Quick Tip on Saving Money from the Air Conditioning Man
Well, I sure learned a thing or two today when the A/C man came to look at the furnace unit and the outside compressor unit . We will be replacing the compressor unit outside with the remodeling we are doing and the furnace stays because it is a York and only a couple years old and has a good SEER rating.
I told him that I have been keeping it a lot warmer in here lately than I normally do after I had an extremely high utility bill last month. I had made a conscious effort this year to attempt to lowering my bill. My rule of thumb has been, if it isn’t being used, unplug it! Be sure to do laundry in cold water and take cooler showers. Still I had a $113 electric bill.
He said to me “Ma’am do you always keep your fan set in the ON setting rather than in the Auto setting?” I said yes because I had heard that by keeping the air moving it will help lower your utility bill. Boy oh boy what a false assumption that was!
He told me that by having the fan set in the On position, you are first of all keeping that fan running on low. The attic temperature can reach 140 degrees in the summer and since my air ducts run through the attic, those ducts are gathering heat. With the unit set at ON, what is happening is that hot attic air is now accumulated into the duct work and coming back into the house raising the inside air temperature even a couple of degrees. When the A/C unit now kicks in, the fan is still running on low and using more energy now to try and cool the inside air.
By setting your thermostat at a comfortable level and putting the fan in the AUTO setting, you’re A/C unit will kick in when it reaches that preset temperature and start cooling your house. Not only is the air in your home being cooled down but also all your furniture and flooring (carpets) also. By maintaining an even temperature you will require less energy to heat or cool your air and the unit will not run as frequently.
I asked it I might share this information with all of you on my blog and he said please do. People nowadays need to save as much money as they can.
Hawk Mechanical
405- 275-5330
Shawnee, Oklahoma
P.S. they travel all over the state of offering service so don’t let the fact that they are out of Shawnee keep you from calling them for service. They have gone to Cushing, Eufaula, Tishomingo, Yukon and others cities too numerous to mention, as well as in the Oklahoma City metro area.
I would love to hear your energy saving tips, so please feel free to share with us.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Pardon My Dust!
Please excuse the mess we’ve got some major reconstruction going on here!
No not on the blog, at least not yet, here at my house!
Let me tell you about all the wonderful things that have been happening to me lately which is certainly a welcome change after all the worries of this last month with my children and their health issues.
I applied for a special program about two years ago through our City where they had federal money to assist people who are considered low income to assist them in bringing their homes up to building code. As you can imagine, there were many people who applied for this money and I finally made it to the top of the list.
The way that this money works, is you are allowed up to $25,000 for home repairs that will bring your home up to present building code. It is actually a lien note that is attached to your mortgage. You must be a homeowner and live in your home. It is actually a reducing lien so if you live in your home one year after work is completed and then sell (or die) 75% of the note needs to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of your home. If you live in your home two years and sell (or die) then 50% of the note is to be repaid and at three years 25%. At the end of the fourth year, 0% is to be repaid.
The people from the City, who are responsible for overseeing this money, have you complete paperwork and then schedule a walkthrough on your home to see what all needs to be done. They take pictures of the interior and exterior of your home and measurements of the entire house and every room, even draw up a diagram of your house.
They access everything that is needed to repair your home. Then back to the office, put a pencil to the costs and decide exactly what can and can’t be done with the money allocated.
You then have another meeting with the City people to determine exactly what is to be done. They will also give you a list of alternative repairs that can be included in case there is enough money left.
Then everything goes to a bidding process with general contractors with a close date for the bids and once all are in, a contractor is selected. Once this happens you return to sign a contract with that General Contractor and the City and work must commence within 5 days of signing and the entire work has to be completed within 42 days. That means your General Contractor must be very diligent in scheduling his crews so they will coordinate together to get the work done in a timely fashion.
Work has begun here and I will take you on our journey as we complete this process.
No not on the blog, at least not yet, here at my house!
Let me tell you about all the wonderful things that have been happening to me lately which is certainly a welcome change after all the worries of this last month with my children and their health issues.
I applied for a special program about two years ago through our City where they had federal money to assist people who are considered low income to assist them in bringing their homes up to building code. As you can imagine, there were many people who applied for this money and I finally made it to the top of the list.
