10/31/13 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the people who spend countless hours planning and putting on our church's harvest festival each year. I'm also thankful for the volunteers who stayed late last night to set up, who will work booths and do other tasks this evening, and who will stay late tonight to tear everything down and clean up. So much time and effort goes into each harvest festival and it's a huge blessing to everyone who comes.

What is something that you are thankful for?

BOOKS I FINISHED - OCTOBER 2013

Mr. Popper's Penguins, written by Richard and Florence Atwater and illustrated by Robert Lawson

Read aloud for Naomi, though we listened to it on CD this time around. Enjoyed it, as always. It's the story of a family that is struggling financially and end up taking a dozen penguins on tour.  

I'm Proud of You: Life Lessons from My Friend Fred Rogers, written by Tim Madigan

I'm not really on the Sonlight forums anymore, but someone mentioned reading this book one of the last times I was there and I said it sounded good. She ended up mailing me her copy when she was done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. People matter, friendships are valuable, and words are powerful. That's the bottom line.

UnSouled, written by Neal Shusterman
Diana got me hooked on this series and I was close enough to the start of the library's wait list that I got the final book within a week of its release.  The gist of the series as that the Heartland War, a battle against pro-life and pro-choice, has resulted in the unwinding of teens, a process that that was intended for good, but has played out much differently than the creators of unwinding intended. Unwinds, rewinds, tithes, and clappers.  Good against evil, emotion against logic, fear against courage, truth against lies, history against the future.  I loved all these books!

p.135 - The man smiles again, but his smile seems like a silent curse.  Like the smile Argent gives people in the ten-items-or-less line who violate the limit.  The smile he gives them while wiping just a little bit of snot on their apples.

p.170 - "I'm against solutions that are worse than the problem.  Like old women who want their hair dyed the color of shoe polish to hide the gray."

Homer Price, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey
Read aloud for Naomi.  Third time through and still enjoy the glimpses of life in small town America, subtle messages that newer isn't always better, and humorous stories.

Songs of Willow Frost, written by Jamie Ford
Sharon, my friend who is otherwise known as The Compulsive Reader, gave me a heads up that this book had been released, as she knew I'd loved Ford's first book, Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.  This book is the story of a pre-teen boy who lives in a Seattle orphanage and believes that a movie actress is is mother.  I enjoyed the book, but it definitely didn't suck me in like the first one did.

Charlotte's Web, written by E.B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams
Read aloud for Naomi.  This is one of my favorite books and Naomi loved it.  I checked out the movie, the 1973 edition, which she didn't know existed, from the library once we were done, which also made her pretty happy.

p. 164 - "You have been my friend," replied Charlotte.  "That in itself is a tremendous thing."

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TEN ON TUESDAY - 10/29/13

Farewell - Our favorite librarian is retiring and invited us to a reception in her honor.  We're excited for her as she starts a new season of life, but we're going to miss her a lot!

Marshmallow Gun War - It suddenly occurred to me a couple weeks ago that we didn't have a single marshmallow gun war this summer.  I think that's the first time that's happened in five years.  Oops.

Facial hair - Devon is sporting a mustache.  He seems a little young, but I guess it's time to buy him a razor.

People magazine & Brookings connections - We were at the orthodontist's office for a quick visit several weeks ago and I picked up a People magazine.  I noticed there was an article about Bethany Hamilton getting married and, having read her book and watched the movie about her, I flipped pages to see the pictures.  It mentioned the name of the boutique where she had her dress made and the name was familiar.  I came home, hopped online, and discovered it's owned by the sister of a guy I graduated from high school with and whose parents went to the same church as our family.  I don't know her at all, but it was still a small world moment.

Books - Silas and Devon are each hooked on a book series.  Silas is reading Pseudonymous Bosch and Devon's reading Harry Potter.  This is the view I often have of them.

October - I think October may be my favorite month.  The days are warm.  The nights are cool.  The sun shines more often than not.  The grass is green. The leaves are brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow.

Getting older - Teebs has aged about 60 years.  Or he got in the flour bin when no one was looking.  No, that couldn't be it.  He wouldn't do something he's been told repeatedly not to do, so it must be that he suddenly got a lot older.

