EARTH DAY

I didn't get around to writing a post about earth day, but here are two links that express my feelings well. I found them both good reads.

Crunchy Chicken on jumping on the bandwagon

My Messy, Thrilling Life on Christians and the environment


*Image from woodleywonderworks on flickr.com

BIRTHDAY MUSINGS Yesterday was my 27th birthday. Usually, I don't make a big deal out of my birthday. I don't expect a lot of fanfare, and the last few years, have even fought off negative feelings about getting older. Before any of you who are older than me roll your eyes, I would like to acknowledge that I don't think 27 is old. The negativity has been more about the fact that my life is FLYING by and I just can't believe how quickly it is going.

It seems to be a common thing, that the older we get, the more we dread another birthday. We have "over the hill" parties, when someone turns 40. We moan the fact that we are getting older...women especially, seem to have a hard time with this. It is OK to throw a man an "over the hill" party, but you had better be veeerrry careful throwing a woman one, and make sure she has a good sense of humor!

Anyway, I was thinking about all this in the days leading up to my birthday. In my head, I thought "27!!! That is only 3 years from 30!!!! Argh!!" But I began to examine my thoughts more closely. I was angsting about turning a year older. But what is the alternative? Um, being DEAD! When I celebrate a birthday, I am celebrating that I was given another year to LIVE!!! Would I rather NOT have another birthday, NOT turn a year older? Um, NO.
So, this year, I decided to change my attitude. From here on out, whether I have the privilege of celebrating one more birthday, or seventy, I am going to be THANKFUL, and GRATEFUL, and EXCITED. Another year older means I am wiser, have more memories and experiences, more time with my family, and I am ALIVE.

And on that note, my 27th birthday was great. Really great. In a simple, unfussy, glad-to-be-here great. I felt so loved and it was so encouraging to me. From numerous phone calls, emails, facebook messages, I was reminded how fortunate I am to have so many kind people in my life. My dear friend, Charlotte, rallied seven of my nearest and dearest to buy me these. I was thrilled! Not only by the shoes themselves (and the fun I will have tromping around in the yard in them) but by their generosity and friendship.
On Saturday night, Mom made my special birthday dinner, with all my favorite foods. Shrimp and Grits with sausage, sauteed mushrooms, white wine, and peach cheesecake. OH.MY.GOODNESS. It was wonderful.
Sunday morning, my two youngest woke up with fevers, so I stayed home from church with them. For a moment, I was tempted to throw myself a pity party "I have to stay home with sick kids on my BIRTHDAY". But, I snapped out of it, and had a wonderful, semi-relaxing morning with my boys. It was a gorgeous day, with sick little boys who wanted to be snuggled (who are usually MUCH too busy to take time for that!). My hubby came home from church with an adorable mini-cake, that my friend Amanda had baked for me. Green piped icing with "happy birthday Laurel" on top. It was delicious, and such a thoughtful gesture. In the evening, Matt stayed home from church to help me with the boys, and we took a walk together through the neighborhood. The boys stopped to pick me flowers and taste honeysuckle.

I am very bad about marking events and giving gifts. It is definitely not one of my strengths. But this birthday has really showed me how meaningful it can be to a person. My "love language" is not giving or receiving gifts...I enjoy them, but don't live for them. But, I can't tell you how much the wellies and the cake, and Mom taking the time to make a special dinner, and all the other things people did, meant to me. It was so, so encouraging. And it makes me want to be more mindful to do things, big or small, for my friends. I want them to feel really appreciated and loved. Like I did, on my birthday. I am going to be giving this more thought over the next few days. I love this idea. I find simpler gifts more meaningful. A gift that really shows that you pay attention to what the gift giver would like. I mentioned months ago to Charlotte that I would love to have those green Wellies. I was as touched by the fact that she remembered me saying that, as I was by the gift itself.
Do you have a specific gift or act of kindness that sticks out in your mind? What made it special?


*image from chicagohoneycoop on flickr.com

WANNA SHARE?
UPDATE: Thank you everyone, so so much, for your generosity! Friends near and far have loaned me, and some have even given me, books on my wishlist. I am now able to read at least half of the books on my list without having to buy them. What a blessing! Thank you so much! And please, let me return the favor! If I have something you would like to borrow, just let me know!
In the spirit of frugality, generosity, and no-shopping April, I thought I would ask a little favor of those in close proximity to me. This is my amazon wishlist. This is a list of some books that I would like to own, but many that I would just like to read. If you own any of these books, would you mind letting me borrow your copy(ies)? I will return it/them in the same condition in which I borrowed them, and would be oh, so grateful!

