Moments

Tonight Evee and I got in much later than normal.  She had been sleeping and I had transported her to the car and then from the car.

She loves sleep.  It has never really been a problem with her.  I told her we were home and she could be in her bed.  I laid her there and kept the door open to check on her again before I went to bed.

She was awake.  She pulled the covers off and reached for me.  I held her and sat on the bed.  Then asked her if she wanted to lay down in her bed and she shook her head.  I held her, then went to the rocking chair and rocked until I thought we'd both fall asleep, then put her in her bed and held her hand.  She held on to my fingers and I rubbed her face just like my parents did (and have done some moments not too far gone).  Then I kissed her head and her hand (that was still holding mine).  Told her I loved her.

I know we were both so tired and wouldn't have slept well in that rocker, but we didn't want to lose that moment either.  Of being together.

So tender to hold a child at the end of the day and feel such peace.  Such rest.  Even if we are tired.

This is how I feel about this girl.  She is such a joy.

Hankie Holder

Since moving back into our house I made a hankie holder.  Which is, just what it says...something to hold our hankies :).  It was a great idea inspired by soulemama in this post.

Although mine is different and not quite as pretty or well-sewn, I'm sure (I'm a bit of a beginner here), it has been so useful these past couple of days when Evee and I have come down with colds.

I never used hankies growing up, but my husband did and got me hooked when we got married.  Now he mostly just has them on hand when he's out and about, but with allergies I've come to use them more regularly.

I do love crafting for things that we need or for practical items in general.  Not that we necessarily had to have a holder, but I know we would have used a lot more toilet paper or tissues if we had not had the hankies so accessible. So, it makes me feel good in many ways - environmentally, cost effectiveness, and it is nicer on your nose. 

And, I do enjoy hearing my 2 year old say that she needs her hankie...kind of endearing.

Until now it has hung on our bathroom doorknob, but it's so flexible.  I might keep it on my desk chair for a bit since it makes grabbing a hankie all the more easy.  

We have many less hankies in the holder today since some are in our beds and others in the clothes hamper.  It's nice that it's being used. 

Meal Plan Monday reminder

Just wanted to put a reminder here that Meal Plan Monday post are now at my other blog (and will be there regularly).

Thanks!

6 great causes

I just wanted to direct to a blog that has a great page of causes to support. The blog itself is a guy who is losing weight and raising money for these causes.

I love the little things that we can do to support the world. I love that we can make "doing something" for others something that is personal and real in our own lives (often giving something of ourselves) to help people who we may and may not ever see.

I love that we can all play a part. No matter what stage we are in...no matter how much money we have...no matter how busy we are...no matter what we are naturally passionate about. We can do something. That is beautiful.

Potting

I'm not sure if that is what you call it, but today I got some fresh herbs and transplanted them for use this summer.

I've been meaning to have fresh herbs around and finally got to it. I'm so excited to be able to use them throughout the winter (hopefully we have enough sunshine to keep them going!).

So, I got basil and parsley. Then our old friends/neighbors had mint that they had not taken with them and I asked to grab from them. Now we have fresh basil, parsley, and mint.

I'm excited to make pesto, use parsley in a number of recipes (that I often end up using dried parsley for), and finding recipes to use mint in. Up to this point, I've only used mint when making mint sauce to go with our yearly lamb roast (for Clint's birthday). If anyone knows of any good uses for mint, please pass them my way!



p.s. I also just picked up a cilantro plant and am so excited to give it a try, although I've heard it is really hard to grow.  Also, a new Trader Joe's post is up - for anyone who is interested!

Fall post - trader joe's and such

I've already mentioned my great love for Trader Joe's in this post last year and throughout the summer (and yesterday). This year, late spring, we heard that we'd probably have one in our local area. I called up a few Trader Joe's stores to see if it was true and it sounded like a strong possibility.

Then, this summer, we saw it was for sure. They've open this Friday (Sept. 25th). Due to now having a Trader Joe's in our area, I thought I'd create a separate place for all things Trader Joes :).

Since, from here on out, most of the ingredients from our meal plans will be with Trader Joe's ingredients, I'll post our meal plans at a new blog that I've been thinking up throughout the summer. The first post is there, so please check it out here! Thanks so much. It's just a short one, but with many more to follow.

Here, on this blog, I will continue posting about living a simple and peaceful life with the continued emphasis on how this can change the world around us in little and (hopefully) big ways too. I'm sure some stuff will obviously carry over, too, with the ideas of "one bowl" and bringing together home life with social justice issues.

