A Small Change

Sometimes all it takes is simple small change to get an entirely different perspective. For example: this morning I took the diffuser off my blow dryer and it was like a whole different appliance. Not better, not worse. Just different. Who needs to take their diffuser off with me today?? Anyone?! :)

A Word On "Man Caves"

I hate them.

Okay, that was three words.

I feel like in a world where we are fighting to keep our families together, fighting to keep interests together, fighting to keep our finances in check (recession, anyone??), "man caves" are entirely over rated. Why all the positive publicity on man caves, when there should really be some negative publicity about them. When we design our homes, we are creating a warm and inviting place for our friends and family to come and share and enjoy he company of others.

If you happen to have extra room for a ping pong table, great. But shouldn't that be a "game room" or "rec room" for the whole family to enjoy together, rather than isolated and dubbed as belonging to one gender? In our very "equal" time of society, how do people even justify saying that men are the only ones who want to play?

I vaguely remember a suggestion about "cave time" in a popular relationship guidebook, but as I recall, he was not specifically suggesting creating an actual "cave," rather he was suggesting that in "some" cases it would be a literal retreat, ie, a garage or time with friends, others it would just be a mental retreat from the stressors. He didn't imply that one should invest great sums of money and take space away from a family living environment to create an area to isolate oneself on a regular basis.

Take a few minutes to quietly connect with your thoughts, fine. Take the only precious few hours you may have with your family and isolate yourself from that interaction, not okay.

It will be much easier to connect with your family and friends if you are sharing passions, interest, hobbies, and more importantly, time.

Don't Brush Your Teeth In the Shower

Little or no rainfall in the past couple of years has severely depleted the lakes and rivers. In Andrews, our water comes from underground aquafers, not lakes and rivers, so we actually don't have water restrictions. Unfortunately, there are some who really should be cutting back more than they are. It's sad to see big pools of standing water in the streets at anytime, but in a drought, it feels worse.

Now that the water supply is a critical level, the surrounding cities have finally implemented their own water restrictions, and since the restrictions didn't really work, they are now fining people for going over their allotment. The amount of water they are allowed is plenty, it just doesn't supply a lot for watering grass. Many residents are doing a really great job, coming up with really innovative and/or resourceful uses for all of their water, which in many cases, all of us should be doing anyway.

One thing that confuses me is when people cheerily state that they are saving water by brushing their teeth in the shower. Huh?! Clearly turning the faucet on low volume for a second, then turning it off, brushing your teeth, then turning the faucet back on for a couple seconds to rinse is far more efficient than standing under the shower water at full volume to brush your teeth for two minutes, all the while letting all that water run down the drain. Yet, it hasn't been a suggestion from just one person; quite a few have thought this might be a really awesome plan. Each time I see it, I have kindly suggested they continue to brush their teeth at the sink, rather than in the shower, and have reviewed the amount of water involved in the two choices. I can only assume these people have previously been brushing their teeth in the sink with the water running the whole time. Really?!