Just this week, two of the books on my wish list were loaned to me. My mother loaned me What is a Family by Edith Schaeffer, which I have wanted to read for quite a while, and my friend Teresa (and former owner of my little cottage in the woods) very kindly loaned me two of the books from the Not So Big House series, which I have enjoyed SOOO much!! Thank you both for your generosity!

Also, if you have a wish list, please send it to me, and if I have any of the books on it, I will be happy to lend them to you as well! I would love to participate in communal living on a regular basis, sharing resources, time, and energy. I know that isn't a realistic lifestyle option for most people, but I think we can recreate it, in a way that makes sense for us. I enjoy living in community in many areas of life: our church family, my extended family being in the same town, and even spending days with my friends and their children. Sharing of resources is one thing that I would love to do. I am wiling to go beyond books too!

What do you think of this idea? Do you like the idea of shared resources, or are you more guarded with your possessions? If you do like the idea, what sorts of things would you like to lend (or borrow)? What ways do you do this already? Is it easy and natural for you, or do you struggle to be generous with your belongings?



*Image from austinevan on flickr.com

TAG!

Becky, at Boys Rule my Life, has tagged me, and since I didn't cooperate the last time she tagged me, I thought this time I should play along. :)

The Rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok...seven things, random and weird...

1. When dreaming of being a mother, in college and when first married, I always pictured boys. Usually, I thought of middle school boys, playing baseball, eating big bowls of spaghetti, etc. I never envisioned small children, and never girls. Interesting, since I now have three boys.

2. Speaking of children, the hubby and I are in the beginning stages of adopting a child. Most likely a minority child, and possibly siblings, if the need is there. We have been praying and talking about this for several years, and are ready to move forward. Exciting and scary!

3. The day I delivered my second son, I was 100 pounds heavier than when I graduated from high school, six years earlier. You could say I pack on the pounds when I am pregnant. I am working on losing the last 30 now...

4. I was home schooled until the middle of ninth grade. I will be home schooling my children this fall. I am very excited about it.

4. I love foreign languages. I especially love latin and italian. So beautiful.

5. Since the hubby and I have been married, we have lived in 6 homes, had 15 cars, 5 jobs, and 3 children. Hopefully, we are going to stick with those numbers. I LOVE our house, have a minivan that holds all the kidlets, with room to grow. And the hubby has a job that is great and he just bought a 1981 Mercedes Diesel to run on veggie oil. Maybe we can practice some contentment :)

6. The hubby and I have had a date night every Monday for the last six years, except for the times that I have been in the hospital, giving birth. It is the highlight of my week and I highly recommend it!

7. Sometimes I feel guilty for being so happy. It doesn't seem fair that I have such a wonderful life. Just being an American, with the freedoms I enjoy, is a huge privilege.

I tag anyone on my blog list who is willing to play along. Let me know, so I can link to you!

REDUCING CONSUMPTION
If you have clicked on the top button on my left sidebar (Buy Nothing Challenge), you may already know that I have committed to not buying anything unnecessary in the month of April. When I first made the commitment, I thought it would be no big deal...I really wouldn't have to change anything, because I am a naturally pretty frugal person, who doesn't enjoy shopping as recreation. But upon further examination, I have realized that isn't entirely true. Case in point: this morning, we were headed to the park for playgroup that is right next to the "dented can store". Oh, Dented Can Store, how I love thee. Just last week, my friend, Stacy, found eight boxes of the dishwasher detergent I use, Seventh Generation. It is $4.99 at Target. The "dented" had it for $1.15 a box. I had her buy them all for me. I now have about three years worth of dishwashing detergent! :)
So, back to my story. As I was driving down to the park this morning, I decided that I should stop in at the Dented first. I mean, it is about 15 minutes from my house, so I should go while i was already nearby, right?! Well, yes, except for the fact that as I was driving, I couldn't think of a single thing I needed. But, that is where my Dented addiction comes in. They get one truck a week, and unload it all week, so you never know when new stuff will be out...so you (I) go alot, to try to catch the great stuff. Today, I found 17 ounces of olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed, first quality, raw) for $2.50. I just paid $7.99 for 8.5 ounces of THE SAME STUFF, three days ago at Bi-Lo. Good deals to be had, I tell you. But the point is this: I couldn't think of a single thing I needed for our family before I went there, yet still managed to drop $50 while there (and it takes A LOT of stuff to add up to $50 in that place!).

