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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF UTAH COUNTY

January 2016

STUDENTS TO HONOR DR. KING WITH HABITAT “DAY ON” PROJECT Students from Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University will be honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Utah County on the morning of Monday, January 18, 2016. The student volunteers will be spending their “day off” at the Orem ReStore from approximately 9:30am-noon. They will be helping the ReStore staff get the store clean and organized after a very busy Decem-ber.

HABITAT CELEBRATING NATIONAL RADON ACTION MONTH Habitat for Humanity of Utah County is working with Utah County Health Department and the Utah Depart-ment of Environmental Quality to bring public awareness about the potential health effects of radon and encourage community members to test their homes for the deadly gas during January's National Radon Action Month.

Habitat will be providing information about radon and offering radon test kits for $6.00 at its ReStores in Orem and Spanish Fork. Test kits are also available online at www.habitatuc.org/radon.htm.

Additionally, Habitat for Humanity of Utah County currently builds all of its new homes Radon Resistant, installs mitigation systems in all renovation homes, and is working with current Habitat homeowners to encourage them to test their homes.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Utah and the first leading cause for non-smokers. High levels of indoor radon have been found in many areas of Utah. Because radon is a colorless, odor-less gas that occurs naturally in soil and rocks through the breakdown of uranium, testing is the only way to know the radon level in a home. If test results are 4.0 Pico liters or above, the U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency recommends that the homeowners install a radon mitigation system. A list of certified miti-gators is available at the Utah County Health Department in Provo.

For further questions regarding radon, look online at www.habitatuc.org/radon.htm or contact Andrea Jen-sen at 801-851-7509 or at Andrea AndreaJ@utahcounty.gov. You can also visit the DEQ website, at www.radon.utah.gov.

HABITAT OFFICE TO BE CLOSED ON MONDAYS! The Habitat for Humanity of Utah County office in Orem will be closed now on Mondays as of January 4, 2016. The office will be open Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• Habitat for Humanity of Utah County is partnering with H&R Block this tax season! Get a referral code from Jimmie Smith at (801) 344-8527 or jimmiesmith@habitatuc.org and take it to the office when you have your tax return prepared. If you are a new H&R Block client, we will get a $20 contribution.

• Is your New Year’s resolution to get rid of clutter? Donate leftover or used building material, appliances, and furniture to one of the Utah County ReStores and receive a tax donation receipt! Your junk might be someone else’s treasure! Locations and hours at www.habitatuc.org/restore.htm.

• Start the New Year off right! Buy a new car and donate your old one to Habitat’s Cars for Homes pro-gram. Learn more at www.habitatuc.org/cars-for-homes.htm.

• Recycle all the aluminum cans from your New Year’s parties and help provide safe and affordable hous-ing for families in need in our community. Drop off locations at www.habitatuc.org/recycle.htm.

• Go grocery shopping and help provide safe and affordable housing for families in need in our community! Sign up for Smith’s Community Rewards Program at www.smithscommunityrewards.com, link your ac-count/card with Habitat for Humanity of Utah County (#48773) and then go shopping at your local Smith’s Grocery Store. Smith’s will then provide a financial contribution to the local Habitat affiliate.

• Check out Habitat’s FUNSAVER Site! Habitat for Humanity has partnered with VP Deals to get all the latest bargains on local products/venues. Check out this week’s FUNSAVER specials at www.habitatucdeals.info. A portion of your “fun” purchases will help Habitat further its housing mission in the community.

TOPPING OFF THE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! - Em-ployees from Client Tether endured the cold, windy weather to help the Habitat construction staff put the trusses up on at Habitat home being built with the Young family in Spanish Fork the week before Christ-mas.

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PHOTO GALLERY

CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS! - Habitat Board and staff members joined together on December 4th at Molly’s in Provo to celebrate the holiday season and another wonderful year! Those in attendance dined on a delicious beef brisket meal and enjoyed each other’s company. Santa Scotty also made an appearance!

