Garden Changes & A Bit O' Preservation

The garden is in transition. We're still getting green beans and the tomatos came on full force. I picked our one red pepper this last week and we managed to get three small-medium pumpkins. I spent part of the weekend ripping out some of the stuff that has passed its prime and some that never really did what it was supposed to do. We did fairly well for our first trial run and we're discussing adding winter covers to one of the raised beds to try our hand at some basic fall/winter gardening. There definitely will be some changes to the lay-out of the raised beds next year, but altogether I am impressed by the variety of fruit and veggies that we planted, grew, and harvested. A few things to add for next year: other herbs (especially basil), potatoes, potentially corn, and hot peppers. A few garden pictures and one of preservation:

 The last artichoke blossom left to seed.

Two tiny cantalope that hopefully will still be good eating.

Some of the sweetest grapes we've ever eaten, coming over the fence from the neighbors.

 Harvest one of the tomatoes.

And I can take absolutely no credit for this, but my parents gave hub and I their old canner to use and hub made his first batch of salsa. He has a few other recipes in mind, but we'll see how timing goes with the craziness of the week ahead of us. His salsa is delicious and mild enough for me, although he wishes it was spicy enough for him. ;) Now that he's got the canning part down though, hopefully we can try our hand at more preservation next year.



Chick Update

At the one week marker of having the chicks in our home, we lost the smallish one. My aunt had come over to meet 'em and announced that Pip Squeak didn't look like she was doing too well and sure enough when I got up the next morning she was stiff. We'd tried to do some research and do what we could to help her, but she must have been too far gone by the time we noticed. Sad day for Pip Squeak, but luckily the other two seem to have really bonded and are thriving for now. The other plus side is that losing Pip Squeak got hub on board a bit more and he's been a fabulous help throughout the craziness of the last week. So here are the two survivors, pecking away at the area rug in the office:

 Hub built a perch and they've come to absolutely love it! They've also been upgraded to our mid-size dog kennel so they have even more room when they're "cooped up." :)

Major has stopped caring as much about the chicks. He still hangs out in "their" room most of the time but he's back to his regular lazy self.

It took Lady a week to even notice the chicks since she's in the house much less than any of the other animals and really only ventures into a few rooms in the house. She is the huntress and is fascinating by these chirping creatures that are behind bars. ;)

And ironically Anna continues to LOVE them. If they squawk and she's across the house, she comes running to investigate. If their cage is open she wants to be right there to keep watch and "help." First thing in the morning she runs to make sure they're still there and doing alright. We're continuing to build their relationship as we hope it will transfer outdoors--in case there start to be any critter issues, hopefully Anna will protect them.

We also are trying to make sure that we take them out of the dog kennel and give them time to run around free every day. Last week we alternating evenings running around in the office with sunny afternoons outside. Additionally, I introduced them to our raised beds a few days ago and they absolutely love them. They're fluffing their feathers and burrowing, plus are able to get some good grit from the dirt, etc. It's highly entertaining to watch and the dogs are constantly whining at the injustice of the chicks getting to be in the raised beds even though the dogs aren't allowed. ;)

To say the peepers are "cheep" entertainment is hardly even giving them full justice. ;)

It's All About Presentation

So if you know me really and truly, then you know that I've had a secret love affair for YEARS with the BBC and TLC versions of What Not to Wear (WNTW). Now while I will readily admit that I am definitely not Ms Fashionista (in fact there is much that is IN fashion that I think is ridiculous to spend money on) and while I also have issues with how fashion influences our throw-away-focused society, I have to say that I definitely think that how an individual dresses oneself can say a lot about him/her.

The interactions that I have with many individuals in my professional roles are sometimes influenced by whatever I am wearing. For example, when I am dressed in a professional manner (think pencil skirt and button-up shirt), I definitely receive more respect from fellow coworkers and from my students. In the past, I have noticed times when I have received better service while traveling and in other public situations based on what my appearance conveyed. I also can say from additional personal experience that what I wear on any given day generally is reflective of my mood and/or assists in changing that mood. For example, heels give me better posture, help make me feel more assertive, and thus convey more confidence.