I'm also trying to categorize my past posts - the meal plans, post ideas, and recipes so that they are easy to look up. That way, for those that don't have Trader Joe's stores around their area, there is still options for meal plans (although there are so many great meal planners out there that blog too).

My hope is that it creates simplicity on this blog and some division in my thought categories (although they do go hand in hand in many ways). Thanks again for keeping up on this blog and for checking out the new one.

Meal Plan Monday

This is the last meal plan before our Trader Joe's store opens! Needless to say, I'm very excited.

Breakfasts & Lunches

• Oatmeal
• Fruit
• Vegetable Soup
• Veggies & hummus
• Pita & roasted garlic
  

Meals -
Monday - Salad (with lots of veggies & beans)
Tuesday - Hummus with pita or homemade chapitas (how to cook dry beans for hummus), veggies
Wednesday - Whole wheat pasta with veggies & tomato sauce
Thursday - Vegetarian tacos with whole wheat shells
Friday - Curried lentils (it has been a regular the last couple of weeks!)
Saturday - Brown rice patties
Sunday - Vegetable soup or leftovers

Grocery List

• Whole wheat tortilla shells
• Tomato
• Cucumber
• Carrots
• Whole Wheat pasta
• Sun dried tomatoes

I have some of the other ingredients - i.e. most of the vegetables for the dishes and beans.

Hope your meal plan is a fun one this week! You can also always check out other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."
~ Edmund Burke

One bowl

The idea is this: one day each week, you (and your family) eat from one bowl. Each person has a bowl and that is their food for the day. But, for a reason.

A few weeks ago I talked about the kids' meals in Liberia (see above). How they all had one bowl and rationed in for 2 meals.

What if we, too, did this? Just once a week. Saved money. And then sponsored a child or supported an organization with that money.

I can provide recipes to meals that are cheap (like $2-3 for the entire meal) and mostly consist of rice and a topping (our typical meal while in Africa).

So, instead of making or buying coffee, instead of breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner you have one bowl...that you eat from...for the whole day. Think about the money saved. At the very least, $5-10, but at the most (if you normally go out for lunch or coffee and depending on the number of people in your family) it could be $20+ each week! Sponsoring a child for a month is between $30-$40, depending on the organization. Easy to do with eating simply on one day!

This week we started this. Wednesdays are typically the day that works for us, although it may change each week. If anyone wants to join us, that would be wonderful. I will share more information and details as it comes to mind. I'll try to address issues of doing it with children, the portion size, etc. But, I wanted to get the idea out there.

Taking a bit less to feed a few more. Anyone with us?

Pictures above: the bowls in the orphanage, covered food with frisbees to have for their next meal. and our "bowls" for the day. We hope to get our hands on some of the exact same bowls that they use there to make it even more tangible.

I've been thinking so much today about the little ones everywhere who are hungry and need shelter, education, and water.

As I feed my own child, I am so thankful to have the resources to feed her. I am so very grateful for the bounty of resources we have, for the beauty that is life itself. And, yet sometimes I have moments when it is hard to enjoy my food when I know others are so hungry.

Today we ate a bit less so that we could help support one who needs more. I will explain more tomorrow, but just wanted to write my feelings today.

I am just grateful. I actually wrote a long list of things that I am so amazed are a part of my life...just to remind myself of all the blessings in my life. Maybe one day I will share that too. But, ultimately, I just feel so much gratitude today for my life and the beautiful people in it.

Seattle

We recently had a wonderful time in Seattle with some of my family. We had never been out to the north east. What a beautiful place!

One morning Evee and I went out and picked an entire bowl of blackberries...from the side of the road. Literally. Blackberries are so expensive. I couldn't believe how many of them there were. I basically picked until I was dyed from the juice and couldn't take any more prickles.

Other than that, we did some hiking, went downtown, some went to a baseball game, enjoyed a picnic at Gas Works Park, and a day trip to Vancouver.

Generally, it is just a beautiful place. You have mountains, water, so much greenery, nice people...

One great site that I found when researching before hand was a post from Wise Bread. We definitely researched some of the information from the post and the comments that followed. It was nice to have a few ideas before heading out that way (although my brother-in-law and sister had many of the same ideas from living out there a year).

Here are some pictures. All to the credit of my brother and his great camera taking skills (except for the berry one - which is obviously mine :)).

Meal Plan Monday

We have some good friends coming in town this week! They will be with us Tuesday-Sunday. I'm not exactly sure what our schedule will look like during their stay, so I'm going to be as planned as possible while having a very fluid schedule :).

I'll either do my normal grocery trip or wait and talk it over once they get here to see what we'll do and then go. Our friend is also a fabulous cook, so maybe I'll wait and talk it over with her.

