Southern Hospitality

Today, we headed out to a local park for a church picnic. Good time, of course. Hanging out with no agenda usually is, right?

I talked for a while to some ladies that I haven't spent enough time with yet, and we had a nice time praising God for his creation.

But it was after the singing that I really got my socks blown off. Our pastor, Dorothy Ann, called me up to join Billy in front of everyone (Ugh! I thought. I hate having people look at me.). She then announced that we were about to get pounded.

We looked nervously around as people began hitting fists into open palms. (Now, excuse me a second, please! Aren't y'all a bunch of Christians? What happened to the whole 'love thy neighbor' thing?)

Our eyes were then directed to a picnic table in the corner that was secretly piled high with food. A "pounding," it turns out, is an official Alabama welcome. People from our community brought a pound of food each to help us stock up our kitchen.

A "pound,"however, in Alabama equals at least 48 oz. We were stocked up and stocked again.

But it wasn't enough. No ma'am.

Our new friends not only purchased a ton of food for us, they also loaded us up with all the leftovers from the picnic. There was nothing I could do to convince anyone that they could take some, too, if they wanted.

Let's just say all my grocery money saving just got a whole lot easier.

Thanks, Chase Valley. We love you, and we're blessed to serve here.
before after
not to mention all of this:

Power to be Brave

This last week, Chase Valley had a week of Power Labs for VBS. I missed most of it cause I was staying home with Ashlyn getting some organizing done. (Well, that... and the fact that the only kids I like are my own and those of my friends. Ouch. I know. But it's true.)

Anyway, our Sunday messages have been linked to the VBS lessons of things that Jesus gives us the power for.

Today, we talked about the power to be brave. Pastor Fred talked about the song, "Voice of Truth," which I for one love. I'm not a big fan of most Christian music, as I think I've mentioned before. And I'm really not a fan of the style of music that Casting Crowns producing.

But man! this song has a powerful message.

There's this balance in Christianity that is often hard to find. On the one hand, we want to be real. You hear the word "authentic" thrown around like it's going out of style. We're supposed to admit our weaknesses and our struggles. The last thing that we want to do is be fakers who pretend everything's fine when it's very obviously not.

But in our authenticity, sometimes we get so wrapped up in our feelings that we forget Truth. Sometimes, we choose to let our feelings tell us what's true, instead of letting Truth tell us how we should feel.

So, I love this song. Because no matter what the circumstances, no matter how I feel... Jesus is the Truth, and he really does give us the power to be brave.

Ways to Save - Bonus Idea

And you all thought I only had 6 ideas for saving money for groceries.

But this one actually comes from someone else.

On Wednesday, Brian Seay wrote his 40-day-fast post for Compassion and shared something that his family does for dinner on a weekly basis.

Rice and Water.

That's it. Nothing more.

I think this is an amazing idea for 2 reasons.

First of all, it helps a family identify with another world that can so often slip from our thoughts. An ongoing commitment to eat a meager meal once a week reminds kids (and parents!) how much we really have. After all, we'll get up the next morning and eat something different. People in Africa, or China, or the DR will eat the same thing over and over and over.

This also helps to save grocery money. Billy and I talked last night about implementing this and intentionally using the money we save to feed someone who's starving. We haven't decided yet if that will be in the form of finding a child in another country or giving to a local ministry who feeds those in our own area. But the $20 that we save a month will not go toward buying more gas or paying for more A/C. It will go somewhere for God's work.

Ways to Save- Part 3

Earlier this week, I started telling you about some ways that we are trying to cut down our grocery bill this month. The verdict's still out on how effective this all was, but my current predictions are that we saved about 15 - 20% of our last month's bill. Pretty good if you ask me.

Today, I'll wrap up the series. If you missed part 1 or part 2, be sure to check those out, too.

5. Go to the store once a week, and then be a food nazi.
In the last installment, I told you that I've been planning meals and snacks a week at a time. From there, I make my shopping list and I go to the store on Monday. (This is my errand day, which is a gas-saving tactic, but that's a different post, right?)