The PNW (Pacific NorthWest) is known for its laid back attire, ie cargo khakis can be considered dressy here and fleece is in fashion no matter the season. We tend to think casual is a good thing and we don't hold it against people for showing off their awesome tattoos and piercings.  In the heart of my public health grad program and my focus on a life of simplicity, I wore less make-up and limited my wardrobe to what was always functional and what was needed. BUT the real South is a much different place in terms of a woman's presentation and frequently a woman is judged on her appearance. From my time in the South and in my adjustment to marriage, I definitely returned to putting more time in with my appearance, making sure to "put my face on" almost every.single.day, and taking care to select work appropriate attire which conveyed both professionalism and a feminine touch. Thus fashion in a sense has been its own transition for me after moving back from the South, and even though I'm back in our great PNW I'm not really noticing too much of a deviation from the professional dress standards that I adopted from the South (especially since they follow "the rules" of WNTW--double win!). As much as I really do hate to say it, one's appearance definitely sends a message to the individuals s/he interacts with and it does have the ability to impact the initial assumption that is created. In my professional role, I always want the initial perception to be a positive one, so to me putting in time to convey a message of professionalism is something that I feel to be important.

However, I definitely don't feel like a put-together-look has to be expensive. I will readily admit that my two go-to stores for YEARS (for work clothes especially) have been Target and JC Penney (and in rural Louisiana, they were my only real options anyway), although I'm a huge fan of finding JCrew style in their racks. ;) Moving back has had additional perks, as during the last few weeks, my mother has altered some of my clothes to better fit my body--LOVE THIS and I owe her immense gratitude.

Additionally, one thing clothing wise that I am absolutely loving about being back in the PNW is the fabulous availability of thrift and second-hand stores. Thrift stores in our rural location in the South never were that great and so it's been nice to be back in the land of reuse, where even "new" clothes can help save the pocket book and the environment. (And if I hit the downtown ones, I actually CAN find JCrew.....) Another thing I always love is when any of my friends of a similar size clean out closets....some of my most loved items have been acquired via someone else. ;) Thus I'm sure you can imagine how on cloud nine I was when two weeks ago I finally hit up the local Goodwill and picked up some immense steals:

Awesome (H&M) skirt for work: $4.99

PERFECTLY tailored work pants (Express) aka my butt has never looked so fabulous: $7.99

Black heeled patent shoes: $4.99 each

(Although I will totally admit that the pair on the left, while it was the EXACT shoe I've been searching for throughout the last 3 months, was at Goodwill for the simple reason that it rubs feet raw....so they've been relegated out of the closet....at least it's only $4.99 down and I still got two different wears out of them.....)

And this is also a pair of my most recent fab finds via my gal Heather who hosted a blog sale of her cast offs this summer and allowed me to scoop up this comfortable and amazing pair for a fraction of the price brand-new. (Plus the dogs LOVED smelling their old doggie friends via the package when it arrived!) I really love her idea of hosting a sale like this via the blog, if you want to see how she did it, you can find it here.

Since I'm such a fan of saving the greens (both the dollars and the Earth), anything I no longer wear I ALWAYS either pass on to someone else or donate to Goodwill, as long as it still has life left in it. It's incredibly rare that I throw clothes out and in the few moments that I do (aka ratty underwear or a totally stained tank), I still feel a sense of guilt.

Ironically this entire post originated in a mad closet organization session I launched on Labor Day, where hub had the immense joy (sarcasm) of watching me try on almost every.single.item in my closet and assist me in deciding if it looked good, bad, or tolerable. If I didn't love it or hadn't worn it, it either got put in the "mom-please-alter" pile or the donation pile (minus a few extreme winter items). The whole clean out process was good because I realized I have a lot more than I thought I did, I took stock of what I do have and developed some new combinations, and I made sure that whatever is in my closet is actually realistic for both my work and/or personal life. Now its all organized and it makes getting ready for work a more pleasant experience.

And since you've made it this far in the post, I'll let you in on a little fashion happiness secret:

one of Roxi's most-favorite-things-ever is "assisting" me with dressing for work in the morning. Every morning when I head into "my" room and open the closet to decide what to wear, Roxi comes scampering alongside with her tail a-waggin' and her big ol' smile. I know when she really approves of something when she flops down on her back and begs for a tummy scratch---that most definitely means the outfit is a keeper. ;) She (and a big cup of espresso) make getting dressed in the mornings a pretty entertaining experience! (And yes, if I could loan her out to put a smile on everyone's face, I most definitely would!)

