Bucket List-Who I'd like to Meet

Last week was a busy one, my friends. 

If you read my last post, you see how I spent my Labor Day (covered in spinach). 

On Tuesday,the library re-opened after a week long mandatory furlough (stupid budget cuts),

Trinity started back to school, 

 she had her second gymnastics class, 

Nice handstand :)

 it was Bruce's birthday,

 and the Packers played the Saints!

Exciting for our household, me being from Wisco and Bruce being from Louisiana

Nice game,guys! THAT is why the G stands for GREATNESS! 

So, now it's officially a new week and to start it off, I'm gonna share with you my Bucket List category of Who I'd like to Meet. 

Israelite leader BENJAMIN NETANYAU

Former NBA star and AIDS survivor Magic Johnson

Author and activist Michael Pollan

Actor Steve Carell

My favorite Steve Carell movie

Brit Karl Pilkington

teenage Muslim apostate, who converted to Christianity
Rifqa Bary(read about her story here)

Hookers for Jesus founder Annie Lobert

Last, but NOT least, I'd love to meet the children of my dear, lovely, wonderful friend Jacqueline, who is currently a missionary in Thailiand. 

She has two boys, Aslan and Brayden whom I've never met.  

That's my list for now. It is in no way static, but will surely be ever-changing and growing.

I decided to ask Trinity who she'd love to meet someday.

None other than the professional inline skater:

Jenna Downing

Who do you want to meet?

The Hazards of Smoothie Making

We interrupt this regularly scheduled "Music Monday" post with a Public Service Announcement about the Hazards of making super thick icy spinach smoothies.

Generally, I only put water,spinach, and a frozen banana in the blender and it pours like a dream.

Today though, I switched it up a bit and decided to add about 10 ice cubes to the mixture and have a sort of slushy smoothie.

 I forgot to take into account the difference in viscosity of the icier smoothie and was therefore taken by surprise by the resulting "kersploosh" into the bowl as I poured it.

Yes, kersploosh is a technical term. Don't act like you don't know what I mean.

I got this stuff all up in my hair, in my eyes, on my shirt, my shoulders, the countertop, the floor, the cabinets, etc.

 Bruce walked in from walking the dog and immediately asked, "Where's the camera??!"

Thanks, Hon.

Me and the culprit

 After this shot I actually had to take a shower. And throw this shirt in the washer with bleach.

 Yeah, spinach stains, hardcore y'all. I have many shirts with spinach stains...I wear what I eat, alot. Always have. My nickname when I was a kid was, "Mess."

 So, take it from me be aware of the kersploosh factor next time you add lots of ice to your next blender creation.

Happy Labor Day!

Bucket List-It's Not ALL About Me

 I don't want to be completely self-centered and have my bucket list be solely about me me me, so here's the list that involves helping others.

Numero uno:

I'd love to either spearhead or simply be a part of organizing a FREE COMMUNITY GARDEN.
I've actually had the opportunity to benefit from one when my friend Sarah took me to a patch of farmland in rural Wisconsin where her church had a ginormous garden. Everything was free for the taking. Believe me, I took!

 I think many people steer clear of fresh produce because they find it intimidating and/or boring to manipulate in the kitchen.
Also, fresh produce can be expensive if you don't have the space to have your own garden.

To remedy that, I'd also want to offer free "classes" or tutorials whereby people could learn how to make the fruit and veggies into meals that their entire family could enjoy, as well as how to freeze/can/pickle the produce to use in the colder months.
I think to get the ball rollin' on this, I'd start with the SLOWFOOD organization. 
Numero dos:
When I lived in Colorado there was a tiny building in town, probably 16x20 in size, called 
The Clothes Closet.
It was sort of like a Goodwill, Value Village, and St.Vincent's wrapped into one, except EVERYTHING WAS FREE.
It wasn't crappy stuff either. Of course the volunteers had to sort through the donations and weed out all the unsuitable items, but there was some really awesome stuff. 
I even found NEW items there. 

Also, it wasn't like you had to "qualify" to be able to shop there and have some sort of stigma attached to going there. It was open to anyone and everyone, and anyone and everyone would "shop" there!
I miss that place.


Lastly, but certainly not finitely, I would relish the opportunity to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity.

 

I'm not gettin' any younger, so I sense I should really start to hunker down and dig my heels into one of these projects ASAP. No time like the present, eh? It's the only time we're guaranteed.
Have you ever been involved in any projects like these? What was your experience? What do you suggest?

Books and Busyness

Hey guys!

Dang, it's Thursday already and I'm out of sorts and exhausted.

I've been working more than usual this week, so I haven't posted as much as I've wanted.

It's been great though, because I've been able to bring The Princess with me and she has a GREAT time with the kids I'm watching-she's a big help, too.

In my (very limited) downtime, I've been doing lots of reading. I tend to read about 3-4 books at once, because I get bored very easily.

But, these books have actually kept me very entertained.

  The top two cookbooks are incredible. Some of the best vegetarian cookbooks I've ever perused. HIGHLY recommended.

I love biographies and autobiographies, so the the book about Laura Ingalls Wilder has been quite entertaining. It also helps me feel not so guilty about all the times I've moved in my life. 

Everyone who has a pre-teen, or anyone who IS a pre-teen should read My Teenage Were-Wolf. 

It explains the physiology and biology of how the bodies, and primarily the brains of kids are changing who are becoming teenagers.

It's quite focused on the mother/daughter relationship and how that changes.

It pretty much slapped the Gilmore Girls type relationship ideal I had right out of me. 

True, my daughter is only 7 years old, but I am the REIGNING QUEEN SUPREME of preparation and research.

I'm gonna be armed and ready for this situation (first off with prayer) once I'm faced with it.....and by the looks of it, it will probably happen much sooner than I anticipate. :(

I love how the author describes the mother/daughter relationship after having done her own research gathered from studies by psychologist, psychoanalysts, sociologists, social learning theorists, and feminist scholars.

"There is no relationship quite as primal, as vitally important, or as deeply conflicted. Mother daughter identities are enmeshed and interwoven, yet need to be individual and distinct. There is no other relationship that veers so sharply between intimacy and distance, between love and hate."

she's always gonna tell me she loves me about 27 times a day, right?

This is all so fascinating to me seeing as how my father raised me. I didn't have my mother around to form this relationship. We didn't start to develop a friendly and familial relationship until I was 22, so It's been awkward and frustrating, yet full of acceptance and unconditional love.

But, because I have a daughter, I already see things playing out, which are precursors of things to come. 

Lord, help me. Thank you. Amen. 

What was your relationship with your mother like as a teenager? Is it different now? The same?