GETTING AHEAD TO GRADUATE - Nine new graduates from the “Getting Ahead in a Just-Getting’-By World” pro-gram were honored at a graduation ceremony on December 2nd at the Habitat for Humanity of Utah County office in Orem. All the graduates were Habitat partner family members. The

Getting Ahead program is a step-by-step life planning and education program, sponsored by the local Habitat affiliate, which includes facili-tated education, group support, and hands on experiences.

TURNING JUNK INTO SOMETHING COOL! - Habitat’s own Jon Hanks recently created a cool light centerpiece for Corporate Alliance’s CARMA awards. The lamp was made en-tirely from ReStore dona-tions and was given away with a ReStore gift card at the annual event at Thanks-giving Point.

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CREW LEADERS AND SITE HOSTS NEEDED TO

HELP GUIDE CONSTRUCTION

Volunteers with construction experience or those wanting to improve their construction skills are being sought to participate in the affiliate's Crew Leader and Site Host Programs. Orientations are monthly. The next orientation will be on January 16th beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the Habitat office in Orem on. For information, contact LeAnn at the number or email below.

For more information, look online at www.habitatuc.org or contact LeAnn at (801) 368-2250 or leann@habitatuc.org. You can also sign up online at www.habitatuc.org/volunteer.htm.

VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT TO SERVE ON

COMMITTEES

Volunteers are needed to serve on all of Habitat’s local committees. Monthly or quarterly meetings, limited time commitment, no experience necessary, varying interests and skills needed. For more infor-mation, contact LeAnn Hillam at (801) 368-2250 or leann@habitatuc.org.

SUBCONTRACTORS FOR SANTA - Habitat partners every year with the Utah Val-ley Home Builders Associa-tion to complete a couple of Subcontractors for Santa projects. This year Habitat selected and completed two Provo projects for the Curtis and Gadd families.

Home Maintenance Classes

Check out Habitat & Community Action’s Free Home Maintenance Course. The next class will be Thursday, January 28, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. The topics are: Basic Electrical Repairs, Changing Furnace Filter, Gutter and Downspout Care. Classes begin at 6:30 p.m. and are held at the Habitat office at 340 South Orem Blvd., Orem.

At HOME DEPOT – Registration is necessary. Call store or register online. Look online for the January clinic schedules at www.homedepot.com.

At LOWE'S - you must sign up for How-To Clinics by calling 229-1485 or stopping by their store at 140 West Uni-versity Parkway in Orem. Look online for January clinic schedules at www.lowes.com.

HOUSEHOLD HINT (besthouseholdhintsandtips.com) Salt and lemon juice mixed together re-move mildew stains.

HOUSING FACT

Good housing attracts economic in-vestment and development.

Volunteer Opportunities

As the New Year be-As the New Year be-As the New Year be-As the New Year be-

gins, let us pray,gins, let us pray,gins, let us pray,gins, let us pray,

that it will be a year that it will be a year that it will be a year that it will be a year

with with with with

new peace,new peace,new peace,new peace,

new happiness, and new happiness, and new happiness, and new happiness, and

abundance of new abundance of new abundance of new abundance of new

friends,friends,friends,friends,

God bless you through-God bless you through-God bless you through-God bless you through-

out the New Year.out the New Year.out the New Year.out the New Year.

Happy New Year 2016! Happy New Year 2016! Happy New Year 2016! Happy New Year 2016!

4 Home Maintenance Tips

(www.thesimpledollar.com)

5. Wrap exposed water pipes with insulation.

Exposed hot water pipes lose heat as they move water from your heater to your faucet or shower. Wrapping them in pipe insulation, especially in cold basements or garages, can make a two- to four-degree difference in the temperature of the water, and also allows hot water to reach your faucet faster.

Check the pipes into and out of your hot water heater first, as the first three feet out of the heater (and the last few feet of inlet water) are key. Use good-quality pipe insulation for the job, which is actually quite simple — here’s a tutorial.

6. Install a programmable thermostat – and learn how to use it.

A programmable thermostat allows you to schedule automatic increases and decreases in your home’s tem-perature, saving money on cooling in the summer and heating in the winter.