The way that this money works, is you are allowed up to $25,000 for home repairs that will bring your home up to present building code. It is actually a lien note that is attached to your mortgage. You must be a homeowner and live in your home. It is actually a reducing lien so if you live in your home one year after work is completed and then sell (or die) 75% of the note needs to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of your home. If you live in your home two years and sell (or die) then 50% of the note is to be repaid and at three years 25%. At the end of the fourth year, 0% is to be repaid.
The people from the City, who are responsible for overseeing this money, have you complete paperwork and then schedule a walkthrough on your home to see what all needs to be done. They take pictures of the interior and exterior of your home and measurements of the entire house and every room, even draw up a diagram of your house.
They access everything that is needed to repair your home. Then back to the office, put a pencil to the costs and decide exactly what can and can’t be done with the money allocated.
You then have another meeting with the City people to determine exactly what is to be done. They will also give you a list of alternative repairs that can be included in case there is enough money left.
Then everything goes to a bidding process with general contractors with a close date for the bids and once all are in, a contractor is selected. Once this happens you return to sign a contract with that General Contractor and the City and work must commence within 5 days of signing and the entire work has to be completed within 42 days. That means your General Contractor must be very diligent in scheduling his crews so they will coordinate together to get the work done in a timely fashion.
Work has begun here and I will take you on our journey as we complete this process.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Life Is So Precious-Reality Sets In
I have to say this last month has been one that has been extremely trying for me personally and for all of us as a family. The reality of how quickly things can go from being good to awful can happen in the matter of a heartbeat! The feeling that one life was to be cut short and another not even able to begin.
First my son Brian, a grown man with a wonderful future still ahead of him, went from having stomach pains, which he had been to the doctor about, to being rushed to the hospital with what he thought was a heart attack. Testing followed and even though other tests had already been done about a week before where it was determined his gallbladder was operating at approximately 81% efficiency, after making sure it wasn't his heart they did additional tests on his gallbladder. They went ahead and decided that surgery was in order and when they got in there they found a blocked bile duct.
This scare for him was enough to make him realize that you never know when your time is up and even though you think you might have many years still to live, you need to put your personal house in order. He realized he hadn't made out a will and if it was his time to leave this earth, the government would be the one who benefits and not his family.
Then there was another life and death situation with my daughter's unborn baby girl. She had been having preterm labor pains and they started way too early in this pregnancy. At 23 weeks her doctor ordered her to home bed rest. Now granted, she was given permission to sit in a chair or on the sofa as well as to lay in bed, but she was totally forbidden to stand on her feet longer than to walk from one room to the other. No housework whatsoever! So it was time to step in and give her as much assistance as she needed. I really don't mind at all because it gives me an opportunity to enjoy her company as well as time to play with my grandchildren.
So now we are down to just an additional 8 weeks of bed rest and then she can get up and resume normal activities because she will be very close to her due date. The fun part is going to be to find enough activities to keep her occupied between now and then.
So first on the agenda was to work on baby books for the 3 children she has already. With JT she had to bring his up to date from the time that Taylor was born and then bring Taylor's up to date from the time Abby was born and with Abby it was get everything out of the shoebox and start her baby book! Abby will be 2 the middle of December and the new baby sister is due in November! So Christy brought over a bunch of scrap booking supplies and Heather went to work! Within 2 days she had all the books up to date and done. I was hoping it would take her at least a week or two!
Next was a baby quilt that she was wanting to make for a friend at church who is expecting soon. I figured this ought to keep her busy for awhile but boy was I wrong! She sat at her sewing table cutting out blocks and stitching them together and by that evening she had the entire front of the quilt done. To put in the quilt stuffing and the backing will take her no time at all.
Heather has asked me to teach her to knit.........do you think that will take her some time to master? I doubt it! She'll probably be whipping out booties, bonnets and blankets in no time flat! All I can say is I hope it takes her the next eight weeks!
First my son Brian, a grown man with a wonderful future still ahead of him, went from having stomach pains, which he had been to the doctor about, to being rushed to the hospital with what he thought was a heart attack. Testing followed and even though other tests had already been done about a week before where it was determined his gallbladder was operating at approximately 81% efficiency, after making sure it wasn't his heart they did additional tests on his gallbladder. They went ahead and decided that surgery was in order and when they got in there they found a blocked bile duct.
