Happy Earth Day (April 22)! If you’ve read my blog at all before you know that I have deep convictions about the way I treat the planet I’m allowed to live on. On this day and every day I encourage you to take the time to care for the earth. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We can not enjoy the beauty of God’s creation if we destroy the creation.
I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I’m thirty years old! However, I can’t help but feel anything but gratitude. When I was 22 years old I was told I had a large tumor on a vital organ and may need surgery to remove the tumor. I was told the surgery had only a 60 % survival rate and that without the surgery I would not eat solid food again. That diagnosis was hard and painful and still creates fear as I type this post. However, on this day I stand healthier, stronger and more at peace than every before. I do not pretend to understand all of the ways of God or why God chose to allow me to overcome such a struggle, yet on this day I am grateful to be alive and healthy.
My twenties have been busy! I graduated college with Bachelors degree, got married, begun a career, became a mother, graduated from graduate school with a Master’s degree, said goodbye to some wonderful friends, and made some lifelong friends. I’ve had two skin cancers removed, became a better steward of the earth, struggled with anxiety, and grown a passion for being healthy. I have less “absolutes” in life than every before yet I have a stronger faith in God’s presence and grace in my life than ever before.
I begin my thirties a few pounds heavier,with a few more wrinkles and gray hairs but also with some wisdom that comes with life experience. I’m thankful that God is not finished with me yet and I look forward to what my future holds.
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I am very lucky to have many great friends. I’ve been blessed with wonderful friends throughout my life and in each new phase that life sends my way. When I had Lizzie Sue three and a half years ago Lance and I made the decision that I would stay at home to care for her. That decision was the best for my family and I would not change it for the world. However, being at home came with its own challenges. One of those challenges was being lonely. Particularly when Lizzie Sue was a baby and slept most of the day, I was lonely. I missed the interaction that I had with friends at work and while I had plenty to keep me busy ( I was in grad school at the time) I missed adult conversation. I felt this way until one day I found a conversation board called Moms at home. This board was made up of women who were “at home” with their children. Many of these women actually worked part time (like I do) but for the most part they were home during the day. The women on this board were from all over the country and from different walks of life, yet were brought together by a common thread. I was able to log on several times a day and to know that other women were in the same “boat” as me. I learned so much about parenting and life from these women. Many of them challenged me and helped me to be a better wife, mother and friend. As the months and years past many of these women became my “real” friends. I felt as close to them as I did my friends in “real” life. Many of the members of the board have met over the years at various times and places when life would allow but until this week I never had the opportunity to meet anyone in person.
On Tuesday I was lucky enough to meet a person whom I consider one of my best friends. I “met” Amanda on the moms at home board years ago and our friendship has changed over the years. It has gone from casual conversation to true friendship. Amanda is a good friend who challenges and inspires me to acknowledge that my body and this earth are precious gifts from God and to treat them as such. It was a joy to spend the day with Amanda and her family and I look forward to the next time we are able to get together. I am truly thankful that because of social networking it is possible for me to continue old friendships and to make new friendships with people whom I may not have known otherwise.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
I’ve done pretty well with recycling for a while now. I keep several bins outside my kitchen door for easy access. Even though my city only has curb-side pick up for paper I collect glass, albumin, tin, plastic and cardboard to take downtown to the recycling center any time I’m heading that way. I check out the numbers on the bottom of anything plastic and I try to only buy products that have a 1 or 2 since that’s what I can recycle. I also buy as many products as I can that are made from recycled material. Our market exists on a supply and demand basis so if we demand recycled materials more companies will use them.
However, not until pretty recently was I conscious about reducing or reusing. Reusing is even more important than recycling since it takes a great deal of energy to recycle. Before I throw anything in the trash or recycling bin I try to think of another use. Here are a few of the things I’ve been doing lately to reduce and reuse.
What do you do to reuse? Any new ideas?
I could go into a big explanation for my blogging absence but I won’t bore you! I could also make promises about how often I will blog but I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. Anyway, thanks for visiting my blog! You will get to read about all of the random thoughts in my mind that I have no where else to process. J
Over the past few years I have struggled with loving the “skin” I am in. My body doesn’t look like it did when I was 18 or 21 and somehow that makes me feel inadequate. It is however my personal belief that my body is both a gift from God and his temple, therefore it is my responsibility to take care of it to the best of my ability. I really struggle with the fine line between sheer vanity and self care. I try to take care of my body with regular exercise and conscious eating without being extreme. I think most extreme measures are bad and most things are ok in moderation. I also try to limit the number of sugary snacks I consume in a day (this one is really hard for me).
