SortaCrunchy

What Are You Into - September 2011

You know how something can feel like an entire lifetime ago but also just a few seconds past at the same time? That's how I feel when I look back at my list of what I was into in September 2010.

What I Am Into This Month - September 2011

On My Nightstand: As I mentioned last month, I'm cutting way back on reading right now. I did receive Consumer Detox: Less Stuff, More Life by Mark Powley for review, so I've been sneaking that in here and there. I went ahead and got Mariah Bruehl's Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder and it is FANTASTIC. Cannot possibly recommend it highly enough. Just incredible.

Want to Read: I'm not really the theologian fan girl type, but I do adore Roger Olson. He's a leading voice in the post-conservative evangelical camp and in October, his book Against Calvinism releases and I would love to read it. Not that I in any way, shape, or form have time for that in October. But since you asked.

(And of course, nothing at all against my Reformed and/or Calvinist friends - of whom I have many. I'm just a hard-core Arminian, y'all. And Roger Olson is my homeboy.)

T.V. Worth Watching: I am writing this post-publishing because I totally forgot about TV. AND I am actually watching some things that are in current runs instead of living on Netflix!

So - Project Runway. What a bummer of a season this is. I find myself going back and watching clips of the Bravo seasons on their site and remembering with sadness and agony how fantastic this show used to be. Hmph.

But! Redeeming the airwaves for me right now is New Girl on Fox. Zooey Deschanel. LOVE. HER. Swoon-y girl crush love her. This show is funny and unexpected and charming and I am so glad I caught it. Two episdodes in and I cannot wait for more!

We finally finished Prison Break (only four seasons but felt like so much more) and I guess we are kind of taking a break from the "serial" genre. (Is that a thing? Did I totally make that up?) Kyle is watching a more procedural-type show (Flashpoint, I think?) because I am working a lot in the evenings at this point.

I keep hearing great things about Sherlock on BBC. Any other Netflix must watch recommendations?

Movie I've Seen: Well, I did end up going with a friend on Labor Day to see The Help. It was sold out (!) at the first theater we tried, so we hightailed it up to Bricktown and got there about 10 minutes into the film. I promptly started crying 5 minutes later, and my friend whispered, "Really? You're crying already?" That's the price you pay for seeing movies with me, friends. Anyway, I loved it. I thought the screen adaptation was brilliantly done. I want to live in Emma Stone's wardrobe.

In My Kitchen: It's been nearly a year since Kyle and I drastically changed our diets and began eating very low-carb. I have to tell you, my kitchen has been utter snoozeville since then. Kyle grills our meat and I fix up veggies and salads, but that's about it. Any ideas for ways to spice up the low-carb kitchen?

In My Ears: 

1) Mumford & Sons Pandora

2) I fully blame Missy for this. The Book of Mormon musical soundtrack.

I was so, so reluctant about this because I have some very dear friends who are LDS and making fun of their faith is not what I am about. Also? Matt Stone and Trey Parker. But you know what? I kind of love it. First of all, it's a hilarious tribute to the Broadway musical genre. Secondly, it's less about lampooning Mormons and more just a really thought-provoking commentary on what it means to have faith, to struggle with doubt, and how we respond when we begin to question our beliefs. My friend Andy made a great point that Stone and Parker could have chosen people on mission from any faith (Southern Baptist missionaries would make for an equally entertaining musical, I think!), and the universality of the message would have translated.

I mean, fair warning. It is from the creators of South Park so there are definitely strong adults-only aspects to it. But my enjoyment of it has been the biggest surprise to me of the past month.

Bloggy Items of Note/New Blog Reads:

I love Kathy Escobar with a capital L-O-V-E, so last month when she wrote on different ways to worship, I sighed a big, happy sigh. You know I totally dig that stuff.

Rachel at Even One Sparrow has been writing through the experience of living in intentional community with another family. Now, she and her family are moving into their own space for the first time ever. I am looking forward to seeing how this all plays out, and I am confident that she will share it with the honesty and transparency that marks all of her writing.

Another Rachel who is going through a major life change is my long time dear friend Rachel at Small Notebook. She and her family are also moving into their own space for the first time ever. I wish I could be there to help her unpack, but since I can't, at least I can enjoy and appreciate things like The Whitewash Incident from afar.

I told you how much I'm enjoying style/lifestyle blogs at the moment. A new fave is Thursday at My Girl Thursday. She is just darling and I LOVE her vlogs. Cute, fun stuff.

