Challenger: The Untold Story

After seeing our first shuttle launch, I have developed a deeper appreciation for the space program and what NASA is able to accomplish; yet, while I stand in wonder and awe of our atronauts and the shuttles they skyrocket in, I realize that not all missions end in glory.

Getting ready to view the launch caused me to reflect on the Challenger tragedy and relive the moments just before and after the shuttle exploded. In my fourth grade classroom we watched in utter silence as the launch took place and we watched in horror as the screen erupted in a puff of white smoke. Even at the tender age of nine, it was apparent to us that all of the astronauts had been killed.

Below is a quite lengthy documentary on the Challenger. You can watch it in segments and I think it tells the story quite well.

How To Save 30% On Gas

This week I tried something new and crazy in an attempt to save money and cut back on my cost of living. I drove slower. I drove slower and it paid off in a big way.

When I began this new experiment I really had no preconceived notions regarding how much money I could save simply by driving slower than usual; however, I believe it would be fair to say I knew I would save some money. I just wasn't prepared for how much I would save.

I drove from West Palm Beach to Florida City to Key Largo to Florida City to Coopertown to the Sawgrass Mall to West Palm Beach to Jupiter to North Palm Beach to Jupiter and back home on one tank of gas. This is something I have never done before in my car! The total mileage was approximately 365 and when I divided that by the 11 gallons my tank holds that meant I got 33 miles per gallon.

What I find most interesting is, after I figured out my gas mileage for this trip, I did some research on the year, make and model of my car and found I should be able to get 33 mpg highway, 26 mpg city and 28 mpg combined. That is exactly what I got when driving at or 5 mph below the speed limit. (Please keep to the right if you do this and allow other drivers to pass you safely.)

I also did some research on how the speed you drive affects your gas mileage and here is what I found. Most cars seem to plateau between 40 and 60 miles per hour, showing no significant gain in fuel cost. Making the jump to 60 miles per hour and up can cost 30% or more in gas. I know of NO OTHER FUEL SAVING TIP that comes anywhere close to saving 30% on gas. Drive slower if you want to see real savings at the pump.

The last interesting tidbit of information I picked up during my research was the national speed limit of 55 mph. In 1974 the country adopted a national speed limit of 55 mph in an effort to reduce consumption during the energy crisis. Those smart government officials knew that driving slower would pay off in a big way, so they made it mandatory. While it is very unlikely to see a national speed limit like that again, each driver can make a personal choice to drive slower and keep right.

Every Year We.....

Do you have a list of things you absolutely must do every year? Before I had Justice, I did not have a list like that; however, since he was born things have changed drastically.

It has come to my attention that, our must do list has grown to gargantuan proportions. As we continue to explore the state of Florida on a budget and a dream, we seem to unearth more and more amazing things to do each year.

Below is a list of things we must do and see each year. These are the things that have been so fun and so incredible, that we can't imagine not doing them again and again.

In Town/Day Trips

1. Artigras in Jupiter
2. Renfest in Ft. Lauderdale
3. Easter Egg hunt in Lake Park
4. State fair in Palm Beach County or St. Lucie county
5. Trip to Morikami Gardens when a festival is being held
6. McKee Botanical Gardens in Vero Beach
7. Boynton School House Museum
8. Drehyr Park Zoo
9. Science Museum in West Palm
10. 3-D Imax theater in Ft. Lauderdale
11. The Girls U-Pick Strawberry farm in Delray Beach
12. Monsters In The Marsh at Grassey Waters Preserve
13. Davie Pro Rodeo
14. Wanna Do City
15. Friday night Flicks in Delray Beach
16. The Christmas Boat Parade In West Palm Beach
17. The Sunrise Balloon Race