They’re easy to install and easy to use, especially if you keep a fairly routine schedule. Just program the thermo-stat to drop a few degrees at night while you’re sleeping or off at work during the day, and set it to return to your preferred temperature just before you wake up or return home from work. You won’t notice the difference — until you see your lower utility bill.

7. Replace your air filters.

When you first move in, you almost always need to re-place the air handling filter or the filter on your furnace or AC unit. Don’t worry, it’s easy to do – it takes about 10 seconds.

Go down to your air handling unit, find where the filter is (it’s almost always a large rectangle), and mark down the measurements (printed around the edges). Then, go to the hardware store and pick up a few of them. Go home and replace the old one with a new filter, and save the rest so you always have a clean one ready to go. An outdated filter not only doesn’t filter air as well, it also has a negative impact on air flow, meaning your air handling system or HVAC unit has to work harder — and use more energy — to pump out lower quality air.

8. Make sure the vents in all rooms are clear of dust and obstructions.

None of the vents in your home should be covered or blocked by anything – doing that makes your heating and cooling work overtime. You should also peek into all of your vents and make sure they’re as dust-free as pos-sible, and brush them out if you see any dust bunnies. This improves air flow into the room, reducing the amount of blowing that needs to happen.

9. Mark any cracks in the basement with dated masking tape.

Many homes have a few small cracks in their basement walls from the settling of the foundation and the weight of the house. In a stable home, the small cracks aren’t

19 Things to Do Immediately to Reduce Your

Home Energy and Maintenance Costs

1. Check the insulation in your attic – and install more if needed.

If you have an unfinished attic, pop your head up there and take a look around. You should see insulation up there between the beams, and there should be at least six inches of it everywhere (more if you live in the northern part of the United States).

If there’s inadequate insulation up there – or the insu-lation you have appears to be damaged – install new insulation. Here’s a great guide from the Department of Energy on attic insulation, including specifics on how much you should have depending on where you live. Many states offer financial incentives, up to a 75% refund for instance, to encourage homeowners to better insulate their homes.

2. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Cel-sius).

This is the optimum temperature for your hot water heater. Most people don’t use water hotter than 120 degrees — indeed, water hotter than that can scald you or a child — and thus the energy needed to keep the water above 120 degrees isn’t used effectively. Lower the temperature, save money on your energy bill, and you’ll never skip a beat.

3. Toss a water heater blanket over that hot water heater as well.

While most modern hot water heaters are well-insulated, some are insulated better than others, and many older heaters aren’t insulated well at all. A small investment in a blanket will slowly and gradually save you money on your heating bill over time by keeping the heat in the water instead of letting it disperse slowly into your basement or utility closet.

The Department of Energy recommends being “careful not to cover the water heater’s top, bottom, thermo-stat, or burner compartment.” And of course, on-demand (or “tank less”) water heaters don’t require this treatment.

4. Install ceiling fans in most rooms.

Ceiling fans are a low-energy way to keep air moving in your home. Because of the air circulation effect, you can get away with keeping your thermostat a degree or two higher in summer and a degree or two lower in winter, netting a rather large savings.

A while back, I wrote a guide to maximizing ceiling fan use. The most important thing to know is that the air directly below the fan should be blowing down on you in the summer and should be pulled upwards away from you in the winter — you can use the reversal switch on your fan to switch between the modes at the start of each season.

5 14. Set up your home electronics with a Smart Strip or two.

Looking forward to getting your television, cable box, DVD player, sound system, and video game console set up? When you do it, set things up with proper surge pro-tection (to shield your equipment from electric surges). You might also want to consider aSmartStrip, which makes it easy to “unplug” devices that aren’t in use.

A Smart Strip allows the on-off status of one device — say, the television — to control whether or not there’s power flowing to other devices (say, the DVD player or the video game console). Having the power cut auto-matically from such auxiliary devices can save a lot of money over time, especially since many such devices eat quite a bit of power as they sit there in standby mode, constantly draining your money.

