To good friends!

Yesterday I had to pay a few bills and it wasn’t until I hopped on the computer this morning and realized that I dated every single check wrong, and not just by a couple days either. I really thought yesterday was the 16^th. Good grief, where has June gone? It’s almost over! When this month started I said I’d gather and donate a bag of things from different places in my house each day. Well let me tell you, I have definitely collected and donated or thrown away way more than 30 bags already. I wasn’t as organized as I had set out to be, nor did I take a picture of a giant pile of bags like I had intended to but like I said, time really slipped away from me this month. Surprisingly though I think I was probably close to doubling my goal of 30.

 And in addition to the septic tank pump, I also bought something else new this month, a steam cleaner for my upholstery/mattresses. Although I surely could have found a used one somewhere or borrowed one for an extended period of time, I needed it right away so I bought one of the first steam cleaners I saw (online) and even splurged on shipping. I don’t know if it was completely justified, but I’m not really feeling very guilty about like I thought I would so I guess we really did need it. I’ve already used it dozens of times and I am really happy with it. So if you’re not participating in the buy nothing new challenge, or if you too find yourself needing to rid your house of every last germ, I’d recommend the Bissell’s Little Green Compact Multi Purpose Cleaner. You will be surprised and disgusted at the stuff this guy sucks up.

I also wanted to update everyone on Sunday School. This past week was my 4^th week and according to Patrick, I’m the “best teacher ever.” He’s so sweet, but unfortunately it’s not actually true. The lady who I am replacing has been teaching Sunday School for 55 years! And to top it off she is one of the kindest, most patient people I’ve ever met with the sweetest Southern accent I’ve ever heard. Even though she’s teeny tiny, she’s left the biggest shoes to fill. Someone asked if I thought I’d be there for 55 years. I feel bad that if we move, I won’t even make it to 2.

Oh and I also received the coolest gift EVER this month. I got a BOB double jogging stroller from my friend. She went to upgrade and she GAVE me her old one. Real quick, for anyone who doesn’t know anything about jogging strollers….not all jogging strollers are created equal, not even close. BOB is like the Ferrari of jogging strollers. It’s flashy, it floats and it’s FAST! When Patrick was a baby I didn’t know what a “jogging stroller” was so I used an umbrella stroller and got a lot of funny looks. By the time I was pregnant with Shannon I realized I was the only one running around base with an umbrella stroller and I knew now that it was time for a double stroller, I should get a jogger. Well I found one on Lejeune Yard Sales  for $20 and was stoked that no one would look at me funny anymore. I don’t have many pictures of BEAST #1 but I’ll tell you it was cumbersome, difficult to turn and elicited a full body workout for every run, and yes people still looked at me and my 1990’s stroller funny.

Beast #1

My first "jogging stroller"

At some point during my marathon training, my friend let me push her BOB for a race. From that moment on, I was in love. The kind of love though that teenagers have for a celebrity crush. Like yes this is the best looking, nicest thing I’ve ever seen, yet it’s completely unattainable. Unattainable because BOB’s are expensive, like many high school students get their first car for this price expensive. So after that race, I was okay with just acknowledging that the BOB is the greatest thing out there, but I’d never have one. Because they’re so nice, even their resale value was two to three times what I spent when it was time to replace BEAST #1. Yes, it was sad. After close to 1000 miles with Beast #1, I needed a new stroller and found a steal on Amazon for $120. I was so excited when that box came in the mail and I still love that stroller so much, not because it is even close to a Ferrari but because we had so many good runs together.

The first time I ever pushed a BOB

Beast #2

So anyway, this was supposed to be a quick rundown about jogging strollers, but as you can tell, if you’ve spent as many hours as I have with jogging strollers you become very opinionated and a tad nostalgic. Well, around the time Laura was born I noticed a family moved in right down the road and there was a BOB parked in their driveway!!! I felt like I had won the lottery. Not only have I not met many people in my neighborhood, but I never thought I’d meet one with two kids who also likes to run! So when I finally worked up the courage to introduce myself to the mom (4 months later) I used the BOB in my pick-up line, “So if you’ve got a BOB, you must like to run?” She replied cooly, “Eh, yeah, hah, I guess, I used to, but no I don’t run too much.” In my head I’m screaming, “BLASPHEMY!” “YOU HAVE A BOB BUT DON’T LIKE TO RUN! WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS ON THE BEST STROLLER EVER IF YOU DON’T RUN MUCH!!!”  Then the real kicker, she got the stroller for $20 bucks in Hawaii from a couple who no longer needed it and gave it away on a whim. Well I didn’t know it at the time, but Liz and I would become super good friends and our kids even more so (Patrick and Liz’s daughter, Zoe were actually classmates too, and already best friends).  When Liz upgraded her BOB a few weeks ago she gave me her old one which I not only love because it is the greatest stroller that ever lived, but also because it calls to mind our conversation the day I met her and it reminds me to be less hesitant about meeting new people and making new friends. One of my biggest regrets is not going over to Liz’s sooner to introduce ourselves. Now that they are getting ready to move, I really would love to have those 4 months back where all I did was wonder about the family with the BOB who just moved in.