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month: Cooler temperatures. Halloween (I don't dig it, but my girls do, and that makes it fun). Laura and I are digging in deep to the heart of writing the book and it's hard work, friends, but good and powerful and meaningful work. (P.S. Prayers appreciated.)

Laura and I have a deadline tomorrow, but as soon as we submit that work, I am taking a break from the computer and indulging in some serious screen-free time. I am craving and very much looking forward to that!

That's what I am into this month! Your turn! Tell me in the comments or link up a post of your please, my dears!

 

Your Green Resource - Week Two

What is "Your Green Resource"? It's your chance to share all your green ideas, resources and solutions with ALL of our readers! That's right, when you link up on any of our blogs, your idea will get shared with all of the readers here and at:

Andrea at The Greenbacks Gal Stacy at A Delightful Home Emily at Live Renewed

We know that many of you have posts of your own about your green journey that our readers will love. Some examples of Green Resources you can link up:

• Real Food Recipes
• Repurposed Projects
• Upcycled Projects
• Organic Gardening Tips
• DIY Natural or Green
• Thrifty Solutions

In addition to making this a weekly place where you can both share and learn new green ideas, each week we'll be "Stumbling Upon" our favorite post! We want your green ideas to go viral - so we'll stumble the post for you! The stumbled post from last week was: 25 Healthy Snacks for Children from Young Living Oil Lady.

Please make sure to link to the post with your green/natural living idea, not your homepage. Also, to spread the word about Your Green Resource to your readers, please make sure to include a link back to one of the four hostesses for this weekly link-up!

Link your posts - old or new! - and share them on Your Green Resource!

what i wore wednesday (first time)

cardi - Christopher & Bank, thrifted; striped tee - Crazy Horse, thrifted; belt - thrifted; navy skirt - CHAUS, thrifted; sandals - old, old Famous Footwear find

If you listen carefully, you can hear the gulp. I'm so nervous!

My introduction to What I Wore Wednesday at The Pleated Poppy came via Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife. She's a great resource for fashion-y type things. I always enjoy seeing what she wears on a day-to-day basis, but I couldn't imagine that I would ever post something like that here.

But the funny thing about blogging for five-and-a-half years is that eventually, you have to do new things. You have to push yourself out of the usual and the safe and the comfortable. This is me, pushed.

Y'all have been so kind and encouraging in the comments on my closet post that I feel inspired to maybe do a little more on that. I have got to figure out a better way to do pictures though.

Anyway. I'm starting with just one outfit - what I wore to church on Sunday.

I am mildly to moderately obsessed with stripes. A glance at my threads board will testify to that. And this sweet and simple outfit from Kristine or Polly really resonated with me. So ...

When I found that full navy skirt by CHAUS (with pockets!) at Goodwill, I knew it had to be mine. It reminds me so much of the kinds of things my mother wore when I was a child (of the 80s). As I commented on Amber's WIWW post today, I so wish I had all of my mother's wardrobe from the 80s. Looking back, she had some killer looks.

So, just for fun and just because I loved it, this is what I wore.

lunchboxes and love notes

She has always been a stickler for correctness of language usage, my mother.

It seems funny to me now, though it never did then, that she always signed my lunchbox notes MOM. Not Mom. All three letters capitalized. Well, it's no small miracle that the notes were even written. Herding four children up and out the door is a feat in and of itself.

Oh, I loved those lunch box notes. I treasured them in upper elementary when I first awakened to the realities of mean girl politics and by lunchtime my head was filled with Who Is My Friend Today? instead of What Are We Learning Today? Those notes were like a lifeline, a tangible link to a safe place at home. Home wasn't perfect, but it was home.

MOM

The first time I stuck a note in Dacey's lunchbox, I signed it MOM completely involuntarily. I stared hard at those three letters and swallowed down sadness. A disease I hate so, so much has robbed my MOM of the ability to write anything. She can't even sign her name on a check anymore. There won't be any love notes for my girls from her -- not of the written variety, anyway.

I don't write love notes for her lunch box every day. Getting one child up and out the door, it's a minor miracle. When I do write them, I write them for me and I write them for my mother and I write them for Dacey and I write them for her children. There will always be a safe place.

Tonight after her bath, she asked me to put braids in her hair so that she could have the waves she's always wanted. I worked my fingers through the straight, straight hair that I always wanted and asked her if she liked the note in her lunch. Yes, but I didn't show it to my friends. Good then. Our little secret.

A slender rope anchoring her heart back to MOM.

linking up (a little late today) with Heather's Just Write movement.

