It’s My Imagination

Vehicle Maintenance and Car Repairs

Our van is 8 years old and we have done an excellent job of keeping up with the regular maintenance. The van looks almost new. There are a few very small dings from car doors, and a scratch on the back end where my husband backed into a tree in Custer State Park, South Dakota, but overall, it’s in excellent condition.

I feel very fortunate that we haven’t had a need for a car repair shop, although, there are some things inside, loose screws etc., that I wouldn’t mind having taken care of to stop the rattles. For now though, we’re just going to keep things the way they are. With a good wash it will shine like new, after all, we don’t have plans on buying a new one anytime soon.

Flourescent Light Bulbs

I can’t believe it, but today I purchased the first flourescent bulbs I’ve ever purchased.  You see,  while I’ve been replacing all of our light bulbs in the house with CFL’s, we do have flourescents in our laundry room and garage, and today, one of the bulbs burned out in the laundry room.  I can’t do laundry in the dark, so I headed out to pick up a new bulb.

The first one I bought was too short.  It would’ve been very smart of me to get up on the ladder and measure the existing bulb, but I didn’t do that.  So, I had to take that one back and exchange it for the right one.

According to Wikipedia, a fluorescent lamp converts electrical power into useful light more efficiently than an incandescent lamp; lower energy costs offsets the higher initial cost of the lamp. Compared with incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps use less power for the same amount of light, generally last longer, but are bulkier, more complex, and more expensive than a comparable incandescent lamp.

So, I am no longer feeling guilty about not being able to use CFL’s in my laundry room because just like CFL’s, flourescents are also energy savers!

Healthy Eating For the Holidays

Since being diagnosed with borderline high cholesterol a few months ago, I’ve really worked hard to eat a healthier diet and greatly reduce the fats in the foods I cook and serve my family. Because of my healthier eating, I’ve managed to lose 9 pounds and am not in need of lap-band. Now comes the hard part, the holidays. I have a pattern of eating way more than I should and foods that I shouldn’t when it comes to holiday foods. I just love all those pies and sweets too much!

So, I’m putting my goal in writing, right here, right now. I promise myelf that I will do my best to continue my healthy eating through the holidays and avoid those foods, no matter how much I love them, that are heavy in fats and cholesterol. My primary reason is of course the keep my cholesterol levels down, but also, I have to admit, losing weight has been a nice end result.