You all must be easily offended or just enjoy being unhappy so much that you look for reasons to be pissed off!
Oh boo hoo! Someone sent you a prepaid credit card that is worthless unless YOU activate it and YOU put money on it. And it is hardly "fraudulent" or a "scam" unless you are a paranoid freak.
They actually told you that unless and until you activate the account it doesn't exist. That's it, period. It..does..not..exist! Just like every other piece of junk mail you get telling you that you are pre approved for a new credit card, or a car loan, or a mortgage, it wont hurt you, it wont steal your identity; you can toss it, shred it, burn it, whatever you want. Nothing will happen.
You have not been "violated" so stop being such a freakin whiner!
We live in Klamath Falls, Oregon and usually get Nov-Dec-Jan snow and it gets very cold at night, starting in October. We put pink insulation cut-outs in the crawlspace vents to keep the pipes from freezing. We blow the water out of the sprinklers to keep the PVC from freezing. In winter, unused rooms (guest bathroom and bedroom) have the vents shut tight and a magnetic block over the vents and a 'snake' in front of the door to prevent heat from going into the rooms. I put the heavy curtains up with a protective backing that are wide open during the day to let in lots of light and warmth and closed tight at night to keep it in! We stay cozy with the heat at 66 during the day for the Yorkies (well, the dogs get cold and so does the retired husband) and lots of polar fleece comforters on the leather couches. We keep the heat at 61 at night. The oven and dryer in the laundry room and sometimes the natural gas fireplace keeps the living areas plenty warm when we are home in the evenings! We have electric blankets on the beds, so we stay toasty warm with minimal heat use. (and we get to sleep naked- sorry,not gross, just a life long 30 year habit with us as old married people) We also have a cup of hot tea (sometimes with a shot of brandy) for a nightcap and always hit the jacuzzi before bed on a very cold night.
Our gas and electric bills are VERY low during the winter compared to a lot of our friends! And we are comfortable without wearing parkas, socks to bed or heavy sweaters in the house.
- people like to think they're so important, so indispensable, that they just can't take a vacation. The work will pile up, no one else can do it, no one else can do it right...once, a relative told me he couldn't take any paternity leave when his kids were born because nobody else in his office could use Excel.
I'm sorry, but if you *are* that important, and nobody else is cross-trained at your job, you're doing something wrong. What if you have a heart attack or a family emergency, should the company fail or force you back to work from your hospital bed?
And if you *aren't* that important, what are you hiding by acting as if you were?
I've almost always managed to work part time and I've often been one of the highest-performing people in whichever department I'm in, because
1) if possible, I'm only there when there's actual work to do and
2) I don't like doing make-work so if I can't take off (like i'm the only one in the office that day and there might be some business at some point) I find actual work to do.
Nobody can be productive 8 or 10 hours a day and people who sit at a desk that long are spending some of that time either doing non-job work or killing off brain cells so they can stand the boredom. Or looking at facebook.
Smartwool socks, silk or wool long underwear, fleece scarves, down throws/blankets, and a down comforter are absolute necessities for cold weather survival. Also, I find that when my feet and neck are warm, my whole body stays warm.
This will be my first winter in a new-to-me house, so I am looking forward to see what the bills look like. I have one room that is just a guest room. I see lots of people who want to shut that room off, but the heating and air technician who worked on my mom's ac this summer said shutting the vents in that room can actually make her heat pump work harder, and therefore be less fuel-efficient. Do any other southerners know what I'm talking about?
I am going to add weatherstripping to my front door and see about rigging up a door snake to rest at the top of the front door. The door has about 1/4 inch of space in that corner - my landlord calls it character, and in a 90 year old house, I guess he's right. But weather stripping and a door snake should cut the amount of cold air that comes in through that door plenty.
I keep the temperature at 65 in my house all winter. If I end up going to a programmable thermostat, I'll lower it to 62 while I'm away, but if I don't I probably won't remember to make the change. My dogs will cuddle up if they are cold, and if I am cold, I add layers. One of my mutts doesn't have much of a coat, so she has some sweaters to wear, too.
