Drought Dilemma

Lake E.V. Spence (One of Midland's water sources)

If you're a Texan, you are more than likely completely aware of the drought dilemma that we are faced with here in West Texas....0r maybe you're not. I really wasn't as aware, as one would have thought, of the seriousness about the drought until recently. With the seriousness of the drought, the CRMWD (Colorado River Municipal Water District) has limited water supply to it's customers. With the new limits, some cities have put in place some pretty radical drought contingency plans to discourage water waste and encourage conservation. The city of Midland is one of those cities that implemented, what I consider, a radical plan. Here's the basic breakdown of the plan:

-You may water your lawn 1 day a week (assigned by area) for 2 hours between the hours of 6pm and midnight.

-Any amount over 9,999 gallons used in one month will result in a price increase.

-10,000 to 25,000 will be increased from $3.91 per thousand to $19.55 per thousand gallons

-Usage over 25,000 gallons per month will be increased from $4.50 per thousand to $22.55

per thousand gallons used.

I initially thought that we were good-there was no way that we used over 10,000 gallons of water per month-then I looked at our usage history. Holy cow! We used 10,000 on a low month, but most months we went over. Nevermind the fact that our usage history indicates that our bills are about to skyrocket, but 10,000 gallons? Wow. That's all that I have to say about that. Who'd have thunk it? Let's just say that when I discovered this, suddenly important piece of knowledge (what a terrible citizen of this world I must be, that knowing our actual water usage just wasn't important to me.....shame, shame), the wheels started turning. How could I conserve water? How could I recycle or reuse water? I had heard some discussions on this matter in the past. Most of which, okay pretty much all of which, was in one ear and out the other.....until now! I remembered my days at Texas Women's University, when one of my professors brought up the topic of water conservation. He said some things criticizing how we people who live in a desert want lawns-lawns like New Englanders have (don't we all LOVE lush, green lawns flaunting amazing landscaping with calla lillies and hydrangeas?). Or that getting car washes was wasteful (he seriously NEVER washed his white, I mean brown, Taurus for like 12 years). And he mentioned something about "Gray water" (this idea actually piqued my interest). Then I remembered someone at a Chevron lunch and learn mentioning water kits (I'll admit, I'm pretty sure I threw my freebie in the garbage! Yikes! Now I need it!) and something about rain barrels. It's funny how I dismissed all of those wonderful metnionings back when times seemed good and I was under the illusion that we had plenty of water, but oh how they started flooding my mind when I realized the issue that all of these "tree huggers" were so passionate about was really real! So, with that said, here are the few new ideas that I have come up with to help me and my family conserve and recycle water (these are in addition to the practices that we already have in place like, never let the water run when brushing teeth, etc.):

1. SLASH shower time. Seriously. I thought it would be IMPOSSIBLE to shower in less than 15 minutes and typically used at least 20 minutes, but have managed to whittle it down to 7 or 8 minutes. That includes washing ALL 2000 body parts, shampooing twice (I'm slightly obsessive about my hair), and shaving all necessary areas. I've given my oldest daughter a 5 minute shower timer and she's allowed 10 minutes max.

2. Turn the water down a bit. If you have a shower like ours, with dual controls (one handle for hot and one for cold), turn them down a bit to decrease the amount of water that is coming out. I opt for this over changing out the shower head because I want to control it. I want the pressure if I want/need it, but will totally sacrifice when I need to too. This applies to your sinks as well.

3. Capture gray water. This is any water from your bath, sink, washing machine dishwasher, etc. Basically any water that is not contaminated and can be recycled for other uses. Since we don't have actual "gray water plumbing", I devised my own way to capture at least some of the water. I have placed a 5 gallon bucket (purchased at Lowe's) in the shower (don't do this if you're a klutz...hmmm....maybe I should NOT be doing this...haha). If for nothing else, this bucket can collect the water that we all waste when we're allowing the water to heat up (if you have recirculating hot water, this isn't an issue for you, but you're wasting gas or electricity). I also have chosen to not "enjoy" my shower by standing there doing nothing but let the water hit me while I think or wake up or whatever. I get in there and take care of business. If you're conditioning you're hair, fine, just make sure you're scrubbing your body and shaving while you're letting it set. The past two days I have captured a full 5 gallons during my shower time. So, if you're my neighbor or are just passing through my neighborhood and see me out watering from a 5 gallon bucket, it is RECYCLED WATER people! I'm not filling it up with my hose or in my kitchen sink so I can "cheat" and have a green lawn this summer. In fact, Joel says we're not even going to use the sprinkler system this summer-we'll hand water just to keep the trees and shrubs alive.

