Good morning! Well, my computer is holding at the moment, so I'm venturing a few replies while I can.... Borrowed from Wiki - I googled "sinister handed" and Google's first suggestion was Left-handedness - Wikipedia. ;) "There are many colloquial terms used to refer to a left-handed person, e.g. "southpaw" or "goofy". Some are just slang or jargon words, while other references may be offensive or demeaning, either in context or in origin (e.g. the British "cack-handed"). In more technical contexts, 'sinistral' may be used in place of 'left-handed' and 'sinistrality' in place of 'left-handedness'. Both of these technical terms derive from sinestra, a Latin word meaning 'left'.[6]" "Meanwhile, the English word sinister comes from the Latin word sinestra, which originally meant "left" but took on meanings of "evil" or "unlucky" by the Classical Latin era. Alternatively, sinister comes from the Latin word sinus meaning "pocket": a traditional Roman toga had only one pocket, located on the left side for the convenience of a right-handed wearer.[citation needed] The contemporary Italian word sinistra has both meanings of sinister and left (the masculine adjective for sinister being sinistro). The Spanish siniestra has both, too, although the 'left' meaning is less common and is usually expressed by izquierda,[11] a Basque word that made its way into Portuguese too. In Portuguese, the most common word for left-handed person, canhoto, was once used to identify the devil, and canhestro, a related word, means "clumsy" (sinistro means only "sinister"). Furthermore, in English, the expression "To have two left feet" refers to clumsiness in the domains of football or dancing." See ya'll elsewhere....! Josh

Do you know what you like? Have you found anything that has really grabbed you? If you're not sure what you want, I'd recommend looking through GW posts, magazines and the Internet (google or yahoo image searches) and find out what really appeals to you. Is there a color or wood you're drawn to? A countertop that you love? A picture of the perfect living room (with lots of windows, or Christmas tree, by the fireplace)? After a while, you'll notice a pattern. Certain colors or styles will keep ending up in your saved pictures. Maybe you love granite with lots of 'movement' or want something very simple and 'quiet' for a countertop. Do you love glass tile backsplashes, subway tile, beadboard, or something like stainless steel? There are so many choices, but usually, you can narrow it down, pretty quickly. Most people have their biggest challenge, if both parties don't like the same style, countertop, flooring, etc. As for order, there are all kinds of logical ways of doing it, but I always end up finding the fabric, tile, or maybe a countertop that you really love and build the room around it. Sarah Richardson's farmhouse episodes (on HGTV website) show how she picks fabrics first, uses neutral finishes and puts together some really beautiful rooms, IMHO :)

To qualify for the Federal Tax Credit of $300, the system must be 15 SEER minumum and 12.5 EER minumum. See link below. The XL14i and 15i would qualify if matched with the correct air handler. 37,800 btu-hour is slightly over 3 tons (36,000 btu-hour). The XL19i is a dual compressor system. The first compressor runs at 50% of rated system btus while the second compressor runs at 100% of rated system btus. These are supposed to be good for humidity removal. Most systems are single stage compressors. The 19i is top of the line with a price tag to match. What are your delivered electric rates ($ per kw-hour)? What are you doing for heat? Here is a link that might be useful: Federal Tax Credits

