currently reading: Bread & Wine

I loved this book.  And, just to be clear, I've never begun a book review that way!  

Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes is Shauna Niequist's third book.  Unlike many other reviewers, I knew little about Niequist before I began the book.  Really, I only knew that she was a blogger, but I'd never even visited her site.  But with this book, she won me over.  It felt like I was hearing from a kinded spirit and, over and over, I found myself nodding, crying, laughing and drawing little pencil hearts in the margin to mark my favorite points.   

The book is arranged into four sections, each consisting of about 10 essays.  Most of the essays are followed by a recipe referenced therein.  I liked the essay format because it was easy to read a little at a time.  Food, of course, is the predominate theme throughout the book, but addition topics include Christianity, infertility, miscarriage, family, friends, body image/self-confidence, parenting, hospitality and running.  Her life was transparent in these pages.  Sometimes that was hilarious, for instance, when she talks about training to run a marathon ("the runners themselves kind of freaked me out").  Other times the honesty was sobering and convicting.  The essay 'Hail Mary' made me cry as she talked about being all alone in the hospital with a very sick baby and I thought of my own baby and how terrifying that would be.

Niequist is a foodie.  She admits to obsessing over dinner parties and getting carried away when planning events.  But it didn't come across as snobby.  In fact, what I loved about the book was that she urged the reader to 'Start Where You Are' (the title of one essay).  She says to "order pizza and serve it with a green salad and a bottle salad dressing."  In other words: don't let not being a perfect chef stop you from entertaining.  This same idea was seen in another essay 'Open the Door' where talked about hosting in less-than-perfect situations (e.g. a tiny apartment).  Over and over again, you see how Niequist sees food as a way to connect with people.  And that's what I loved.  This book was about food, yes, but it was about more than that.  

As I said before, I knew very, very little about Niequist before this book.  Through reading the book, I picked up on the fact that her parents must be well-known.  A quick Google search told me that she is the daughter of Bill and Lynne Hybels (the founders of Willow Creek Church).  Near the end of the book, she mentions hosting a dinner for a family friend named Shane.  As she described a little more about him I realized was Shane Claiborne.  While Niequist could have done a lot of name-dropping throughout the book (it's clear that her family is well-connected), I appreciated that she didn't.  She just wrote.  She was simply honest and, with that, she won me over.

Since I'd never read any of her other writing (blog or books), I do wonder if this could have felt like a repeat to some readers.  I have read other books by bloggers and, sometimes, it seems that they simply recycle their blog material and turn it into a book.  So much of this book is based on Niequist's life, so there may be repeated stories from other places.

When the book first arrived, I was itching to open it, but I had another book/review I needed to finish first.  So I just read the first essay.  I read a little aloud to my husband because I was so struck by it and he said, "I can already tell you're going to like this book.  This book is you."  We love trying new foods and I cook a lot, so I loved reading her descriptions and I'm looking forward to trying the recipes (tomorrow we're making the watermelon feta salad!).  Overall, I loved this book: the stories, the writing and (hopefully) the recipes.  I think it's a beautiful read for anyone who sees food and hospitality as an act of love.  One word of warning:  reading this will make you hungry!  :)

**I received a copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

staying organized during a PCS (part 2)

Last week I wrote about one of our tricks to stay organized during a PCS (move for the military), which was a big three-ring binder to hold all our paperwork.  Today I'm sharing another one.  After all, organization is half the battle during a move!

In addition to "Big Blue" (the 3-ring binder) we also have a Steno Pad (our last one was blue so, of course, we named it "Little Blue".  Stupid names, but they worked for us!).  As soon as we find out we're moving, I go buy a new Steno Pad and it stays with me for the next two months.  Here's why:

We document everything.

Seriously.

We document everything.

From the very beginning of our move, we take notes, compile lists, save phone numbers/addresses and more in Little Blue.

This sounds silly, right?  I mean, after all, it's the age of technology!  Of iPhones and tablets and who needs paper anymore?  Well, people in the midst of a move do!  :)

Like with Big Blue, it's about having the information you need all in the same place.  Instead of keeping track of packing lists, calendars, shopping lists, phone numbers and more, I just have to keep track of the Steno Pad.  If you carry a purse regularly, make sure you get one that fits in your purse so you don't lose it!

