Making your Dreams Come True

Ever wonder how people get to do so many things?  Your friends get new furniture, go on super-fab trips, etc.  Feel jealous?  Maybe just a little?  Well, half of those people - probably over half -are charging all those things, so don't be jealous of them.  The other half plan.  They save.  Wow!  What a concept, huh?  We have become a culture of "I want it NOW" and we don't wanna wait!  This writer, included!  Although, there came a certain point in my life - after a divorce, selling a business, ending up with awful credit and a slumping economy (2002) that I decided I had had enough.  I then became a saver and a bigger planner & my world opened up & I became less stressed.

Maybe you noticed that you haven't seen much blogging going on lately from B.A.B.E (really, you probably didn't, but humor me!).  Why?  Because this B.A.B.E went to Borneo!  Yahoo!  It was as fabulous as I had hoped and went as I had planned.  I am a rainforest buff, so from time to time, when I can afford it, I go visit & explore an area of rain forest.  Absolutely exhilarating.

Why bring this up?  Because, we each- hopefully - have passions, interests and things that make us happy.  Many of those take money to enjoy.  The key to achieving and truly enjoying thee things, with no negative repercussions, is to plan & save.  Here is a simple equation:  $40 per week = $2,000 year. Good amount of cash.  $80 per week = you guessed it - $4,000 a year.   You can go most places in this world with $4,000.

How to get this money?  Unless you are literally living on fumes & among the working poor (I am being serious, not derogatory) this can work.  Here are thoughts, bullet pointed & to the point:

• cut out your Starbuck's
• eat IN one (or two) more days a week
• start an online savings account (look for the ING Direct ad on our web page)
• Have your money automatically deducted from your account
• Do not touch said money in above account
• Do this faithfully - like your life depends on it.
• Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

No kidding, it can be that easy.

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Weight gain caused by small habits | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Time to re-think those daily habits if you want to achieve your fitness goals.  FATTY FOODS: Foods that added most to weight gain over a four-year period included daily consumption of red meats, processed meats, potato chips, potatoes and sugar-sweetened beverages. (Photo: Liao Ming Chen/Flickr)

Weight gain caused by small habits | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Organic Lawn Care is it for Real?

It's that time of year again - we play in the yard, tidy up the yard, let our digs run around in the yard.  But what's in your yard?  Rather, what's on your yard?  If you are like 75% of U.S. households, you use herbicides on your lawn or other forms of pesticides for a variety of unwanted pests and things in your lawn and around your home.  4.4 billion applications a year.  WOW.

Well, being environmentally-focused gals, we can't help but to spread some info about pesticides, a.k.a. poison.  Seriously, that's what pesticides are: poison.  Now, we don't particularly favor dandelions in our lawn, ants in our cupboards or prickly grass.  For us, there was a point in time where the light bulb went off & we asked ourselves "at what cost is our lawn nice?"
Points to consider:

• When it rains heavy, all the pesticides - poisons - from your lawn run off into the storm drains.  Most neighborhoods have a retention pond where some folks fish, ducks gather, your dog drinks after a long walk.  Now think - what's in that water? You guessed it!  Everything that went down the storm drain - including your lawn pesticides.  
• Pesticides have been linked to asthma, learning disabilities, birth defects, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and cancer.
• There are tons of companies that now offer organic lawn care if you're not up for doing it yourself.
• Consider watching Chemical Reaction ; we venture to guess it will be a game changer.  It was for us.

There are lots of statistics that we could throw your way from how many birds die each year because of pesticides (60-70 million - just in the U.S.), to almost 70 million pounds of pesticides are thrown on U.S. lawns each year.  But, in the effort to hold your attention, here's a nifty link for more info: http://www.organiclawncare101.com/

Take a few minutes and see if making one slight change this month can make a difference in your health and that of the planet.