If we stick to the plan, things are fine. If Billy drinks a glass of milk that I didn't strategically plan (gasp!), things don't go so fine. (trust me... I wasn't pretty) But I am not going back to the store. So, come Saturday, we may be having one egg each and dry toast for breakfast. But it's all good, cause on Monday, we all appreciate a real meal a little bit more.

Obviously, I have to work a bit to perfect it, but my theory is that if I'm in the habit of not returning to the store, then we'll save money on those nickel/dime trips that can quickly add up.

6. Check out the food pyramid and change our portions.
Eve and I learned about the food pyramid for science and if you look at what an actual serving size is, you'll realize that you're probably eating way too much. So, one of the things that I am definitely still learning to do is eat less. I'm not one to indulge and stuff myself anyway, but if my government says I only need 5.5 oz of meat a day, then who am I to argue?

Okay... that was just a little bit sarcastic, but really. Most of us could stand to eat smaller portions. This was hard at first, but I have a couple of suggestions that I've used to help the transition happen more smoothly.

First of all, we are, in fact, making it a transition. I have intentionally cut back on portions but not to the extent that we're done in two bites and a gulp. We're eating smaller portions now, but we still have a little ways to go before we're down to the recommendations.

Next, we drink more water. You hear this all the time, but I think a lot of people forget about it. I know I do. But between spacing out our meals and cutting back on portions, we've come to rely on the truth that we're often thirsty. We tend to drink water at each meal, and also have a few glasses in other parts of the day. I haven't measured to see if we're at the 64 oz. recommendation, but I'm sure we're close.

Ways to Save - Part 2

Yesterday, I told you a couple of the tricks I'm using to save money at the grocery store. Here are a couple more.

3. Stock up on sale items that we will use in the future.
If you are the kind of person that allots a weekly amount for groceries, this can throw your budget out of whack. For example, this week a lot of what we use often was on sale BOGO. So, my tally at the register was $139. I almost threw up since I try to keep our bill under $100 a week. But ultimately, it will benefit us because I won't be buying those items this week. So, it should even out.

Another spin on this is to buy larger sizes of things. For example, I can get a 3 lb. chuck roast for less $/pound than I can a 1 lb. slab. So, when I get home, I had to cut it in half and freeze it separately for 2 meals.

4. Plan our meals and snacks.
Each week, I take about 2 hours on Sunday to plan our week's activities and food. One area where some meal plans fall short is that they only account for dinners. But I've found that if I plan all our meals and snacks, I am able to buy the right amount of food without going over and wasting. I'm still new at this, so there are kinks to work out. For example, sometimes we have left-overs so I plan those into the meal plan. But other times, we eat all of the prepared food, and then we're left scrounging for the next day's lunch. Still, all in all, it's worked.

This also helps when I have a list at the store and don't veer from it because I know that all my food is planned for. So I don't need to add things here and there. I do allow for flexibility for snacks. For example, I may plan for the kids to eat animal crackers for a bedtime snack, but at the store, we see that vanilla wafers are on sale. Whatever... it's the same type of food. But the principle is that I might substitute, but I don't add food to the list (except when stocking up!).

If this sounds a little rigid, just wait. More to come...

I Love Who I Am

Today, Sara at On Simplicity wrote to clarify some strengths of introversion.

I appreciate this like no other.

Often, people admire those who are socially outgoing, who love to be around groups of people, and who always have something to say.

But that's not me.

I am typically staying back socially... until I know a little more about you. I'm not letting it all hang out before I know your story. I love being with people, but I tend to prefer one-on-one or smaller groups. I thrive in settings where I can speak if I want, but feel no pressure to perform on the spot.

I prepare. I think things through. And when I do something, I do it well. (Hey, this is my blog... I'm totally allowed to brag about myself.)

There are lots of different labels that personality tests will give. Introvert, meloncholy, phlegmatic, to name a few. Regardless of what you call it, the point is that people who are introverts have a lot to offer.

Go on over and check out Sara's post today and let her know what you think.

Ways to Save - Part 1

Yesterday, I told you guys (er, uh girls, mainly) that I'd be posting a few entries on things I'm doing to save money on groceries.

