Earn Free Fuel for a Year, Plus a Special Tax Credit

A few months ago, I wrote about our family considering switching to an alternative heat source for our Minnesota home. We are convinced that a flex fuel, corn stove is what we want, and our decision to move forward is prompted by three key factors: our current fuel bill,  the projected rise in fuel costs next year, and the money saving opportunties available to families like yours and mine.

Our Current Fuel Bill

I’m sad to say that we currently pay over $800 to fill our gas tank (we live in a rural home), which lasts us two months during the winter season, if we’re lucky. I estimate we spend about $3,000 /year filling our fuel tank.

Breaking News

I welcome all ways to save on heating costs; a relief with the recent news about gas prices. Oil is projected to go up to $100 a barrel, and the tax bill that passed its first hurdle this week, the Cap & Trade Bill-HR 2454, is threatening to raise everyone’s home heating bills by up to 60% this next year! This worries me. A lot.

Earn Free Fuel for a Year

According to American Energy Systems offering this opportunity, your entire fuel bill could be free in 2010 just by referring your friends and family to their website. If they purchase one of their products, you will get a reward check in the mail. Refer 50 friends (and if they buy) that is $2500.00 in YOUR pocket. To get started, fill out the referral section here.

 

Bonus Tax Credit

Some alternative energy appliances, like flex-fuel stoves qualify for a major tax refund (up to $1,500) making this option very affordable for us. We will be selecting a stove or fireplace that qualifies for this tax credit.

Extra Bonus Heat Savings

Flex-fuel stoves, like the ones that burn corn, often save owners up to 60% on their heating bill. I’ve taken the time to talk to several corn stove owners, who all love their stoves and verify the savings. Any way that I do the math on this one, I calculate that the savings from these three facts (referral reward, tax credit, lower fuel cost) will help us pay for the cost of our stove in a year. The cost of the Magnum Baby Countryside stove we are considering is about $1,800. I would like to have the Magnum Fireplace Insert, but I’m not sure if it will work in our existing gas fireplace spot yet or if it will be enough to heat our entire home like the Baby Countryside. I’m excited for next week, when the owner of American Energy Systems is coming to our house for a visit. I’m even more excited to embark on our journey to use corn to heat our home!

You can follow along on our jouney, as I plan to blog our way into a greener way of heating our home and saving money. Like you, I have more questions than anything about how this will all work. I do know this, we can NOT use popcorn in a corn stove.

Firecrackers, February, and CNY Festivities

The Chinese New Year shares our American (Valentine’s) holiday this year. As always, we will celebrate the CNY again this year with our children. We are having a large Chinese New Year celebration at our Chinese restaurant in town. They are designating one large back room to all those in attendance, which is up to over 35 people. Many of our International adoptive families in the area are invited, so it will be very fun.

So, what do we do?

Celebrate: It’s the new year and many new families have been formed by adoption. We celebrate all new family additions; biological and adoptive since we last gathered.

Play: The kids play, laugh, and have a ton of fun. We often have fun crafts for them to do at the tables.

Outfits: Many of us have beautiful Chinese silk outfits and other items that we get to wear. The array of colors and styles is so fun to see.

Pictures: It is always a “scrapbookers” dream to have a yearly event to photograph and journal.

Oranges and Dumplings: It is Chinese tradition to have oranges on the table for good fortune. Dumplings are also a food served at the Chinese New Year, and my kids LOVE dumplings. See my recipe for making Chinese Dumplings at home here.

Red Envelopes: Each year children receive “red envelopes” with coins in them to celebrate the new year. It is similar to Valentines cards and treats.

Decorations: We will often decorate, using traditional red and gold colors.

Learn: Our Chinese friends are so helpful and willing to continue to teach us about the Chinese culture. We learn a lot about traditions, families, and geographical locations/customs. Many of our kids take Chinese language lessons and have an opportunity to speak Mandarin.

Food: Of course, we eat plenty of great food and hot tea.

So there you have it; I wish we knew someone who did some traditional firecrackers or Dragon dances, etc. but we will have a fun time anyway.

If you live around the Hutchinson, MN area and would like to be included, send me an email. We’ve tried to contact as many people as possible, but fear we may have missed a few.

photo credit: eb0la

New Faith-Based Writer

I am so excited to introduce you to Robin O’Bryant, a writer and fellow mom I met online. She has agreed to share some of her wonderful short stories with us. Robin is a hysterical writer who writes from the heart. Her faith will inspire you and leave you pondering life’s great lessons as you move through your day.

Robin is such a busy lady; I’m not sure how she gets it all done. She has a book publishing project in the works, one website of her own-plus articles in several newspapers, and a bunch of short stacks mingling around her. If you haven’t read her feature article yet, here on Confessions of a Mom, make sure you do: Mommy’s Helper.

