We Are Family

When I received the phone call from my Sister-in-law that she and my brother were coming for a visit, that would overlap my parent's one week visit by two days, and not quite sure when they would leave, oh and they would be bringing their three dogs...panic crept in. My relationship with my oldest brother was strained, at best, growing up. He, five years my senior took it upon himself to "toughen me up".  Then, shortly after he left for the Marine Corp, he brings home this perky little bundle of 5 foot nothing female and my entire family swoons. I was 15, sweet was not the first word you would reach for when describing my personality and in bounces this pretty, happy, sweet 18-year-old. I think she may have even been a cheerleader in her day.  My parents were thrilled, I was not.  Within a year, he was home and they were off to start their life together. As my hormones cooled I could finally see through the green haze of my jealousy and see what everyone else loved about her, it wasn't long before I was swooning too. As the years passed, I moved to Colorado, they were busy raising two of the cutest kids ever so we didn't see much of each other.  We would get together for dinner when I was home and he came to visit once while I was living in the mountains. This visit sounded like it was going to be the most amount of time we had spent in each others company since he left for boot camp in 1983.  YIKES!  The thing that I somehow missed is that while I was growing up, he did too.  When I hear someones name that I have not seen in say, 20 years, I tend to forget that they have probably changed too.  Maturity and life experiences force us to grow, the world does not allow us to be as self-absorbed as we are in those teen years.  My brother was no different he has grown into an amazing man who I respect and really like. He is thoughtful, caring and pretty darn funny. At the end of what turned out to be a two-week visit, I was sad to see my brother and his wife pull out of our driveway. So, bother and sis, anytime you want to come back, our door is always open.

El Dia de los Muertos

What a beautiful holiday but when translated into english, Day of the Dead, it sounds morbid, creepy and sacrilegious. I'll admit, when Sam's pre-school said that they would be making an altar to honor the dead, I had some questions.  I spoke with her teacher and decided that I need to learn more about the holiday. It took me a while to get past the name, but once I did and learned more about this Mexican custom, the more it intrigued me. In case you're not familiar with this holiday, it is celebrated on November 2nd and is a day to honor those that have passed on, but it is a day of celebration and not morning. Beautiful alters are erected with pictures, flowers, beautifully painted masks and light candles. On top of this, they play the deceased's favorite music and make their favorite foods. In my quest to learn more, I took Sam to the Longmont Museum for their El Dia de los Muertos exhibit, it was beautiful. I was blown away by how elaborate these alters are and the care and love that went into designing them. Thank you to The BellaVita School and the Longmont Museum for your enlightenment. And if you get a chance, check out the altars at the museum, you won't regret it.

All good things must come to an end

I've got to admit, I am the first to complain when you see Christmas decorations out before Halloween, Really? I'm not trying to rush the end of the year but it's time to face facts folks, the tax credits are coming to an end. If you have any home renovation plans in the works it's time to get a move on. The goal here is not to just save money on your bills, although that is a big motivator, but to also leave a little something for those kids we keep making and maybe help the world in the process.  So here is the lowdown on energy savings rebates...for the most part these rebates are for your main residence and not rental properties, the rebate is for 30% of the cost and depending on what you are renovating there may or may not be a limit. What a deal! On top of the government rebates you may be eligible for a little cash from Xcel and just when you thought it couldn't get any better Boulder County may be willing to give it up as well. So with a little research and sweat equity, they may be paying you to do the work! Now I am not suggesting that we all stop shaving our legs, sing kumbya and hug every tree in sight but let's face it, we could all be a little kinder to Momma Earth. So, even if you are not doing a major renovation isn't there something that you could do to give Momma a helping hand? Personally, I just can't bring myself to do the CFL's, let's face it girls, no one looks good under flourescent lighting. Here is what I'm doing...I'm reducing my consumption, no I am not going on a diet, I'm being more careful in  my purchases. It seems to me that by purchasing items with less packaging, than I am going to have less waste. Right? For example, I was buying Costco TP to save a little money, but when I stopped and thought about it, each roll of TP is individually wrapped! That just seems like a whole lot of plastic wrapping going into the landfills. Yesterday I was at the grocery store and picked up a carton of Land O'Lakes eggs, every egg is wrapped in plastic! While I appreciate their tenacity, I would rather have a broken egg than all that gunk in the landfill.  Since my daughter must have everything she eats smothered in orange cheese,  give me the block of Velveeta rather than those slices, each individually wrapped. The moral of my story; Let's stop and think what we are doing to Momma Earth BEFORE we get to the register.