This scare for him was enough to make him realize that you never know when your time is up and even though you think you might have many years still to live, you need to put your personal house in order. He realized he hadn't made out a will and if it was his time to leave this earth, the government would be the one who benefits and not his family.
Then there was another life and death situation with my daughter's unborn baby girl. She had been having preterm labor pains and they started way too early in this pregnancy. At 23 weeks her doctor ordered her to home bed rest. Now granted, she was given permission to sit in a chair or on the sofa as well as to lay in bed, but she was totally forbidden to stand on her feet longer than to walk from one room to the other. No housework whatsoever! So it was time to step in and give her as much assistance as she needed. I really don't mind at all because it gives me an opportunity to enjoy her company as well as time to play with my grandchildren.
So now we are down to just an additional 8 weeks of bed rest and then she can get up and resume normal activities because she will be very close to her due date. The fun part is going to be to find enough activities to keep her occupied between now and then.
So first on the agenda was to work on baby books for the 3 children she has already. With JT she had to bring his up to date from the time that Taylor was born and then bring Taylor's up to date from the time Abby was born and with Abby it was get everything out of the shoebox and start her baby book! Abby will be 2 the middle of December and the new baby sister is due in November! So Christy brought over a bunch of scrap booking supplies and Heather went to work! Within 2 days she had all the books up to date and done. I was hoping it would take her at least a week or two!
Next was a baby quilt that she was wanting to make for a friend at church who is expecting soon. I figured this ought to keep her busy for awhile but boy was I wrong! She sat at her sewing table cutting out blocks and stitching them together and by that evening she had the entire front of the quilt done. To put in the quilt stuffing and the backing will take her no time at all.
Heather has asked me to teach her to knit.........do you think that will take her some time to master? I doubt it! She'll probably be whipping out booties, bonnets and blankets in no time flat! All I can say is I hope it takes her the next eight weeks!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Too Hot to Cook!
With it now at least 4 days in a row with temperatures over 100 degrees and the last three have been 103 degrees, there is no way I am adding any more heat to this house than I have to by cooking!
So I am whipping up this dump cake in the crock pot and it will be dinner..... not desert... with a few large glasses of ice tea!
Fabulous Peach Dump Cake
1 bag frozen peaches (2 cups sliced fresh peaches)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Jiffy white cake mix (or 1/2 package of a 2-layer size cake mix)
4 tablespoons melted butter
Lightly grease the crockpot; place peaches in the bottom. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss.
Drizzle with vanilla and sprinkle brown sugar over all.
Sprinkle with cinnamon then cake mix. Drizzle melted butter evenly over cake mix.
Cover and cook on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
So I am whipping up this dump cake in the crock pot and it will be dinner..... not desert... with a few large glasses of ice tea!
Fabulous Peach Dump Cake
1 bag frozen peaches (2 cups sliced fresh peaches)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Jiffy white cake mix (or 1/2 package of a 2-layer size cake mix)
4 tablespoons melted butter
Lightly grease the crockpot; place peaches in the bottom. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss.
Drizzle with vanilla and sprinkle brown sugar over all.
Sprinkle with cinnamon then cake mix. Drizzle melted butter evenly over cake mix.
Cover and cook on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
4th of July Desert
Nothing is as good as a refreshing desert after a day of festive celebration but these are so good you could make an entire meal out of them all by itself! Add a tall glass of iced sweet tea and enjoy!
Red White and Blue Shortcake
Ingredients:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Whipping Cream or Cool Whip
Homemade biscuits
Wash a basket full of fresh strawberries and pull off the green tops and slice the berries in half.
Place in a bowl and add about 3/4 of a cup of white sugar and stir. Put in the refrigerator to chill.
Take a basket of blueberries, wash them and place in another bowl. Add about 1/2 cup of white sugar and stir. Put in the refrigerator to chill.
Make large over-sized biscuits from scratch.
Slice open the warm biscuits, place the bottom of the biscuit in a bowl. Top with cool whip or whipped cream, a scoop of strawberries, put the top on, add another scoop of cool whip or whipped cream, a scoop of blueberries and more strawberries.
