So Much to Do!

I seriously need to bust it basically non-stop until the move. We don't know when exactly that will be yet, but probably mid-to-late October. I need to pare down a lot of things because I have this inkling that I'm going to be dealing with a significantly smaller space than I have now.

One of the things that is heavy on my to-do list is scrapbooking. I know that sounds like the least of my worries, but it's so much easier to pack one album than a stack of pictures. Plus, I have stockpiled a TON of paper and stickers and all those wonderfully tempting cuties, and I need to use some up so I can hopefully condense them a little.

We're hoping to find a two bedroom apartment, and I'm conflicted on how to best use that second room. We need somewhere to put the computer, and I need somewhere to scrapbook. I could use the dining room table for crafting, but I still need somewhere to store my stuff! Also, I would love to have a guest room for when people might come to visit (yeah, right). I've seen a few blog posts lately about how to multi-purpose a spare room, and I'm greatly inspired. It can be done! Now I just need to figure out how...

Here We Go Again

Just because we haven't had quite enough turmoil in our lives in the past few months, we decided to add some more. C accepted a job in Virginia. 1500 miles away. That's no weekend commute, folks. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for him. He's been looking for work for so long, and this is a fantastic opportunity with a really impressive company. This is the kind of company that you retire from. It will be a really great thing for him. The problem is that I am now spoiled to having my family, friends, and church family all in one place.

I have been spending some serious time in prayer about this, before I knew he got the job and since. I've been asking the Lord to help me learn to be a godly wife, to learn how to allow my husband to be the head of our home, to learn to trust God and C to both lead me out of selfless love and service. I just didn't think that I would get such a grand opportunity to practice. But this is as good a time as any to make such a huge life change. Just the two of us, young and able, I can find work about anywhere, no house to sell or anything like that.

I keep reminding myself that this is a step in the right direction for our family. We don't have plans to start a family in the near future, but I feel really strongly about being able to stay home and take care of a child eventually (much later). There's no way that could happen with the little bit of work that he's been able to find here. We would have no choice but for me to go back to work ASAP. Not to mention the toll that this must have been taking on C, being completely underemployed for this long when he has so much to offer. I think I would have lost it by now! There's also a chance that after a few years, we would be able to come back closer to home, after he's established with the company, so I keep clinging to that. My sister sent me a scripture today that has become a lifeline for me:

Genesis 28:15 "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

You may not want to be my friend...

...when you hear what I've been up to. I haven't washed my hair since Sunday. That's right. Since Sunday. On purpose. No, I'm not just the gross kid in your 10th grade English class. I'm turning into a crazy hippie.

I've been reading a lot lately about the chemicals in a lot of the everyday products used around an average household, and it's a lot of things that I don't want to a: put into or onto my body, or b: put into my environment (immediate and global). So I started small, by making an all-purpose cleaner to use instead of a commercial multi-surface spray. I use a combination of white vinegar (bactericidal, deoderant, solvent), tea tree oil (fungicidal, mold-icidal), and peppermint essential oil (pretty smelling and bactericidal), and then dilute that down with plain old water. Verdict? I love it. It's a little pricey to initially buy the oils, but you only need about 10 drops of each in a huge bottle of spray, so they last forever. It works great to sanitize, de-gunk, and generally clean up any hard surface, and we've even started using it to clean up after the dog's indiscretions on the carpet. I like how effective it is, I like that if she licks it, I don't worry, I like that it's super cheap to make, and while we don't really mind the vinegar smell, it does go away when it dries. Do it.

That was my baby step into "green" cleaning. I have done some other small things along the way, nothing to toot a horn about though. Until this week, when I finally got up the nerve to no 'poo. There isn't anything terribly harmful to people in most shampoos, but sodium laurel sulfate, a common detergent that is responsible for most of your "sudsing" products, is extremely harmful to aquatic life when it ends up in the water. And all that shampooing and conditioning is mostly just a gimmick anyway! Shampoos are much harsher than they need to be, stripping helpful natural protective oils from your scalp and hair, thus necessitating the need for conditioner to replenish some of that lost moisture.

