Bakersfield. No a/c until 4:30. Day 4

Another beautiful hot day in Bakersfield. Day 4 wasn't much different. The weather was mid 90s but that didn't stop us from our usual activities.

We didn't get to go for a walk, but that's alright. We went out back and played baseball and soccer for a long time. Those kids still love to play outside- no matter how hot or cold it is outside! When the kids and I did come in, they did more arts and crafts. My four year old daughter absolutely loved making a construction paper fire truck for hubby's co-workers. She has apparently changed her career choice from model to fire man. All because she got to visit a fire truck. I wonder what will happen if I take her to a lawyer's office?

They've been doing an excellent job of keeping their room clean until naptime. This is when all the toys fly out of their toybox-mostly in my three year old son's room. Trains, cars, tracks, and blankets scattered all throughout his floor. I'm surprised half of them aren't broken by now.

They decided to play instead of taking a nap. Grrr! Mommy needed a nap too. The dark circles under their eyes became even darker after their dinnertime. Quite a few times I've been cheating on dinner and making anything from the freezer. So we had potstickers, mixed veggies, and hot dogs. The hot dogs were left over from my son's birthday party. Might as well get those gone. I hate hot dogs.

After dinner, the kids played outside some more, even though the air was on and running fantastically. The blasting air felt wonderful after warming up food on the searing stove. Too bad it didn't help the kids attitudes and the dark circles under their eyes. Luckily, the kids went to bed and sleep with no problem although they kept repeating they weren't tired. Yeah right.

I actually sat down to watch a movie. I usually have Netflix on my iPad in the background during the day, but I keep a movie on for noise. Occasionally I'll pay attention to it. There's not much I care to watch anymore via Netflix. But I wanted to watch Food Fight and Food, Inc. All I can say is wow.  Maybe now I'll be motivated to eat healthier like I've been wanting to.

I didn't complain about the weather. They didn't complain other than about nap time and not being tired. I guess the kids only worry about one thing: not going to sleep. What a life they live! No thinking required and another successful day.

Bakersfield. One Week. No A/C until 4:30.

Life at the Depot is H-O-T! No A/C Hot!

I'm always looking for new ways to cut our budget. I mean hubby works really hard for his money, so why shouldn't he be able to enjoy it too? Other than eating out. I'm currently finding ways to cut our food, gas, etc. budget. I asked hubby how else can we cut our expenses? I'm willing to do anything. Our highest bill after the mortgage and car payment is *dun* *dun* *dun* PGE. Not a big surprise. Alright. We've downsized. I don't vacuum everyday anymore. I only run full loads in the dishwasher and clothes washer. I refuse to hang clean clothes outside- especially with dust and dirt blowing 365 days a year. We'll figure out a way to get those lower, but for now, the a/c has been running non-stop since we got it fixed (and we never go lower than 78 degrees).

Even if it means turning off the a/c on 90+ degree days to save money, I'll try it. Yesterday was our first day. It turned out to be 97 degrees. That's actually not too terrible. The a/c would kick on at 6pm, mostly for the kids getting ready for bed.

How did our first day go? Well, unfortunately, we didn't go for a walk as a family. It was a bummer, but that's okay. The kids and I didn't go outside to get any yard work done like I wanted to, but that's okay. I'm not a huge fan of yard work, but it looks so much better when you do. Plus the yard waste bin was overfilled waiting to be emptied.

So instead of going outside to enjoy the fresh crisp morning air, the kids watched a movie. I'm not a big fan of watching tv all day, but I did promise them they could watch television if their room was clean. Surprisingly their rooms were clean! For once...



The kids never complained about being hot so I didn't either. They had 2 cups of watered down kool-aid while I had ice water and one sweet tea (after dinner). We weren't dehydrated or bored. So I'm really hoping we can cut down expenses aka PGE.Half a day with no a/c, good so far!

It wasn't until I started cooking dinner that it really got hot in the house. Our kitchen receives the western exposure of the sun so even if I don't cook, it's hot in my kitchen every afternoon, even when I don't cook. I was tempted to pull our standing fan in the kitchen, but decided I would just go outside where it was much cooler to start the grill. I still had to boil carrots and put the au gratin in the oven. Whew. I think au Gratin uses the most energy when cooking. We don't usually eat carbs and I can't get myself to just throw the food out of our pantry. We bought it, so we might as well use it.

Hubby came home around 4:45 and complained it was hot. It was hot outside and it was hotter inside. He couldn't stand it being so hot, so he left the searing kitchen to the not so cooler living room. The a/c turned on at 6pm (after dinner was done cooking). It was so nice to have that cool air! I didn't check the temperature at 6pm, but any temperature was cooler than the kitchen!

So day 1 (Monday) was a success! I decided that Day 2 we would cook outside to see if its more comfortable. Who doesn't love grilled food?

Sidenote:

Hubby's office is usually set at 70 degrees, so when he comes home he wants to be comfortable, not too hot nor cold. It really is hard to save money when you are on two different ends of the budget/expenses saving goals. He just cares that we get the bills paid and I am really trying to save money anyway I can. We'd have more disposable income if I worked, but I truly believed that family comes first no matter what. If I only had a job...