For the bedroom, I have an electric heating pad that I can use to warm up the bed if it's especially chilly - I plug it in for about 20 minutes and then unplug it, because it's not safe to sleep with those things on. I also let the dogs in the bed if it's cool out - it's a win for all three of us. I also have a down comforter that I will add into the bedding. When it is really cold, I have a down throw and an extra comforter to layer on the bed. I don't usually need all of that, but if the power goes out and I'm without heat, I can do pretty well that way.
When it gets colder, into January and February, I have a small electric heater that I can set up in front of the couch. The mutt without a decent fur coat warms herself in front of it, but she is kind enough to share. A cup of hot tea or cocoa to warm the hands and the stomach helps a lot, too, and tea is a cheap indulgence.
In November, I'll shrink wrap all of the windows except for one in my bedroom (in case we get a warm spell, I like to be able to open a window in my bedroom), and one in the kitchen (for my inevitable cooking disasters), and one in the living room (the dogs look out this window and they tear off the shrink wrap). I'm also going to add another layer of fabric insulation, and by that I mean curtains, to the windows that currently only have blinds and sheers over them. They are all in rooms that don't see a lot of daily activity, but I think that adding a layer of fabric will still help hold the heat in.
Right now, the weather is so darn pleasant, I have windows open and the heat and air off! Ah, fall in the south, I love you!
the best souvenir is a magazine. when my mom and dad travel abroad, i request magazines in topics i am interested in. my current interest is home decorating in a modern style. recently, they brought me back mags from thailand with so many pics. it gives me insight in how the thai culture defines my western interest. they are cheap, ubiquitous and lay flat in your suitcase. and there are so many pics. separately, i request that my parents bring my thai family mags from the US. the younger girls in my family love to see pics of american fashion. m
Around your windows, in the bathrooms,the outlets, anywhere the cold air might leak into the house. It will more than pay for itself when it's cold outside. Brrrrrrrrr!
Wear a Snuggie, 2 pairs of Socks, Sweats & use plently of blankets or quilts. If still cold climb into your bed & turn on your space heater with an auto thermostat & set the timer...turn on your T.V. & the next thing you know you will be waking up to the daylight of the "Icy Cold Morning". Quickly run to the bathroom, turn on the small space heater, close the bathroom door & quickly run back to your bed....in about 15 minutes your bathroom will be warm enough to start your morning ritual to get ready for the day. You will probably end up having to turn off your small space heater in the bathroom before you start blow drying your hair.
Just how important is your role/job if you can take 14-months off? I mean really. You sure aren't being productive or are a small business owner fir sure. There has to be a balance. What makes this country great Is our work ethic.
We're going to try something new this winter. We have several large windows w/ southern exposure. We're going to try filling some 2 liter bottles with water and leave them in the sun all day. We might try sand as well We're hoping that will store at least some heat for the evening, but we're not sure if it will retain it long enough to be useful. At the very least, it should cut down on the heating bill a little bit (very little bit?).
I LOVE my bread machine! I make a Whole Wheat, Sugar Free, high protein bread, it takes 4 hours to bake.
I have folding clothes racks, My personal clothes Never see the dryer. I do dry towels and sheets in the dryer.
For cutting down costs, a small electric space heater has done wonders. We just warm up whatever room we're in for a few minutes, stay bundled (thick toe socks for the win). Also, gaps around doors? Duct tape around the edges does a great job for only a little money (and it can be re-used as long as it's sticky).
Definately to stay warmer we all use the slippers around the house and our sweaters. We also keep blankets on the couches to cover with in the evenings in front of the tv.
I find the best thing to do is bundle up. My younger sister is ALWAYS complaining about how cold it is, YET, she walks around in shorts & a t-shirt. I mean, come on. I wear shorts & a t-shirt as well, BUT that's underneath my sweater & long pants with long winter socks.
Back in Canada, my family wore sweaters and thick socks around the house so we could turn down the heater. We used thick down comforters and piled blankets on the couch.
Now that I'm living in northern California, we still use thick down comforters for cold nights and still keep blankets on the couch.
It rains a lot here in the wintertime, but I invested in high quality rip-stop rain coat and rain pants so I can continue biking to and from work.
To reduce costs as much as possible, we shut off the vents in rooms that get little use, change ceiling fans to push warmer air down, add a layer of blankets to the bed so we can lower the temp at night. I also work from home...so we keep it lower during the day and I add a sweater to my outfit.