(Two much older but similar posts I've written on clothes can be found here and here.)

So what about you---do you think fashion matters? Do you have a go-to outfit that you fall back on every time?

Hope you have been enjoying a great week and here's to a great weekend!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Image taken from the Fill in the Blank Friday post hosted by The Little Things We Do.

Sometimes I really enjoy jumping in with the blogging community and I recently found The Little Things We Do and enjoyed some of the fun things she sponsors/hosts on her blog. If you care to participate, vist and link up! ;)

1. You should always take time to floss. Dental hygiene impacts many other areas of your personal health! 


2. Coffee and dogs make(s) the world a happier place to be.

3. I can hardly wait for a) organization and balance to arrive with the new job and b) the happy dance I will do once my student loans are paid in full.

4. Any day off is my favorite day of the week.

5. Something totally dumb and ridiculous that I love is beating hub to the punch when collecting the mail (although other days I love letting him have the joy of it!).
6. If I could, I would a) erase all suffering in the world and b) travel the world on vacation.
7. I rather like sleeping in and staying up late.

Weekend plans:
--Upload and finish prepping for my fall courses
--RELAX
--Perhaps test drive cars
--Perhaps paint a room (or two) in the house
--Read

Letter to a Military Spouse

This has been going around Facebook and I decided to hunt it down online to see if I could find the author. I know this won't apply to everyone, but I've been feeling the need to pass it on to my military wife gals, especially those currently supporting a deployed spouse or looking toward a deployment in the coming year. I can't speak from experience as by the time I met hub he'd just returned from a 15 month deployment, and luckily he didn't have to deploy at his final duty station for the first two years of our marriage/relationship. But for all my military wife gals, here ya go:

"Letter to a Military Spouse

While I have never had the pleasure of meeting you and your husband, I felt the need to write you and express a very deep feeling that I have in my heart.

I as a person, am not brave. I do not tackle things head on, as I hate confrontation. I will travel 100 miles out of my way just to avoid a conflict. I am a American woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other that what I hear on the news. I never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they did not know, people that sometimes do not appreciate or understand what they are fighting for.

I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven’t heard from my husband. I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I loved so.

I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn’t coming home tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren’t yet old enough to understand. I have never had to hold my head up high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my loves one gets to come home.

I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with.

And I have never had to feel the panic, rising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the news that everyone is terrified of getting.

For the reasons listed above, I can not tell you that I understand how you feel. I can not tell you that you must be strong. I can not say that you shouldn’t be angry, because you " knew what you were getting into when you married a military man." I can not say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes.

What can I say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husbands willingness to stand up for those who see him as "just another soldier"—- I will never have to walk in your shoes.

I do understand that a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control , but I never understood how you could do it, until now. I have figured out that you are not like other woman. You are of a special breed. You have a strength within you, that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess. The faith you have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America.

You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American. I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment.

Until this moment I could never put into words exactly what America meant to me.

Until this moment, I had no real reason to… Until I heard of you.

Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us…. But you and those like you are the backbone of the American family. You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down. Military families make this nation what is today.

You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Because of you and your family…I am able to be me. I am able to have my family. I am able to walk free in this great land. Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that life is going to be okay. Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new day, everyday.

I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom.

I will never be able to repay this dept to you, as it is unmatchable. However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are… what you doing… what has happened today…or what will happen tomorrow…your husband will NEVER be "just another soldier" to me… And you, my dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten.

You are all in my prayers everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely.

Sincerely,
Melissa G. Bouldin-Reeves"

We've Got New Friends!

Three lil' chickies sitting in a box. The poor things had quite an eventful first few hours in my care as I bought them in Vancouver, WA when I was picking up my bridesmaid dress and meeting the bride-to-be for conversation/lunch. I couldn't exactly leave them in the hot car during lunch, so I attempted to sneak them into the bar/restaurant, although their peeping soon made them not-quite-so-hidden. Luckily the manager gave me the go-ahead to keep attempting to hide them, and then when there was about 10 minutes left of lunch and their chirps were getting louder, I took them outside to chill out in the shade until we were done. Thanks to the bride-to-be for being such a good sport for my chickies today! ;)

Major and Anna were quite intrigued by the chickies. In fact, Major didn't leave the cage for the first hour that they were here, hence why they are in a locked old puppy kennel....no critters can get in at them!