Enter the "no 'poo" movement! It's cheaper, it's greener, give it a shot. I combined a few tablespoons of baking soda with a few drops of peppermint essential oil (I love that stuff--so refreshing in the shower too!) and some warm water in an old glass bottle that used to hold olive oil. Shake vigorously. I then applied that to my wet hair in the shower, concentrating on the roots and scalp. We're protecting the good oil, remember? I scrub it around in my hair like I would shampoo, then rinse. It won't foam up like shampoo, but don't freak out. Rinse well, because I hear that the baking soda can irritate your scalp if you leave it in there. Natural doesn't always mean harmless! I then used a combination of apple cider vinegar and water (about half and half) in another old glass bottle, and I applied that to the length and ends of my hair, staying away from the roots. The vinegar rinse actually acts like a conditioner! (I'm sure there's great science for that, but I don't know it off the top of my head.) I've heard mixed reviews about rinsing vs. not rinsing the vinegar, but I rinsed because I didn't want to smell like salad dressing. (Although they say the smell goes away when your hair dries.)

Admittedly, there is somewhat of a "transition" period for your hair as you stop shampooing. Your hair is used to overproducing oil to keep up with the shampoo detergents. It takes it a while to get the memo that it can relax. Also, depending on your particular hair, you may need more or less baking soda, and more or less vinegar. I'm not quite a whole week out yet, but I have had to wash my hair every day, whereas I used to get by with every 2-3 days. I've been told to give this a whole month before passing judgment, but I can already tell you that my hair is holding curl much better, even after this short of a time. I won't make up my mind yet, but I'll keep you posted.

'Tis the Season

for babies! Seriously, I think everyone I know right now is pregnant or has a baby. (Yours truly NOT included!) I don't know what happened in the past year or so, but geez! I helped give a shower last night for a girl in my Sunday School class. We had a pretty good turnout for a weeknight in the summer.

Baby showers are still completely foreign to me. You know, at wedding showers, I can ooh and aah over pretty towels and nice kitchen things with the best of them. I get that! But baby showers....are different. Mounds of diapers and wipes (gross), everything is brightly colored and plays music or makes other noises... ::shivers:: The baby industry is worse than the wedding industry. You don't need that much crap for a baby! All the ridiculous battery operated toys will break, you're just going to throw away all those diapers and wipes, your kid is only going to wear that outfit a handful of times before she outgrows it... Seems like such a waste.

I'm not advocating that you neglect your kid or let him sleep in a dresser drawer. But save your money for when he will be able to appreciate it! Shop at consignment stores! Use cloth diapers and wipes! Accept hand-me-downs! Breastfeed! I realize that I'm probably starting to sound like a preachy crazy hippie, but really, do the research. It's better for the baby, it saves you a heap of cash, and it doesn't clutter up your house. Yes, it's more work. You have a kid now, grow up.

whew! ::steps off of soap box::

Yeah yeah yeah...

So I'm a bad blogger. Sue me. Things got a little nuts since my last post.

We decided to move back near to where we grew up. Since C works from home now, we had no ties keeping us in Texas, and my company had an opening back home, so I could make a lateral transfer and not lose any benefits or vacation time or anything. It was great!

We very providentially found an awesome place to live. It's a duplex, which I realize does not immediately say "glamour" in anyone's mind (mine included--I was hesitant to go look at it!). But it's bigger than our apartment was, has a two car garage, attic space, and a tiny little fenced yard that the dog can play in--for only a smidge more than what we were paying. Score! And it's a lovely place too. Here are a few photos:




So we finally got settled in to the dupe, and my job kept getting crazier and crazier. I was supposed to be full-time in one location. Then they told me that clinic couldn't support another full time therapist. So I was split between two clinics. But business was still bad, so then I was a floater and I worked all over the city, sometimes even splitting morning and afternoon at different clinics. They were doing everything they could to keep me in a job, and I appreciate that. Until this past Tuesday, when I got laid off.

