(42)

Last week on the Home Improvement Show Pat, Sandie, and I did a segment on 10 Common Plumbing Tips and we rated them based on how practical, beneficial, and probable people are to actually benefit from these tips. Here is my list of the 5 essential tips, nothing more:

If you'd like to know more about new lead abatement requirements start at the source.

In the 90s there was about an 18 month period whenI kept a long hair style. I started off going for a Patrick Swayze look and just kept going. This hairstyle needed a $32 haircut to support it...plus tip.

You've heard me say it before but here are 5 steps that will take you 5 minutes to complete. Give yourself increased A/C efficiency:

4 out of 5 mornings I trip over a chair while dressing. It's a lovely chair, we bought it at IKEA a few years ago, and it's lived in our bedroom for a year or so now. After reading this post: http://zenhabits.net/2007/08/a-guide-to-creating-a-minimalist-home/ something clicked for me. I knew I had to get that wonderful chair out of my bedroom. I also got rid of the air filter we never use, an iron wishbone (it's PotteryBarn don't you know), and a huge glass vase with stones in it. This act of simplification felt so good. Not as good as Kristin stealing me away from the office today at 5:05pm or watching my daughter play this evening, but still, it was in the top 5 moments of my day. I wouldn't even consider "my style" to be minimalist, but the principle of simplification breathed new life into me this evening. Here's to Chair-free living.

I was out with some of West Michigan's rising leaders tonight and I made what I now consider a silly comment. I was referring to the home we live in and said, "To Kristin and I, 'It's just a house...'" As I sit here and reflect on my comment there are so many reasons why my own words bug me so much.

The 6th annual Local First Street Party sponsored by Founder's Brewing will be here before we know it! Join us downtown in front of Bistro Bella Vita (33 Grandville SW) on Saturday, June 13 to celebrate local beer, local food, and local music.

Ben & Kristin spoke on a panel at Baker College, Muskegon, MI on 6/3/09 to a class titled: Sales for Designers MK201. If you'd like Ben to speak to your group please call the office, 616-942-1866 or email: ben@thompsonremodeling.com.

Here are my notes from this morning's interview on Newsradio WOOD 1300's 'West Michigan Morning News."

We three Thompsons think about how to make living in your home easier all the time. We just can't turn it off...

My daughter is 18 months old. One thing this means is that making breakfast for her must be a tightly choreographed and entertaining experience for my high chair bound fan. She woke up early this morning so I went upstairs to her room, collected her from her crib, and the poor little muffin was pretty sleepy as we walked to the kitchen. Mind you, I had already been working to satisfy my need for caffeine so I dropped her into her high chair and reached for the pendant light control next to the coffee grinder. I slowly brought the dimmer to a comfortable wake up level for her sleepy eyes. Then I rolled her with me over to the stove and started cracking eggs for our breakfast. She got cranky so I quick shifted gears to cutting up grapes for miss booger-butt. I started cutting the grapes and decided it was way too dark & early to try to blindly cut grapes against my thumb so I just reached up and turned on the light on the hood vent. And then my epiphany happened...the reason for this blog entry.

I always feel so stupid standing there next to the shower in the morning waiting for the water to heat up before I get in and take my shower. Usually what ends up happening is that I turn on the water and go pour a cup of coffee and undoubtedly waste water trying to guess when the water will be hot. No more my friends...your shower just got a little smarter. Check out Evolve Showerheads. Visit: This is a cool green gadget.