Anna and I laid in front watching them for quite a while. The lil' chicks are pure entertainment!

Of the three, we have one that is quite smaller than the other, one that is much more vocal than the rest and already had a blocked poop vent that I had to clear, and then another larger and more adventurous gal. Well at least we're hopeful they're all girls, really and truly.....AND that they make it to adulthood in my care. 

I've dove back into the chick-care book and already made some slight changes. The water dispenser is sitting on a plate to make it harder for them to contaminate their own water with their feces. I've instructed hub to help monitor the-poo-in-the-water situation so we decrease their chances of getting sick. I cleaned off the lil blocked vent chick so she hopefully won't croak this soon on us, and I'm monitoring where they are in the kennel in relationship to the heat lamp. 

We did spend about an hour with the three of them tucked up in my curled up shirt, snuggling on the couch and they actually were pretty content with that situation. Now they're passed out--hopefully for a while and hopefully content in their little abode! They're incredibly sweet and seem to like when I pet their lil heads. ;)

And in case you're a chicken lover, they are Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, which means they might look like these when they're older:

Pretty no?! Picture taken from FeatherSite.com. 

Now I've just got to get hub to build them a coop ;) 

Saturday Happy Items

So this post is about happy things cause right now I'm loving focusing on the happy, simple things in life....and honestly I need it in order to balance the craziness that the transition into the new job is making. ;) 

So props #1 to this weekend is that I finally figured out how to upload pictures from hub's Mac. Now there are three types of people in the world--those that like the new fangled tech stuff and are always on the cutting edge, those that accept the new things after they're proven effective, and those that transition because they absolutely have to. I fall somewhere in between the mid and last categories, hub lands in the first category. Hence after 2.5 years of marriage, I've finally figured out how to find pictures and upload them from his Mac into blogger. Woot woot for Saturday! ;)

So why do you probably ask is there a picture of green shorts in this post? Well blogger friends, if you're not an Army wife, then you must learn that this fabulous green invention is called Ranger panties. Yes you heard that right, the tough soldiers wear "panties." ;) Makes me chuckle every time! Anyway while hub's been gone part of this week I commandeered a pair to sleep in and let me tell you, they're amazing. Lightweight and silky so you almost don't notice that they are there. Definitely sticking with these bad boys even with hub on his way home.

Which brings me to happy Saturday item #3, Smelly aka hub and Alpha dog aka Anna are on their way home. They left early Tuesday morning and hiked a 50 mile loop around the 3 Sisters Mtns in Central Oregon. He called me last evening to let me know they were done and to chat about our week's experiences, and it felt so good to talk to him. In our case, we're definitely a couple that needs time to take our own separate trips and I think part of that is due to the fact that it helps us recognize how much we appreciate the other in our daily lives aka absence makes the heart grow stronger. This week I've definitely felt more stressed not able to talk to him about the annoyances of the day, etc. I'm not one to usually complain about missing hub when he's only gone a few days, but I'm pretty excited to have him come home today all the same.

Item #4 of happiness this Saturday is the regular stand-by: Coffee! And isn't it pretty in my new mug (and thanks to Hipstamatic?!)?

Item #5 is actually from last night:

Image from Bartendings Finest.com

Now this also has a bit of a guilty story attached to it. Last night on my way home from work I stopped at Whole Foods to see if they had Purple Haze again (its from the only Louisiana brewery Abita, and it's one of our favorites). Well the beer was in stock and so I picked up a six pack and a bag of veg tamales (YUM!). The cashier distracted me via conversation about my bringing my own tote bag (finally remembered!) and it wasn't until I walked out of the store that I realized that the beer had been mis-priced in the register and I had walked out saving 8 bucks on the six pack. Now the good Samaritan in me usually would have turned around and had them fix the issue, but the selfish part of me after the long week of work won out and I walked back to the car feeling that maybe, just maybe God brightened my day just a bit with cheap, albeit delicious beer...... and I will say that the beer and tamales hit the spot last night.