Call-In To Stop Child Slavery - TODAY!

The truth is, I hate using the phone.

This might surprise you, but I'm a bit of a phone-phobe. I hate calling to make doctor's appointments, I hate calling customer service, I hate calling strangers about anything, anytime, always.

Even our fears and phobias can be redeemed though, right?

I'm asking all of you - every single one of you who are US citizens - to join me today in overwhelming the phones of our Congress people with support for the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. YES, even you fellow phone-phobes! People who have been trafficked have been robbed of so much - dignity, freedom, hope, and a voice. Whether you hate the phone or use it copiously, YOU have a voice and you can use that voice TODAY to stand up for people - adults and children alike - who have been victims of trafficking.

Why today?

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 must be renewed every few years. The current TVPA expires on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30. That's why today is the day to call in to your representatives in Washington to ask them to support these bills.

Everything you need to know - every single thing - is available to you today from World Vision. You can see which Senators have already co-sponsored the TVPRA (and if yours have, call to thank them!), and you can see who hasn't. They have a link to how you can quickly look up your Representatives and a sample script.

And because I am a phone-phobe, I wouldn't ask you to do something I haven't already done. It took five minutes, no kidding, start to finish to look up my Senators and Representative AND to make the phone calls. The staffers were friendly and efficient and though my hands shook a bit as I dialed, I did it.

Call-in to stop child slavery, friends. It's simple and powerful and meaningful. Pick up your phone and call now.

Blessings.

photo source

Spirit-Led Parenting: Call for Stories, Part Two

Last week, Laura and I began the process of gathering your stories to share in Spirit-Led Parenting. Today, we are posting the second set of questions as part of the Spirit-Led Parenting series at Laura's blog.

Today's set of questions address the topics of feeding baby, connection with baby (including questions regarding PPD), pressure or influence from others, and any words of encouragement you would offer to new parents regarding following the Spirit's lead in parenting. Read more here!

This is our last set of questions. If you are going to submit your story to be included in our book, please know the deadline is two weeks from today - October 10th.

Thank you, friends!

this is where . . . i hang my clothes

Truth be told, I always wanted to be Claudia. In reality, I dressed like Mary Ann. You probably don't even remember Mary Ann, do you? She's quite forgettable.

Before Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda, there were the close-knit, dynamic, entrepreneurial girls of The Babysitter's Club. The girls of my generation found themselves absorbed in the pages of this iconic young adult series, and I absolutely inhaled each new installment.

Oh, I wanted to be Claudia. Purple was her favorite color and it was mine, too. (Have I ever told you that my wedding colors were lilac and lavender? Truth.) She wore purple with red and big earrings and experimented with her hair and she was an artist and she was exotic. I think I remember her wearing suspenders on some occasion, too. She was bold and she was brave, but even before I hit adolescence, I had already begun treading the dissonance between who I was on the inside and who I portrayed myself to be on the outside. Inside, I yearned to be Claudia, but on the outside, I was Mary Ann, shy and sensitive and entirely predictable.

* * * * *

Age has given me what I was looking for my entire life – it gave me me. It provided the time and experience and failures and triumphs and friends who helped me step into the shape that had been waiting for me all my life . . . I not only get along with me most of the time now, I am militantly and maternally on my own side. -- Anne Lamott

* * * * *

In an effort to learn how to step into the shape I know I've had since childhood, I took this picture of my closet late last May:

I wanted to tell you how I had suddenly realized that I have so much black in my closet, and since I neither live in NYC nor do I have a melancholy temperament, this was a bit incongruous.

Then the tornado happened, and, well.

And then I got caught up in that guilt cycle, berating myself for giving clothes a second thought when children around the world die of starvation and preventable disease every day.

When I posted this outfit last month, Arianne responded with truth I was needing to hear. In just a few words, she reminded me of living as an Artist, and I felt freedom to be who I was created to be by a God who creates. It's important for the Advocate/Champion types to remember that these are not words that define us and that we can express other aspects of our lives without betraying loyalty to our causes.

* * * * *
So now I'm showing you that this is where, and it seemed like a good time to let you in on this thing I'm going through. This thing where I'm realizing I'm thirty-four and if I can't start dressing outwardly as an expression of who I am internally, then when on earth will I? This thing where I'm shrugging my shoulders at "should" and indulging in "because I love it."This thing where I'm most inspired by the little fashion maven who lives under my roof:

Here is a picture of my closet as of yesterday:

What do you notice first? I hope you see less black. It's still there (and it's hard to let go of!), but I'm working on it.