15. Plant shade trees near your house.

Mother Nature can help you save significantly on your summer cooling costs — and heating costs in winter, too.

Plant deciduous trees — the kind that lose their leaves in the fall — on the western and eastern sides of your house. The leafy shade trees will naturally cool your home during the hot summer months by reducing the amount of direct sunlight that hits your house.

In the winter, they’ll lose their leaves, allowing that same sunlight to stream through your windows and heat up the home a bit more. And if you plant evergreens on the north and northwest sides of your home, they won’t af-fect the sunlight, but will shield your home from cold win-ter winds.

As an added benefit, mature trees can increase your property value. Just make sure to plant them a safe dis-tance from power lines and your home itself (no one wants a downed limb poking through their roof). Plant them now, and they’ll grow and shade your house sooner.

16. Change the locks and make spare keys.

One of the first things many homeowners do is change the locks on their new home. You don’t need to be par-ticularly handy to install new door hardware, and a set of basic doorknobs and locks for your front and back door will only set you back $20-$80 or so. It may seem un-necessary, but there’s no way to know whether there are copies of your old key floating around, and who might have them if so. Investing a bit of money and time today can protect you from burglary down the road.

While you’re at it, get an extra copy of your key made and leave it with someone you trust, so you don’t have to shell out $100 to a locksmith when you inevitably lock yourself out.

17. Air-seal your home.

This isn’t such a problem in new homes, some of which are built tight as drums, but in older homes, it’s impor-tant to look for any places where air may be leaking di-rectly into or out of your home. Common trouble spots are around doorways, windows, and even electric

growing at all – they’re safe. If they’re growing, how-ever, you’ll save a ton of money by getting the prob-lem addressed now rather than later.

How do you tell if they’re growing? Take some masking tape and cover up the end of any cracks you notice inside or outside, and write today’s date on the tape. Then, in a few months, check the tape – if you see a crack growing out of the end of the tape, you might have a problem and should call a spe-cialist before the problem gets out of hand.

10. Hang a clothes rack in your laundry room (or bet-ter yet, an outdoor clothesline).

Even an efficient clothes dryer can really eat up your energy costs, but it’s convenient for many people. If you’re willing to battle that convenience, you can save money by hanging a clothes rack from the wall in the laundry room and using it for some items; t-shirts, un-derwear, towels, and pillow cases dry great on clothes racks. If you can hang up 20% of the clothes in a load on a rack, you can get away with running the dryer 20% less than before, saving you cash.

Even better: If you can, install a clothesline in your back yard and hang most of your clothes to dry out-side, where a good breeze can do the work of a dryer in no time — and at no cost.

11. Check all toilets and under-sink plumbing for leaks or constant running – and check faucets, too.

Do a survey of the plumbing in your home before you settle in. If you find a toilet is running constantly, it’s going to cost you money – here’s how to easily fix that constantly-running toilet.

You should also peek under the basin of all the sinks in your home, just to make sure there aren’t any leaks. Got a leaky faucet? You should repair or replace any of those, because the drip-drip-drip of water is also a drip-drip-drip of money; not to mention the terrible in-terplay between mold and home insurance.

12. Install LED or CFL light bulbs.

LED and CFL bulbs can save you a lot of money on energy use over the long haul, plus they have much longer lives than normal incandescent bulbs, making them well worth the upfront investment. Consider in-stalling some in various places — especially in areas where the lights may be in use for long periods, like the living room or kitchen, or left on accidentally, like a back hallway or basement. CFL bulbs tend to be cheaper, but LED bulbs are usually preferable in terms of performance, and have come down in cost quite a bit over the past few years.

13. Choose energy efficient appliances, even if you have to pay more up front.

Unless you were lucky enough to buy a fully-furnished home, you’ll likely have to do some appliance. Focus on reliability and energy efficiency above all, even if that seriously increases the cost you have to pay up front. A refrigerator that uses little energy and lasts 20 years is far, far cheaper over the long run than a fridge that runs for seven years and guzzles electricity.

6 when you invest money improving the efficiency of your home — you may save even more money than you ex-pected.

