October Unprocessed

On October 1, Andrew and I will begin our commitment to “October Unprocessed”. What does that mean? Well, head over to eatingrules to find out all of the nitty gritty—suffice it to say, we are going to do our darndest to avoid processed foods and preservatives. This does not mean that we will be 100% organic, but it does mean that we are going to be doing a lot more “from scratch” cooking. We won’t be perfect, but we sure are going to try to get close!

The picture above shows our pantry after I went through it and threw out everything that would go bad before the end of October if we won’t eat it, as well as separating the good food (top two shelves), from the only-if-we’re-desperate (middle), and the don’t touch (bottom).

We definitely need to go grocery shopping!

So close!

So you know how I have my 30 Before 30 list? Well, I was hoping to check off another goal today—running a 5k. In the end I came really close; I ran all but about three minutes of it and finished in about 36 minutes.

Unfortunately, running all but three minutes does not equate to running the whole thing, so now I will start looking at the next race that I want to enter. Hopefully a triathalon won’t be too far behind that!

On a side note—running is a really great laxative. Haha!

Restless in Carolina–A Book Review

I had mixed feelings when I picked up the novel Restless in Carolina by Tamara Leigh; on the one hand I was excited because the main character is a “green” person, but on the other hand, the main character is also a young widow.  While I could definitely identify with the main character, Bridget’s, green nature, I never want to have to identify with her widowhood.

Anyway, Restless in Carolina tells the story of Bridget, who is looking for a “green” developer for her family’s ancestral land since they are being forced to sell it.  She finds developer JC Dirk, who may prove to be her family’s savior, as well as help her pull up her “widow’s weeds”…. or will he?

Like I said before, I was excited about this book because it focused on an environmentally aware woman, but I found that the story was a little difficult to get into.  The author opens the story at a family wedding and right away begins to introduce characters without explaining their relationship to the main character, which made for some confusion for me.  The author also introduced lots of topics and events without explaining those either.  I know she was building suspense, but it often made for more confusion.  As the storyline progressed, I did begin to enjoy it and root for Bridget and JC.

I wouldn’t give this book a rave review, but it was a good story about rising above tragedy and allowing God to heal your hurts.  You can read it for yourself by picking up a copy at amazon.com.  Don’t forget to rate my review on the Blogging for Books website!

I received this book for free as part of the Blogging for Books program from WaterBrook Multnomah; all opinions are 100% mine.

Candles

I love candles.  They smell nice and can transform my house into a springy meadow or autumn wood.  They can also clean your ears out.

What’s that?  Clean your ears?  Yes.  Yes, they can.  No, not the scented kind, but the kind you buy at health food stores can remove excess wax and infection from your ears.

My mom used to buy them every once in a while when we had an ear infection, but I haven’t used them in many years.  When I got a cold last week and my ears started to get clogged up, I really wanted to find some ear candles to relieve the pressure, but I never managed to get up to Chamberlain’s or Whole Foods to buy any.  Today I finally ran into CVS to see if they had any, but they ended up referring me to a health food store that is much closer than Whole Foods; and, I only paid $2.50 for each.  Now my ears feel splendid 🙂

Ear candles!

 

Days Like Today

It’s days like today that make me question my career choice.

No onlooker would think that I had a “bad” day, and really, it wasn’t except for some little things.  I said something stupid to someone at the start of the day, which was not intended at all to be hurtful, but was, and even though I apologized quickly I still feel terrible.  Then later I just became frustrated by some circumstances beyond my control.

It’s mostly intrapersonal conflict that plagues me, but it is defeating nonetheless.

When a House Isn’t Just a House

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner is about a house that isn’t just a house.  This house has it’s own character and story that plays out in the lives of those who live in it.  Built before the Civil War, Holly Oak has seen more than its fair share of war and loss, but unfortunately, the stories of loss continue even after the war ends.

When Marielle Bishop marries Carson Bishop, she becomes the woman of the house, so to speak, although she also takes on the role of stepmother to Carson’s two children who have lived there since birth.  The book follows Marielle as she adjusts to step-motherhood, as well as living in the house where her husband’s first wife lived and died, and where her grandmother still lives.

Susan Meissner has quickly become on of my favorite Christian fiction writers because her books are easy to read and very engaging—and they aren’t cheesy.  Although this book was written by a Christian and almost certainly intended for a Christian audience, you don’t have to be a Believe to appreciate and enjoy the story.  A Sound Among the Trees won’t be available until October, but I would highly recommend it once it is available for purchase.  Check it out at Barnes and Noble!

I received this book for free as part of the Blogging for Book Program through WaterBrook Multnomah.  All opinions are 100% mine.  Please rank my review on their website 🙂