well, joel left yesterday for a little over a week for home. i am so jealous. =) he will be spending the bulk of his time in hilton head island (pictures to come later). here's to hoping our next base is closer to home.
speaking of next base, june 20 was the date we in processed, so in a year and a month from now we will be getting ready to fly away from hawaii. there is so much to do in a year. this year we are hoping to get the rest of the family out here at some time, we need to sell our house (which is daunting already) and figure out how to save some gas in the mean time. gas prices just hit $4.25 here and with driving an old jeep comes great awareness of gas prices. i have to admit, driving the hybrid to work everyday i tend to forget a little bit about the gas prices, and haven't really paid much attention. but i have bee driving the jeep around a bit and have noticed how much gas it sucks. that things gets about 12 miles to the gallon, whereas the honda gets about 42......BIG huge difference. we need another hybrid, like now.
and speaking of hybrids, for about the past year joel and i have been trying to "go green". we use reusable bags when we shop, we recycle, we are starting to compost, we are reducing our energy (not just because it's expensive) and we have been trying all sorts of organic and natural things. reducing our carbon footprint has been a little bit of work and a little more expensive up front, but in the long run it has been paying off. for instance, we switched to cfl's right after we moved in and it has saved us a little over $20 each year in electric. i am also trying to drag the green movement over into my job. another girl and i are trying to get everyone there to recycle and we are working on starting a compost bin for our landscaping. in the name of being green here are something i think are easy ways to go green without changing your lifestyle that much:
1. cfl's-they cost more than traditional lightbulbs, but they last longer and use less energy.
2. use nalgenes/coffee mugs-starbucks (and most coffee places) give $.10 off when you bring in a tumbler and it reduces paper waste. using a nalgenes reduces plastic bottle waste.
3. buy reusable bags-now that green is "in" these bags are at most grocery stores and wal-marts. they are bretty inexpensive (around $.60/bag) and reduces a ton of waste.
4. you know to turn off lights, but also unplug appliances and computers that aren't in use. they suck more electricity than you think.
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