Lots of home cooked meals using the oven during the winter. I mean, what says home for the holidays more than a warm house that smells like pot roast and chocolate chip cookies?
We play a game to see how many weeks/months we can wait before turning on the furnace/heat in our house (and conversely, how soon we can turn it off for the year in the spring). We live in south-west Canada, and can make it until December most years, and have had it off again as early as mid-February. With 4 people, a few cats, liberal sweater/slipper use, and normal around-the-house appliance usage, the temperature rarely drops below 16C (~60F). Each month we abstain saves upwards of $100, and makes for sounder sleeps!
I work at a university where I'm entitled to 4 weeks of vacation a year, plus nearly 2 weeks off for the holiday season in December. These are wonderful benefits, but I have the misfortune of working for a boss who herself has poor work/life balance. Whenever her reports request vacation time, we are made to feel guilty for using our vacation. I asked for 2 weeks last summer and was called into her office to explain why I needed "so much time off" and would I lose momentum on my projects. I love my job, but this attitude makes me wish to win the lottery and not feel enslaved to a workaholic boss.
As has been said already, the US places a high value on work and being physically in the office for many hours (which is a reason I believe telecommuting hasn't taken off like it could). And if you're not willing to put in 40+ hours a week, there's someone waiting for your job who IS willing, and to do it for cheaper.
I really wish the US placed a higher value on balance and rest... happy people work better, and it's healthy to take time away from your job, no matter how much you love it.
Personally, I have been stuck in the "temporary," "freelance," and "part-time" categories (despite working for multiple months at 35+ hours per week at a company), so I never get paid time off... I'm paid hourly, so if I want to go to the doctor (on my own privately-paid health insurance, because "temporary" "freelance" and "part-time" employees also aren't eligible for company healthcare), I have to take the time out of my weekly paycheck. It's really a scam, if you think about it.
You all must be easily offended or just enjoy being unhappy so much that you look for reasons to be pissed off!
Oh boo hoo! Someone sent you a prepaid credit card that is worthless unless YOU activate it and YOU put money on it. And it is hardly "fraudulent" or a "scam" unless you are a paranoid freak.
They actually told you that unless and until you activate the account it doesn't exist. That's it, period. It..does..not..exist! Just like every other piece of junk mail you get telling you that you are pre approved for a new credit card, or a car loan, or a mortgage, it wont hurt you, it wont steal your identity; you can toss it, shred it, burn it, whatever you want. Nothing will happen.
You have not been "violated" so stop being such a freakin whiner!
Can you use a plastic sparklets bottle to fermit the mix in until its done????
We live in Klamath Falls, Oregon and usually get Nov-Dec-Jan snow and it gets very cold at night, starting in October. We put pink insulation cut-outs in the crawlspace vents to keep the pipes from freezing. We blow the water out of the sprinklers to keep the PVC from freezing. In winter, unused rooms (guest bathroom and bedroom) have the vents shut tight and a magnetic block over the vents and a 'snake' in front of the door to prevent heat from going into the rooms. I put the heavy curtains up with a protective backing that are wide open during the day to let in lots of light and warmth and closed tight at night to keep it in! We stay cozy with the heat at 66 during the day for the Yorkies (well, the dogs get cold and so does the retired husband) and lots of polar fleece comforters on the leather couches. We keep the heat at 61 at night. The oven and dryer in the laundry room and sometimes the natural gas fireplace keeps the living areas plenty warm when we are home in the evenings! We have electric blankets on the beds, so we stay toasty warm with minimal heat use. (and we get to sleep naked- sorry,not gross, just a life long 30 year habit with us as old married people) We also have a cup of hot tea (sometimes with a shot of brandy) for a nightcap and always hit the jacuzzi before bed on a very cold night.
Our gas and electric bills are VERY low during the winter compared to a lot of our friends! And we are comfortable without wearing parkas, socks to bed or heavy sweaters in the house.
- people like to think they're so important, so indispensable, that they just can't take a vacation. The work will pile up, no one else can do it, no one else can do it right...once, a relative told me he couldn't take any paternity leave when his kids were born because nobody else in his office could use Excel.