Out Of Town Trips In Florida

1. Epcot for the Candlelight Processional
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Magic Kingdom twice (1 hard ticket event, rotate each year)
4. MGM Osbourne Family Festival of Lights
5. Both Disney Water Parks
6. Disneyquest
7. Sea World (The Polar Experience is THE BEST Christmas theme park attraction in Orlando!)
8. Universal (both parks, not to miss Grinchmas and the Macy's Parade)
9. Bush Gardens Tampa
10. Weeki Wachee Mermaids
11. Tubing the Itcheetuknee
12. Camping and fossil hunting the Peace River
13. Solomon's Caste in Ona
14. Gaylord Palms Ice Display
15. Aquatica by Sea World
16. Orange picking and the Citrus Tower in Cleremont

* We would like to add the Keys, St. Augustine/Amelia Island, Discovery Cove and The Kennedy Space center to this list in the coming year.

Do you have any other must do's/must see's each year? I'd love to hear about them!

My Kitchen Experiment

I know gas prices have been soaring out of control for some time now; but, I have to admit it has only been recently that I have noticed a very deep impact on my finances, as a result of this crisis. While it seems the price of everything is going up right now to compensate for the rising fuel costs, two particular areas are really making me wince. Gas (go figure) and food.

As far as gas goes, I can do little things like check my tire pressure once a week, keep a clean air filter under the hood and ease of that gas pedal; but, the only real solution is to drive less. Yea right! There is only so much "less driving" I can do, especially as a single parent who must drive all over the county to pick my son up from whatever sitter I can muster up. The idea of sitting in the house all weekend and staring at the walls is not so great either, so I'm left with trying to group my errands together and stay closer to home to avoid wasting fuel.

As far as groceries go, I think I have a-lot more options. The big dilemma comes with eating healthy and eating cheap. After doing a bit of research on this topic I have come to one conclusion. It you want to eat healthy and cheap you have to sacrifice some time. It requires a bit of planning and cooking from scratch. Normally I look for any way I can find to make things go faster; but, I am in a position where I have to start to look at ways to reduce my cost of living.

So, here is my plan. Obviously I'm not going to make everything from scratch; but, I'm going to give it a good shot. Below is a list of ways I will reduce my overall grocery bill over the next month. At that time I will post again on this subject and let you know the results of my kitchen experiment.

1. I will be laying Coca-Cola and his dearly beloved friend Mountain Dew to rest. That's right, no more soda. Now this does not mean I am quiting soda, just quiting spending money on it.

2. I will bake my own bread. This is time consuming; but, it's soooo tasty and so much better for you, not to mention cheaper. I'm actually kind of excited about this.

3. I will use the whole bird. Chicken or turkey. For one month I will only buy whole birds and use them for lunch and dinner. I will have sandwiches without nitrates or fillers. I will have homemade soup. I will have lean protein for dinner and sometimes even some homemade gravy.

4. I will make every effort to buy what's on sale, especially for the foods I can't make like yogurt.

5. I will be green. I will stop throwing out my quart sized zip lock bags. I will take the time to wash them and let them air dry. They are expensive and it is downright irresponsible to throw them away after one use.

6. I will plan my meals. I will take a list with the ingredients needed to the grocery store and I will make every effort to plan my meals around what's on sale.

That's it! I know there are other ways to reduce my costs; but, I'm trying to start with something reasonable and work from there. If you have any other tips for saving money at the grocery store, please let me know! I'd love to hear what's worked for you.

A Paradox In Uganda Leads To Summer Reading In The U.S.

After reading an amazing and inspiring post from Paradox Uganda I became inspired to start a summer reading list for myself. The post describes the almost Utopian vacation of missionaries in an impoverished, diseased country. It is a vacation marked by lazy days on the beach, home cooked meals and endless amounts of time with family and books. It is a vacation without phones, televisions or tourist attractions. It is a vacation in which their little family read over 100 books in three weeks time. That is inspiring.

I may not be able to hide away in a secluded beach house for three weeks or read 100 books this summer; but, I am challenging myself to obtain a little piece of what they had. Before I had my son, I read with a voracious appetite. I consumed books as if they were the sustenance that fueled my body. If I started a particularly good book, it was not uncommon for me to stay up for 24 or 48 hours reading until I reached the end, only to pick up another book and start reading again. At times I would have 3 or 4 books going at once, unable to keep up with myself. I was an avid reader in every sense.