About Robin: Robin O’Bryant is a stay-at-home-mother to three daughters under five years old. Robin survives the drama and hilarity of motherhood by making fun of herself in her syndicated family humor column, Robin’s Chicks and on her blog by the same name. (www.robinschicks.com) She is represented by Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency and is currently revising her first book, a collection of non-fiction humor.

Fun and Frugal

I’m excited and honored to be teaching a series of “Fun and Frugal” classes with Cindy Haugland of TidyTightwads. Our first class is in New Ulm, MN next Monday night (Feb. 8th).

We are going to gather with other women, share stories, laugh, and save a bunch of money by exchanging the best frugal ideas. I have the first part of the class, focused on Online savings. We are going to go over where to get the best deals online, coupons, codes, freebies, contests, and of course, staying safe.

Next, we are going to move Offline, to super saving ideas, including bulk shopping, freezer cooking, homemade products, and other ideas.

Every time I teach, I feel like I learn so much more from all the participants. It’s such a wonderful opportunity I’ve been blessed with, so I hope to pass along some great new money saving ideas with YOU!

Class Schedule:

New Ulm, MN -February 8th

Delano, MN -February 22nd

Annandale, MN -April 20th

My Heart Goes Out to Haiti

Today I came home from picking the kids up from Chinese class and taking my oldest to swim practise. As I popped supper in the oven, and did a quick inventory of all my “to do” items for the evening, I took a second to check Facebook. Apparently not even 10 minutes prior, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, and a friend was kind enough to alert it to my attention. Suddenly, nothing I had planned seemed important. Tragedy will do that.

As you may know from my previous blog posts, Haiti is near and dear to me. I fell in love with the country when I traveled there in 2008, and I’ve stayed in touch with people and projects there. I am having trouble even comprehending the catastrophic repercussions of what is going on there tonight. If Haiti lacked infrastructure before, it is left with total destruction, pain, and chaos.

We prayed aloud at our dinner table tonight for the people of Haiti, and I had trouble even enjoying the food knowing so many people are suffering, scared, and missing loved ones. We frantically checked CNN, online news, Twitter feeds, and even listened to a live feed from a Haitian radio (in creole) moments after the disaster. Then I was struck by a thought.

Would I get on a plane tomorrow to go help?

Yes, I would. If I thought I could help and not hinder in any way, I would. Would it be a disturbing and hard trip with plenty of safety and travel issues? Yes, but I would still go. Once you travel to Haiti, it gets in your blood. The people are so wonderful. Please, pray for these people. Watch for ways you can help in the days to come. Lend your support in creative ways. If you are like me, you feel stuck in Minnesota with no medical emergency or civil engineering experience, but you can bet that if someone thinks of something I can do to help, I will.

We will continue with our Haiti Fundraiser on January 23rd as planned, and we will all be more determined as ever to help raise funds for Haiti! Check out our Deep Freeze Dunk!

Here’s a great link to organizations helping with the Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts!

What is Anaphylactoid Purpura

I never knew this illness existed until this week. Also called Henoch-Schoenlein Purpura, this illness is both mysterious and part of our household. My six year old daughter developed little spots on her feet and ankles. To a seasoned Minnesotan, these spots looked like gnat bits. She said they were really itchy, so we gave her some medicine to treat the itchiness. Since our bugs are finally gone here in Minnesota, we were fairly certain the spots weren’t bug bites.

Then they started to spread and cover both her feet, along with dark purple spots that looked like bruising. My daughter, who never complains and has a high threshold for pain, started saying that it hurt to walk. My mommy radar went up, and I called the ER. Since it was Saturday night, and they were fairly certain they wouldn’t be able to find us the answers we needed (and she had NO fever), they told us to watch her and wait until Monday to see the pediatrician. We decided to do that.

Yesterday, they ran a bunch of tests and chest xrays. It was determined to be Anaphylactoid Purpura which can involve many different organs in the body. The most critical is the kidneys, but luckily her tests showed no blood in her kidneys yet.

The cause of the illness doesn’t seem to be understood, but apparently upper respiratory issues such as colds, infections, and even asthma can cause inflammation in the blood vessels which causes the rashes, bruises, and swelling. Antibodies in her body that are normal and healthy may have contributed to developing this illness. Other symptoms can be abdominal pain, which she did complain of periodically. We’ll watch closely for any future fevers or blood in her urine.

There doesn’t appear to be any medicine to treat this illness, except ibuprophen to reduce the pain and swelling. She is starting to feel better, and we’ll keep a close eye on her. She is not allowed to go into grandma and grandpa’s new hot tub over the holidays, which will be the worse part of all of this. The hot water can cause issues with her blood vessels, immune system, etc. I think we’ll pass….