Bowling - Devon's school recently had a family fun night at the bowling alley.  Tim was at work, but the little Ws and I went out for a couple hours of free entertainment.  Devon beat the sibs, I beat Devon, we ended up sharing a lane with people from our church that I'd never met, and we were all given a red vine by someone who bought a bunch.  Fun time!

Rosemary - The parking lot where we pick Devon from school has some edible landscaping and he rubs his hands on a rosemary plant every day as he gets into the car.  It makes the car smell so good!

Yummy snack - The chicken fairy included this little treat in their gift to us a few weeks ago.  Oh my!  They are delicious!

I AM A WELFARE MOM

This post has been sitting as a draft for several months. I post. Delete. Post something different. Delete again. Post when I see or hear a negative comment from someone, which is almost a daily occurrence, and I'm fired up. Delete. Post when calm because I've gone a day or two without seeing or hearing any negativity, a rare occurrence, because it would help prove that my post isn't directed toward anyone in particular. Delete. Post when I'm bawling my eyes out because I'm just weary of the condescending words and attitudes. Delete. Post. Delete. Post. Delete.

Today, for better or worse, I'm posting. And, for better or worse, I'm not responding to any comments.


I am a welfare mom.

You don't know all the details of my story. You think you do, and you say I'm not like those people on welfare, the people you mock, judge, and slander. But you don't know. You've made assumptions, some of which simply aren't true.

I am a welfare mom.

If there is over-priced, highly processed, completely unhealthy food in our cart, then you complain about the state financially supporting unhealthy lifestyles. But you have no idea why that food is in our cart. None at all.

If there is organic food, tons of produce, and healthy meats in our cart, then you complain that people on welfare eat better than those who buy their own groceries. So what kind of food would you approve of us buying? I'd like to know.

I am a welfare mom.

You don't know how often we choose to use our state insurance. Or how often we choose not to. Or how often we don't have a choice at all.

You don't know how we use the cash benefits we receive. Or how much of our monthly income they make up. Or what our monthly income is in the first place  Or what we lived on when we were completely supporting ourselves. Or how we budget our money.

You don't know what we're doing without. You don't know what our needs are. You don't know what our desires are.

I am a welfare mom.

You don't approve of government programs at all. That's fine. Would you like my family to eat the grass in our front yard? Are you offering my husband a job that would support our family? What solution do you have for the fact that I don't have enough money to buy food for my family?

You think we should just get a job. Do you know how many jobs my husband has applied for? No, you don't. Do you know that I'm not qualified for any job that would cover the cost of daycare and still contribute enough to our household to actually make it be worth having someone else raise our kids? Would you prefer that the state pay for our food while I raise my kids or that the state pay for someone else to raise my kids so that I can buy food? It's either or.

I am a welfare mom.

You know that I stayed in a condo at the beach for three nights and that our whole family went to a concert, so you don't think it's right that I receive welfare benefits. You look at my outfit, my bags from Old Navy, my car, my pedicure, my phone, or any other exterior part of my life and decide for yourself if I'm worthy of the help I'm receiving. But you know nothing, absolutely nothing at all, about how those things happened, how I acquired them, or what they're being used for.

I am a welfare mom.

You make derogatory comments, share insulting cartoons, and look for every opportunity to shed a negative light on welfare recipients. You post things online that you would never say to my face or to the face of anyone else receiving welfare benefits. What are you hoping to accomplish when you do that?

You believe the welfare system is flawed. What are you personally doing to actually create the changes you would like to see? Anything?

I am a welfare mom.

You have no idea how I feel when I buy groceries that are paid for with welfare benefits. You have no idea how I feel when seeking medical care to be paid for with welfare benefits. You have no idea how I feel about paying a portion of our mortgage with welfare benefits. You don't know what I like about being on welfare or what I dislike about it. You don't know how long I've been on welfare or what progress I am making on getting off of it.

And there is no way on God's green earth that I'm going to share those feelings or the details of our situation with people who make a habit of complaining about welfare recipients. No stinkin' way.