Many states and local utility companies also provide home energy audits for free or at a discount. Someone will thoroughly inspect your home to find where you’re wasting energy. They’ll look for air leaks and uninsulated pipes, test the efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment, and even replace any older incandescent light bulbs for free.

19. Develop a home maintenance checklist, and run through it for the first time.

One final tip: Create a home maintenance checklist. This list should include regular home maintenance tasks that you’d want to do on a monthly, quarterly, or annual ba-sis. Then, make it a habit to run through the items on this list every so often. Doing so will extend the life of almost everything in your home, saving you buckets of money over time.

SAVING TIP

These aren’t just air leaks – they’re money leaks. Thankfully, fixing small air leaks is pretty easy – here’s a great Department of Energy guide to caulking and weather-stripping, which will keep such air leaks from sucking the heat – and money – out of your home.

18. Take advantage of tax benefits and other incentives.

The energy tax credit, which was set to expire in 2014, was renewed at the last minute in December. That means homeowners who made energy-based im-provements to their homes last year were eligible to receive a tax credit for 10% of the cost, up to $500 lifetime. Whether this popular credit is renewed for another year, however, is anyone’s guess. A whop-ping 30% tax credit toward the cost of solar energy systems, residential wind turbines, and geothermal heat pumps is in effect through 2016.

Your state or city may offer even more benefits, from no-interest loans to rebates, so do some research

(www.americasaves.org)

Five Saving Strategies

1. Pay off High-Cost Debt

The best investment most borrowers can make is to pay off consumer debt with double-digit interest rates. For example, if you have a $3,000 credit card balance at 19.8%, and you pay the required minimum bal-ance of 2% of the balance or $15, whichever is greater, it will take 39 years to pay off the loan. With accu-mulating interest, you will pay more than $10,000 in interest charges.

2. Save for Emergencies

Having an emergency savings fund may be the most important difference between those who manage to stay afloat and those who are sinking financially. Without an emergency fund, you may find that need to turn to high-cost credit cards or payday loans to cover the amount you owe. Borrowing from these types of lenders could make it difficult for you to payback your debt and save successfully.

3. Save for Retirement

Saving now for retirement will ensure that you have enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle when you stop or reduce the amount of hours you work. You may be able to save for retirement through your work-place through a 401k plan or you can save on your own by putting money in an Individual Retirement Ac-count (IRA).

4. Save Automatically Through a Monthly Transfer from Checking to Savings

These savings will provide funds for emergencies, home purchase, school tuition, or even retirement. Al-most all banking institutions will, on request, automatically transfer funds monthly from your checking ac-count to a savings account, U.S. Savings Bond, or stock mutual fund. What you don't see, you will proba-bly not miss.

5. Buy a Home and Pay off the Mortgage before You Retire

The largest asset of most middle-income families is their home equity. Once these families have made their last mortgage payment, they have far lower housing expenses. They also have an asset that can be borrowed on in emergencies or converted into cash through sale of the home.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and conven-

ience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King Jr.

•

7 7 (www.nsc.org)

when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. The CDC offers these and other best-practice tips:

• Have your heating system, water heater and any other gas or coal-burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year

• Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters in-doors

• Never use a generator inside your home, basement or garage or less than 20 feet from any window, door or vent

• Have your chimney checked and cleaned every year

• Make sure your gas appliances are vented properly

Steps to Take When Carbon Monoxide Alarm Sounds The CPSC says never ignore a carbon monoxide alarm; it is warning you of a potentially deadly hazard. Do not try to find the source of the gas. Instead, follow these steps:

• Immediately move outside to fresh air

• Call emergency services, fire department or 911

• Do a head count to check that all persons are ac-counted for

• Do not reenter the premises until emergency re-sponders have given you permission to do so

What Are the Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?

The U.S. Fire Administration has put together materials on the dangers of carbon monoxide. Included is a list of carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms.

