tomorrow so I should have a little more to add.

Green tip of the post: Check with your local municipality about recycling, most offer information on the local cities website. Did you know that many places don't recycle glass or the majority of plastic? Many locales only recycle #1 and #2 plastics. You can find the number on the bottom of most plastics. If your town doesn't recycles items, find alternative uses for them:

1. Glass jars can be rinsed and reused as storage containers. Small jelly jars make awesome places to store buttons, screws, nails and other small items.
2. Another good use for glass jars is to store used cooking grease. Don't flush that stuff down the drain as the grease will stick to your pipes (even if you run hot water down the drain) and the grease will leach into local water supplies.
3. Plastic jugs like milk cartons can be cut into scoops simply by removing half of the bottom and cutting it at an angle.

A new post each night? Maybe for the week?!!!!

So, I am on the road for one more week this summer. Since it is my last week, I thought I would try something a little different. How about a play by play of the week's travels?

Monday: Montgomery, Columbus and Oxford.

Columbus, Mississippi is a sleepy little town about an hour North of God's country (the University of Alabama) and thirty minutes East of Starkville, Mississippi (home of Mississippi State University). I picked up a weeks worth of computers and had lunch at Wendy's. To learn more about Columbus, click here.

Once the truck was fully loaded, I left for Oxford, Mississippi. This is my second trip to Oxford. Oxford is a small little college town deeply rooted in its history, heritage and a slower than normal pace. To learn more about Oxford, click here.

Let me say that I really like Oxford. From my point of view there are two distinct parts of this city; the old, relaxed, and beautiful college (and surrounding areas), and the rest of the place. I really love the "old south" feel of the town square and university (Ole Miss as it is affectionately referred). Actually, I think the "Little Easy" is a fitting title for the area surrounding the town square.

Before heading off to dinner, I decided to cruise through the campus. Clean does not begin to describe the campus. I think you could safely eat your next meal off any one of the sidewalks. My lovely waitress told me that school hasn't started yet, so there were very few students to be found. However, all of the students that I did see where either walking, jogging or biking around the campus. Oddly, for this city boy, the speed limit for the campus is 18 miles an hour and has an amazing number of pedestrian crossings and bicycles lanes.

I decided to have dinner at a suggested location called the Rib Cage. The Rib Cage is billed as the preferred location for picking up ribs (imagine that!!!) and for catering your tailgating needs. The restaurant is located just off the town square and consists of a small dining area and a downstair bar. Mom, I promise that I did not spend anytime in the bar (another first).

As I previously stated, my lovely waitress was very attentive (not that attentive darling). The ribs were Memphis style ribs, dry rub is not my favorite style of ribs, but they were very good and the "diet cokes" were cold and cheap. I don't plan to eat there again tomorrow, but it is a very good option. If you are familiar with Oxford and have a suggestion for tomorrow, I will gladly consider it. At the moment, I am considering Proud Larry's for my dinner location tomorrow (Goggle it).

After dinner, I strolled around the square and enjoyed some of the sights. Of note is the dog watering hole provided by the State Bank. No joke, this little bank located in the square actually provides a doggie water fountain situated just outside the entrance to the bank at perfect doggie height.

I am staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the "other" part of the town. This is without a doubt the nicest, cleanest, and best decorated Hampton Inn ever. In the lobby is the most amazing set of stuffed lion and lionesses. You have to see these to believe it. If you go to the website for the hotel's accommodation page and click the "take a tour" link, you will see a photo of these beasts (photo number 2).

As the Wikipedia article mentions, Oxford beats to a different drum. I found this out at the local Chevron this afternoon. You can not purchase cold beer in Oxford. You can purchase hot beer but the only place to purchase it cold is at a bar or restaurant.

Once again, the lovely waitress at the Rib Cage provided some additional information. See it helps to talk with the locals!

Apparently the belief is that this will cut down on drinking and driving???!!! I guess ice and coolers were never considered? She did tell me that cold beer can be purchased during the winter at the local drive through beer store (affectionately named the Rebel Barn). I passed by the Rebel Barn after dinner (I couldn't pass up a visit) and to my surprise it is literally a barn with two drive through lanes where beer is sold. The beer is sold cold during the winter because it is cold outside.

Anyway, that was my day. It is getting a little late, so I need to finish my preparations for tomorrow and get to bed besides there is an old school Kung Fu movie coming on that I want to watch. Did you notice me lips moving? Now do you notice my lips moving? Pretty funny huh?

I got a two-fer for the Green tip today: First, National Geographic has an exceptional website which is based and updated on the Green Guide book (actually, National Geographic purchased the Green Guide, originally started by two house moms looking to improve their kids environments, several years ago) that I am currently reading, check it out here.

Second, is your antibacterial soap really a good thing? Check out this article.