I am a welfare mom.

The things you say are about me. The assumptions you make are about me. The stereotypes you perpetuate are about me. And they are about every other welfare recipient whose life you don't know every single detail about.

I am a welfare mom.

I am every welfare mom. 

A HANDMADE GIFT FROM SILAS

Silas found out the birthday of one of his teachers within the first week of school and it wasn't long until he had a plan in place for a gift he wanted to give them.  A checkers game, which he made from things we already had around the house.  Tim helped by cutting some boards to Silas' specifications, but otherwise the gift was made completely by Silas.

One picture from the beginning, back when he was measuring and drawing lines.

And several pictures of the final project early on the morning of delivery.  Here is with the game sitting next to him.

The playing board lifts off to reveal storage space for the pieces and a message to his teacher.  

He used popsicle sticks as ledges for the playing board/lid to rest on.

There were grooves to make it easier to lift the lid off.

He cut small glue sticks into little rounds to make non-slip feet for the game.

He had a bi-lateral eye transplant.

Or maybe he was just having fun with the checkers pieces he'd made painted.  Yep, those look like game pieces more than eyeballs.    

Then he wrapped the whole thing up.

He made the delivery on the 15th and was super excited about it!

I'm so thankful for kids who have always been thoughtful gift givers and for adults that make a positive impact in their lives.

10/24/13 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for our blanket bin, a cool wooden box we picked up at a yard sale a few years ago, filled with blankets to wrap ourselves up in when we're reading books for school or fun on foggy days, toss on our beds on cool nights, or turn into forts.

What's something that you're thankful for?

A LITTLE EMPLOYMENT UPDATE

As you know, Tim has been working as the recreation leader at a local after school program and subbing in classrooms as often as he gets called in.  Although he still doesn't have a full-time job that will support our family, things have improved a little bit.  He is no longer a recreation leader, but has been working for the last week as an interim site director for the after school program at another school in the district. The position is five days a week, compared to four days as a recreation leader at the first school, goes a little longer each day, and pays more.  The bummer is that he can no longer accept full-day sub jobs.  The obvious benefit is that it's an increase of stable income.

As happy as I am about a little more job stability, I confess I'm having a bit of a hard time with the fact that it would take 2-3 days as the site supervisor to earn the same amount of money as one day as a classroom sub and I was kinda discouraged when he had to turn down a sub job on Monday.  However, the logical part of my brain realizes that we have to take whatever job we can count on, which means choosing a stable job that pays less over an unpredictable job that pays more.  Incidentally, he didn't get a single sub job last week.  This week, despite the job he had to turn down on Monday, he's had morning sub jobs yesterday and today, which he can do and still get to his after school program in time.  

That's not all, though  He also has another job that started last week.  Two nights a week he is working for a local district program.  I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I think he's primarily teaching technology skills to middle and high school students.  The bummer is that there are two days a week that our kids don't see him outside of breakfast, but we'll survive.  We went through all of last year without him really being around, so at least this is only a couple days a week and he's getting paid for it.  The good thing, again, is that it's some more dependable income.  

Needless to say, the days where Tim gets a morning sub job, works at the after school program, then does the evening program are very long days for him.  Like thirteen hour days.  But, it's work and we're thankful!  

2013 - PUMPKIN FEST

My dad came up last weekend for our annual trip to a pumpkin patch and we headed back to Wooden Shoe Pumpkin Fest this year.  The bad news is that I don't have many good pictures.  The good news is the lack of pictures is because the sun was so bright that everyone was squinting and there were sharp shadows.  It was 48 degrees when we arrived and warmed up to 65-ish by the time we left, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining the whole time.  Gorgeous day!

Last year their corn was unexpectedly shorter than I was, so the maze wasn't exactly challenging.  This year, though, it was tall and we had fun working our way through it.  The kids shot guns paintball and BB guns, did some archery, watched the pumpkin cannon get fired, climbed all over a giant rope spiderweb, played on tire swings shaped like animals and tractors, hunted for clues to win a little prize, and did the activities in several booths.  We all took a break to enjoy some Mt. Angel sausages and curly fries for lunch, then went back for more fun.