Before I post my first couple ideas, let me make this disclaimer: I don't know for certain that these are all money-saving ideas. They are things that I'm trying. I haven't perfected them, so I don't know exactly how much I'll save with them. That is to say, I don't know if they are all worth the effort. Dollars saved may not be worth the time invested, but since I have more time than I do money, I think they are probably worth my while. You'll have to decide on your own if they're worth yours.

Also, let me define the word "groceries" for you. When I say groceries, I pretty much mean anything I buy. I don't buy anything... ever. Okay...that's not totally true. I spent $5 on some shoes for Ashlyn just last week, but mainly I just buy necessities, so things like toiletries, food prep or storage tools, etc. are all considered groceries as far as our budget is concerned.

So now... the moment you've all been waiting for.


1. Buy AngelFood boxes.
AngelFood ministries is a nationwide distributor of low-priced, but fairly high quality food. For $30, you can get about $75 or more worth of food. I'm not sure how they accomplish that, but it's been a good thing for us this month.

You have to pre-order their boxes, and then pick up at the scheduled 2-hour window. I would recommend picking up at the beginning of the window or your meat will be thawed out.

In order to use everything that comes in the box, I've enrolled in Menus4Moms menu service, which is $2 a month. (The site is a bit hard to navigate around, so expect to have to be patient with it!) They will send me a meal plan for the ingredients in this month's box. This has helped me because in the past, I've wasted AngelFood because of not knowing how to prepare it.

This brings me to my next point...

2. Eat what's available.
AngelFood has stuff in it that I wouldn't normally want to eat, such as pork and beef. But the price is so good, and the meat is actually fairly lean, so it's a good choice for saving money and staying healthy. So, since the food is available to us, we're eating it, whether it's our first choice or not.

This also goes for things I buy. For example, this week Kellogg's reduced sugar Frosted Flakes were on sale for less than the store brand's regular frosted flakes. They don't taste quite as good, but they are better for us and cheaper -- this week, anyway.

And speaking of sales... tune in tomorrow. :)

This Week on This One Goes Out...

This week is the beginning of a powerful "event" called the 40 Day Fast. The deal is that various bloggers will be fasting one day each and writing about a cause that they are focusing their prayers on. I'll be participating on July 3rd to write about... something. I'll also to putting up a link in my sidebar to the featured bloggers. Be sure to check that out.

In a somewhat related topic...

This week, I'm also focusing on one of my goals for June. We were hoping to save money on groceries while keeping the health of the family in mind. This is a task and a half sometimes, as a lot of the money we currently spend is on fresh fruit and vegetable, whole wheat bread, and fresh meat. This is as opposed to canned foods, poser wheat bread, and frozen foods like chicken nuggets.

After the month's over, I'll give an update on all my goals. But for now, I thought I could share some of the things I'm doing to try to cut back on our grocery spending.

Hope you'll stay tuned and offer your own thoughts on both of these topics.

Can I Pray for You?

Yesterday, I wrote about how insanely tired I was. I expected to go to sleep early and to stay asleep forever.

But when nighttime fell, I was awake. And I stayed awake... until 3 am.

And it occurred to me that there's not much to do in the middle of the night when you've read every book in the house, and you're too exhausted to clean. So, I got online and wasted time. A lot of time.

I went back to bed at 3 and discovered a better way to spend my annoying waking hours.

So, I want to ask you how can I pray for you tonight when I can't sleep?

Please leave a public comment or send me a private contact to let me know what your needs are.

I'll be talking to God around midnight, I would guess.

Compassion Bloggers

On my sidebar, you'll see a new element from Compassion International.

About two months ago, Shaun Groves helped Compassion launch a new campaign to bring awareness of Compassion's work and the families they help to the world-wide web. I hesitated to join in. I'm not one for bandwagons.

But after investigating a bit, I felt like this was something I could honestly endorse. It's something I could do something with, whether it was just the next big thing (normally a turn off to me) or not.

So, I applied for their trip to the Dominican Republic in November. (They are still in the process of selecting a crew for that.)