Enjoy
Red White and Blue Shortcake
Ingredients:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Whipping Cream or Cool Whip
Homemade biscuits
Wash a basket full of fresh strawberries and pull off the green tops and slice the berries in half.
Place in a bowl and add about 3/4 of a cup of white sugar and stir. Put in the refrigerator to chill.
Take a basket of blueberries, wash them and place in another bowl. Add about 1/2 cup of white sugar and stir. Put in the refrigerator to chill.
Make large over-sized biscuits from scratch.
Slice open the warm biscuits, place the bottom of the biscuit in a bowl. Top with cool whip or whipped cream, a scoop of strawberries, put the top on, add another scoop of cool whip or whipped cream, a scoop of blueberries and more strawberries.
Enjoy
Friday, July 3, 2009
The 4th of July Birth of a Nation
Happy Birthday America!
Tomorrow everyone will be pulling out all the stops to have a big holiday celebration!
Many will load the family into the car for a day at the beach or perhaps a state park while others of us will stay at home and just have a family get-together with a bar-b-q in the back yard. Many cities will celebrate with parades during the day and at night the skies will be filled with the booms and flashes of fireworks displays.
I hope each and every one of us will also take time to really reflect back to the year of 1776 when this nation was officially born and our forefathers officially signed the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Can you believe that this country has stood for 223 years as a symbol of freedom, democracy and equality for all of our citizens?
I can remember in school that we had to learn the Preamble of the Constitution and be able to recite it verbatim in front of the class in our American History Class. One of the students asked the teacher why it was so important that we know this and why was American history so important anyway, it was all about things in the past and all the people were dead! I will never forget her response to that student. She told him that it was important that you know your roots not only of your family but of your country. You need to know what trials and tribulations your forefathers went through in order for you to appreciate the freedoms that you now have in your life. You need to know the mistakes as well as the accomplishments of your nation so that you can learn from the mistakes and hopefully not repeat them in the future. Someday you will be the leaders of this country and it is my responsibility to teach you as much as possible to be good stewards of this land and your parents have the responsibility to teach you to be good stewards of your family name.
I guess that is one of the reasons why genealogy has taken on such a significant influence in my life. By learning about my ancestors, I also learn about their roles in the development of this country, their place in history so to speak. One day you too will become ancestors and your children hopefully will look back upon your lives and be able to say that we have been good stewards of our family and our country.
God bless each and every one of you…… may you have a safe holiday
Take time to reflect upon the past and march forward bravely into the future.
Tomorrow everyone will be pulling out all the stops to have a big holiday celebration!
Many will load the family into the car for a day at the beach or perhaps a state park while others of us will stay at home and just have a family get-together with a bar-b-q in the back yard. Many cities will celebrate with parades during the day and at night the skies will be filled with the booms and flashes of fireworks displays.
I hope each and every one of us will also take time to really reflect back to the year of 1776 when this nation was officially born and our forefathers officially signed the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Can you believe that this country has stood for 223 years as a symbol of freedom, democracy and equality for all of our citizens?
I can remember in school that we had to learn the Preamble of the Constitution and be able to recite it verbatim in front of the class in our American History Class. One of the students asked the teacher why it was so important that we know this and why was American history so important anyway, it was all about things in the past and all the people were dead! I will never forget her response to that student. She told him that it was important that you know your roots not only of your family but of your country. You need to know what trials and tribulations your forefathers went through in order for you to appreciate the freedoms that you now have in your life. You need to know the mistakes as well as the accomplishments of your nation so that you can learn from the mistakes and hopefully not repeat them in the future. Someday you will be the leaders of this country and it is my responsibility to teach you as much as possible to be good stewards of this land and your parents have the responsibility to teach you to be good stewards of your family name.
I guess that is one of the reasons why genealogy has taken on such a significant influence in my life. By learning about my ancestors, I also learn about their roles in the development of this country, their place in history so to speak. One day you too will become ancestors and your children hopefully will look back upon your lives and be able to say that we have been good stewards of our family and our country.
God bless each and every one of you…… may you have a safe holiday
Take time to reflect upon the past and march forward bravely into the future.
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