Teebs enjoyed driving little toy tractors through a bunch of grass seed.

Naomi took command of the pink John Deere and the rest of us discussed our suspicions that the Wooden Shoe owners are Tim Hawkins fans, due to the popular music video Pretty Pink Tractor.

Devon ground some wheat into flour.

Silas looked intimidating with a weapon in his hand. 

I've only posted one picture of each little W for you, but you can head over to The House on Oak Valley to see a whole bunch more from my dad.

10/17/13 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for electricity.

What's something that you're thankful for?

10/15/13 - WORTH REPEATING

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If you don't make the time to work on creating the life you want, you're eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don't want.

~ Unknown


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 It seems like everywhere I go, the more I see, the less I know,

~ Michael Franti on Say Hey (I Love You)


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'There' is no better than 'here'.  When your 'there' has become a 'here', you will simply discover another 'there' that will, again, look better than your 'here'.

~ Found on a scrap of paper in my file cabinet, but online searching makes me think it can be attributed to Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott


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You don't have to blow out anybody else's candle to make yours shine brighter. 

~ Selena Senora Saunders


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Temptation often comes through doors that someone deliberately left open.

~ Unknown



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MENU - SECOND HALF OF OCTOBER 2013

I mentioned on my last menu that I was considering whether or not to continue posting menus and the feedback I got from multiple places was that people want me to keep posting them.  So, that's what I'll do! 

I didn't try a single new recipe in the first half of October, but I'm making up for it during the second half with five new ones. I'll share the hits with you when I post the next menu. 

Okey dokey, here goes.   


BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts x2
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, raisins, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and energy mix as optional toppings 
     - with cottage cheese and fruit x3
     - with yogurt and fruit smoothies x4
* scrambled eggs (ours are always made with a ton of chopped spinach, usually some chopped tomatoes, and always a sprinkling of some type of cheese)/toast x5
* breakfast pizza/fruit smoothies
* Barbara's pancakes/scrambled eggs/oranges

WEEKDAY LUNCHES
* meat & cheese sandwiches x2
     -tomato wedges/pea pods
     -carrots/cuke rounds
* peanut butter sandwiches x2
     - with jelly on oatmeal pancakes (from the freezer)/cuke slices/apples
     - with banana and honey bread/carrots/pea pods * deviled eggs/oranges/crackers
* tuna sandwiches/pea pods/carrots
* pizza bagel/cheddar squares/pea pods
* onion bagel with cream cheese/string cheese/red bell peppers/pea pods (Silas' choice)
* hot dogs/multi-grain chips/apples (Devon's choice)
* oat & almond bars/mandarins/cheddar squares/pea pods
* black bean dip (from the freezer)/sour cream/salsa/tortilla chips/carrots/pea pods
* homemade trail mix/cheddar squares/apples

DINNERS
* leftovers x2
* tacos (meat and crockpot beans from the freezer) x2
* new recipe (it was a flop)/cornbread (double & freeze one)
* chipotle chicken (crockpot)/rice/bell pepper slices
* new recipe (it was a flop)/lemon garlic cukes
* mostaccioli with sausage and tomatoes/simple roasted broccoli
* easy mulligatawny/toast
* veggie pizza/cantaloupe smoothies 
* spinach lentil soup/toast
* garlic chicken with more garlic (crockpot, from the freezer)/rice/garlic roasted cauliflower
* quinoa and black beans for home group
* black bean dip, roasted red pepper & feta dip, carrots, pea pods, crackers, chips, and quinoa salad with apples & almonds for a potluck with friends
* pizza at a church event
* Harvest Festival food

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* produce
* hummus for veggies
* homemade trail mix
* nuts - pistachios & roasted almonds
* popcorn
* ice cream
* pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for a potluck with friends
* cinnamon swirl bread from Franz
* white chocolate cherry almond cookies (we never did these last time because we had unexpected pumpkin spice bread from Franz instead)

LOVE IN THE FORM OF RAW POULTRY

Someone sent me a message earlier this week saying they had ordered some Zaycon chicken for us, so I met them at the delivery site early this morning to pick it up.  All forty pounds of it.  I split the breasts, trimmed the fat, and was about to bag it up when I mentioned to some friends that I should have planned ahead to freeze it with some marinades or something.  And that was when I decided to spend a little extra time in the kitchen.