Please don’t use this personal story blog post to diagnose or treat yourself or anyone else. Seek medical advise for any medical concerns. I would love to hear from others who have had this illness in a child.

Fun with Cooking

It’s no secret I love to cook. I have posted many of my favorite recipes on this site, and I jump at any opportunity to cook for family and friends. I recently had the chance to teach an ethnic cooking class this past Friday night, and I had a blast. 

I demonstrated Vietnamese spring rolls with dipping sauce, Chinese pork dumplings with dipping sauce, and Hot-Sour soup. A friend of mine demonstrated Indian food which included Indian flat bread, cilantro chutney, and curry beans. It was so good.

The only regret I have is leaving the dirty dishes in my vehicle over night. I got home late and didn’t feel like lugging everything inside. The next day my truck was VERY fragrant with a mix of sesame, ginger, and garlic.

Whewww….

What have you left in your vehicle that has made your eyes water?

A Class for a Less-Stressed Holiday

A friend of mine is a professional organizer and speaks all over Minnesota helping busy moms stay organized and sane. She is offering a class right here in Hutchinson, MN next week that I wanted to let you all know about in case you are able to attend.

Professional organizer, Cindy Haugland with Tidy Tightwad$ will share her favorite organizing tips, techniques and strategies to create a memorable, stress-free holiday geared toward busy women. This is similar to a “home party” except there won’t be any shipping or handling fees and you won’t have to wait a week or two for your product to be delivered. Unlike a traditional home party, for $20.00 you won’t return home with piles of expensive trinkets. Instead, you’ll leave the party with relevant, helpful organizing information that you can use immediately to improve the quality of your daily life. You will fill out a holiday inventory, a holiday task list, a holiday countdown calendar and a holiday gift list all tailored for you and your family. I will also give you some holiday gift giving tips and holiday simplifying tips.

DATE: Thursday, November 5th

Cost: $20.00

Location: Vivid Image 897 Hwy. 15 South Hutchinson, MN 55350

Time: 6:30-8:00

PLEASE RSVP to  jchaug@hutchtel.net  or call me for more info ( 320) 583-0409

What Food Should I Demo?

I am very excited to be teaching another cooking class at the upcoming Passport to Hutchinson event in less than two weeks. (I blogged about this event here)  We are offering the class for a meager $5 so that anyone who wants to attend can afford to do so. My friend Prachee and I are going to teach Chinese and Indian dishes, help Minnesotans easily find ingredients at local grocery stores, demonstrate some unique cooking techniques, and of course, provide EVERYONE samples to taste of EVERYTHING we make!

I am waiting to hear how many people are registered for the class, as there is still time to pre-register. Therefore, I haven’t decided what to make. I’ve been thinking about traditional Chinese pork dumplings with dipping sauce. Most people aren’t aware of how good these are, as our “Americanized Chinese Food” often skips offering this traditional Chinese staple. I also thought about a demo of making egg rolls and/or spring rolls, as most people don’t make these at home unless they’re frozen and roll out of a box. Yuck! I have perfected traditional Hot Sour Soup, which is one of my favorites, but again, it can be an aquired taste and too hot for many people.

What do you think? What would be fun to demo? What things do you struggle with when making (any) ethnic foods at home? I really encourage you to try cooking ethnic foods at home. It can be a learning process, but I know my family loves Sushi night (not so much but I do), Indian night, Chinese night, Thai night, Haitian night, and the list goes on.

Soap You’ll Want to Eat

I use home made soap that a friend of mine makes. She uses scents so good that smelling is often not enough. Why can’t I just take a little bite? Well, because it’s soap, silly. Her all natural glycerin-based soap comes in scents like Butter Rum, Coffee Mocha, Oatmeal and Honey, and my favorite Holiday Ribbon Candy. If you are looking for a unique, yet practical gift, these bars of soap are great. I was recently at the Sioux Falls Arts and Crafts Show this past weekend (oh my is that another article) and home made soap was selling for $6.00 a bar! Is that the going price? I guess I’m spoiled with only paying $3.50 for a bar that lasts FOREVER. I mean this soap lasts through my kids leaving it in the sink, lathering until the cows come home, and more. I promise you’ll love this stuff, and she ships too! Visit TidyTightwads.com to order HandMade Soap!

I don’t think she even has her fall line on there yet, so here it is from my email. Tell her ConfessionsMom sent you!

Ginger Orange

Pumpkin Spice

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey

Applejack Peel

Lemon Verbena

Warm Vanilla Sugar

Butter Rum

Coconut Lime Verbena

Cotton Blossom

Fresh Brewed Coffee

Fresh Zucchini Flower

Cinnamon Stick

Hot Apple Pie

Lemon Lime Basil

Lemongrass

Lemongrass Sage

Lilac

Lily of the Valley

Orange Mocha

Sandalwood

Tangerine

Up North

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