Low to moderate carbon monoxide poisoning is charac-terized by:

• Headache

• Fatigue

• Shortness of breath

• Nausea

• Dizziness

High level carbon monoxide poisoning results in:

• Mental confusion

• Vomiting

• Loss of muscular coordination

• Loss of consciousness

• Death

Symptom severity varies depending on the level of car-bon monoxide and duration of exposure. Mild symptoms sometimes are mistaken for flu.

Detection is the Best Way to Thwart Invisible Killer

More than 400 Americans die from unintentional car-bon monoxide poisoning every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 20,000 visit the emergency room, and more than 4,000 others are hospitalized.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that often goes undetected by humans, striking victims caught off guard or sound asleep. That's why it is re-ferred to as the "invisible" or "silent" killer.

Can it happen to you? Everyone is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning.

The CDC says infants, the elderly, and people with chronic heart disease, anemia or breathing problems are more prone to illness or death, but carbon monox-ide doesn't discriminate – especially if certain condi-tions are present.

In April 2013, the off-road motor sport of mud bogging was linked to carbon monoxide poisoning when Shain Gandee, the 21-year-old star of the MTV series "Buckwild," died from accidental exposure. The tail-pipe on his 1984 Ford Bronco became completely submerged in mud, and it is believed carbon monox-ide leaked into the vehicle's cabin.

Two other men also were found dead inside Gandee's Ford Bronco, including his uncle.

In July 2015, four young people and a dog were found dead of reported carbon monoxide poisoning inside a remote family cabin in Maine. Authorities believe they went to bed without shutting off a gas-powered gen-erator that had been running in the basement.

Exposure also can result in permanent neurological damage.

Where Does Carbon Monoxide Come From?

Carbon monoxide is produced by burning fuel in cars or trucks, houseboats, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges or furnaces. When the gas builds up in enclosed spaces, people or animals who breathe it can be poisoned. Ventilation does not guarantee safety.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says about 170 people in the United States die every year from carbon monoxide produced by non-automotive consumer products, such as room heaters and char-coal that is burned in homes. In 2005, the CPSC counted at least 94 generator-related carbon monox-ide poisoning deaths, 47 of which occurred during power outages due to severe weather.

How Can I Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in My Home?

The National Safety Council recommends you install a battery-operated or battery back-up carbon monoxide detector in your home. Check or replace the battery

SAFETY TIP

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(www.webmd.com) HEALTH TIPS

veggie the next time you shop.

New Year's Diet Resolution No 4: Tackle Mindless

Munching

You're chatting with friends around the dinner table or watching a DVD -- and you just keep nibbling. Try these tips to reign in the munchies:

• Pop a stick of gum or a sugar-free mint in your mouth.

• Brush or floss your teeth.

• Pay attention -- look at each piece of food you plan to eat.

• Busy your hands with a glass of water, a cup of tea, or cleaning off the table.

New Year's Diet Resolution No 5: Stack the Odds in

Your Favor

Don't forget to help yourself succeed, and to reach out for help when you need it.

• Buddy up with a friend or family member with diet and weight loss resolutions. Then share your ideas, plans, and successes regularly.

• Leave the temptations -- ice cream, chips, soda -- at the grocery store. Promise yourself you'll cater to cravings only outside the home, in one-serving por-tions.

• Socialize with non-food events. Get your friends to-gether in the park, for a hike, or at the movies.

Bonus New Year's Diet Resolution: Baby Your Body

Prevention: It's a lot less daunting than treating a chronic condition, so do the little things that keep your body thriving.

• Get moving 30 minutes a day most days. Go for a walk, give the car a good scrub, take a hike. What-ever gets the blood pumping qualifies!

• Get those tests you know you need. Cholesterol checks, prostate exams, pap smears -- stay ahead of the game by stay-ing healthy.

• Get all the snooze-time you need. Sleep helps body and soul recharge, stay healthy, and cope with stress.

Take enough steps and you'll reach any goal. Resolve to make a few small diet resolutions this year and then just watch how far you'll go!

5 Diet Resolutions for New Year

Why overhaul your diet in a day when you can take small steps over time - and still reach your diet goals!

