SuzieQ Where are You?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Friday, September 09, 2011

Well, we have not quite had a whole month on solar yet, but it is working and our monthly cost right here in the middle of one of the hotest months will be at least 1/2 of what it was last year. I really wish we could have had them turned on for all of August, but even with less than one week covered in August, we saved over $50.

There are many benefits of solar - so we knew about and some we did not even know when we decided to do it.

The panels themselves, shade the roof and keep the house cooler.

The panels are more efficient in the cooler months.

We have basically paid for 6 years of power up front and then after the 6th year, we are going to pay on average, $350 per YEAR for power.

They pay us for power we produce but don't use.

We are guarenteed to get 85% of our power supplied by solar or they pay us the difference.

The costs of solar are greatly over estimated in the tools and information on the internet.

The rebates are well worth it...get them from federal, state and local energy companies (SRP, APS)...but timing can be critical..."season" starts in May for available funds.

Unless you invest in battery storage, you still need to "get" power from your local company at night and on cloudy days, etc. But, this can be offset by what you are able to sell to them...(net-metering).

We no longer have to worry about increasing costs of energy.

We had to remove some trees that would shade parts of the panels.

We are doing something great for the environment...offsetting the use of fossil fuel, and not producing polution.

We don't have to maintain the panels other than keeping them cleaned off...required yearly, but we just do it after a dust storm.

The panels just increased the value of our house, double what we paid for them.

For the first time ever, as an AZ Native, I find myself bumming when it is a cloudy/rainy day :).

Monday, June 27, 2011

Randy Not Posting - So I Will - Go Wolves

So Randy said he is out of CoV and won't post - something about Visio...anyway, I thought I would post. These are some of the last photos of the 2010-2011 Thurston-Wolves. These are courtesy of A.J. from the Flagstaff tournament. We are not sure what will happen come August, but we know KRS still wants to play.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

WW Diary

Okay, so I joined WW...and lost over 5 pounds in less than a week...The new WW program is a lot of fun since I found a super fun Android App for my Driod...I can easily track what I eat...I can search 2000 foods in the local DB or search online for over 20,000...including brand names. I can also scan in a barcode and many times it knows just what I am eating. I can just enter the food data if I have it and it calculates the points for me...It has a favorites listing I can add anything to, and I seem to use that the most...since I eat the same thing for breakfast...eat the same fruits...Plus I can track my activity points and it keeps track of the bonus points too...I can enter my weight and it tracks and graphs it. It has a widget for my home screen that displays my allotment, remaining points and weight lost...I click on it to open the app and make entries...Oh...and it will also calculate the number of points you are alloted daily....It makes tracking a game....

I recommend anyone trying to do this program and has a smart phone, try this....They will try to sell you a calculator or have you sign up for their online program...oh and the iPhone sanctioned WW application requires you have an online membership to communicate...WW Diary does not require any cost!!

Thursday, January 06, 2011

WW Today - I Guess I Will Join

Here is the offer...a little tough to turn down...since the $144 is reimbursed:

Our Q1'11 Weight Watchers series starts next week, with free informational meetings and a complementary weigh-in this week. If you plan to re-join or continue your membership, payment is due this week or next week. We have a generous offer from [the company] to reimburse your fee, provided that you attend at least 10 of the 12 meetings (50% of your fee reimbursed) and meet with the Fitness trainer and work out at least 12 times during Q1 (the other 50% of your fee reimbursed).

The new program is called PointsPlus with several changes (all fruits are now zero points!)...

I am trying to drag a co-worker along too...that increase accountability too!!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Weight Ticker

Okay, so Randy was all over me about losing this weight at lunch today...I know it is cliche to start in the new year, but I guess I have no choice because it is here and I need to start...so I put up the ticker on my blog...I will track it on Monday's....let's see if that keeps me from blogging all year. I would post before and after pictures, but you might ruin your keyboard...