Additionally last night I made it through the first 200 pages out of 300 in Crossing the Heart of Africa. I WILL get the book done before book club on Thursday (especially since I'm hosting!). I won't give away my thoughts on the book just yet. I definitely am enjoying it, but I'm not entirely sure it was the best book club selection aka book for everyone's interest. ;)

Alright now I'm off to pick up my bridesmaid dress, potentially check out chickies (I know it's late in the season!! but I suddenly feel another strong desire to get them), and meet my gal N for catch-up conversation! Other items on the agenda this weekend, fix fall term syllabi for my four courses and get organized for both jobs, if possible! Oh and hang out with hub! :) And head to church tomorrow night.....

Hope you all are enjoying happy Saturday moments and a fulfilling weekend!

Cranberry & Water Are Better Than Drugs

Today I have been the ultimate NON-picture of health: I talked on my cell phone while driving, I didn't eat until 9pm at night cause I ran out of time, I cut short social situations, I parked as close as possible to buildings to save time and my heels.......(but on second thought I did get in a 3 mile run and 2 hours doing yard and house work....)

....however the other day I was pretty darn proud of my health treatment choice. Now this is probably TMI (Too Much Information), but I am incredibly prone to UTIs (urinary tract infections). Really UTIs have been pretty regular friends of mine throughout my entire life aka I'm oh so fortunate to have a visit from a UTI every year or so. Individuals that are predisposed to UTIs have to be even more careful about getting regular fluids to flush the system, not sitting in sweaty or wet clothes after working out/swimming, monitoring hygiene and potential negative exposures in the lower region, using caution and cleanliness about sex, etc. UTIs tend to be bacterial, which the good news for that means they can readily be treated with antibiotics.....however I swear to you that antibiotics are not necessary.....

Now a few interesting facts of note: 1) when I was a vegan I never had issues with UTIs at all 2) I'm so in tune to my fabulous friend that I can usually feel it coming on before it gets too incredibly painful and 3) even with my regular visitation, the last time I went to the doctor to be diagnosed/treated for a UTI was almost 15 years ago.

How do I get rid of it you might be wondering? Well its a combo of:

Image from here.

AND

Image from here.
And one more thing, but it's even more TMI and I'll explain in a bit.

Who needs antibiotics when all I have to do is drink a full bottle of pure cranberry juice and a TON of water? Works much faster in my case, as I'm almost always fully recovered within 8-12 hours. (The extra trick is to, uh, rinse the general "exit" area with water, so that you're flushing the system internally via increased fluid intake and also "flushing" away from the urethra. I know, you really wanted to know that, but I swear it helps and it makes you pee even more.) ;)

This all came up because I woke up on Tuesday having to urinate constantly and with general discomfort. Sometimes if it's just starting I can ward it off by seriously increasing my water intake, but 5 large glasses of water later I hadn't felt much improvement. Hub, always the trooper in these situations, headed to the store for some cranberry juice and some back up Gatorade (although it has lots of sugar in it, which you want to decrease sugar with infections). By 1pm the bottle of cranberry juice, 5 more glasses of water, and half a Gatorade had been consumed......and by 2pm I was back to regular. Over the last few days I've continued to monitor fluid intake to keep the system flushed out and have been more mindful of my preventative behaviors.

But I always prefer a situation where I can avoid the antibiotic, especially when an easier fix is so readily available. I can't guarantee it'd work for you, but if find yourself with a UTI coming on, it's at least worth a shot.....

Confessions

One of my Army spouse gals just wrote a post on Confessions and asked some of the rest of us to join in, so I thought I'd oblige her, even if it's just cause I miss her and even if many of my recent confessions might be more like environmental downfalls ;) Haha. The other fun part of this is that it reminded me of when hub and I were getting married...I sent him an email with a list of the things I was afraid of having someone else know about my daily habitats and living tendencies!

So without further ado, a list of my recent and maybe past confessions:

1) My green journey has taken a somewhat dive: I've turned on the AC at night, we forget to use our tote bags almost 90% of the time, we use paper towels, my tampons aren't organic and I failed at the Diva cup, the food garden feels like more of a hobby than a necessity, I scrubbed the shower with harsh chemicals two weeks ago, and (sigh) hub has sprayed chemicals on some of our weeds. I'm not entirely sure what's happening to us....I still love the planet, I still want to be sustainable, we still make strides more than many, but I think living in the South sort of disenfranchised my heart a bit to feel like it's going to make much difference. Although it's not that I don't care....because I most definitely do.