I'm sorry, but if you *are* that important, and nobody else is cross-trained at your job, you're doing something wrong. What if you have a heart attack or a family emergency, should the company fail or force you back to work from your hospital bed?
And if you *aren't* that important, what are you hiding by acting as if you were?
I've almost always managed to work part time and I've often been one of the highest-performing people in whichever department I'm in, because
1) if possible, I'm only there when there's actual work to do and
2) I don't like doing make-work so if I can't take off (like i'm the only one in the office that day and there might be some business at some point) I find actual work to do.
Nobody can be productive 8 or 10 hours a day and people who sit at a desk that long are spending some of that time either doing non-job work or killing off brain cells so they can stand the boredom. Or looking at facebook.
Smartwool socks, silk or wool long underwear, fleece scarves, down throws/blankets, and a down comforter are absolute necessities for cold weather survival. Also, I find that when my feet and neck are warm, my whole body stays warm.
This will be my first winter in a new-to-me house, so I am looking forward to see what the bills look like. I have one room that is just a guest room. I see lots of people who want to shut that room off, but the heating and air technician who worked on my mom's ac this summer said shutting the vents in that room can actually make her heat pump work harder, and therefore be less fuel-efficient. Do any other southerners know what I'm talking about?
I am going to add weatherstripping to my front door and see about rigging up a door snake to rest at the top of the front door. The door has about 1/4 inch of space in that corner - my landlord calls it character, and in a 90 year old house, I guess he's right. But weather stripping and a door snake should cut the amount of cold air that comes in through that door plenty.
I keep the temperature at 65 in my house all winter. If I end up going to a programmable thermostat, I'll lower it to 62 while I'm away, but if I don't I probably won't remember to make the change. My dogs will cuddle up if they are cold, and if I am cold, I add layers. One of my mutts doesn't have much of a coat, so she has some sweaters to wear, too.
For the bedroom, I have an electric heating pad that I can use to warm up the bed if it's especially chilly - I plug it in for about 20 minutes and then unplug it, because it's not safe to sleep with those things on. I also let the dogs in the bed if it's cool out - it's a win for all three of us. I also have a down comforter that I will add into the bedding. When it is really cold, I have a down throw and an extra comforter to layer on the bed. I don't usually need all of that, but if the power goes out and I'm without heat, I can do pretty well that way.
When it gets colder, into January and February, I have a small electric heater that I can set up in front of the couch. The mutt without a decent fur coat warms herself in front of it, but she is kind enough to share. A cup of hot tea or cocoa to warm the hands and the stomach helps a lot, too, and tea is a cheap indulgence.
In November, I'll shrink wrap all of the windows except for one in my bedroom (in case we get a warm spell, I like to be able to open a window in my bedroom), and one in the kitchen (for my inevitable cooking disasters), and one in the living room (the dogs look out this window and they tear off the shrink wrap). I'm also going to add another layer of fabric insulation, and by that I mean curtains, to the windows that currently only have blinds and sheers over them. They are all in rooms that don't see a lot of daily activity, but I think that adding a layer of fabric will still help hold the heat in.
Right now, the weather is so darn pleasant, I have windows open and the heat and air off! Ah, fall in the south, I love you!
the best souvenir is a magazine. when my mom and dad travel abroad, i request magazines in topics i am interested in. my current interest is home decorating in a modern style. recently, they brought me back mags from thailand with so many pics. it gives me insight in how the thai culture defines my western interest. they are cheap, ubiquitous and lay flat in your suitcase. and there are so many pics. separately, i request that my parents bring my thai family mags from the US. the younger girls in my family love to see pics of american fashion. m
caulk, caulk and caulk!
Around your windows, in the bathrooms,the outlets, anywhere the cold air might leak into the house. It will more than pay for itself when it's cold outside. Brrrrrrrrr!
Wear a Snuggie, 2 pairs of Socks, Sweats & use plently of blankets or quilts. If still cold climb into your bed & turn on your space heater with an auto thermostat & set the timer...turn on your T.V. & the next thing you know you will be waking up to the daylight of the "Icy Cold Morning". Quickly run to the bathroom, turn on the small space heater, close the bathroom door & quickly run back to your bed....in about 15 minutes your bathroom will be warm enough to start your morning ritual to get ready for the day. You will probably end up having to turn off your small space heater in the bathroom before you start blow drying your hair.