The end result?   Six bags of plain chicken to use for whatever strikes our fancy on future menus, two bags of teriyaki chicken (we use Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki), two bags of garlic chicken with more garlic, and two bags of sesame honey chicken.  All mixtures ready to dump in the crockpot and all plain meat ready to be sliced, diced, or whatever needs to be done to it.  All now in the freezer.

You know what else?  The chicken fairy also gave me a box each of quart and gallon ziploc bags to freeze the chicken in, a bag of pumpkin pie almonds for the family to snack on, and two hugs, one just because and another when the emotions of the last few days caught up to me and I started crying in the parking lot.  Feeling pretty blessed!

10/10/13 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for our home.  It's been two years and a day since we moved out of the mold factory. Two years and a day since my hugely pregnant self came to the house and lit my jar of faith while other people finished loading our moving truck, vacuumed the apartment, cleaned the bathrooms that eleven people had used before church that morning, unloaded the moving truck, assembled beds, and left a new houseplant hidden for me to find after they left.  Two years since a friend came over and put my kitchen together while I sat in a chair and watched.  Two years living in a house that's perfect for our family.  One year since we stopped having a regular, self-supporting income, yet we've never been late on or missed a house payment.  Yes, indeed, I'm thankful.

What is something that you are thankful for?

RULES FOR FIGHTING

We went through some pre-marital counseling with the pastor who performed our wedding ceremony and I took concepts from several of the things he'd had us read, then came up with some rules for fighting that Tim and I tried to follow. We had a copy of the rules taped to the front of our fridge for several years, but it must have gotten lost or destroyed when we moved north and we never replaced it. I'd forgotten about the rules over the years, but I've been slowly purging my file cabinet over the last few weeks and I came across another copy of them a couple days ago.

While the rules were written down with marriage in mind, conflict is an inevitable part of every relationship and the rules apply to our interactions with everyone, so I'm sharing them here. Substitute child, boss, neighbor, or friend for the word partner, if that is what applies to the situation you have the most conflict in.

I think I'm also going to talk to Tim about figuring out a fun and productive way to go over these rules as a family, because we all have room for improvement in the way we handle conflict. I'll let you know what we come up with! And I'll put them back on the fridge.

I have these rules in a Word document, so let me know if you want me to e-mail you a copy to easily print out.

Without further ado, here are the rules.

RULES FOR FIGHTING

Do pray about the problem. Ask God for humility in admitting your faults, forgiveness for your partner's faults, and wisdom in how to avoid the problem in the future.

Do agree that the timing is right. Make sure that both partners are able to focus on the issue and don't have other things distracting them.

Do set up a time to talk about the problem. If you can't deal with the issue immediately, then set up a time to talk soon.

Do complain about actions rather than criticizing a person. Complaining generally starts with "I", criticizing generally starts with "you".

Don't show contempt by intending to insult or psychologically abuse your partner. Examples of contempt include name-calling, hostile humor, and mockery.

Don't get defensive. Defensiveness escalates, rather than resolves, conflict.

Don't stonewall because of overwhelming emotion. Examples of stonewalling include avoiding eye contact or refusing to interact.

Don't run from strife. Repressed irritations have a high resurrection rate.

Do choose your battles carefully. Before voicing an irritation, ask yourself if it's worth it.

Do clearly define the issue. Make sure that you are both discussing the same conflict.

Do share your feelings directly. "In situation X, when you do Y, I feel Z."

Do rate the intensity of your feelings. Have a scale of seriousness - one to ten, word pictures, etc.

Do give up put-downs. Greet your partner warmly, show appreciation for a job well done.

Don't dwell on downers. Stick to relevant issues and try to end the fight instead of bringing up other issues.

Do begin with affirmation. Starting on a positive note leads to a constructive conversation.

Do be willing to take the blame. Sincere apologies show a spirit of reconciliation.