4. I'm totally monitoring my kids water usage. If they have the faucet turned on full blast to wash their hands or scrub out their dish, I'm on it! "TURN THAT WATER DOWN! WE HAVE TO SAVE THE WATER!" Also, I have to children who take baths. They get to use the same bath water and we certainly don't "fill up the tub". They did it in the olden days, we can do it now. Besides that, they're little people and don't know the difference. *smile* This water is scooped out to recycle.

5. Use less water for everything I do in the kitchen: mopping, cleaning counter tops (I use the Lysol concentrate, so I'm required to mix it with water), washing dishes. Make sure the dishwasher is full before running it. Put a bowl in the sink to collect the water that you use for washing your hands. Don't dump water that wasn't drank at dinner, go water your plants! Recycle any kitchen sink water that you can (dishwater).

6. Only wash clothes when you have a full load (even though I already have an HE washer with a load sensor).

7. RAIN? I have dreamed about having enough rain to justify a rain harvesting system. Here in Midland we have the opportunity to collect rain like 5 times a year. So, with that said, if we do invest in a rain harvesting system, it will be very simple and small and will basically just make me feel good about my new desire to be "green".

8. If it's yellow let it mellow? We should have NEVER watched "Meet the Fockers"! My husband is trying to convince me of this one....guess I could always recycle my shower water in the toilet.....

So far, that's all that I have come up with. I would LOVE to hear what you're doing to conserve or what ideas you have that you think might work.

I will admit, I'm kind of thankful for this water shortage because it has turned me on to being more thoughtful and eco-conscious and has spurred recycling in other areas as well. I want to reduce and recycle more, in addition to the reusing that I already do. Having a heightened awareness has fueled that fire in me to do a better job and I hope it has you too.

Upon leaving, remember this: as Christians we are called to be good stewards of all that God has provided. He not only created and provided this lovely earth that we call home, but he commanded us to rule over and care for it (Genesis 2:15), so let's take a step toward obedience and start being good stewards of the amazing resources that our Creator has provided for us and the generations to come.

Preslee is 11 Months Old

Preslee Jill is really on the MOVE now!

What a playful little thing!

Preslee turned 11 months old this week. I cannot believe she's growing so quickly! She not only turned 11 months this week, but she also started walking on her own. She is now "free". She can pretty much go wherever she wants, whenever she wants and she's loving it! I'm sad that it's already time to start planning her 1st birthday party, but it is! I'll post pictures from the party when it gets here!

The Big Change

I mentioned previously that I have a lot of catching up to do, so here we go. Last year was a fantastic year, a year with a lot of changes. Not only was Preslee born, Elli potty trained, and Kailee a new Jr. Higher (I'm pretty sure that's not even a real word....), but spiritual changes came as well. As I was gearing up to return back to work from my 3 month maternity leave (Chevron graciously granted me permission to take off for 3 months instead of the standard 6 weeks-THANK YOU!), I was in the Word having a quiet time with the Lord and he spoke several things to me that I wasn't expecting. He first told me that I had this issue with money-it was an idol or a God that I had put before Him, the One True God. BAM! That was a slap in the face. He showed me exactly how I had allowed it to become a God and that I was allowing it to consume all of my time. The short version is that I was doing a LOT of online and magazine browsing (not any real shopping) for home decor and furniture. All of that exposure was causing a discontent heart and a poor attitude. None of this was a REAL shock to me, but was disappointing that I had allowed it to get to this point. The next thing He told me was the scary part-scary because it required actual faith. He specifically told me that I was to quit my job and serve my family and give our finances over to Him-to truly let Him provide. To many this probably seems like no big deal or like a dream-not really for me. Though I had had the desire in my heart to be home with my babies, I was giving up a lot of control and freedom and financial security (we're the ones who provide that, right?? wrong!), which I wasn't sure I was truly willing to sacrifice. Needless to say, after several discussions and some pushback from Joel and some wavering on my side, we made the decision to be obedient (yes, being obedient to the Lord's instructions/promptings IS a choice....remember Jonah? I didn't really wanna see what would happen if we chose not to be obedient this time!). So, we chose obedience over comfort and it has been a great joy. I'm still trying to figure this whole stay-at-home mom thing out and have real struggles when people ask where I'm employed (I'm discovering that I have a little bit of a pride issue too-imagine that). I wouldn't ask to do anything else though and am so grateful for the opportunity to get to truly watch and know my kiddos as they grow up. I feel blessed to be able to do so. Did I mention that God is growing me in the area of patience and sacrifice? :)

