Check-In with the Resolutions

1) I am still a blonde but now would like to be blonder. ;) Not like Kate Gosselin ugly blonde extentions crazy, but maybe a few more highlights next time. I enjoy the blonde-ness. (Seriously Kate, stop trying to re-live your youth, quit club hopping in NY and go home to your kids!)

2) I am utterly failing at my Gratitude Journal. There, I said it. That's the truth. Will I get back on the bandwagon? I sincerely hope so! I really have thought about it a lot, and it's the thought that counts, right? Ugh, not in this case. When it comes down to a choice of either getting 5 minutes of extra sleep or writing in my journal, I'm afraid sleep is winning right now. No more excuses!! Must keep writing...

3) The one resolution that is still coming along well, and even better than I expected, is the cash budget. LOVE the cash budget. I would highly, highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about how to save money or get out of debt. But you need someone to keep you accountable. In my case it's my husband, but it could be anyone. I love the challenge of having a set amount of money to spend in a month, and trying to see how far I can stretch it. And it feels REALLY good knowing that we are in no way overspending. With a cash budget it's impossible to overspend. I'm honestly not sure I will ever go back to swiping my debit card again.

Am I the only one still talking about New Year's Resolutions out there? I feel a little bit like my next door neighbor who just can't seem to let Christmas go...she still lights up her tree (outside) every night. It's February. Live in the now. Grant and I have joked that we are going to go over there and "accidentally" unplug her tree if she doesn't pull the plug herself soon. :-)

But isn't that the whole point of New Year's Resolutions? To be successful at them?? To keep them going as long as possible??? Call me crazy, but I kinda think so.

Born From Our Heart

I am a brand-new fan of Mr. Ray. He writes songs that both kids AND parents can enjoy (imagine that!). But this song, Born From Our Heart (The Adoption Song) solidified me as a card-carrying member of the Mr. Ray fan club. I think this song hits me so hard not just because it's about adoption, but because of the "angel" imagery he uses. You see, Miles' middle name is Gabriel, and we always think of him as an angel sent from God. Not that he always acts like an angel, he is our angel nonetheless. :-)

This was the back of our birth/adoption announcement after Miles was born:


...hard to believe he is going to be 2 in a little over a month...


Born From Our Heart (The Adoption Song)

You start with hope
The wait can make you cry
Unanswered prayers
Things turn, you wonder why

The road can take you where it wants
Sometimes you have to just let go to hear life's song

It's meant to be
It was written in the stars
For us to see
A little angel to be ours
We're a family
We'll tell you where you came from
But you were born from our heart

Faith lights your path
Then one day lets you in
Inside the dream
Of something never seen

The beauty of your little smile
Each little sound you make
Takes our breath away

It's meant to be
It was written in the stars
For us to see
A little angel to be ours
We're a family
We'll tell you where you came from
But you were born from our heart

©2009 music & lyrics by ray andersen

How to Add Pages to Your Blogger Blog

Finally! Blogger is catching up to the needs of their loyal minions. I have been wishing for an easy way to create pages in Blogger for, umm, FOREVER. And now it's finally here!! Thank you, Blogger Gods!!!

I am a Blogger fan, don't get me wrong. I even tried to work with Wordpress, which to be honest I really liked and thought it had many great features that Blogger just can't offer. But you apparently can't teach this old dog new tricks because very soon I was back to Blogger. What can I say? After two years of using Blogger it was just easier to go with what I already knew.

SO, to the good stuff: How to add pages to your Blogger blog. We're talking about static information on stand alone pages here, people! Functionality! Yeah!!!

It's incredibly easy:

Dashboard--> Edit Posts--> Edit Pages

YEP. That's it. It's not brain surgery.

But it's oh so fun.

By the way, my pages are currently under construction so keep checking back to see what's new!

QUESTION: I just installed Live Writer and I like it. But I'm still getting my feet wet. How many of you use it, and do you like it? What are the advantages of using it over the standard Blogger editing functions? Do tell, do tell.

Eve

My bookclub just had one of it's most extraordinary nights.

And we have had a lot of amazing ones, so this is saying a lot.

We were so very lucky to have my friend Elissa Elliott, author of Eve: A Novel of the First Woman, join us for our discussion of her book this month. My mother introduced me to Eve and guided me to Elissa, and for that I am so grateful. She very graciously accepted my invitation (about 6 months ago!) and we had been looking forward to this evening with anticipation ever since.

Since Eve is filled with rich images of the Mediterranean, including the food (they apparently ate many, many figs!), we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a Mediterranean-themed dinner to go along with our discussion. Yummy food, pomegranate wine AND champagne and baklava to top it off.

It was heaven.

Speaking of heaven, I wish I could do this incredible book justice with an eloquent book review. But if I am being honest here (and it IS "Let the Truth Be Told Tuesday", right??) I am not insightful enough nor do I have the adequate words to do it the justice that it deserves. I will say that I stand in awe of this work of fiction. It's the hardest thing in the world to tackle a story that is so well-known. Can you imagine? Elissa took Eve, one of history and religion's most recognizable 'characters', and made you think that you are meeting her (and her family) for the very first time. The story she weaves is so believable, so thoroughly researched and so engaging you absolutely forget that you know how the story ends. Her prose is like poetry...it's really beautiful.