I didn't put anything on my blog about this, though, until today. The main reason is that I am not a poser. (Although, announcing that fact on my blog may in fact qualify me as one.) I don't like to talk about something I'm not sold out on. I felt a little hypocritical to say, "You should send your money to Compassion," when I myself do not send my money to Compassion.

It's a hard thing to wrestle with. I constantly write on here the latest ways that Billy and I are trying to conserve and reduce and simplify and save. But we still aren't there with any extra money. It's hard to read other people talking about giving up $20 worth of Starbucks coffee a month in order to help Haitians. We don't spend money that way.

We buy gas and groceries.

The one thing we pay for that is not necessary is the internet, but this actually helps us save gas as Billy works from home at least once a week.

But today, I decided that if I believe that every little bit helps (and I do), and if I believe that our motivations and our hearts are more important than the uncontrollable outcome of an action (and I do), then my heart is to see children taken care of in the name of Jesus. And while I may not have the means to financially support them right now, some of you do.

So, I've chosen a widget that features a child in need of support.

Please look at it each time you visit my site. If you are compelled to help this child for $32 a month, you can click through to commit.

To find out more about Compassion, visit www.compassion.com.

God bless you for looking.

Insomniatic Slacker

I am in a bad cycle of not being able to sleep. And it's catching up to me today in the form of a horrendous headache. Ouch!

On another note, if you're interested in reading my short column on coming to terms with post-second child slacking, you can access it on the bottom of page 5 of this month's Evansville Parent.

Seriously? You Call This Humor?

Every so often, I find a pretty funny thing on the Onion. Often their humor is lame. Many times, the articles are mediocre attempts at satire.

But lame humor is one thing. Complete irreverence for the suffering of others is another.

I can't believe their "American Voices" post today that laugh in the face of Tim Russert's sudden recent death.

It's really quite disgusting to make fun of someone so shortly after passing.

Humor doesn't have to come at the expense of those who can't defend themselves.

Seriously. Grow up.

A Run for My Money

It's been a little while since I wrote much about our little one, but today she just showed so many new skills that I can't help myself.

Here are some recent milestones in little Ashlyn's development:

1. Falling off the couch headfirst.
2. Climbing into the cabinets.
3. Playing in the toilet water.
4. Climbing into the bath while the water's running, while fully clothed.
5. Sticking letters on her head.
   

This is where it gets fun!

When the Living's Easy

Today was quintessential summer.

And I've had Sublime stuck in my head because of it.

After a couple of hours of school, the girls and I headed to the pool to catch up with our neighbors. It was the intense sunny time, so we lathered on sunscreen and dipped in the pool for some cooling down. After about an hour and a half, Ashlyn began falling asleep in her intertube, so I decided to head home and give her a proper nap. She slept for 2 1/2 hours. Amen!

During that time, Eve played here and there, but eventually went outside to run around with the kiddos across the hall. This is where summertime burst in.

Playing outside for hours on end. Dripping with sweat and loving every minute. Coming in for rushed drinks and bathroom breaks.

It made me happy to see my daughters with a normal and healthy childhood.

And it's days like this that remind me why being home is the best thing for all of us.

It's Official... I'm Too Old

The saying goes, "If it's too loud, you're too old."

Well, count me in with the crowd of fogies, I guess.

Last night, Billy and I took the girls to an all-city worship night at Shae's Express coffee house. I wanted to go because 1) I like being with Billy and he was going, and 2) I'm running tech this morning at Chase Valley, and you can't really worship God all-out when you have to concentrate on getting the slides up at the right time.

Unfortunately, I didn't really worship that much last night. I tried, at times. But as I said, I'm now too old, and I couldn't stay my mind or heart on God for the commotion on the stage. I was too busy hoping that I wasn't causing permanent ear damage to my baby by keeping her there.

There was one catalyst for bringing me to worship, though, and that was an old man who was twirling orange flags. Honestly, it creeped me out slightly at first because here he was this sixty year old with a bit of a gut twirling flags like a high school girl. But honestly, it was a beautiful expression of worship. It captivated me and both my girls, and I found that I could worship with my soul a little bit more easily when I watch him instead of the band.

