Wired For Noise

So, the Democratic debates. Whew. I might need a cigarette.

I sat on the edge of my seat watching, analyzing, and deciding. It was a great debate. Wolf Blitzer called it a “conversation”, and that’s what it was really. Since Kucinich dropped out my vote has been up in the air. I’ve leaned more towards Obama, though Clinton did have a place in my heart. Who to choose, who to choose…

I think Clinton really shined tonight. She let down her guard and was herself. Open, funny, and smart. And her laugh! Not political at all, but I love the sound of her laugh. It’s so full and real. I really feel that a lot of undecideds were swayed by her tonight.

However, it was Obama that took my vote. Issue for issue he leans closer to my personal views that Clinton does. She is more moderate, almost leaning too much towards the right for me. His views on the environment, the war, and education really set things apart for me. With health care I tend to agree more with Clinton, but I can certainly see his side of the issue.

Amanda has a much better post up explaining why she’s turned to the Obama side.

Next up - Super Tuesday.

Tags: Obama, Clinton, poltics, debate, Democrats

Like any good mom I love my chocolate. I LOOOVE my chocolate. But, well I’ve got issues. Chocolate doesn’t give quite the same feel good yummyness when you know what it does to the people growing it.

Cadbury seems to have heard my plea. Oh sweet, delicious, chocolatey Cadbury eggs. How I covet you so. Your rich chocolate shell, your gooey sweet center, and the torture of waiting a whole year for you to arrive. Please, please don’t break my heart Cadbury.

Matt Shattock, president of Cadbury, said: “The programme will focus on improving cocoa farmer incomes by helping growers up their yields and bean quality. It will also introduce new sources of rural income and invest in education.”

[tags]chocolate, Cadbury, cocoa farmers, fair trade[tags]

Tags: yarn, wool yarn, knitting, thrift store, thrift shopping, wordless wednesday

For today’s Works For Me Wednesday I wanted to share something that is perfect for the tree huggers who are also cat owners. Like me.

Pet Ecology Perfect Litter is an eco-friendly cat litter actually works. It is biodegradable, 98% natural, reduces ordors, and has a special color change ingredient that changes colors when your cat has an UTI. We have 6 indoor cats. 6 cats people! You thought I was joking when I said a houseful of cats, but I wasn’t. So we use a lot of litter. We used to buy the cheap stuff because, well look how many we’re dealing with. But the cheap stuff never masked the smells and always made me feel guilty with how much nasty litter was being tossed out.

According to the Bureau of Waste Management, and other reliable sources, billions of pounds of spent cat litter is dumped into U.S. landfills every year – more than the amount of disposable diapers. Moreover, clay-based products swell to 15 times their original size via water absorption, thereby exacerbating landfill capacities and resources even further. Simply put, the clay-based cat litter products that dominate the market are heavy, bulky, smelly when soiled (despite product claims to the contrary), non-biodegradable, and hazardous to the environment.

That’s gross, right? Really, really gross. And it’s not just the dirty cat litter hurting the environment. The clay used in most cat litters is obtained through strip mining. Thousands of acres of land are destroyed permanently just to get to the clay underneath. That makes me want to cry.

If you’re intersted in changing your cat litter you can get a 2 week free trial of Perfect Litter. Free trails are good, very good. OK, so I’m just a sucker for free. You only have to pay shipping and handling, which is $3.95. It’s worth it to try Pet Ecology Perfect Litter for yourself.

Tags: cat litter, environment, waste, works for me wednesday

I am on a roll! First I drug in the giant box of toys that have sat in the garage for it seems forever. We went through all of them, plus the toys in the house, and brought the number down to an acceptable level. Finally! There were some I’m surprised Evan wanted to get rid of and some that I had to remind him that Trey still played with, but on an overall level we really cut it down. Now when they drag every toy the own out in the living room I don’t want to scream. Ahhh.

Then I tore through the closet/pig sty. Clothes were washed and sorted into 3 piles: can be worn more, donate it, might be sold at consignment shop. Then each of those piles was sorted down even more into winter, spring, or summer wear. I even kept a few pized outfits in my storage tote to look at when they’re grown and gone. I’m a mommy, I can’t help it.

I even jumped into my scrap material pile, bagged up every single piece, and dropped them off. Suddenly the house feels so much bigger, and calmer.

The only thing left is the giant, overflowing pile of recycling. We haven’t had the gas to go drop it off for about a month, and I’m now afraid it may take over the kitchen. But as long as it helps do the dishes I’m fine with that.

Tags: cleaning, organizing, clutter

 Contest is closed!

Today is the huge Bloggy Giveaway carnival. Where hundreds of bloggers from all over the web are giving away goodies by the truck load. from today until this Friday, February 1st, you can win almost anything your heart desires. Trust me, if you want it there is someone giving it away. All you have to do to enter any of these fabulous contests is check them out. Who knows what you’ll be walking away with!

I’m joining in the fun times 3 by offering prizes at all three of my blogs. That’s right, triple the goodies. Head over to Mom Is Teaching for some homeschooling supplies. Then visit Creative Mom Cafe for a secret surprise. And don’t forget to put your name in the bucket here for this beautiful jewelry set just in time for Valentine’s day.

This matching necklace, bracelet, and earring set is made out of soft pink rose quartz stones, small oval shaped pearls, and small pearl styled Czech seed beads. The soft colors are romantic and feminine.

So what do you have to do it you want this set? Just leave me a comment here and you’re in the running. If you want extra credit mention this post on your own blog for an extra entry. You have until February 1st to get your comments and links in. On February 2nd I will be drawing a random winner. Good luck and enjoy!

Tags: contest, jewelry, free, Bloggy Giveaway carnival

Now I’m feeling popular. I was tagged for another meme. This time from Mummified Times Five.

Simple Entrecard Meme Instructions:

1. Read these instructions twice;
2. Drop your EntreCard at this site;
3. Drop your EntreCard at the 5 EntreCard users’ sites listed below;
4. Choose 5 other EntreCard users;
5. Copy these instructions to your own EntreCard meme article and tag (link) those 5 people;
6. Include a link to the EntreCard meme article of the person who tagged you;
7. Link to the original article “Sam Freedom’s Drop Squad - the First EntreCard Meme Known to Bloggers“;
8. Notify the people you choose that they’ve been tagged;
9. Comment below so even passers-by can drop their card at your site, too (it shows you are active and will likely return the favor)
10. (optional) IF you tag your blogs, use both “entrecard” and “entrecard meme” as tags so that others can find them AND so that we can find them all later as this grows. (If you don’t know what tagging is, don’t worry.)

OK, So now I’m tagging

1. MacDonald Clan
2. Home Mom
3. Chica X
4. Brain Foggles
5. Inside My Wild Mind

For those who don’t know what Entrecard is look over on the right under the ads. That little box, that’s the Entrecard widget. It’s like having a business card that you can drop at sites when you visit. I know not everyone leaves comments at all the blogs they read, so this you can just click a little button and say “Hey, I stopped by” by dropping your card. And you can see who all has visited your blog and dropped their card by installing the little widget.

Tags: entrecard, entrecard meme