You want an update? I got your update

Ok, Ok, Ok, I understand that you want an update, but there is only so much a man can do!!! Remember, as a male I can only handle one thing at a time.

First, let me address the previous post .... without a doubt, one of the funniest (sick?) ever. I am shocked that I received so little feedback on that post. I guess potty humor is not the preferred style of humor for this blog?

Anyway, its no secret that I've been on the road this summer traveling the highways and backroads of Mississippi. Recently, I've had a chance to visit Prentiss, Forrest, Choctaw (casino!!!), McComb, Brookhaven (a dry city and county) and two of my personal favorites; Ohlo and SoSo. That is not a mistype; SoSo is so proud of their little city!!!

Enough of that stuff, here are the updates that everyone is looking forward to ...

Losing weight sucks.... Remember the weight lose challenge that I was doing with the guys from work? Well, I haven't lost yet, but its imminent. I figured traveling was going to screw with my ability to lose weight and I was right. I don't have the discipline to lose weight and travel.

It probably has something to do with the "diet cokes" that I drink with dinner? Or maybe it's the awesome food that is eagerly being offered to me each day? Either way, I have only managed to lose about four pounds and three inches (the part I am most proud of) this summer. I have two weeks to go before we declare a winner, but it won't be me.

As part of that challenge, we also decided to run a 5K race to insure that everyone was actually exercising (as opposed to taking some pills). This morning was the race. I regret to say that I ran the race in 36:12. That is actually 12 seconds slower than I ran the previous race. I will gladly blame the time on two things; tired from traveling and beer. The traveling I can't control but I shouldn't have drank a six pack the night before a race (common sense?).

Previously I mentioned that my lovely bride decided to have the girls bathroom remodeled while I was gone. Here are a few pictures of the result:



Check out that early 80's styling. Of course, anyone that knows the girls and I, knows that the color of the rooms will be bright; white tile on neon blue. Also notice the brass fixtures in the tub (yucckkkkkkk!!!!!).

The floor sucked and check out the door on the left. Notice the plywood filler on the lower half of the door where I blocked off the old doggie door.

Now, for the updated version. We went with a stone looking tile that extends from floor to ceiling. The streak under the soap dish is actually a picture ghost, not a dirty spot on the new tile (I would have less girls if there was a stain already). Check out the oil rubbed bronze fixtures in the tub, very cool!!!!

The floor is the same tile as the tub (something that I learned from all of the Hilton hotels that I am staying in). I selected the wall color, its kind of a cross between tan and gold. Sounds ugly but actually works well with the bathroom. Super cool fact: I managed to paint the bathroom with three coats of paint out of a quart size canister (yes, I brushed the whole thing) using a low VOC paint.

The finishing touch is the new door with enclosed blinds. I need to paint the door to match the rest of the room but I really like the new door and hardware too.

If you are not familiar with low VOC paint, let me suggest the nearest "green" television channel, magazine, or book. If you are not familiar with greening your house, I hope that you keep returning in the future as I hope to start adding a "green" fact with each post.

Speaking of "green", Elizabeth and I have been watching and learning about "green" concepts lately. We are actively reading a really cool book by National Geographic called Green Guide. The book is an excellent resource about all things "green" around the house. If you are not familiar with "green" concepts, I would encourage you to learn a little bit starting with the Green Guide website.

The Green Guide book is based on this website. The bottom line is that its never too late to start and the easiest place to start is our own location. Who knows, you might actually save a little money along the way. Just to be clear, I still consider PETA to be "People Eating Tasty Animals"!!!!!!!! You don't have to be a veggie freak or hippie to add a few green aspects to your life.

As I mentioned, I painted the bathroom. Considering my travel schedule, when did I have time to paint a bathroom? To be honest, I sent he girls to Orange Beach for a three day weekend to allow me the time to paint and rest for one of the weekends that I was home. Here are a few pictures of their trip:

Now, for the feet. Below is a picture of the toes as they are today. Its been nearly two months, and my girls are starting to get a little jealous. As you can see, the little toes have outgrown the color, and the toes next to them are getting real close but the rest of them are looking pretty good. Lesson learned for my girls, wear socks and shoes and it makes all the difference in the world. That doesn't mean that I wear socks and shoes everywhere, I went to the mall today with my sandals on, so part of it is simply taking care of things.

Also, I am proud to say that Little E finally passed her driving test. Her mom probably won't be so proud once she receives the updated bill from the insurance company, but I am proud of her for passing it.

Speaking of big items, we received Jessica's senior pictures this past week. I'm not sure what the pictures cost, but they look good. I can't believe that we have our first one graduating from high school next year!!!!!!

Green Idea of the Post: For every degree above 72 degrees cooling your house, you are spending an additional 3% on your bill. Try setting your A/C to 10 degrees below the daily high to help save money and energy, which is helpful to us all.