Don't say "always" or "never". These two words are rarely true and lead people to defensiveness.

Do be committed to honesty and mutual respect. There won’t be any surprise punches when partners are respectful and honest.

Do keep it under control. It is okay to be angry, but don't let that anger determine your words or actions.

Do have a positive solution. If you are going to complain about something, then make sure you have a possible solution that is good for both partners.

Don't fight in public. Never cut down your partner in public, whether boldly or subtly.

OF FICKLE FAITH AND FINANCES

I was going to tell a little story about how our bills got paid this month, but I just looked something up in my past blogs and came across this post with a very similar title and basically the same story.  Ha!  I guess some things never change.

Despite Tim's unemployment, I haven't been stressed about money for several months.  We had a large tax refund earlier in year that made it possible for us to live a financially stress-free life for several months.  That money source dried up when we paid our September bills and I have been really stressed about October bills.  But, like in the post from the past, our needs were met.  Not the way I planned, not the way I wanted, but met nonetheless.  With ten bucks to spare.

And, like in the other post, some of our family members also got blessed with the fluff of life this week.

Time for a perspective and attitude adjustment.

In other news pertaining to finances and fickle faith, Silas will be attending outdoor school in the spring with his class at school.  There are a variety of fundraisers that families can participate in to help offset the cost of outdoor school and we plan on participating in several of them.  However, I had decided not to do one  - selling See's chocolate bars.  If you choose to sell the chocolate, then you're responsible for an entire box at a time.  Under normal circumstances, like having a husband with a job that supports our family, I'd be willing to risk not selling all the bars, then just buy any leftovers ourselves and use them as gifts for other people.  However, that's obviously not a risk we can take right now.

Silas brought home the permission slip for that particular fundraiser and I told him what I thought.  His response?  "So, are you saying I can't do it?"  It wasn't snarky or disrespectful, just clarifying whether I was telling him he couldn't do it or just that I thought it was too risky.  I asked him if he wanted to do it and he said yes, assuring me that he understood the risks and that he knew he'd have to sell every single bar.

I signed the permission slip.

He'll have sold five boxes by the time he's done.  Five!

My son is more of a risk-taker and salesperson than I am.  Our friends are supportive and kind.  God is faithful, even when I am faithless.

PARENTS SAY THE STRANGEST THINGS

I  (quite firmly, I might add) said the following words to one of the bigs last night.

"Give your brother his tiara!"

I followed that statement up with this one just a few minutes later.

"Teebs, put the tiara on. your. head!"

You see, we have two bins filled with dress-up clothes and some of the kids had been playing with them before dinner.  Teebs found one of Naomi's tiaras, called it a hat, and proudly stuck it on his head.  Later the kids and I sat down to dinner and the tiara fell off.  Teebs was a bit crabby to start with and got mad when one of the sibs picked up the tiara and put it on the table, rather than to giving it back to him.  He freaked out.  Wailing.  Drama.  And I just wasn't in the mood.  So, I ordered my bigs to give my son his tiara.  Or, as he called it, his hat.

At least he has his own sense of style when donning sparkly girl accessories.  Wear it upside-down and cock-eyed, then make a tough face.  Don't smile.  That's what makes a tiara manly, I guess.

A short time later the toddler in question took off the tiara and put it in his food.  Yes, he did.  The same kid who flipped out when it wasn't on his head just a few moments earlier was now choosing to take it off and dip it in his dinner.  During the meal that was on a bit of a time crunch, squeezed between volunteering at Devon's school and heading to watch a friend's son play football.  While Tim was gone.  On a Thursday, which is always a hard day.

So I did what any parent would do.  I barked out slightly irritated orders for my son to put a tiara on his head.  After all, tiaras don't belong in chicken.  Right?

He obeyed.  We finished dinner.  Everyone lived happily ever after.

The crabby, tiara-sporting toddler even cheered up and started goofing off a bit.  We looked over at him at one point and this is what he looked like.

Evidently life is happier when you don't have to listen to the conversations of your family members.  Silly kid.  

10/3/13 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that we have a washing machine.