I wonder if you notice how S-M-A-L-L the closet is? And you can't tell from the picture, but it's in the girls' room. And the girls hanging clothes are in an armoire in the same room. Oh, old houses. How you motivate us to choose thoughtfully that which we deem worthy to hang.

* * * * *

Last week's Project Runway had designers working with male clients to create an outfit for their wives or girlfriends. The designers began by asking the men where their partners liked to shop. Most of the men were "Ummmmmmmm ..." I thought it would be fun to ask Kyle the same question. Without missing a beat, he said, "Goodwill?"

WIN!

I've been hunting and searching and digging and rummaging and I've added some things -- all from thrift stores -- that I absolutely love. And I've channeled my inner Claudia to have the courage to wear pieces like this 70s-era blouse that I passed on at first but went back the next day to rescue:

And I'm doing the PTO mom thing with a bit of a twist:

(Um, the white specks are on the mirror, not the skirt. The only full-length mirror in our home is in the girls' room, so you can imagine.)


That jacket/top is honest-to-goodness vintage, and I am so proud of discovering it:

It's okay if you think this is all a little silly. Maybe you've always dressed according to your personality, or maybe you've never cared to at all. Either is fine. Both are wonderful. Thank you for humoring my not-quite-midlife-crisis of clothing.

I'm going to keep on being inspired by friends like Ashleigh and Ari and Sara Sophia and Amber. I'm going to keep on stalking strangers like Kendi and Lauren and James and Elsie. I'm going to keep on rocking some fuchsia tights because they make me giddy:

I'm having fun and I'm showing you ME and I'm not going to worry what other people think. Who knows what might turn up next in that shrinky-dink closet? I'll keep you updated because this is where I hang my clothes.

Your Green Resource - Week One

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Your Green Resource! I am thrilled to be joining

• Andrea of The Greenbacks Gal
• Stacy of A Delightful Home
• Emily of Live Renewed

in hosting this new weekly link-up!

We are inviting you to share your green resources

• Real food recipes
• Repurposed projects
• Upcycled projects
• Organic gardening tips
• DIY natural or green projects
• Natural parenting recommendations
• Thrifty solutions

with readers from ALL of our blogs! This can be a new post or one from your archives - as long as it pertains to the journey to green or natural living.

Don't forget, we'll be sharing favorite posts we Stumbled each week - maybe yours will be on that list?

Two notes:

1) Make sure to link to your actual post, not your homepage, and

2) Please include a link back to one of the four host blogs in your post. This way, all of YOUR readers can be aware of this incredible resource, too!

Thanks for playing along. Can't wait to see what you have to share this week!

Introducing Your Green Resource!

Tomorrow I am starting a new project that I am so excited to invite you to join! I'm a little late telling you about it (of course) and it starts tomorrow, but the good news is that this will be a weekly feature so you can jump in anytime!

Each Thursday, I'll be joining

• Andrea of The Greenbacks Gal
• Stacy of A Delightful Home
• Emily of Live Renewed

in hosting Your Green Resource. I figured it was high time I got back to my natural living roots, and I think this link-up is going to be so helpful for so many of us!

Here's how it works:

You share your green ideas, resources, and solutions in the weekly link-up, and your link gets shared with the readers from all FOUR of our blogs!

We know that many of you are publishing fantastic ways to go green in practical, manageable ways. You can link to brand new content, or you can link to something you've published in the past. Some ideas of what you might link to are:

• Real food recipes
• Repurposed projects
• Upcycled projects
• Organic gardening tips
• DIY natural or green projects
• Natural parenting recommendations
• Thrifty solutions

In addition to creating a place where new ideas are shared week after week, we'll also be spreading the green influence in social media by "Stumbling Upon" our favorite posts each week. I'll choose some of my favorites from the link list to share on Twitter and SortaCrunchy's Facebook page as a way of saying thank you for participating!

We'll kick things off on September 22nd, so start thinking about the green living resource that YOU want to share!

A Different Way to Do Birthdays!

I can hardly believe it has been over two years since I began contributing at Simple Mom!

I had admired Tsh from afar since her launch of Simple Mom in 2008, and now I've grown to know her as a friend and incredibly patient, gracious editor since I joined the Simple Living Media team in 2009.

Between book deadlines, loss of internet for an entire day (a lifetime in work-at-home-land), and now our first go-round with lice (ugh), life pushed back against my scheduled column for this month. We are re-running a column I wrote two years ago this month on Birthday Alternatives: Less Stuff, More Fun.

Join us there?