86'n It

Marc and I are actually going to do some renovation work this weekend, but I saw this and thought it was important. Bottled water is over twice the cost of gas? Ridiculous.

If you aren't on a city water system (like my parents) consider buying water from the grocery in reusable plastic bottles. This is really common.

For water "on-the-go"Here are some really great alternatives from thegreenguide.com

Kleen Kanteen stainless steel water bottle w/ cap, 27 fluid ounces ($17.95; www.kleankanteen.com)

MLS Stainless Steel Thermos Bottle, 1 liter ($22.16; www.mls-group.com)

Nissan Thermos FBB500 Briefcase Bottle, 1pt ($35; www.coffee-makers-espresso-machines.com)

Sigg resin coated aluminum sport bottle, 25 ounces ($19.99; www.mysigg.com)

Platypus #5 polypropylene 2+collapsible water bottle, 2.4 liters ($9.95; www.rei.com)

Nalgene HDPE Loop-Top Bottle, 16 ounces ($4.53; www.nalgene-outdoor.com)

So I wanted to do a fake tin ceiling in the upstairs bathroom for many reasons. #1 The ceiling is cracked and fixing it will be a huge PITA. #2 I like the look a lot if I get a more art deco tile (see below). #3 I have birthday money that is burning a hole in my pocket. (Well, for full disclosure, I have probably spent the birthday money 3 times over already.)

My friend is out of town, so she asked me to guest blog for her. Her blog is about everthing in life that is So Wonderful, So Marvelous.

So if you ever wonder where I got my demented sense of humor, I would like to introduce you to my Mom, Joanie.

She is Funny. Silly. Cheap. That is a deadly combination, because it makes her do strange things. Like recycle greeting cards. She won't spend $ on greeting cards, not even the 99cent ones. So she just uses old ones that she has in her desk drawer. Oh, did I mention she is a packrat too? So she has about a million old cards to choose from.

Yes, that is our family holiday card circa 1985 with sharpie writing on it. The thing about these recycled cards is that the modified greeting almost always still works. The greeting card messages are so banal that you can substitute words willy-nilly and the message still sounds nice. I do like the use of 2 different color sharpies, because that took extra effort.

I would like to point out one weird thing that I didn't see at first. Look at the signature: "Mom & Dick."

So... my dad's name is Richard. Dick for his nickname, but he is my real dad, not a stepdad or anything. So am I not allowed to call him Dad anymore? Or is the card from my mom and one of my Dad's 3 friends also named Dick? I'm sort of hurt, but very intrigued at the same time.