Washing Machine & Dryer

About the middle of last week, I got a new comforter set from Bed Bath & Beyond for Mark's and my bed. I haven't been able to find our bedding from the last house, so Mark's been using a crocheted blanket and I've been using a Spiderman comforter or crocheted blanket pretty much every night since we moved here. I've hated it. I've been telling Mark for a while that I'm going to get us some new bedding, so I've been searching for a while. Well, about two weeks ago, the boys and I went to Bed Bath & Beyond. I looked at the bedding there, and I found something that I liked. About two days later, I took Mark there and had him look at it and get his opinion. [He has no sense of style or decor, so it's kind of pointless to ask for his opinion. I just like asking him though because it makes it feel more like "our space" instead of "my space."] He said he liked what I wanted to get. A few days later, I went back and got it. The other day, I wanted to throw the comforter in the washing machine before I put it on our bed. It's the logical thing to do: wash sheets before putting them on the bed. After it was done going through the washing machine cycle, I went into the laundry room and noticed water on the floor. The dang comforter broke my washing machine!!!! I was slightly upset because it was now broken, but I was more happy because that meant getting a new washing machine and dryer. Also, all of the laundry in the house was done at that point, so it was okay that it broke then because I didn't have mounds of laundry to do.

Our washing machine is the one we bought back in February 2007 when we moved into base housing at Camp Lejeune. [Oh, what a nightmare that house was. Luckily they knocked it down and have put up a new house. I hated that house so much!! What a joke and horrible nightmare!] So our washing machine is just over four years old for us. The washing machine and dryer been through a lot of moving around from putting them in storage, getting them out of storage, putting them into the houses we lived in whenever we would move back to NC after deployments, and moving them from NC to here in FL. They have been beaten up so badly. I knew as soon as we moved here that we would have to get a new washing machine and dryer at some point. Turns out that "at some point" was the other day.

I went to Home Depot on Friday and looked around for a little bit. I knew that whatever I was going to get would be Energy Star rated. I wanted something that used less energy and less water than what we've had has been using. The environment and being earth-friendly is incredibly important to me. I was surprised to see how much the prices of Energy Star rated washing machines and dryers have dropped over the last few years. There were washing machines and dryers for sale that were about $600 a piece! That may seem like a lot to some people, but when we looked at washing machines and dryers four years ago, there was nothing even close to being that cheap that was Energy Star rated! Heck, even two years ago, they were still a bit pricey.

I was looking at the cheaper ones at first, but the capacity size was just not big enough. I knew that if I got one of those and put our new comforter in it, it would break. So I started looking at the larger capacity size washing machines and dryers. I eventually found what I liked. I didn't want to just get them though, so I called Mark and asked him. I texted him some photos of them after we were done talking. He said it was fine to get them, so I got them. I am quite excited to have them delivered to us on Tuesday!!

Day 24

A picture of something you wish you could change.


I wish I could make bigger changes in the environment. I know that I've already made several changes in my own every day life and I've inspired a few others to help change the environment and make it the world a little bit greener, but I know I haven't done enough. I truly believe that if everyone cared a little bit more about the environment and were more friendly to the planet, several of the world issues would be solved. I know not all of the world's issues would be solved, but several would be and we would be on a greater path than we ever have been.

I spend so much time teaching my children and trying to teach others the importance of being friendly to our planet and our environment, but it just doesn't feel like enough. I just hope that our very own government here in the U.S. doesn't get rid of the funding for programs and Acts and organizations that are helping make our world a cleaner, greener place to live.

Day 23

A picture of your favorite book.



I know it's more of a children's book, but it is my favorite book. When I was younger, my grandparents [dad's parents] got me this book. I didn't know why they got me, of all people, a book because I hated reading so much. I read the book though. It took me two or three nights to read it. [I would read it at night while I was in bed.] The book actually made me cry at the end. It was such a sweet book! I loved this book so much as a kid that I read it quite often, even if I hated reading. It's an awesome book, and that's all there is to it.

I still have this book. I will never get rid of it. I hope that the boys read this book a lot as they grow up. There is a great lesson to be learned from this book, and I want the boys to learn and always remember it; I certainly have.

Day 22

A picture of something you wish you were better at.