Zoe and Shannon, Oliver, and Patrick

I bought something new!

If you can't find Shannon, there's
a 95% chance she has opened the
fridge and found something to eat.
This time it is a contaner full of
Gam's cookie dough.

So how do you spend over 3000 dollars before noon when you’re buying nothing new for a year.  Well, you have awesome luck! And I mean that both sarcastically and non-sarcastically. It’s been a whirlwind of a two weeks with quite a few sucker punches, dealt by life itself. And that’s okay. Really, sometimes you need some sucker punches in your life to remember you’re only human and there is a much higher power in this world that you NEED. That’s right, I am fully aware that I, myself am not capable of handling all of the situations I have been put in these last couple weeks and I have certainly relied heavily on and been thankful for the faith I have in God to get me through.

Yeah, I know you’re curious, after 6 weeks of buying nothing new, what in the world did I buy? Well, a good chunk of that money is going towards….wait for it….. a new effluent pump and a clean septic tank! And yes, the pump’s new, but I certainly can’t make one and I definitely can’t or wouldn’t want to try to fix it on my own so a new one it is! Talk about a stroke of good luck, (please sense my sarcasm again) at the hour I get my septic tank pumped, there happens to be a water main break in my town, so the septic pump man can’t use my hose to clean the filter because we have no water. Hah J! Lucky me, I got a FREE tutorial on how to clean my own septic tank filter and I can file the information away on my list of useless, random knowledge (I say useless because while this would be very pertinent information if I were in fact a septic tank pumping lady, I am not and for the record I plan on rescheduling my septic tank pumping next time there is also a water main break I don’t think I will be cleaning anymore filters). So yes all of that accounts for my sarcastically spoken “awesome luck” for today.  And for my actual good luck today, well it is going to remain a secret a while longer, sorry. I will say although it was expensive, it is not a “something new.”

Here she is, in all her glory!
But nevermind the filter, do you see that concrete
block in the back...well it made my workout this
morning seem like a joke!

 *I felt like I earned my Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval....when I cleaned my own septic tank filter

Bacon Butternut Squash

eyes

cheeks

Contrary to what my previous two blog posts about food would indicate, we actually eat pretty healthy as a family. We tried the Zone diet last year and there was a little too much thought and (imo) the portion sizes were too small. Next we tried the Paleo “diet.” There are just too many things that we missed eating to adhere to that plan strictly so now we mostly follow a hybrid where we eat strict Paleo meals 3-4 times a week, a Zonish meal 1-2 times a week, meaning we’ll allow some cheeses, nuts, and a   piece of bread here and there and then the remaining 1-2 days are complete junk- pizza, French toast, pancakes, muffins, cookies and taco dip. Yes we could make Paleo or Zone pizza, and there are recipes for Paleo pancakes, muffins and cookies, but the truth is we’ve tried them the healthy way and we just prefer the unhealthy way. If you’re going to cheat it should be satisfying!

Anyway, since trying Paleo we have tried several new vegetables like eggplant and spaghetti squash and I have used many new ingredients like almond flour, coconut milk and ghee, but the truth is most nights we have a boneless, skinless chicken breast with a steamed vegetable. Not very exciting. So I was looking for a way to make some jazzier side dishes when I came across a recipe from Sarah Fragoso, a super-mom and Paleo recipe blogger, for skillet butternut squash and greens. I didn’t follow her recipe, although it’s similar, so I will just post what I did. I used:

1 package of turkey bacon

1 butternut squash
½ onion, chopped
1 9oz bag of spinach leaves
2-4 tbs Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Oil

Start by softening the butternut squash. These guys are very hard so you will want to stick with a fork a few times and put it in the microwave for about 6 minutes which will get it soft enough to peel and cut open. Next scoop out the seeds (you can save these and put them in an after workout shake) and cube the squash. Then put the squash into a pan of boiling water for a few minutes until it is tender, not squishy and drain. Meanwhile cook the bacon until crispy and set aside. Next sauté the chopped onion in oil until tender. Add the drained butternut squash and crumble the bacon.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle 2-4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar over the pan and cook on medium heat for a couple minutes. Finally add spinach leaves and fold everything in the pan together until the spinach leaves are wilted.