Awesome, right? Well, maybe more awesome than you think. I wasn't loving my job, even though I knew it was the best they could do for me, I was still unhappy with it. Grateful for employment, yes, super excited about that employment, no. So I left work on Tuesday and went home, I did nothing that afternoon. Facebooked a lot. Was a giant bum a lot. Kinda felt sorry for myself. You know. Wednesday I went back to the office to finish a report that I had left hanging, that way no one got stuck with it. Then I went to a different clinic where I had some things to clean out my desk there. On my way home, I decided to stop in a clinic where I had done an internship as a student. I liked the guys there, and decided why not? They remembered me and were glad to see me again. They didn't need help, but when I mentioned something about a particular skill I had, they both lit up. Another of their clinics was looking for someone who did that! The manager made a phone call, wrote down an address, and send me across town to that clinic.

I met with the manager there for an impromptu interview, and I really liked him. I felt good about the job and the place, it's way closer to home, and the hours are steady and stable. Perfect. He called me this afternoon to tell me that it was between me and one other person he had yet to interview, and would be passing his decision to HR tonight! I should know something in the next day or two! Nothing like a 48 hour turn-around for unemployment--praise Jesus!!

In the meantime, I've enjoyed an unscheduled day off, and tomorrow I'm going to do some canning with my grandma. So excited!!

Something to sink you teeth into...

I need to preface this post by saying that I love my dog. I really do. She makes me get out of bed a half hour earlier, stand outside in the rain with her, litter my home with slimy chewed up toys, and speak in voices usually reserved for children under two. But last week she nearly had to find a new home.

C e-mailed me at work to regretfully inform me that while he was in the shower, she had chewed through the handle of my purse. While this seems bad enough, may I paint a clearer picture for you? This was not my everyday purse. This was not a purse carelessly tossed in the floor in the bedroom. This purse was in a box beneath my bed. This was my nice black purse. This was (shamefully) the only leather handbag I own. This was the black purse that I got lost in Venice trying to find. Venice, Italy. I got teary when I read the e-mail.

All has been forgiven, and I'm trying to forget it. It's hard though, when I see the purse. I think I can somehow replace the handle because she didn't chew up the body of the purse. I'll post a picture as soon as I get them downloaded from my camera so you all can share in my pain. C is aware, however, that the purse must be replaced in the original manner it was purchased.

Stay-at-Home Weekend!

Well, lots of things have changed since my last post. Holidays have come and gone, a new year is here. Over Thanksgiving weekend, we got a puppy! She's just about the cutest thing ever. She's a daschund/Shih tzu mix, which means she's long and low, but has funny scruffy hair and a curly tail. One blue eye and one brown. And spoiled...good grief. It didn't take that dog two month before she was sleeping right between C and I in the queen-sized bed. Her "grandmas" both got her Christmas presents too! She's about six months old now, and starting to get just plain ornery!
We had all sorts of adventures over the Christmas holidays. We went back home to visit our families, and wound up in the middle of the Blizzard of 2009! Our hometown got 14" of snow in ONE DAY! My parents live about 5 miles from C's parents, where we were staying. We decided to brave the weather and go see my parents on Christmas Eve. It took us over an hour to get there! Then, on our way home, we got the car stuck in a snow drift, and it took us another hour to get it out! But we all survived, we were all safe, and the birth of our Savior was celebrated with family!

The weather around here has been so nice for the past few weeks, up in the 60's and sometimes even 70's. I began dreaming of flowers and green grass and Easter dresses. Then yesterday it rained all day, and the temperature plummeted into the low 30's. Today is dreary and grey, and I am definitely not leaving the house. I put on a Crockpot of stew this morning, and I'm planning to have a personal maintenance day (eyebrows, new toenail polish, etc), scrapbook, and do lots of laundry! Enjoy the end of January, everyone!