Are you making bold resolutions on January 1 to "eat right" -- whatever that means? Stop trying to overhaul your entire diet in a day! Resolve to think small and you can reach any diet goal -- one focused step at a time. Why not start with these simple tips?

New Year's Diet Resolution No. 1: Go Slow

Resolving to get more fiber in your diet this year? Maybe more fish or fresh fruit? Any diet change is easier if you take slow, small steps. For example:

• Vow to add a piece of produce to your brown bag lunch daily.

• Designate a day as fish day.

• Package up a single serving of your favorite whole-grain cereal, then treat it as your midmorn-ing snack.

New Year's Diet Resolution No 2: Water, Water,

Everywhere

Water: It's cheap, fat-free, and gives your body a quenching boost. Find the idea of eight cups a day daunting? Think small:

• Drink one glass first thing in the morning, before you brush your teeth.

• Tempted by more soda? Another glass of wine? Drink a cup of water with a splash of your favorite beverage in it first.

• Resolve to drink one more cup of water today than you had yesterday.

New Year's Diet Resolution No. 3: Go for the Gold

... and Red ... and Purple

Colorful produce is packed with disease-fighting plant compounds, so when you shop, reach for a rainbow.

• Designate a color-a-day. Maybe Mondays are yellow, with grapefruit, golden apples, or corn starring in meals, while Tuesdays are purple with plum and eggplant.

• Get the kids involved and go for a theme: Build a green pizza with emerald bell peppers and arti-chokes, or a red produce-infused chili.

• Vary the rainbow -- pick up a new-to-you fruit or

“For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice.”

RESOURCES

Thank You Provo Towne Centre, Spanish Fork City

Temkin International

#GivingTuesday Donors

Ashley Burton

Brian Hayes

Brylie Houle

Client/Tether

Corporate Alliance

Crest Financial

Dale Wilkerson

Dave Harlow

Democratic Women of Utah County

Eric Wilson

Kenneth Masteller

Kenny Seng Construction

LDS Public Affairs

9

MaryKae Blair

Merilee Bishop

Molly’s

NetScout

Provo Fire Department

Provo Towne Centre

Sonya Hess

Spanish Fork City

Springville Walmart

Temkin International

The Walton Group

Utah Central Association of REALTORS

Utah Valley Home Builders Association

Workers Compensation Fund

Community Action Services offers Home Buyer Education Classes on a monthly basis. Classes in January will be held January 5th and 6th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or January 23rd from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. To register, please call (801) 691-5200 or go online to www.communityactionuc.org.

Habitat families who are struggling to put food on the table can contact Kena at the Habitat office. She can provide emergency food vouchers for families to receive short term food boxes from Community Action. Call her at (801) 344-8527 x 103 for further details.

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

3 4 5-Building 6-Family Selection—Volunteer Committee

7-Site Selec-tion

8 9

10 11 12-Development Services

13 14-Executive/Finance—Executive/Finance

15 16-Crew Leader and Site Host train-ing

17 18-Martin Luther King Day—“Day On” Service Day

19 20 21-Board Meeting

22 23

24 25 26 27 28-ReStore—Home Mainte-nance

29 30

31

Of Utah County

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Happy New Year The Habitat ReStores and Office will be closed January 1st through January 4th. We will reopen January 5th. Building January 5th 2:00 p.m. Central Bank Riverside Branch Family Selection January 6th 11:00 a.m. Community Action Volunteer Committee January 6th 5:00 p.m. Site Selection January 7th Noon Orem Habitat office Development Services January 12th Noon Orem Habitat office Executive/Finance January 14th 4:00 p.m. Orem Habitat office Crew Leader and Site January 16th 10:00 a.m. Orem Habitat office Host training Martin Luther King Day January 18th Office Closed “Day On” Service Day January 18th Board Meeting January 21st 8:00 a.m. Orem Habitat office ReStore January 28th 7:30 a.m. Orem Habitat office Home Maintenance January 28th 6:30 p.m. Orem Habitat office

The Habitat ReStores and Office will be closed January 1st through January 4th