I'm still trying to minimize our posessions. Even my email box was horribly clogged. I had 124 emails on my private account. Most of them were from nonprofits. During grad school I did a newsletter signup frenzy. I must have been lonely or something! I unsubscribed to almost all of them. Wow! What a difference. Our house is also filled with things we can't seem to say no to. Gifts from family, my mom sends me boxes of junk. Last night I made a list of things I want vs things I need. Need: Clothing, food, shelter. Medicine and cleaning products. Safety items (phone, flashlight) That doesn't sound like a lot until you remember that clothing alone is shoes, shirts, fall coats, winter coats, boots, gloves, jogging clothes, agh! Want: Art and supplies, amenities, furniture, books, cat toys, modest decor, some electronics. Girly things. That is still a lot of stuff, and it doesn't even include sentimental things. Very hard to choose. On a somewhat unrelated note, I love this clothing site called Prana. They make great yoga clothes and they are partnered with Conservation Alliance, a wonderful nonprofit. And they don't brag about stuff. I love that.
Going to my favorite semi-local market today. Finding products that aren't wasteful gives me a raging migraine. Companies brag about all sorts of things that are weak or completely meaningless. Like "made from sustainable materials". Says who? Oh yeah, the company who makes the product. Fortunately, the Federal Trade Commission has finally decided to step in. ABC news had a good story on the matter. As they point out in the story, a few good labels exist already. Terrachoice mentions Ecologo and Green Seal. Here's a quick and dirty eco-guide: ** Items that will be tossed in days or weeks are wasteful, period. The "biodegradeable" label is not regulated by law. Packaging should be minimal. **Plastic is evil. The end. Try glass or metal. **As our beloved Alton Brown says, we don't like Unitaskers. If you buy a glass bottle of milk, or whatever, think of ways you can Reuse the item. Put candies in it as a Christmas gift. That way you'll also avoid gift wrap for the holiday. **Paper can be biodegradeable, but habitat loss and deforestation are, in my opinion, the most serious environmental problem these days. Buy used furniture, use a cloth bag. Be happy and dance.
I made a red quinoa pilaf tonight, experimenting with the red quinoa I found in the bulk bin at Whole Foods. The pilaf recipe came from my new cookbook, Clean Food, and it's really simple -- you saute a small onion in olive oil, add 1/2 cup of currants and some herbs (it calls for summer savory, which I do not have, so I used a mix of sage, thyme, oregano, and basil), add the cooked quinoa, then sprinkle some ume plum vinegar and more olive oil on it and serve. The quinoa is a pretty rusty color, with the dark little currants providing a nice contrast. The dish is flavorful and bold, with the nutty quinoa and the sweet currants and the onions all competing. As expected, neither child liked it, though they ate some of the currants.
I also made a leek potato soup, and the boy actually ate some willingly! I required him to take two bites, and on the second one he started to like it and ate about half his bowl quickly. Then he stalled out, but it's progress!
Received from: Thomas Nelson.
Rating: 7 out of 10 (might have been higher had I read the first book -- this is the second)
Synopsis: The more than four hundred thousand readers stirred by the story of Ron Hall and Denver Moore will resonate with the all new, stand-alone true stories of hope and healing offered in this intimate, authentic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different as Me. With new "Denverisms" and reflections from Denver on his personal dealings with homelessness and disrespect from others, additional insights from Ron on what we can learn from people not like us and from those dealing with a terminal illness, and the stories of readers who have been impacted by the book's central themes, this inspirational reader will generate a host of new fans.
My review: I really wish that I'd read the first book, Same Kind of Different as Me, before I read this one. I have it coming to me from the library, so I'll review it soon. This book says it's standalone, but I really think I would have benefited from reading Same Kind first, just so I could have known the background of the three people What Difference focuses on -- Ron, Denver, and Deborah. Half of the chapters of the book are written by Ron, and half by Denver. Both had a lot of interesting things to say on the subject of homelessness and Christians. There are also stories of people around the country who were inspired by the first book. There was even a woman from West Sacramento mentioned -- her story hit very close to home. Needless to say, I really got a lot out of this book. It shifted my views of homeless people quite a bit, and it challenged me to think differently about the people I pass every day on the street. I don't have enough space to quote all of the different passages that affected me, but this one that really stood out (it was written by Denver, in his own voice):
"Since I been visitin a lotta churches, I hear people talkin 'bout how, after readin our story, they felt "led" to help the homeless, to come alongside the down-and-out. But when it comes to helpin people that ain't got much, God didn't leave no room for feelin led. Jesus said God gon' separate us based on what we did for folks that is hungry and thirsty, fells that is prisoners in jail and folks that ain't got no clothes and no place to live. What you gon' do when you get to heaven and you ain't done none a' that? Stand in front a' God and tell Him, "I didn't feel led"? You know what He gon' say? He gon' say, "You didn't need to feel led 'cause I had done wrote it down in the Instruction Book."
Hello conviction, I'm Cori.