I wanted to catch him after the set and tell him that I appreciated him. But I had to make a bee-line for the bathroom, and when I got out, he was gone already.

In My Reader

In college, my friends made fun of me for holding the record of least movies seen... or heard of for that matter. It didn't really bother me. At that time, I found that most movies failed to hold my attention for 2 hours, so they really seemed like a waste of time. I'd much rather sit and watch 4 episodes of Seinfeld back to back to back to back.

Anyway, as I peruse the many offerings the blogosphere has to offer, I have come to the conclusion that my pattern has continued, and I'm nominating myself for the award of least blogs in your reader award. It seems like most bloggers I come across follow significantly more blogs than I do.

Again, this doesn't bother me. I see no need to go out and find more blogs because most of the ones that I've tried out have failed to capture me. I may subscribe for a while and then delete it from my reader because what I thought had potential really ended up in the lamer category.

But I thought I'd share the top blogs that I've found... ones that I have subscribed to and faithfully read for several months.

Number 1 blog: Billy Chia. Okay, okay... I know. I'm in love with the author, so it's a little bias. But in fairness, I fell in love with him over e-mail, so it's his writing that first captured my heart. I happen to love his blog, too. I think that he offers good insight that goes beyond the triteness that I find everywhere else.

The First Runner Up is... Shaun Groves. I will admit that I have never actually heard any of his music. But that's just because I don't like Christian music. Nothing against him... just his genre. Regardless, I love his blog. Billy and I agree that he has a good mix of serious posts that prod deep with questions and light-hearted family fun posts that give you a glimpse into his home life and his love for his wife and children. He's got a good sense of humor and strong ethics.

Tied for 3rd: Misty and Jessica. These girls are both moms that are in similar stages of life as me. Misty has an older elementary girl who she homeschools. Jessica has a son around Ashlyn's age. These blogs are completely relationship blogs for me. We comment on each other's posts religiously, and the benefit I get from reading them is simply to have some friends. That is reason enough.

Finally, a new blog that I've come across that I can see myself liking and I hope that I'm not disappointed -- Nury Vittachi. The few recent posts I've read have been pretty hysterical. Of course, the first one I read was linked to by my sister. It dealt with linguistics, and we all know what a sucker I am for a linguistics post. (And I am not joking at all, either.)

So, there you go... the blogs that made the cut for the pickiest reader in cyberspace. (Does anyone still use that term?)

Crappy Mom

My 16-month-old got a sunburn on her arms today because we were at the pool for 2 hours, and I only applied sunblock once. Needless to say, a lesson was learned, but I still feel like a loser.

What Do You Do With Truth?

"You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter." --Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Why Apartment Living Beats the Snot Out of Owning a House

When Billy and I moved here, we had lots of people encouraging us to buy a house, but we opted for an apartment instead. Oh, I am so glad we did!

Here are some reason I like renting an apartment instead of owning a home:

Yard Work: We have the best of both worlds here in the apartment. We have a grassy field out our back door for the girls to run around, but we don't have to mow it. We also have a little tucked away area between our patio and the air conditioning unit where I plan to put some plants next year. But if I don't get around to it, it's not a big deal, because landscaping isn't something I have to maintain while renting. So, if I want to, I can. If I don't, then I don't have to. Who can complain at that?

Cooling Off: We just got back from swimming in the complex's pool. It opened 2 weekends ago, and we've been making nearly daily trips to cool off for about an hour at a time. Not to mention that living on the bottom floor of an apartment building seems to keep us cooler than living in our one story house did. It's currently 92 degrees here, but it's quite comfortable in our apartment without the a/c on. In fact, the only times I've used the a/c so far has been while cooking dinner or working out. Those are times you tend to get extra hot, so I've needed the cool-down. Hopefully, this will reflect well on our bill this summer. (Of course, we'll have to see if this is still a good thing come winter, when our hot air rises!)

