Graceland: Advice

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Advice

Hey my friends. I need advice on two items.

1) I'm wanting to get rid of chemicals at my house. Any suggestions on natural cleaning products. I'm thinking vinegar/water solution is the answer to a lot. I've read that it may not be good for tile/grout and granite. Suggestions? Also, any ideas for laundry and dish washing?

2) We are heading to Florida for a family vacation next month. We will be staying in Orlando. I know all of you are travel experts and can advise me wisely. Is two days enough for Disney? We are assuming it won't be too crowded mid-May. Has anyone toured Kennedy space center? I think there is a shuttle launch while we are there. Any good suggestion of a good spot to see it? Does anyone know about SCUBA diving in the area? I'm thinking we will have to drive down to West Palm Beach to find decent dive sites. What else is good to see/do? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

7 comments:

Debbie Alden said...: Hey Friend,

First off, not sure I sent proper Congrats! You sound very happy.

Second, Been to Disney World a few times and 3 days is what we did each time, one day for each park. Just depends on how much time you want at each location.

I will ask about the launch location, on one trip we were going to be there during a launch as well, but it was postponed.

Lastly, but most importantly, chemical free cleaning, While I have been in Australia I was introduced, and fallen in love, with a chemical free cleaning system ENJO (www.enjo.net). All you need is water and I've been VERY impressed with how clean my house is since switching to it, but more importantly, how easy it is to use. They also carry a line of laundry detergent/dish soap that is very eco friendly.

I have researched US distributors (it is a MLM company) and the closet to UT I have found is a lady in Washington State, Donna Baxter. I am currently contacting her for info as I return to UT in June for good.; April 2, 2009 at 2:01 PM
plainoldsarah said...: it seems i read a lot about borax in the "living green" books. but some of my friends recently went to a "party" (tupperware style) for some microfiber rag treated with silver. the silver is antibacterial and the microfiber cleans - water only sort of thing. wish i could remember the name of the company. i'll ask around. (ed's wife is the one who hosted the party.); April 2, 2009 at 2:27 PM
Afton said...: I can hook you up with some free cleaning products. I'm currently testing out some Nature's Source natural cleaners. They are made by the Dow company, but are biodegradable and even the containers are made from recycled materials. OK, not 100% recycled materials. They are all plant based cleaners, although they do contain synthetic fragrance, stabilizer and preservatives. There is window cleaner, bathroom cleaner, all purpose cleaner and toilet bowl cleaner. They have a nice light scent. I don't know how they compare to other plant based cleaners, but I've been very impressed with the job they do.

I also have samples and coupons for a dish soap that is biodegradable and has "no unnecessary chemicals."

e-mail me your address and I'll mail them to you.

As for Orlando...I've never been, but I know 3 days is just about right for Disneyland and Disneyworld is bigger, so...; April 2, 2009 at 6:44 PM
calittle14 said...: I often times use baking soda to clean. It works fairly well and is kid friendly :) Also, I saw in a magazine that you can make your own laundry detergent from Ivory soap, washing soda, and borax. The magazine said that the lady used vinegar in the wash instead of fabric softener. I don't know anything more about it. You can also Google up Seventh Generation products...they are a green company that might give you some products to use.; April 2, 2009 at 7:59 PM
kat said...: The 'Method' line seems to currently be the shizzle. For windows, Martha -yes, jailbird Martha; I'm currently tivo-ing her show - says 1 part white vinegar to 1 part water. I wonder what else that little mix would clean . . .; April 16, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Stacy Holmes said...: Hi- found you from Jill Beardens blog (sorry I was stalking)
just got back from our 3rd trip to Orlando
Our best trip (as far as crowds go) was Mid-May so good job on that one
You can do Animal Kingdom in one day- Magic Kingdom in one day
Epcot in half a day and Hollywood Studios in half a day- if you really push yourselves!We did the 5day hopper pass and that was great
We went to Kennedy- it is a good hour and a half drive from Orlando- on toll roads- but it is really interesting! It will be closed the day of a launch though. There is a town outside of Kennedy Space Center that you can see the launches-but it will be really crowded I hear..You could see the space shuttle rise above the trees from as far away as Gatorland I understand.(We went to Gatorland the day after the last shuttle launch and it was all anyone was talking about). Have a great trip
One tip- go to an Orlando Walmart- they have all the Disney logo stuff at Walmart prices- including Mickey ears, towels, t-shirts etc. It is even cheaper than the Disney outlet stores..there is a Walmart by the entrance to Universal Studios on Turkey Lake Drive- that was the closest we found if you have a gps you can find it easily from Disneyworld!
Thanks for hearing from a weirdo stranger!; April 22, 2009 at 10:15 PM
Betty Grace said...: Thanks Stacy (and others). that is great info!!; April 23, 2009 at 10:12 AM