The primary thing to keep in mind is what works for one will not work for another so stay flexible. I really push people to read the Tightwad Gazette series. Get it at the library but I can justify buying it as a reference manual. No, don't buy it for an instruction book nor as a cookbook or as a manual of how to live your life. Use it as an inspiration to think differently. Instead of I need to go buy a new dresser, you'll think how can I repair, reuse, recycle or otherwise make use of this, sell, give away or whatever It's light reading. The recipes can give you an idea for things if you don't like it. There's a good simple sounding recipe for pizza crust in there too. I found it entertaining reading and occasionally pull it out and read it again. Here's a bread recipe I enjoy. It's a smaller loaf and something I can handle. Very tasty. One warning, it might give a strong beer smell as it's cooking so you might want to make it when you can open a window and vent a bit. I didn't notice it the first time or two I made it but did the last couple times. Might be it was holiday time and windows closed. BEER BATTER BREAD 3 cups flour 1-tablespoon baking powder 3 tablespoons sugar 1-teaspoon salt 1 (12 oz) beer @ room temp. 1/4 C melted unsalted butter, Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add the beer all at once, mixing as little as possible; the batter should be lumpy. Pour the batter into a 9"x5"x3" loaf pan and brush with the melted butter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Makes 1 loaf. I've tried to cut down on paper products but still use them for convenience. I can't find anything that compares to the price of the 1000 sheet rolls of bath tissue. When you compare the generics and everything nothing compares in price. For instance, I bought 1000 sheet rolls for 33¢ per roll. Do the math, that's 33¢ for the equivalent of a 5-6 roll package! I can even buy Scott on sale for 40¢-55¢ per roll, again far cheaper. Couple that with concentrating on how much I use and there can be a noticeable savings. Another thing I try to do is look at the per-use cost. Buying huge quantities of perishables that won't get used is not cost effective. Sometimes it's better to throw some away than to buy the small size though. Canned veggies are a perfect example. However there too you can freeze leftovers too. TV, phone and long distance are areas many people can economize substantially. Many people would be far better off dumping their contract cell phones. Often it's a good idea to have a cell but I use a prepaid cell. I use a phone card and bought a digital converter box so I have no cable or satellite and don't miss it in the least. I did splurge and get DSL so I use that a lot for entertainment. I can use it for business too but mostly it was a splurge. I watch programs and videos online. If you do a lot of bread baking that is one item that the warehouse store can save you some money. I understand they sell it for a couple dollars a pound or so rather than the little packets or a couple ounces for $5. Again, it depends on how much you use and if you share it with someone it's a better deal. Yeast will keep almost indefinitely in the freezer if kept dry. Sounds like you're definitely on the right track. Try to look for waste. Cut down on or use leftovers. Turn off appliances when not being used. Close off rooms that aren't being used to save a/c and heat. Use the shades to your advantage. Open shades on cold days, close them on hot days. Again what works for some doesn't work for others. Sometimes I find the "fooling yourself into saving" methods backfire. For instance some will dilute shampoo to fool themselves into using less. But it's easier to measure a small dot when it's thick than when it's runny so that can backfire. The saving change thing works for some but I prefer to save the bigger bills and avoid the trap of the more I spend the more I save. But it works for some so do what works for you. Definitely having a grocery list is helpful and I agree that you need to be flexible on specials. Don't be too strict on a budget either. You might find massive specials so you don't have to go to the store for months. Use a price book of some sort. I log the things I always get a certain stores. When I see something quite cheap, I add it to the list and then when I'm making a trip to the X store I can look at the list and see what I need from there that is usually cheaper. The usual combine trips is a big saver. If you don't go somewhere, you don't spend gas money and don't spend money in the stores and no problem with impulse purchases. If you're in a colder climate, turn down the thermostat 1°. You won't notice it. Then a few weeks later, turn down one more degree and so on. Keep a sweater, sweatshirt or an afghan or blanket handy to cuddle up with when you watch TV. Hang quilts over doorways to zone heat/cool areas. You'll spend less and be more comfortable. Why heat and air condition your closets and unused rooms? There's a lot of people out there that will criticize, harass and insult you. Thicken up your skin. When people criticize me I ask them what their utility bills are and we compare them. Then I laugh at them. Something will motivate you. Perhaps it's the satisfaction of lowering bills, seeing your savings grow, compliments from a SO or whatever, but learn to appreciate those pleasures. An out of town (also frugal) friend was in town the other day and we splurged. Went to a fast food joint and had stuff from the $1 menu, came home and sat outside watching the stars and airplanes. A runway was closed so traffic was directed over me and that's unusual so we watched planes and talked, then it got late and we watched the stars and a planet and the moon and caught up on our chat. Had a thoroughly great time. Be flexible. Maybe something won't work for you but maybe you can gleen something out of it. For instance perhaps you don't want to use 1000 sheet bath tissue but learn to use less at a time. That's progress in itself. Compare notes. Share ideas. Have fun with it, don't try to make yourself feel deprived.