What's one thing that you are thankful for?

THE BEST HEADBANDS EVER

I got a package in the mail last week from Kami.  Now, Kami and I are very different in some ways.  She loves make-up.  A lot.  I put on mascara.  Usually.  She likes glittery things.  I like plain things.  She's pretty girly.  I'm a bit of a tomboy.  She sews.  I don't.  

Anyway, she offered me a handmade, no-slip headband and even gave me a selection to choose from.  Initially I saw words like "pink" and "glitter" and planned on letting Naomi wear it.  Then she said "sage green" and I told her I'd stretch my comfort zone a bit.  I'm so glad I did!   She even threw in an extra headband.  It's a floral print, because she's girly like that, but it's primarily blue and brown, because those colors work well for girls like me.  

And now Kami and I have no-slip headbands in common.  

Here's the sparkly green one with my hair down.  Not too wide, not too narrow.  Perfect.

And the glittery one with my hair pulled back.

Here's a side shot.  I put the headband on just slightly off-center so that you could see more of what the bottom of the headbands look like.  That black elastic strip usually sits just a smidge lower on my head.

One more shot, just so you can see the design on the other headband she sent  me.  Isn't it a fun print?

Are those headbands cute or what?!  I love, love, love them!  They don't move at all during the day, which has never happened with any headband I've ever used, but they don't squeeze my skull either.  Super cute and perfectly comfortable.  

I will confess right now that Kami asked if I'd be willing to tell people about these headbands.  I agreed to do that, but you all know me.  If I liked them, then I'd have told you all about them anyway.  If I hadn't like them, then I'd have given the most unsupportive acknowledgement possible - just a link with no comments on Facebook or a picture here with  "buy at your own risk" caption here on the blog.  The truth is, they're awesome!  Awesome enough that I know our family will be buying more of them at some point, both for the female Ws and as gifts.  

You can check out Kami's etsy page, Stitchesnbliss, for the no-slip headbands, because I know you want one.  Or two.  Right?  If glittery green and blue floral prints aren't your kind of thing, you'd prefer a different width,  or you need a different size for a baby or child's head, then just let her know and she'll make a custom headband that works for you.  If you're on Facebook, then you can also check out the Stitchesnbliss page there.  

Thus concludes the longest conversation this tomboy has ever had about accessories.  

BOOKS I FINISHED - AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 2013

I haven't done much reading lately, so this is actually what I finished over the last two months.  I'm ready for some mindless fluff!

Healing ADD, written by Daniel G. Amen

Several friends have spoken highly of this book, so I read it.  Lots of interesting and practical information.

Living Without Brakes, written by Martin L. Kutscher, M.D.
Ended up skimming this book.  It was choppy and hard to follow, particularly after reading Healing ADD.

Tales From Silver Lands, written by Charles Finger and woodcuts by Paul Honore
Newbery, 1925.  The copy of this book I checked out from the library had a hardcover with the price of $.95 on it.  Old book!  I actually skimmed it, reading some of the stories and skipping over others.  I just couldn't get into it.  Lot of short stories, lots of fairy tale/fable/fantasy stories, which I often have a hard time staying interested in.

Quiet, written by Susan Cain
I've seen several people talk about this book over the last few months.  It's all about introverts.  I'm definitely an extrovert, though I've developed an appreciation for silence and solitude during this season of my life, but there are introverts in our home and I figured it would be worth reading.

The book was fine, though more textbook-ish feeling than I expected.  It did, however, end up being a good reminder for me to make sure introverted little Ws get some quiet time alone each day.  As an extrovert in a large-ish family, that's an easy need of theirs for me to forget about.  I thought the following points were good for people who are trying to figure out what to do with their lives.  Cain elaborated on each one, but I'll just list them here.

p. 218,  First, think back to what you loved to do when you were a child.  Second, pay attention to the work you gravitate to.  Finally, pay attention to what you envy.

Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secrets of a Man's Soul, written by John Eldredge

This book was loaned to me by some friends who thought it would be a helpful read as the parent of boys.  I don't think everything in the book is absolutely true for every male, but there was a lot of good info to consider.  

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