My Movie Reviews

Quiet Earth. B-. Another SciFi recommended by Netflix, although this one was actually interesting and enjoyable. A guy wakes up and everyone is gone. Made in New Zealand, it claims to be one of the top ten movies in the US in the year it came out (sometime in the 1970s). After it was over, we agreed that it was good, but the ending was a little confusing, so we watched the ending again with the directors comments. Lame. Apparently the whole movie was supposed to have an anti-nuclear message and the director takes credit for his movie making New Zealand nuclear free. So.... pretend you don't know that and enjoy the movie.
Sunshine. C-. Netflix. That's it. We are not trusting Netflix's rating of sci-fi movies again. The sun is dying so a crew is going with a nuclear missle to "re-start" it. I kept hoping aliens would show up or at least something would happen to draw me in. A lot of things almost happened, but when they did, it did not make much sense.
Warm Bodies. B. Red Box. I was surprised by this movie. I'm a fan of a good zombie flick, but when I heard about the plot, it seemed a bit too much. It turned out to be very entertaining. I'd rate it pretty high on the must see zombie film list and very high on the cheesy teenage romance film list.
Wolverine. B. I'm a fan of the X-Men movies. I'm also a fan of Hugh Jackman. It was hard to go wrong going in with those two biases. The fighting sequences were too long, but that was expected. If you've like the X-Men movies, you should like this one too.
The East. B. I forget how much I love the indie flicks at the Broadway. This also had an environmentalist-based plot, but was written well and I liked how it ended. A women goes under cover in an environmental terrorist group. It goes with the obvious plot of her having sympathies for members of the group and trying to balance that with her personal beliefs. Worth seeing.
World War Z. B. I was in the middle of the book and didn't want to see the movie until I finish, but I couldn't help it and saw it opening weekend. Not a big deal as they are very different. This is a different kind of zombie movie. While most are horror flicks, this was more of a suspense movie. They cut out the gratutious gore associated with most zombie movies and gave it more of a plot. Fun for zombie fans and non-zombie fans.
Silent Running. D. Netflix. I have no idea why this is rated so well on Netflix. Sci-fi movie made in the sixties with blatant environmental message. Forests have died on the earth so they are growing them in a space station orbiting Saturn. Earth decides to abandon the project and for some reason that means they have to blow up the forests. One man understands the impact of losing all our forests so he kills everyone. My description made it seem way better than it is. At one point, he programs his robot helpers to play cards and you watch them play cards for about 10 minutes. Skip this one!

My Book Reviews

The Rent Collector. B. I loved this book while I was reading it. Then the author's comments on the back disappointed me. It was fiction! I was so inspired by the "true" story of this woman living at the dump in Cambodia and learning to read. The whole way through I thought it was true. I was mad when it wasn't. Although toward the end, it started getitng a little unbelievable. It was based on real people which bothers me wondering how much is true and how much is fiction. I still recommend the book, but know what you're getting into.
Divergent. B+. Fun, quick read. YA fiction. Your basic strong female in post-apocolypic world fighting to make change. Even though the story's been told over and over, this one was very engaging. I can't wait to read the next in the series!
World War Z. B+. For staters, this is very different from the movie. It's 10 years after we won the zombie war. The book is a series of interviews with survivors. I was hesitant about the way it was written and that I wouldn't stay involved without a central character. However, the book created a very real world. So much so that when I was getting off the freeway one morning and saw some homeless people waking up under a bridge, for just second, I thought they were zombies. I also wanted to bring it up in conversation. Like when someone was talking about North Korea, I wanted to say, "Did you hear how they handled the Zombie Apocalypse?' It was a fun book. I've never read a zombie book before and I may never again, but I'm glad I read this one. It also was welcome to read a book that isn't a strong female character overcoming incredible odds. I'm seriously weary of that plot line.
Waiting to be Heard. B+. I've followed the Amanda Knox case for several years. I thought, since I knew most details of the case, this might be boring. I was surprised at how engaging and well written it was. She is a quirky girl and, while the complete lack of physical evidence makes me sure she is innocent, I can see why people think she is hiding something. The book was haunting to think the someone who doesn't understand a culture coupled with a corrupt prosecutor could put an innocent person in jail for years.
Girl Gone. C-. Maybe it was called Gone Girl. I don't remember. Book club book. I've never gotten into mysteries. This one took a while to get into, then I couldn't put it down, then it ended and I wished I never picked it up. Ridiculous ending.
The Kitchen House. B-. I have no idea how to rate this book. It was slow to start. Once things started to happen (murder), I found myself sucked in and not wanting to put it down; however, once I did put it down, I didn't look forward to picking it up again. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's similar to a bunch of other books I've read. I'm just getting weary of the genre and need to mix it up a little. Overall, an interesting read. The story of a young white girl who is indentured when her family dies on the boat from Ireland to America. Her relationship with her new family (the slaves whom she is sent to live and work with) and how her life is different from them because of the color of her skin.
The Happiness Project. D. I'm reviewing the book, but I'm not going to finish it. I knew this wasn't my favorite genre, but it was the book club pick this month so I thought I'd give it a chance. I didn't see the point of reading someone's goals. I sometimes feel like these "self-help" books are an excuse for people to feel like they are doing something to be happier, when really they are an excuse to avoid working on yourself by living through someone else's experience. Instead of reading the book, how about spend that time working on your own "happiness project". As I read, I kept thinking it should have been a workbook for readers to complete their own project while reading hers. I'll be interested to hear how others in book club liked it.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Advice

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