Hello There

Well, I think I've established the fact that blogging is NOT my thing. It clearly ranks fairly low on my list of priorities. I just don't have the ability to quickly crank out a post that's meaningful or that flows quite the way I'd like it to. I'm simply not one who finds it easy to write for the reader and I have found that I don't have the time to dedicate to writing the way I'd like to. Maybe it would happen more often if it were not such a chore? Who knows. With that said, I'd like to give a brief update since I last blogged (September 18, 2010-I know, I know. Pathetic). So, since that last post we've had 2 Christmases, too many birthdays to count, various other holidays, one birth, and many life changes. I'll skip boring you with all of the updates and jump to the more recent, more important ones spread out in a couple of posts. In this post, I want to introduce you to Preslee Jill Holland. She's the newest Holland and is a doll. She's already 10 months old and I cannot figure out where those 10 months went. She's a ton of fun, but is definitely keeping me running! Preslee is a quick crawler, cruiser, and climber and I constantly have to watch her. She loves toilet paper and flushing the toilet. And she is always trying to figure out how to get just one leg over the side of the bathtub, because she knows that if she gets one over the rest is history and she can play! Needless to say, she keeps me on my toes daily. We are tremendously blessed to have this precious child in our lives. Preslee Jill, we love you. You are growing up too quickly though. Do you think you can drag this next year out a little bit longer?

A Bit of My Photography

Here's some of my photography work, as promised. If you've looked at my facebook pages then you've probably already seen some of these. I hope you enjoy!

April-August 2010

Well, it's been 4 months since my last blog entry, so I decided that I better get caught up. Our lives seem to be so incredibly busy, but I like it that way. During the past 4 months a LOT has happened, some of which you will see in photos below. I'll begin with birthdays: In June, Kailee turned 11, Elli turned 2 (I have NO clue where those pictures disappeared to), and I turned 30 (the absolute best birthday that I've ever had-I'm so blessed to have the friends and family that I have). And in August, Joel turned 33 and had a nice little surprise birthday dinner himself. This summer Kailee had the privilege of being a true traveler. She began her travels with summer church camp at Bonita Park, NM and traveled on to Honolulu, Hawaii, Oregon, Possum Kingdom, San Antonio, and to spend a week with Gigi. Yes, the girl was busy, but had the best summer that she'll probably ever have. Elli has grown a ton and is SO much fun. She talks 24/7 and is hilarious. She's very assertive, bossy, and loud-I wonder where she got that from? Hmmm.... She's in the process of potty training and is doing a great job....at school :) Joel is looking forward to hunting season and is getting all of his gear ready to go. I have continued pursuing photography and actually launched my business-brookeholland photography, which can be found at www.facebook.com/brookehollandphoto. I will post some of my summer shoots in another blog post. There's a lot of pictures here, but please take a few minutes to peruse them.....even though they're out of order (I always forget to begin with the end and finish with the start.)

SAN ANTONIO TRIP 2010

Kailee riding Rosie the horse. The highlight of her San Antonio vacation.

Elli's absolute most favorite animal at the zoo! I wish I had video of her checking this guy out-it was priceless!

Every good children's vacation includes a trip to McDonald's.

Pit stop at the San Saba River on our way to San Antonio.

Somebody's excited to be on vacation!

OREGON GIRL'S TRIP 2010

Part of Multnomah Falls

Bridge at Multnomah Falls

Kailee and I are hiking up to the top of that rock....from this angle it looks much simpler than it actually was.

Columbia River Gorge

Beach fire with friends Marcie and Keith@ Neskowin

Beautiful sunset @ Neskowin

Canon Beach Sunset

Canon Beach

Indian Beach

Our first stop: Chapman Point at Ecola State Park.

BIRTHDAY TIME

Kailee and her girls celebrating her 11th birthday.

EASTER SHOOT 2010

Kailee in her pretty Easter dress. She's such a great model, even when she doesn't want to cooperate :)