2) I have to take a daily shower, and usually it happens at night in order to save time in the mornings. Plus somehow I feel like it keeps my sheets cleaner for longer, since I go to bed clean then. ;) (Although side note: for the last few years I've become a night time sweat-er....so I'm not so sure how well this theory works anymore!)

3) When people ask for a word to describe oneself, I almost always choose eclectic or contradictory. I'm a small town girl with big city tendencies. I'm a hippy chick from a log town. I love all things international yet with nationalistic pride. I'm big on peace and anti-war, yet believe in the need for our military and its troops. And all this also transfers over to my professional life. People tell me that my resume is impressive and it is, but I also have had a lot of very different jobs already. My main professional experience could be said to fall into social services, teaching, and research...but in a whole host of areas. I tend to like to work in the fields that I am most passionate about---adoptions, teaching, health, social justice, independent living skills, career and educational advancement, Latinos, international relations, environmental exposures, literacy, and veterans. I honestly expect to see a continual evolution of my professional fields....but who knows maybe I'll actually find a niche.

4) When I'm stressed (or PMSing), I clean and organize my surroundings like a maniac. When my surroundings are ordered, it makes the rest of life feel manageable too. I also like it to be quiet rather than loud for the same reasons. However this all also means that I'm not always the most wonderful person to live with.....

5) As much as I'm big on saving the dollar signs, when hub and I go on vacation we absolutely love to eat out. I'm not sure if this is because we want to soak up as much of the local flavor as possible, if we're just super lazy, or if it's because as kids we rarely ate out on vacays with our families....but regardless if we're away-from-home we're almost always in a restaurant if we have the budget available. This was incredibly apparent when we were down in our hometown over the long weekend: dinner out two nights at hubs favorite restaurants in town, evening pre-football game pizza and a separate lunch out with hubs fam, breakfast at our favorite lil country diner, pie with one of my gals, and at least two trips out for coffee. Beyond the dollars....my waistline also shows the effects.....

6) Since getting married, I have this irrational fear of putting on weight. I'm not sure if it's because a) my body type within my fam is predisposed to obesity b) the fact that hub is an incredible hottie and I feel I have to try to keep up c) the fact that hub has gotten a lot thinner in the last year d) that I feel I need to represent "health" since that's what I teach e) that I find it uncomfortable to sit when I feel extra inches piling up on my waist or f) that I'm too cheap to want to buy a whole new wardrobe if I do go up a size. Regardless of the reasons, in the last 2-3 years I feel a lot of internal pressure to stay the size that I am. This size is healthy for my body size and bone structure, but ironically it's also much thinner than where I was for several years in my life.

7) This last month I feel like I'm 30ish...in a good way, although it also makes me wonder if I'm selling out. I ordered the Pottery Barn bed, I'm researching a trade-in for my vehicle and paying off hub's truck, I'm planning on buying a new/used wedding band, we're talking about where we could take a "real" vacation in the next three years. Without getting overconfident (cause we're never certain!!), finances feel like they're failing into place a bit more. Hub and I pretty much function independently financially, each covering separate things, but I've reached that spot where I could actually completely function comfortably and financially solo... and its sort of a nice spot to finally have arrived at. However I feel guilty because I'm noticing a tendency to fill my life with "things" (albeit increased quality) and I'm not sure that's the direction I want to be moving in. Yet, it also means that my giving is increasing and for the first time ever I'm signing up for regular monthly giving to my charities of choice. This is something I'm still thinking on....and in the meantime hub's snapped me out of my 30ish facade by bringing up the idea of having his friend move in to an extra room... ;)

8) Three things are always on my heart even if I don't always let them consistently into my mind: adoption, equitable distribution/social justice, sustaining God's creation. In the midst of getting caught up in society's expectation of the World, sometimes I forget about the expectation of the Word and of the items that have been placed on my heart.

9) Of the new vehicles I'm looking at getting, they're all SUVs/crossovers. Although I'm being incredibly mindful of gas mileage, I'd really like something that would allow for me to haul both dogs and non-furry passengers. We're in the research and information gathering stage still and will need to sell off my Honda. Multiple little stages still, but the vehicles currently in the running: Subuaru Forester or Outback, Toyota Rav4 (prob with 4wd), or the GMC Terrain/Chevy Equinox. Feedback is always greatly appreciated.