I could go on and on about how clear her vision of Eve as a mother is, how shockingly real the relationships are, how she makes you think (really think) about our relationship with the world and other people, how close you feel to knowing what the true nature of our connection to Elohim (God) truly is after reading her words ("Everything ordinary is extraordinary and points to one luminous thing, to a love that has already given its response. You have only to receive it.") ... but I will stop there.

Read this book. It will not be wasted time.

Thank you, Elissa, for your candor and humor and openness and insight and wisdom.

And thank you to my wonderful, precious bookclub. I would be lost without you!!!

Me, Brynn, Elissa, Siri, Karna and Jodi (we were missing Amy, Lorelee and Dawn!)

The Action of Compassion

My fear in organizing friends and family to make health kits for Haiti was that some would do it out of guilt, or a sense of obligation. And I did have at least one friend admit that guilt is what drove her to get her kids in the car, haul them to Wal-Mart and bring the things for the health kits over to my house on a super cold winter night. I'm glad she was honest with me because I have thought about that a lot. I take no offense whatsoever, and totally agree with her! Guilt is what drives us to do many things. I might feel the exact same way if I were in her shoes.

Then I think about the words of another friend who also gave health kits for Haiti yesterday. Her wise words are ringing in my ears: "We SHOULD feel obligated to help." I guess that hits at the heart of where I'm coming at with all of this. It's not just that I want to help. It's that I NEED to help. I look around and see the abundance that I have...I see the faces of the Haitians who had nothing to begin with and now have even less. And I DO feel guilt. I DO feel obligated. But is that such a bad thing???

I think we all know the answer to that one. Whatever drives us to act can't be a bad thing. Action is the root of compassion, IMHO.

But I digress.....

The health kits for Haiti project was a huge success! We collected over 30 health kits and also a large monetary donation that will be sent to the LWR warehouse in St. Paul very soon. From there the kits will most likely head straight to Haiti. The first health kits shipment (along with layette kits, quilts, etc...) arrived in Haiti on Monday. But so much more is needed! I know that these kits will go to people who desperately need them.

Big hugs to my awesome friends and family for acting on their compassion for the Haitian people. No small act of kindness is ever wasted!!!

I hope that we will not become complacent as times goes on. I don't want to forget, I don't want my support for these people to wain. They will need our help for a long, long time to come.

Health Kits for Haiti

As I have mentioned in the last couple of posts, the tragedy in Haiti has affected me deeply. It has affected everyone deeply. It’s been hard to watch the devastation in Haiti and not be moved to tears. We all want to do something to help, but feel helpless. I have prayed, donated…but it just doesn’t feel like it’s enough. But we CAN HELP!

Lutheran World Relief is an organization that I trust. They have been responding to disasters around the world for over 65 years. You can learn more about LWR at http://www.lwr.org/. They are always in need of health kits to send to people around the world who need them but now with the situation in Haiti the need is even greater. They have already sent hundreds of kits to Haiti but need more.

I read this blog post from LWR President John Nunes that inspired me to take immediate action: “Our stock of health kits is critically low. With so many homeless and in need, for every health kit we give, there are many more families who need one. Please consider donating health kits to LWR so that we can continue to meet needs in Haiti and around the world.”

I am asking friends and family to make health kits and drop them off at our house next week, and I am hoping for a big response! (I will take pics and be blogging a thank you to all my friends and family who donate next week.) But if YOU would like to help you can also make health kits and send them to LWR. Follow the links above for more instructions! It's SO easy. It's a small thing that we can do for people who have lost everything.

Health Kits for Haiti: Lutheran World Relief
One hand towel, dark color recommended
One washcloth, dark color recommended
One bath-size bar (4 to 5 oz.) of soap, any brand, in its original wrapping
One adult-size toothbrush in its original packaging
One sturdy comb, remove packaging
One metal nail file or nail clippers with file attached, remove packaging (do not substitute cardboard emery boards for the file)
Six Band-Aids® (or similar brand), preferably 1/2" to 3/4"; secure together with a rubber band

Optimism

I am feeling optimistic today.

First of all, although I am still stunned by the depth of suffering in Haiti, I feel optimistic for their future. Helen Keller said it best: "The world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it." The power of millions of people coming together for a common cause is a beautiful thing to watch. The prayers, money and support that is flowing is amazing. I am planning a little event to help Haiti, and will talk more about it when plans are more solid.

Then, I am feeling optimistic about my future, my career. There are some good things on the horizon. Remember when I said I feel like I am on the verge of something BIG but I just didn't know what it was?? I think I am starting to figure it out. Maybe. We will see. Stay tuned ;)

I am also feeling optimistic about my ability to keep kicking butt with my New Year's Resolutions. Have you noticed that it only takes a few weeks for people to STOP talking about New Year's Resolutions altogether? The questions end, the blog posts fade away...I am trying my hardest to fight that! I am still doing awesome with my cash budget and I am still working on my gratitude journal. And I am still a blonde. ;)

I hope my optimism stays. I like how it feels.

p.s. Do you heart I Heart Faces?? Well then you need to check out THIS entry! It's amazing!!! (but then again, I might be a little biased...)