My two newest improvements are whole foods and natural personal care products. I have been making efforts to buy whole and/or organic foods when possible and I’ve tried to cut out a large amount of processed foods. We eat lots of fresh vegetables, whole grains and lean meat. I still splurge on special outings or parties but I try to make our day to day eating better. Eating healthy is a little more expensive but worth the cost. I try to watch sells and use coupons when possible but when it comes down to cost or health I choose health.
Most recently I’ve been researching the chemicals that are put in lots of personal care products such as make-up, shampoo, deodorant and even toothpaste. I’ve gradually been trying to replace my chemically laced products with natural products. This is a great web-site for reviews on products, http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/.
I have been pleasantly surprised with many of the natural products. They work just as well as or better than the chemical ones. I have also been surprised to find many of these products at Target, Wal-Mart and Kroger. Most stores have a natural products section which I never knew before. Below is a list of a few of my new favorites.
All Natural Face make-up http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6292094
Burt’s Bee’s orange face wash
Yes to Carrots night- time face cream
Some days I get overwhelmed but I try to remember that the most I can do in any given day is to be the best me I can be by trying to make choices that honor my body.
Yesterday marked the seventh year since I was married to my husband. There are many things I could say about the past seven years however, I’m not very poetic so I think I’ll not try. My thoughts on marriage are summed up into a phrase a friend recently said.
“Marriage is hard work but anything worth having is”
A good marriage does not just happen. It takes effort on the part of both people to make time for one another, compromise on issues, and to apologize when you are wrong.
I had a wonderful Mother’s Day with my family! I am so grateful for my grandmothers, mother, and my sweet child. Here is a fun link to determine what your monetary value as a mother should be. It allows you to add the money you make in a paying job as well. After entering my “real pay” I should be making over 200,000 per year for my services. If only……….. 
Being a mama is the hardest job I’ve ever had but it’s the best!
My family has been in a particularly busy season the past few weeks as we bring all our “school-year” activities to a close Little Belle’s preschool (and my job in her class), church preschool choir, Run4missions, and hand bells. So, Lizzie Sue and I have been in the road more than we’ve been home. I was excited to just “stay-home” today so I asked Lizzie Sue what she wanted to do with mama today after she woke. Her answer was “yets make a princess cake, mama”. My first thought was no, we’ll do that for your birthday. Then I thought……why not? Life’s short you don’t have to wait for your birthday to make a fun cake. So, Lizzie Sue and I whipped up a cake and pulled out the princess cake toppers. It was a fun morning….I’d say “fit for a princess”. J
Since this is the last year I’ll live in my twenties I’ve been thinking a lot about age lately. I’ve always heard people say that you’re only as old as you feel but I’m not sure that’s true.
Here’s why……… I think I stopped feeling like I was aging since I was 22-23. While I have a few more wrinkles, and a few (actually a lot) more gray hairs I still feel like I’m in my young twenties.
I’ll give you an example….I would easily categories myself as a “young married” despite the fact that my dear husband and I will be 29 and 34 this year and have been married close the seven years. But, this morning at church it was proven that no matter how old I feel others know I’m aging. When I started attending Mt. Zion six years ago I started going to the “young married” Sunday school class with people my age or a little older. The class still has the same people and guess what they announced on Sunday?!?!??!! They are starting a “young married” class…what, I thought we were the young married class????? Apparently, not! They want a class with people who really are young and newly married. The nerve! So what are they going to call our class……the middle age married couples class? No way, no how, not me!
I dug up all my veggie plants right after the first frost but not before I picked about 30 green tomatoes and 4 bell peppers. The tomatoes are sitting in the window a few at a time turning red. We’ll have tomatoes a while longer and I may have enough to freeze a bag or two more. We have really enjoyed eating the fruits our plants this year. I’m doing some reading on gardening and I plan to have a big garden next year. I love knowing that nothing harmful has been put on my food!