My pantry is the most well stocked it has ever been. I have five jars of Organic, all natural peanut butter. Three jars of capers. Five jars of sun dried tomatoes. All good stuff, that I will use. Stuff that I stock up on when it is at the Dented, because you don't know when it will come around again. But, after taking stock of my pantry this afternoon, I realized that this is just another form of consumerism. It has crept back into my life, subtly. I have called it other things, rationalized it, making myself feel good about it. "I am saving money in the long run", I have told myself. "I had better buy them all, because who knows when they will have more!". And for awhile, when I was doing my experiment, those things were true. But I also had set boundaries for myself...with a goal of spending no more than about $50 a week.

So, with today being the first day of the challenge to not buy anything unnecessary for the month, I am setting some new, stricter parameters for myself. For my family, I define necessary as food and household items, at least for this month. We have plenty of clothes and no other purchases on the horizon that would fall into the "necessary" category. But, because food shopping is my consumerism trap, I am also going to:

1. Not shop at the Discount Food Store for the month of April.
This is going to be hard for me to stick to. But, we have so many pantry items, there is no reason for me to go there.

2. The only food shopping I will do is for fruits and vegetables at the produce stand. If we need milk, butter, or other items I can't get at the produce stand, I will go to Bi-Lo. Normally I choose to shop at IGA, which is locally owned, but it is right next to the Dented Can Store, and that is just too much temptation. So, for the month of April, I will make a shopping exception and go to Bi-Lo.

3. I am going to go through my pantry and freezer and plan out my meals for the month. I have not been cooking much lately, because I have been too lazy to plan my meals. But, this step really helps our home run more smoothly, so I will be doing this again. Plus, we are much less likely to eat out if I already know what is for dinner.

You might think that I am being a little rigid and making too many rules. "Why not just shop when and where you want to shop, not make such a big deal about it?" you might ask. Well, I could do that. But this is a system of checks and balances for me. Each time I have done a challenge like this, or an experiment, I have always learned valuable lessons about our spending habits. Sometimes I can get in a housewife rut, and challenges like this always leave me feeling excited again about doing my job better, and more efficiently. I guess if I were in the corporate world, this would be similar to my boss giving me a sales incentive. It's motivation. As an added bonus, we are planning several family trips for this summer, and could use the money we aren't spending in April to go toward our vacation expenses.

Are you doing this challenge? What are your thoughts on compacting? Is this something you would enjoy trying for your family?






*Image from R.A.M.O.N.E on flickr.com

RUNNING THE RACE...

Well, I finished the race, and it was as awesome as everyone promised it would be. The waves of euphoria lasted long after the race...for the rest of the day, even into today. It felt AMAZING. I loved it. Really, really loved it. I am sore from head to toe today, but hey, it was pretty much the most strenuous thing I have done in about six years. Yikes. I didn't run the whole thing. Nope, I did walk 4-5 times, for about 20-30 seconds each time. My running time, for my first ever race was 30 minutes and 57 seconds. Not fabulous, but not embarrassing either. I was not good at pacing myself. That is definitely something I am going to work on. I was running an eight minute mile for the first mile and a half. But the last mile and a half almost killed me, and that is when I walked some. All in all, I am very happy with how I did and am looking forward to improving my time, as well as my endurance, over the next few weeks, before Amanda and I do our next run in April. Yes, we loved it so much, we are doing another one in a few weeks.
Oh, and Amanda was totally awesome, by the way. Her mental and physical endurance were light years ahead of me. She ran the whole thing. She rocks. I *heart* Amanda. She is my running pal. I wouldn't have done it without her. :)

I was a nervous wreck all day on Friday, and hardly slept at all on Friday night. I was nauseous the whole way down to Richmond Hill and was shaking and trembling the whole morning. I don't know if it was the fear of the unknown, or just my fear of failure, that made me so anxious. Once I stood at the start line, Michael Jackson's "invincible" playing in my ears, I was good to go. I think this could be addictive.

If, for some weird reason, you would like to see pictures of me about to die, um, running, here they are (if it says the session has expired, the event name is See Spot Run, and my bib # is 49).