(Finished 10/30/09)
Borrowed from: the Sacramento library
Rating: 8 out of 10
Synopsis: This sequel brings back the young wizard-in-training to face suspicious adults, hostile classmates, fretful ghosts, rambunctious spells, giant spiders, and even an avatar of Lord Voldemort, the evil sorcerer who killed his parents, while saving the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from a deadly, mysterious menace. Ignoring a most peculiar warning, Harry kicks off his second year at Hogwarts after a dreadful summer with his hateful guardians, the Dursleys, and is instantly cast into a whirlwind of magical pranks and misadventures, culminating in a visit to the hidden cavern where his friend Ron's little sister Ginny lies, barely alive, in a trap set by his worst enemy. Surrounded by a grand mix of wise and inept faculty, sneering or loyal peersplus an array of supernatural creatures including Nearly Headless Nick and a huge, serpentine basiliskHarry steadily rises to every challenge, and though he plays but one match of the gloriously chaotic field game Quidditch, he does get in plenty of magic and a bit of swordplay on his way to becoming a hero again.
My review: Ah, the adventures of the young Harry Potter continue. Again, I listened on audio book and fell in love all over again with Jim Dale's reading. He just brings everything to life. Also, he sounds exactly like Maggie Smith. Which is weird and awesome. This book is a little more intense than the first, especially toward the end. The characters are expanded more in this book, as are the growing mysteries surrounding Voldemort and Hogwarts. It's was also really well-paced -- unlike some of the others in the series, this one doesn't really get bogged down in the middle (I'm talking to you, Deathly Hallows). Plus, we get to see more of Ginny. And I just adore her. (Finished 10/13/09)
- I was opening a can of cream of celery soup on Sunday and sliced the absolute hell out of my pinkie. Went-to-the-hospital sort of slice. Almost fainted sort of slice. Bloooood sort of slice.
- Barf.
- Would have thought it would have been a knife that would have done me in. But no, apparently I cannot work a can.
- I knew I couldn't be trusted in the kitchen.
- No stitches for the cut. Mostly because I didn't want to wait around in an emergency room full of the swine flu for three hours.
- The cut is healing better than I would have guessed, though. It's only moderately gross now.
- Because I cut my hand, I had to get a tetanus shot.
- The shot didn't hurt. But GOODNESS GRACIOUS, my whole arm is killing me now! It feels like someone is trying to yank my arm from my body. Pain pain pain!
- I am SUCH a wimp. And a complainer.
- I'm stopping now.
- I have been writing about my New Zealand trip, so I'll hopefully get that posted soon. Needless to say, I had an incredible time! Amazing! Phenomenal! If you'd like to see one of the many, many, many photos, visit my flickr.
- I want to go back! There was so much that I didn't get to see!
- I'm reading this really great book right now called Angry Conversations with God. It's so good!
- I miss Amy (my coworker) -- she's in Denmark. Work is just not the same without her happy face around.
- We are apparently world travelers around my office.
- Remember back when we complained because Thanksgiving was barely over and Christmas decorations started going up? Yeah, there's already trees and santas and candy canes EVERYWHERE.
- I had other things to hodgepodge, but the Motrin has made me all la-di-da.
- La-di-da.
So we're suddenly #1 on the waitlist for our local co-op preschool, and we'll probably be starting in about twelve days, assuming we get all the medical stuff done in time (apparently I need a TB test before we can start). It's a great school, from what I could see and from first-hand accounts from a friend who has been in it for the last six weeks. I think J will really enjoy the change of pace, he's been a little bored lately at home. I'm not sure yet whether I'll feel like it gives me more free time, given the driving involved, the work day each week, and the other commitments. But it will be interesting!
Tomorrow I pick up the packet of forms and information, so I'll know more then.
Donut is home sick today, I hope his disease passes the rest of us by...
This week in the box I'll be getting: leeks, Chantenay carrots, lettuce, parsley, cipollini onions, green onions or arugula or radishes, and two mysteries.
I still have cipollini onions and leeks left over from last week, plus a few leaves of collard greens, a small butter lettuce, a romaine lettuce, and probably some other things I can't remember.
Cipollini onions are pretty neat -- they are flat sweet onions, meant for roasting. The shape was selected for that purpose, it allows even cooking while whole. I have a recipe I'm going to try that needs some roasted cipollini; it's a quinoa pilaf.
Normally I use leeks in leek potato soup... hard to argue with that option! I should maybe branch out a little...
Clearly I need to use the lettuces quickly; maybe I should just stir fry them and put a tasty sauce on them.
I forgot I also have two small butternut squashes and one big one, but they'll last many weeks so I can wait until I am ready.
I'm beginning to realize that I have to be really disciplined to accomplish "work". It used to be that I would find time during naps or at the end of the day, but with two active toddlers that time has vanished. I can't assume that I'll somehow get things done, I have to really plan to do them at specific times. When I say it that way it sounds ridiculous, but I was good at getting things done in a timely fashion before.
This issue has been driving me a little crazy over the past year -- accomplishing things is important to me, and always feeling like I don't have time to do the urgent and important things, let alone take care of myself, was maddening. I take things way too personally!
Here are my new guidelines:
- remove emotion from unpleasant chores. I don't need the drama, and I prefer to be rational about stuff I have to do anyways.
- take a step back and review recent actions and ongoing plans with the husband once a week. It's good to go high-level and also get a new perspective. Challenge here is getting his attention, since he's been working too much.
- cut myself some slack. This is a challenging time, caring for two small kids. Only do the high priority stuff, schedule some time every couple months to catch up on the less important stuff, and don't feel like a failure when you're not a superwoman. In a few years they won't be so needy, this current experience is temporary.