I wish I knew more about cars and how to do some car repair stuff. I have been saying for a few years now that if there's one thing I wish I knew more about, it would definitely be cars. I don't even know how to check/change the oil or change a tire. Ugh.

Rain Barrel

Water is such a valuable resource. I feel that people should collect rain water, especially if they have plants that they water on a regular basis like I do. I water the garden, grape plant, citrus tree, strawberry plants, and all of my herbs on a regular basis. I didn't want to keep paying for city water if I could collect and use rain water.

On March 5, it was raining here. Mark and I decided to get a rain barrel to collect rain water. When I checked the rain barrel the next morning, there was only maybe an inch or two of water in the barrel. I was upset because I really wanted to collect rain water to use for watering plants.

On Wednesday [the 9th], we had a major rain storm here - complete with tornado and flood warnings. In the morning, I looked outside just to see the rain barrel and make sure it was okay. When I looked at it, it was on the ground, on its side. I ran outside real fast and stood it back up so it could collect some rain water. When I checked the rain barrel the following morning [yesterday], this is what I saw:

I was so excited!! It makes me so happy that the rain barrel was pretty much full!!

This morning, I used some of the collected rain water for the first time. I was very happy to use the rain water to water my plants.

Day 21

A picture of something you wish you could forget.


[Image found via Google Search.]

I wish I could forget about all of the abuse I endured starting at the age of 12 years old, and went on frequently for almost 4 more years. It started with just one person abusing me, then it went on to two people abusing me. The first person to abuse me was a family member. When I was 14, somebody I dated began to abuse me.

The abuse I endured for quite a few years broke me down emotionally, physically, and even socially. Those years are years I would love to forget. I know those incredibly dark times helped shape me into the person I am today, but as a young teenager, I hate that I endured that crap to get to where I am now.

Day 20

A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.



I would LOVE to travel to Italy, and specifically Rome. I am 25% Italian, I have always been fascinated by Roman history, and I took Latin for three years [I learned a lot about Ancient Rome those three years]. Mark and I almost took a trip there back in 2008, but we decided to wait a while before we go since Brayden was still a baby and Michael was quite young. We definitely were not going to take the boys with us, but we didn't want to leave them for a week or two while they were so young. Hopefully within the next few years we will go to Rome for a vacation - we'll call it a very late honeymoon since we never went on one.

Day 19

A picture and a letter.



Dear Earth,

I know that the first 21 years - give or take - of my life, I never cared much about you. I cared, but not like I should have. I really hate that I never truly cared. I care now though. I care so much. I have been learning how to take better care of you the last few years. I am continuing to learn about all of the ways I can take better care of you. While I learn, I make sure that Mark, Michael, and Brayden learn as well. I do my best to inform others about how they can take better care of you. I hate to know just how bad you really have it, especially because it's people who are making it bad for you.

I hope to leave you in a much better condition than when I got here in 1987. I hope that my children will grow up and live their lives taking great care of you, and then teach their kids how to take care of you, and so on. I hope that as I continue to learn and talk about the many ways you can be taken care of, people will get inspired and realize that they need to take better care of you, too.

You've given me so much, and I always took you for granted. I'm just happy that I no longer take you for granted and I truly appreciate everything you've given my family, my friends, and me. Life has been better since I started caring more. Thank you. Thank you for everything.

Day 18

A picture of your biggest insecurity.



My acne is my biggest insecurity. I hate that my face is broken out at least two weeks of every month, and it's always really bad. My face is super oily, and I hate that, too. I would love it if my acne would just go away and never come back.

Day 17

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.


My 365 DAYS OF GOOD "journey" and blog have made an incredibly huge impact on my life since January 1, 2011. I have become a much better person because of it. I am having a great time helping others and the environment in every little act of kindness I do. I really enjoy helping others and the environment!

Day 16

A picture of someone who inspires you.


There are many people that inspire me, especially in my family. However, for this post, I wanted to show an inspiration outside of my family.

Ed Begley, Jr. is someone that majorly inspires me. He is such a tremendous eco-activist, and he truly inspires me all of the time to try to do more in my life to become more earth friendly. I wish there were more people in this world like him because then we would be living in a much cleaner world.

Day 15

A picture of something you want to do before you die.


I want to learn how to surf before I die.
I am going to take surf lessons this year so that I can learn how to surf.