12:07 pm, Apr 29, 2009
When I moved into my tiny house a year ago, I wondered what to expect from my energy bills. I was coming from a much-coveted, all-bills-included rental, and it had been a while since I'd had Xcel sticker shock.
I was told $30-40 a month, which seemed reasonable and fit my budget.
But then the first bill came--and it was $75. It quickly rose to $90, then crept steadily into the three-digit range...
10:21 am, Apr 28, 2009
Just two weeks ago we planted the first seeds for the garden, and within a week they began to sprout. The next step is simple: As soon as they emerge from the dirt, prop open the plastic lid on the small greenhouse a bit.
All the seeds are supposed to sprout before being moved from their warm, dark home (they lived under the kitchen table by the heater) into the sunlight. Patrick and I gave up...
10:03 am, Apr 27, 2009
It was Saturday afternoon and my friend and I were holding a sangria and margarita, respectively. This is typically never a proper situation for either of us to be downtrodden, but a large cloud was sneezing onto the city while we were on one of our favorite patios. After all, Lola Saturdays are for sitting out on the gorgeous deck, drinking happy hour margaritas, and getting a nice sunburned...
11:07 am, Apr 24, 2009
When I delved into using baking soda for shampoo and vinegar for conditioner, a reader wrote in and asked if I had tried to make my own laundry detergent. I hadn't heard of it until I saw the Duggars do it a few weeks ago on 18 Kids and Counting.
I checked out recipes for both liquid and dry detergent. Each called for three major ingredients: bar soap, washing soda or OxiClean, and borax.
The...
10:59 am, Apr 23, 2009
Last summer, when gas was approximately $67 a gallon, I was close to listing my car on Craig's List and tooling around Denver on a skateboard, Back to the Future-style.
Before I did that, I took a look at my life and how far I was driving to various places. And there was one blatant offender, which, in terms of driving and membership fees, was totaling nearly $200 a month.
It was my gym.
I had...
10:34 am, Apr 22, 2009
I'm standing with Steve Antonio, the buyer and manager of the Winejester, and we're both scanning a wall full of wine.
"How many bottles do you keep here?" I ask, in awe.
"Around 54. And we've got some smoking stuff," he replies.
The Winejester, at 4340 Tennyson St., is a small wine shop housed in a bungalow. The wall in question is filled with $10-and-under bottles. This is the wall that...
10:04 am, Apr 21, 2009
I have finally grown to love running. I love it for the structure it lends to my days, and the simple accomplishment of running farther and faster than I did the week before. I like working toward goals, and my current goal is the Colfax Half Marathon on May 17.
On one of my recent longer runs, however, I started questioning the actual race itself. With money tight, what's so important about...
10:05 am, Apr 20, 2009
One of the first things that changed when I tightened my budget was the "going out" line item. My incessant $15 bar tabs were adding up to no good, so I went to my neighborhood liquor store to buy cheap six-packs to stock happy-hour afternoons at Aunt Jennie's Pub.
But my motivation can stumble. I work from home, and during the daytime hours, I try to transform my shoebox house into a...
11:32 am, Apr 17, 2009
Last spring I got to interview Denver's poet laureate, Chris Ransick. Having never met a poet laureate, I thought he would be a person who wore nice pants and sat in front of fireplaces.
But when he suggested we meet for Cajun food and the we each ordered lunch beers, I knew we were more alike than I'd thought. When he told me his passion for home brewing, I knew that journalists and poet...
11:22 am, Apr 16, 2009
Networking, for me, is a double-edged sword. I hate the small talk and self-promotion, the glint in our eyes as we scan someone to see if we can get something from them.
I hate the sudden competition as a fellow freelancer says, "Oh, I write about finding bargains around Denver, and I used to closely follow the microbrew industry. On the side I play classical music." You eye this person and look...