I'm planning on 5 meals this week since I know we'll be going into NYC one day and possibly to our favorite restaurant around here one night too. I'm not going to put them on any particular day, so here they are.

• Chicken Cacciatore (a friend made this for us last week and it was SO good)
• Curried lentils - we never had this last week, so it's up again this week :)
• Chicken or veggie tacos - black beans, re-fried beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, maybe avocado, peppers
• Penne with Tuna & Red Onion (and salad)
• Sandwiches on homemade bread - with rotisserie chicken, avocado (if I get it at the store), onion, cheese, maybe peppers (we'll see :))
  

Lunches - any combination of the below

• Pb & j on wheat bread
• Cucumbers & carrots
• Egg salad sandwiches
  
• Cut up fruit or fruit smoothie
• Leftovers

Grocery List

• Bell Peppers (for 2 meals)
  
• Mushrooms
• Tomato Sauce
• Tomatoes
• Cheese
• Sour cream
• Pinto beans
• Red onion (1)
• Small 1/2 & 1/2
• 2 Cans tuna
• Rotisserie chicken - although I'll probably wait to get it on the day we eat it

I also need

• chili powder
• conditioner
• dish rag
• toilet paper
• yeast

Other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!

From my view

Yesterday felt like we've gotten into the swing of things again. Additional jobs have been started and we are back into our old place. It's great to be home, but I'm also missing our lack of schedule, regular walks along the beach, having picnics by the water, and being with family (both over the summer and then recently too).

Having said that, it's been great to see friends and live in such sweet community. We are also getting back to some of the things we haven't done for a few months. Here is what today looked like.

Grinding sesame seeds for hummus

Evee eating grape tomatoes while I worked on the hummus

Reading (that's Evee's head). I heard "rock me mama" a lot today and "I want to lay on your arm". Loved it.

Weeding. We obviously hadn't done this since we've moved in :). This is a small section of the whole that was weeded. Clint did the bulk of it, but it was fun and looks great now.

Same spot - after.

Back to cooking beans and baking bread. I have a new favorite recipe from the More-With-Less Cookbook for a wonderful bread recipe. It may become a weekly thing. And, it's a no knead bread. SO good.

In the midst of the busyness that comes with school, work, and home life - I am determined to keep my mind set of the summer. To be open, at peace, and choose simplicity as the opportunity presents itself.

Meal Plan Monday

The normal Meal Plan Monday starts again! We are back into "life as normal" after being gone for the summer and not sticking to a particular budget.

Trader Joe's has not opened here yet, but I've been told sometime around the end of this month it should happen. So, once that opens, it will be our main stay for grocery shopping. We may need to get a few other products, most of which I hope to get at Whole Foods (like dried beans/lentils), but may also need to run to Wegmans or Target every from time to time. Anyway, more on all that and why those places in particular once it happens :).

Last night we got a rotisserie chicken and put chicken over salad. Here are the rest of the meals for the week.

Meals -

Monday - BBQ with friends - hamburgers and corn to share
Tuesday - Chili
Wednesday - Hummus with pita and salad (how to cook dry beans for hummus)
Thursday - Roast with veggies & any salad stuff we still have
Friday - Curried lentils (it has been a regular the last couple of weeks!)
Saturday - Potato Quiche or leftovers
Sunday - Leftovers or potato quiche (depending on Saturday night)

Lunches - any combination of the below

• Pb & j on wheat bread
• Cucumbers & carrots
• Egg salad sandwiches
  
• Cut up fruit or fruit smoothie
• Leftovers
  

Next Monday, I'll get back to sharing the grocery list. We went this week and were about $10-12 over our normal $50/week. We needed to get a few necessities at once since we'd just moved back into our apartment again.

Happy meal planning to you this week! Don't forget to check out the other Meal Plans over at Organizing Junkie!

New thoughts

It is now at the close of the summer. It's hard to believe that it is the start of September today.

At the beginning of the summer I had many goals (in some ways). Relaxed goals, I should say. I wrote about being on a journey of figuring out that thing I am {perfectly} meant to do.

I have read and am reading some great books. And will continue to. It’s been a relaxing summer and I’ve had more time to think and ponder stuff.

In the end, though, as I've mentioned before, I have been taken back to other times in my life and things that I so naturally care about. Instead of getting some new revelation of what I am about, it was a reminder of who I am and how I want to be. Instead of thinking about some grand thing I can do, I'm thinking here and now...what can I do now with what I have.

Looking back now, it was just what was needed. So perfect in many ways. My mind that so easily wants to achieve is learning to relax and {be}. So, in the rhythm of moving ahead in a simpler way, here we go in to fall.