We have added cubed chicken into the mixture to make a meal or served this along side chicken for a yummy side dish. In this picture we had our bacon butternut squash with a dill/dry mustard rub baked chicken.

Radical Abandonment

I mentioned the other day I would start collecting a bag of things to part with each day for 30 days. One of my goals when we started the Buy Nothing New Challenge was to give more. By gathering the things we don’t need I can give more to the needy. Now that it is 5 days into the month I thought I should update and let you know that I am actually doing rather well collecting and donating items. This is a fabulous, organized way to get rid of clutter around your house. It may seem daunting to say “I need to clean my whole house” or “my entire basement,” but broken into small areas like hall closet, car trunk, medicine cabinet or kid’s bookshelf, you will find it much easier to rid your space of the things you don’t need. This is also a great way to redefine necessities and luxuries.

Okay while it is great that we are giving more and de-cluttering, we aren’t really doing anything out of the ordinary or particularly generous or noble. In fact, look at the way I said we are “gathering the things we don’t need.” We are just giving what is comfortable for us to give. I think I have mentioned before that I am reading Radical by David Platt. I’m about halfway through and while I am not certain I agree with everything he says he makes many very interesting points and if you get the chance it’s definitely worth reading. He puts the hammer down on people like me who give what is comfortable and encourages giving until it is uncomfortable. Then we could learn to seek comfort in Christ and not in material wealth.

Platt acknowledges a so called “blind spot” in his life that many other Americans also have. The Bible asks us “What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us. But those who want to get rich fall into the temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:7-10). Here I am guilty of exactly what Platt criticizes so many American Christians of doing. So many times I have read this and thought not of myself but of CEO’S, people living in mega mansions and those driving around Porsches and Hummers. But I am no less guilty. I have and desire much more than just food and clothes. I should not want because things and materials are evil but Platt suggests  I should not want so that I can spend my excesses on the poor and needy around me. He encourages us to “begin operating under the idea that God has given us excess, not so we could have more but so we could give more (pg. 127).”

I am happy to give my things away, but here is where I question Platt. I don’t think that everyone’s excess in the world would help those who are living in poverty, or maybe it would, but for how long. Money, food, clean drinking water and medical care are short term answers. Even coupled with a gospel lesson, these things are not the answer to sustaining civilization.

I do however applaud Platt for looking critically at the church in America. Why start so small as ourselves though? Sure a lot could be done if every individual gave our excesses; like I said before I don’t think we’d cure world hunger but we could provide sustenance for many. I like how Platt, a mega church pastor himself, criticizes the mega churches in our country and the ones that strive for bigger buildings with more programs and activities. The church buildings of today are often multi million dollar complexes with state of the art technology and elaborately decorated interiors. But isn’t it easy to see how hypocritical it is for us to spend that kind of money for our own comforts while millions of people are starving and yet we are proud of ourselves when we raise a couple thousand dollars to send for relief? Wouldn’t we be much more effective in helping the poor and sending more people to far off places to teach the gospel if we used only what we needed to survive?

 As you can probably tell I am not at all concise so here is a fantastic snippet of Radical by David Platt himself, Radical synopsis. I am also not pretending to understand much of the Bible or even what Platt suggests but I do like the way he makes us look at ourselves and our churches critically so that we can help the most people and do the most with what we have. I also truly appreciate the human side of Platt. Radical is completely convicting but it still gives us hope. It would be a lot more discouraging without Platt admitting that he too is human. He concedes “that the war against materialism in our hearts is exactly that: a war.” He continues, “it is a constant battle to resist the temptation to have more luxuries, to acquire more stuff and to live more comfortably” and “it requires strong and steady resolve to live out the gospel in the middle of an American dream that identifies success as moving up the ladder, getting the bigger house, purchasing the nicer car, buying the better clothes, eating the finer food and acquiring more things (pg 136).”

Platt makes us take an uncomfortable look at the way we view our wealth. He calls the way we spend our money a “barometer of our spiritual condition” and an “indicator of our eternal destination (pg. 138).” So I’m under no allusions that because I’m giving a couple of bags away that I have reserved for myself a spot of eternal salvation but I am happy to be eliminating excess and happy to share the book Radical with others.