*Updated: I was not able to run the April race because of sick children. And, the pictures are no longer available to view on line. *

LIVE LIGHTLY!Check out Sara's documentation of their time here in Statesboro. It was such a wonderful time and I learned so much from her. Just a few of my favorite "take aways" from their visit...

-Learning about raw food. I was interested in incorporating more raw foods into my diet, but my mind really drew a blank after smoothies and salads. Sara was so generous with her knowledge and her food...she made me so many delicious raw things to eat, as well as loaning me many of her raw foods cookbooks to read while they were here. By the end of the week, I was ready to eat raw all the time. I am eating about 85% raw right now, and have seen a HUGE difference in my body in the last two weeks. I dropped five pounds the first week, my skin is much clearer, and I have so much more energy! My children are eating a lot more raw foods too and they love the green smoothies. Caedmon actually turned down cheetos the other day, in favor of an orange. Nothing short of miraculous! To learn more about raw food, check out Sara's raw food blog, happy foody.

-Babywearing. I am a big, big fan of babywearing. I have a wrap that I made when Bauer was first born, and it has been wonderful. But he is getting a little big for the particular one that I use, and it was such fun to try on all her different style wraps (12 in all!), to see which I liked best. Sara was so helpful and even Matt and Bella got in on the action. My friend Stacy has a new lease on life, now that she has a wrap for her newborn, Murray!

-Veggie Oil. After spending time with Matt, my hubby, Matt took the plunge and purchased a 1981 Mercedes 240 Diesel, which he will be running on veggie oil from the restaurants he sells food to. Converting to used veggie oil is going to save us about $250 a month (Matt drives about 500 miles a week). I am super excited, because I absolutely LOVE old Mercedes. My last car was an old Mercedes station wagon, and I was so sad to sell it.

-A new friendship. Sara embodies so many of the things that I am interested in, want to be, admire, etc. It was SUCH a pleasure to spend time with her preparing food, playing with the children, and talking, talking, talking. I love her sweet RV (it is adorably decorated!) and admire how much she has simplified her life. The thing I was most surprised about was how non-judgemental she was. She was loving and accepting of us, just the way we were (Cheetos and all!!). She was happy to offer suggestions and ideas when I asked for them, but she was not pushy. I really appreciated that about her and want to be more that way myself. Also, she has such a generous spirit. She was so quick to share her resources with me...her food, her wraps, her books, and many more things. After downsizing so severely, I expected her to be really frugal with their remaining possessions, but she seemed to be just the opposite. As though, by giving away so much, she was now less tied to what she still owned...she saw their value, but was not defined by what she owned. This was a big "ah ha" for me. I truly want to have this generous spirit.
It is so easy for me to try to hide behind my "stuff". I think this is why I had such a hard time driving a minivan. I felt that people would label me, based on what I drove. I know, I know, it is very shallow! I am slowly learning to let go of my preconceived ideas of who people are, based on their things. It is a hard thing to do, and I catch myself making assumptions about people based on what they own all the time. We are so much more than what we own and I really appreciated how quick Sara was to share what she had. A big life lesson for me.

Anyway, I could go on and on about their time here and how much I learned from Sara. I know she and I will continue to keep in touch, and I will continue to call her a friend. If you get the chance, be sure to check out her main blog, Walk Slowly, Live Wildly. I have read the past posts many times, and never fail to learn something every time.

CROSSING ITEMS OFF THE BUCKET LIST
I mentioned two months ago, that one of the things I want to do before I die, is to run a race. I immediately started running, using this training schedule. I used to be very active and physically fit...until I had children. Since then, I have sporadically exercised, usually doing classes at the gym, which I enjoyed (a lot!) but always dropped when I became pregnant. So, seven months after the birth of my third son, I was very, very out of shape. The first training sessions required running in only one minute intervals, and even that was challenging. So, no one is more amazed than me that I am now able to run for thirty minutes straight! What a difference eight weeks can make. I have enjoyed this much more than I ever could have anticipated. The thrill of seeing a new (daunting) challenge in the horizon, and pushing myself physically and mentally to reach and meet those challenges, has been very, very rewarding. I have absolutely loved it. I have actually looked forward to putting my shoes on and hitting the pavement.

