They call me The Power Nazi!

Yes, it is amazing how proactive you become regarding power usage when you are no longer on a budget billing system through your power provider(for those of you unaware of what "budget billing" is, its where your provider averages the use for a year and the average is what you pay each month).  I had become lax in hanging clothes on the line or the kids leaving lights or a TV on because we paid the same each month.  I have been watching our bills for the past few months and we have been ahead of the game over this past year.  Way ahead.  This was due mainly to the fact that my daughter and her family found their own place last summer, but the bill wouldn't reflect it til the anniversary of the budget billing, which is in August.  So armed with the information regarding our normal monthly usage for each month, I called and cancelled the budget billing.  I feel this is going to help over the long run.  While it is nice to know what you are being billed each month, I feel it contributes to a less than committed desire to conserve electricity.  Now, I am reminiscent of my childhood and the loving nostalgic phrases like " CLOSE THE DOOR YOU'RE LETTING OUT THE HEAT!(or cold depending on the season), "WERE YA RAISED IN A BARN!", "turn the lights off we aren't made of money ya know", and other wonderful phrases which I find myself repeating to my kids.  Rubic jokes and says "mom makes us turn our lights and TV off now".  to which I reply "when you have a job and you are paying the power bill we will talk".  So I am back to being the power Nazi and proud of it.  It is making me think of different ways I can save on power usage and that can only be positive (no power charge pun intended).

Along the same lines as power conservation, but also contributing to time management, I have discovered a little trick on making tomato sauce. I think I have shared my" how to"on making the tomato sauce.  The trick comes after I have cooked the tomatoes.  I still remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon, and place them in my food mill placed over the pot to cook down the sauce.  I let the tomatoes sit in the food mill draining the rest of the juice into the pan.  I have the burner on high and it boils down the juice.  Once the juice is boiled down, I run the actual tomatoes through the mill.  Heat the sauce up and can it.  It takes a lot less time to cook down the juice that way than to let the sauce itself cook down.  I make less mess because I don't have sauce splatters, and I don't end up with some of the sauce sticking to the pan. Over all I believe a power and time saver.

I think that is all the earth shattering, mind blowing (uh right)news from my little homestead.  Work is this weekend, and so pretty sure I will have nothing to report til next week.  In the mean time I am plugging along doing my best to be a good steward of all God has entrusted to me.  I hope everyone has an awesome day.  See ya next go round.