Just how important is your role/job if you can take 14-months off? I mean really. You sure aren't being productive or are a small business owner fir sure. There has to be a balance. What makes this country great Is our work ethic.
I use space heaters to heat the kids rooms, so I can keep the whole house cooler at night.
Oh, and blanket sleepers for the kids as well! You know, the footie pajamas.
Time my cooking for later in the evening so it keeps the living area warmer longer
We're going to try something new this winter. We have several large windows w/ southern exposure. We're going to try filling some 2 liter bottles with water and leave them in the sun all day. We might try sand as well We're hoping that will store at least some heat for the evening, but we're not sure if it will retain it long enough to be useful. At the very least, it should cut down on the heating bill a little bit (very little bit?).
I LOVE my bread machine! I make a Whole Wheat, Sugar Free, high protein bread, it takes 4 hours to bake.
I have folding clothes racks, My personal clothes Never see the dryer. I do dry towels and sheets in the dryer.
For cutting down costs, a small electric space heater has done wonders. We just warm up whatever room we're in for a few minutes, stay bundled (thick toe socks for the win). Also, gaps around doors? Duct tape around the edges does a great job for only a little money (and it can be re-used as long as it's sticky).
Definately to stay warmer we all use the slippers around the house and our sweaters. We also keep blankets on the couches to cover with in the evenings in front of the tv.
Just like Jimmy Carter advised, put on another sweater.
I find the best thing to do is bundle up. My younger sister is ALWAYS complaining about how cold it is, YET, she walks around in shorts & a t-shirt. I mean, come on. I wear shorts & a t-shirt as well, BUT that's underneath my sweater & long pants with long winter socks.
Back in Canada, my family wore sweaters and thick socks around the house so we could turn down the heater. We used thick down comforters and piled blankets on the couch.
Now that I'm living in northern California, we still use thick down comforters for cold nights and still keep blankets on the couch.
It rains a lot here in the wintertime, but I invested in high quality rip-stop rain coat and rain pants so I can continue biking to and from work.
To reduce costs as much as possible, we shut off the vents in rooms that get little use, change ceiling fans to push warmer air down, add a layer of blankets to the bed so we can lower the temp at night. I also work from home...so we keep it lower during the day and I add a sweater to my outfit.
We use a programmable thermostat and turn down the heat at night and while we are at work.
Lots of home cooked meals using the oven during the winter. I mean, what says home for the holidays more than a warm house that smells like pot roast and chocolate chip cookies?
We play a game to see how many weeks/months we can wait before turning on the furnace/heat in our house (and conversely, how soon we can turn it off for the year in the spring). We live in south-west Canada, and can make it until December most years, and have had it off again as early as mid-February. With 4 people, a few cats, liberal sweater/slipper use, and normal around-the-house appliance usage, the temperature rarely drops below 16C (~60F). Each month we abstain saves upwards of $100, and makes for sounder sleeps!
I work at a university where I'm entitled to 4 weeks of vacation a year, plus nearly 2 weeks off for the holiday season in December. These are wonderful benefits, but I have the misfortune of working for a boss who herself has poor work/life balance. Whenever her reports request vacation time, we are made to feel guilty for using our vacation. I asked for 2 weeks last summer and was called into her office to explain why I needed "so much time off" and would I lose momentum on my projects. I love my job, but this attitude makes me wish to win the lottery and not feel enslaved to a workaholic boss.
As has been said already, the US places a high value on work and being physically in the office for many hours (which is a reason I believe telecommuting hasn't taken off like it could). And if you're not willing to put in 40+ hours a week, there's someone waiting for your job who IS willing, and to do it for cheaper.
I really wish the US placed a higher value on balance and rest... happy people work better, and it's healthy to take time away from your job, no matter how much you love it.
Personally, I have been stuck in the "temporary," "freelance," and "part-time" categories (despite working for multiple months at 35+ hours per week at a company), so I never get paid time off... I'm paid hourly, so if I want to go to the doctor (on my own privately-paid health insurance, because "temporary" "freelance" and "part-time" employees also aren't eligible for company healthcare), I have to take the time out of my weekly paycheck. It's really a scam, if you think about it.