10) Today I attended a training/retreat for the new job and one of the sessions I attended was about the five love language types as I've always wondered what my types actually are. Big surprise my LEAST love language is gifts aka I'm not a fan of receiving THINGS. ;) And then it was an almost even 3-way tie for the top scores of service, quality time, and touch. Touch has been a big one, as my family has always been big on giving love via touch but hub hates touch, which was an incredibly hard adjustment for me to our marriage (and still is at times.) Ironically even after almost 6 months back in Oregon though, I still have to mentally give myself permission or think about hugging or touching other people aka family and close friends....

Okay and a couple quick links:
I LOVE Flower Patch Farm Girl. She speaks to my heart. She's walking toward a Christ centered life. She's an adoptive parent x3. She's now a foster parent. She's a farm girl. She loves JCrew. She's hilarious. And most of all she's real. And she just posted a link to a video that her husband and her are in for their church that I think is great message to all of us. (They're Cory & Shannan...listed bottom right.)

If you want to know what it can be like for an adoptive parent, truly, really....then this post is fabulous. Adoption isn't always pretty....just like being a parent isn't always pretty, but even through the hate, the confusion, the extreme disruptive behaviors that can occur at times, kids need someone who is steadfast, who is full of love unconditional, who can compromise, who can give....and it ain't easy.

Be good, be real, be true, be confessing ;) Enjoy!

What I Am Into This Summer 2011

I just found this neat idea via SortaCrunchy and thought I'd attempt to use it although somewhat in retrospect. ;)

Hub and I are at home on the coast for the long Labor Day weekend, soaking up the slowness of our coastal days and just in time when I needed a break from feeling that I'm being overtaken by work. We attended our high school civil war football game last night, have gorged oursevles on several of our individual favorite hometown restaurants, and took the dogs on a beautiful beach trip this noon. It's hard to believe how much Labor Day weekend marks the transition from summer to fall here in the Pacific Northwest, but it's nice to feel that we're getting a final break before the rest of the madness that autumn will bring with it.

What I Am Into This: Summer 2011

On My Nightstand: Finally finished the Help, LOVED Winter Garden, enjoyed Dog's Purpose and The Dirty Life, and am now reading Crossing the Heart of Africa. Still have yet to finish Louisiana Women.

Also on my nightstand but not touched yet are,

Want To Read:
The Story of Stuff, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, Deep Ecology, Where Men Win Glory, Mountain Beyond Mountains, and there are a few others

T.V. Show Worth Watching: Well last week we finally broke down and hub installed Direct TV with DVR, which means that NFL Sunday is about to take over the family room but that I also can watch fabulous episodes of my guilty What Not to Wear pleasure and fun things on HGTV. Other than that we're still wrapped into Netflix Instant episodes of Rescue Me aka male soap opera hour ;).......Oh but I did just find this interesting (albeit disturbing) show on OWN called Superskinny vs Supersize or something like that--might use it in class actually.

Movie I've Seen (in our out of the theater):

Honestly limited here as I've taken on my father's inability to sit through a whole movie..... This summer we saw Captain America in theatres---enjoyed it. And we just watched Ghost Town, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

In My Kitchen: We've had green beans and zukes coming out our ears, and the veggie bin in the fridge hasn't been empty all summer. I've given in and admitted to now loving salmon, so hub's salmon cakes are much relished when we're willing to fork over the cash to make them. Other favorites from the summer include the maple/coconut flake/cream cheese frosting carrot-cake hub made me for my bday and the pasta salad I made for lunch the last few weeks.

In My Ears: Newly in love with Citizen Cope and Florence & The Machine has been my summer love. Other than that I feel like we're mainly tuning into the country radio stations in the car or in the kitchen.

Newest Blog/Internet Reads:

The newest bloggers I've found are the ones mentioned in my previous post: SortaCrunchy and Keeper of the Home. Although most my internet reads these days have to do with VA news and related websites, or links from the organizations I "follow" via FB. The funniest blog post I saw this summer was definitely from The Bloggess....hub and I have seen numerous large metal chicken decor items and I swear I might just have to get one for our yard...And I've also recently loved this fabulous reminder from one of my favorite bloggers, Flowerpatch Farmgirl.

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

Hopefully organization of schedule and resources.

Hub starting school.

Employee benefits & extra paycheck.

Delivery of our new bed!

Feel free to join in!