So, tomorrow, Saturday, is my first race ever. I am running the See Spot Run 5K with my friend, Amanda. I am really excited about it, but nervous too. I have been having a lot of pain in the insides of my shins the last few times I have tried to run. I am hoping that with all the adrenaline and excitement of the race, that I will be able to push through it. I have not been able to complete my last three runs because of the muscle pain in my legs. I have taken the advice of several other runners and am following the guidelines they have set forth, so hopefully, everything will be great! As this is my first run, and I don't have a previous time to try and beat, I have very simple goals. To finish, and to run the whole thing. I would also like to not come in last. :)

Anyway, I will let you know how it goes after Saturday! It is exciting to be able to check off something off my list! It is very rewarding. After Saturday, it will be time to choose the next item on the list...

*This image from flickr.com

PICTURES OF THE BATHROOM

I do not yet have pictures of the completed bathroom because the bathroom is still not completed:::sigh:::but it is close. Mostly details. But you know how details "make" a room! Anyway, here are some "in progress" pictures.
This is a "before" picture of the clawfoot tub. It had about four coats of paint on the outside that to be stripped, then cleaned, primed, and repainted.
This is the "after" picture of the tub. Aaaahhh. I have taken two baths in this tub so far and it is bliss!!
This is an "in progress" picture of the shower. I am just going to put this out here: I hate the tile. It is really, really ugly. I wanted subway tile, but it wasn't in the budget. The hubby and I agreed that the shower was his deal, and the rest of the bathroom was my deal. I should have thought about that a little harder before agreeing to those terms! :) But, it is what it is, and at least I am able to have a shower, right? Considering that a large percentage of the world doesn't have running water, it doesn't seem very noble of me to get all up in arms about the color of the tile. But, all that being said, I still don't like the tile. :)
This is the bathroom with the pine planks on the walls. It looks like a sauna here, but when it was painted, I was soooo glad I had used the wood on the walls, instead of sheetrock. I wanted to keep this room pretty simple, and the wood on the walls and floor adds a really nice dimension to the room, without adding a lot of fuss.
Here is the sink, which I just love. The sink basin and faucet were recycled from our old bathroom. I showed our contractor a picture in Cottage Living Magazine of a similar sink base, and he whipped this one out in just a few hours. I think he did a marvelous job. Bonus: almost all the lumber for the sink were scraps from the walls and floor of the bathroom.
Detail of the sink, painted.
Detail of the shower floor.
A little glimpse of the bathroom from the bedroom.

WHERE DID THE TIME GO?
Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since February!! What have I been doing? I am not really sure...

Well, my brother, Dylan, and his fiance, Leigh Anne, were married this past Saturday. Woo hoo to them! They also just bought the cutest little house, in the downtown area of town. It was built in the 1920's and it is so sweet!

Matt and Sara of Live Lightly were here from Tuesday through Saturday. Oooooh, that was amazing. They get their own post, there is just too much wonderfulness to share from their visit.

Next Saturday, March 29th, is my first 5K road race! You might remember that running a race was one of the items I listed as "things to do before I die". I am so, so excited about this event. I have been mostly consistent with my training schedule. I can't tell you how (surprisingly) enjoyable running has turned out to be. It has been so fun to see a goal down the road (increasing my running time from 0 to 30 minutes), thinking it impossible to achieve, then slowly, but surely, reaching it. It is amazing to physically push yourself, and to be rewarded. I will keep you posted on the outcome of the race. This being my first race, I only have two (small) goals. 1. FINISH. 2. Don't walk any of it. :)

Our bathroom is almost finished. Of course, it has been "almost finished" for about three weeks now! I will post pictures as soon as the last little details are finished up. I really like it. I haven't soaked in my claw foot tub yet, but I have enjoyed the "shower that you can take a stroll in", as Matt says. :)

Other than that, I guess I have just been keeping busy with the regular stuff of life. A little homeschooling, lots of diaper changes, dish washing, and laundry. Visiting with friends, eating with family, enjoying the beauty of South GA in springtime. I radically changed my diet about ten days ago, so that has been consuming a lot of time (and a LOT of veggies!). We have planted lettuce and spinach in our new square foot gardens, and are excited to see them popping up. Caedmon has been busy with a lemonade stand, right outside our door. This venture has been more successful than his produce stand, with less overhead. :)

So, that is about it with me. I hope to be more regular with my blogging again. I miss this outlet when I am away.


*Image from ckaiserca on flickr.com