So, now I'm asking for your help. Do you have any favorite authors or books that I should add to my list? Have you read any "must reads" recently? Is there anything you have read fiction, non-fiction, biography or autobiography that you want to recommend? I want your suggestions.

One last note...follow the link above (1st paragraph) and read Paradox Uganda. Bookmark it. Return to it. That's my reading suggestion for you.

Ten Ways A Father Can Provide Stability For His Child

1. Smoke lots of pot and consume other random drugs in seedy dive bars after hours. (This is a must) All parents should use illegal and controlled substances. It also helps if you are a 5 time convicted felon and have failed at least one random drug test from the Department Of Children and Families.

2. Be sure to take your child to school late or better yet not at all. Do not set alarms and do not get to bed at a decent hour so that you will be able to get up in the morning. That's just bad parenting.

3. Pull no call, no shows for parent teacher meetings. This will really show your child's teacher how much you care. Trust me on this one. The message you send by not showing up will be loud and clear.

4. Only date married women. Then, move the married woman into your home for you child to become attached to. This always works out well.

5. Get the married woman pregnant. Under no circumstances are you to discuss the growing belly with your child. That would be irresponsible.

6. When the pregnant, married woman moves out of your house DO NOT discuss this with your child. It is much better for he/she to wonder why this person just disappeared and where their stuff went. This will make your child feel very safe and secure.

7. When your child's mother figures out what has happened, deny everything. Better yet, lie to her and tell her the married woman is out of the picture and the child is not yours. That way, the mother can go sit the child down and tell him/her that this has nothing to do with him, there is no baby, it's all a big misunderstanding.

8. When you see your child, tell him/her that there is a baby and it is yours. This will help to confuse your child and make him/her wonder what the truth actually is. All of the best parents in the world do this.

9. Now that your child is nice and confused and totally unstable, you should really shake things up by suddenly moving far away for a period of time. This can only help things. Under no circumstances should you have an exact return date in mind. It would not be good for your child to know when to expect you back. Nothing good ever comes from that.

10. Now pat yourself on the back. You are a great dad. You are a real role model for your child.

Five Hundred Twentyfive Six Hundred Minutes....

Out of all the songs in the musical Rent, there is one in particular that always gets me thinking- Seasons of Love. Below are the lyrics to the song, followed by a few musings from me.

Five hundrend twenty five thousand
six hundred minutes
Five hundrend twenty five thousand
moments so dear
Five hundrend twenty five thousand
six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year

In daylight, in sunsets, in midnights,
in cups of coffee, In inches, in miles
in laughter in strife,

In Five hundrend twenty five thousand
six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life

(chorus)
How about Love
how about love
how about love
measure in love
seasons of love
seasons of love

Five hundrend twenty five thousand
six hundred minutes
Five hundrend twenty five thousand
journeys to plan
Five hundrend twenty five thousand
six hundred minutes
how do you measure the life of a woman
or a man

In truth that she learned
or in times that he cried
In the bridges he burned
or the way that she died

Its time now to sing out
though the story never ends
lets celebrate remember a year
in the life of friends

(chorus)

How do YOU measure a year? Do you measure a year in daylights, sunsets and midnights as stated in the song, or do you have some other form of measurement. If I had to be honest, I'd say I probably measure a year in the things I did with Justice, from the big thrill moments in Orlando, to the slower moments picking green beans and studying flash cards with simple words.

When I look at how I would measure a year, I don't think it's necessarily bad; however, it may not be as noble as I would like. Perhaps I should measure a year by how often I followed God's laws or how many good deed's I've done. Perhaps if I measured my year that way, I may not be so happy with the results. Could those moments possibly stack up against the things we've done this year? I don't know, but it 's certainly something to think about.

Below is a video of Idol Gives Back- The 2008 Idols perform their rendition of Seasons Of Love.