Tom Friedman, Mary Poppins, Wall Street and Your World Today

The first video I discovered here. The second was an unintentional find.

For your viewing pleasure:

Rhonna's Treasonous Proposal

I have an idea! My proposal is that we all take our rebate checks from the government and spend them on reducing our energy usage. That's right, we subversively force the government to spend money on reducing global warming. I know, I'm evil! Kirk & I have talked about buying a new back door that is less seive-like and a whole-house fan. You could buy insulation, a programmable thermostat, a bike to transport your body, a clothesline, a greenhouse, flourescent light bulbs (just be sure to dispose of them properly). The possibilities are endless! Join me on this underground saving of the world.

Enough?

What exactly is enough? This is my constant struggle. I do not envy others' cars, money, clothes, looks, but when it comes to houses I'm pathetic. Even though I have realized that we cannot afford to change our living situation for a few years, I constantly scan the real estate ads. I make plans for expanding our house. I envy friends when they buy new homes, refinish floors, remodeling of any kind. Sometimes.
A good portion of the time I can keep this in check. I look at our 1000 sq. foot 1920's bungalow and admire the coziness of it. I love the colors we have painted most of our rooms. I love the art created by family members on the walls. I love that our friends took pity on us (we actually had a bucket catching the water under the bathroom sink and duct tape holding our tub together) when I was pregnant with our first son and remodeled our bathroom. I love how little it costs to heat and cool. It is a very snug little house.
But. . . it is impossible to remove enough clutter to achieve the calm look I long for. I had a bad day today. I ended up barking at Kirk that I just don't have time to clean and organize. I'm too busy working, playing with my family, organizing birthday parties, and spending time with my friends. I obviously have my priorities completely screwed up. It also probably was not helpful to check out the book The Simple Home. A person has to have a lot of money and time to achieve that level of simplicity. I must go. The boys are in bed so I'm going to paint the cabinets a little. The house will still be a mess tomorrow, but of course it would be anyway.

Quotes of the Day

"We know how to do many things, but do we know what to do?"

"It's not what you can afford, it's what you choose to spend your money on."

-E.F. Schumacher from Small is Beautiful