Size, location for our money: For the same amount of monthly payment, we could get a $100,000 home loan at the current rates (according to mortgage-calc.com). This is about what our last house was worth, and trust me, we are not wanting to go back into the kind of house you can get for $100,000. It will either be so old that we'll constantly do repairs, or so small that we'll literally trip over each other on the our way to the 1 bathroom (been there... trust me, I don't want to go back!), or in a location that is too busy for my tastes. So, here for a comparable cost, we gained 400 square feet, including one bathroom, and we have no responsibility for repairs, and we have a nice suburban feel with a lake to walk around.

Seriously, if renting this apartment, isn't a gift from God, I don't know what is.

Merchandise Credit is from God

...so are 3 hour long gymnastics camps.

Oh, seriously. It was heaven on earth. No one who knows me would ever doubt my undying love for my family, but gosh is was good to drop Eve off for an extended time at her gymnastics studio.

Ashlyn and I headed over to TJ Maxx to use a Merchandise Credit voucher we had left over from a gift we returned. See, those stores that let you get cash back when you return a gift just screw those of us that are overly responsible with our money. If we get cash, it immediately goes into our budget and ends up paying for something like rent or lights. But I had no choice today other than to go and buy something that I would never buy for myself - ever.

We've had this card since Christmas, and Billy insisted that I take today to get some new pajama pants, since mine have no fewer than 5 holes in the upper legs and, ahem, other areas. I ended up getting the pants, a father's day present, sandals for Eve, and a pair of goggles without spending a thing.

It was nice to get a treat and not feel guilty about where my money should be going.

So, thank you, God, for merchandise credit.

Beautiful Day

I'm about to unveil the extent of my dorkiness. Mark this day on your calendars, it won't happen again. Billy will love this. He accuses me of always wanting to look cool and not doing fun things because I'll look like a dork. He's right. But here, in all my dorkdom, let me tell you about my beautiful day.

As you faithful readers know, I've been gearing up to be organized. With a new baby and selling a house, schedules flew out the window. But now that we're fairly settled in the new place, I've been aiming to get some structure back in our lives. Oh, my gosh! Is it ever glorious!

Last night, I spent some much-needed time planning my week. I use Google Cal, and I have 4 calendars that I keep. Here's what my week looked like online:


So, here, I have my green events, my red reminders (i.e. anything Billy doesn't need cluttering up his calendar view), my purple meal planning, and Eve's pink. Google rocks and e-mails me one agenda for the day to print out and reference.

The day was highly organized, highly productive, and highly full of scheduled fun (and delicious food, I might add).

Commenting on my brilliant rigidity may now commence.

June Goals

Here's how I did on goals for the month of May:

• Work out 3 times a week - eh...it was more like 2, but it was something, at least.

• Pick out photos for Ashlyn's first year baby book - we're up through 8 months on this one.
  

• Figure out a scheduling/calendar system that works for us - looking good...Billy and I use GoogleCal to coordinate between the two of us, and I have a separate calendar book for taking with me. It's a little cumbersome to have both, but since I don't have a way to carry Google around, I have to use both for now.

• Read a couple of non-fiction books - The Emerging Church and Why We're Not Emergent. I also read The Bridge to Terebithia.
  

• Change address on magazine subscriptions - I called mags to do this, and found out that the post office did this one for me! How sweet of them.

• Use the decluttering calendar a couple times a week - Ok...so I only used it a couple time this month. The result is a couple of very organized dresser drawers. Long overdue!

• Spending Fast Update - We did it! The only thing that we bought that was not a utility or food was a bathing suit for me. I know, I know...it doesn't seem like a necessity, but trust me... when your plan is to stay home as much as possible all summer in order to save gas, you have to take advantage of the complex pool. I thought about putting the purchase off until June, but I was at Wal-mart getting diapers (total necessity!) and I figured I should just go ahead and get the suit to save another trip.
  

June's Goals -
Continue "real" exercise 2x a week, but also add in mini-sessions 2 evenings
Find out about new car and drivers' licenses
Decrease auto fuel usage by 10% (in terms of dollars!)
Figure out some ways to eat healthy and cut the grocery bill
File all my crazy papers/shred unneeded ones
Finish choosing photos for the baby book