I can't tell you how many times we've written something down that we are SURE we'll remember, but we faithfully write it down anyway.  And it always ends up that we need it later.  The meme above is silly, but it's our exact philosophy when it comes to the Steno Pad!

Yes, this is a simple piece of advice, but it is so helpful!

Here's an idea of the things we wrote down with our last move:

• contact information (name, phone number/address) for anyone connected with our move.  This also included any estimates we got from companies so that we could easily compare later on.
• moving companies
• truck rental
• TMO office (the people who handle moves in the military)
• housing office at new base
• hotels along the road (including confirmation numbers)
• Caleb's sponsor at new base
• packing lists
• last items to pack at old house (e.g. bath towels, shower curtain, etc)
• items that travel with us in the car (e.g. cleaning supplies and plants)
• first items to unpack at new house (e.g. toilet paper, hand towels, soap, paper plates, etc)
• grocery lists/shopping lists
• a list of basic necessities to buy at new house (e.g. milk and eggs)
• meal lists
• plan basic easy meals like boxed mac and cheese that use basic ingredients so you start emptying your kitchen (especially refrigerated foods)
• to-do list (multiple copies updated frequently and perhaps organized in the following categories)
• by date (i.e. a mini calendar to take with you)
• by necessity (i.e. must be done TODAY)
• by person responsible
• by location (e.g. on base errands, new town errands, etc)
• cleaning lists (trust me, if you live in base housing you'll definitely need a list for this!)

That's just a sampling of the things that we wrote down while we were moving.  Trust me, spending $2 on a Steno Pad will be well worth it!  By the time your move is over, you'll be use to carrying around this notebook and a pen at all times and will be swearing by this method too!  ;)

Staying Organized During a PCS - Part One
Staying Organized During a PCS - Part Three

mother's day

Today I'm thinking of my mom and wishing her a happy day.  I'm so thankful for the energy she put into raising six children and how she's passed on to us a love for books, learning and caring for other people, among many other things.  Wish we could be there with you today, Mom!

We're keeping it low-key here today which is exactly how I wanted it.  Just a little time for the three of us to enjoy together.  Some time ago, I read this post about a mother who write a note to her children each year on Mother's Day and I knew I wanted to do the same so Caleb bought me a beautiful moleskin notebook to collect my notes to Hadden.  We are running errands, baking, delivering meals and going on a family walk.

I understand that Mother's Day can be a really difficult day for many people whether they've lost a mother or are wishing to be a mother or are alone today because of deployment, etc.  Today I hope that someone reaches out to you in kind remembrance and that you draw encouragement from that.  

For an interesting read about Mother's Day, here's an article about Anna Jarvis**, who "invented" Mother's Day and how she later fought against it as she saw how it turned into another big marketing scheme.  

**I realize that mental_floss is not the most noteworthy of sources, but I've heard this other places as well...this was simply the place I saw it today. :)

comfortable people

Years ago someone told me that I was their "comfortable friend."

Really? I was dismayed.  Comfortable?  Why couldn't I be your inspiring friend?  Or hilarious?  What about your fascinating or really talented friend?

Comfortable, to me, meant I was akin to a large sofa.  And, even though I knew she meant it was a compliment, it didn't feel like one in that moment.

It took me a little bit of time to realize fully what she meant and perhaps it wasn't so far off from being a human-sofa.  When you've had a really, really crappy day, isn't there some part of you that just wants to be enveloped in soft cushions and plush fabric?  You want to sigh and let the worries of the day fall off your shoulders so that you can just "be".

That friend trusted me with the most precious parts of her life.  She let me into her world and allowed me to mourn and grieve and, yes, to rejoice with her.  And I realized that being her "comfortable friend" was really one of the highest honors she could give me.

my fashionista sister

My little sister was recently featured on College Fashionista!  She told me about it when she first got asked to do it and I've been waiting to see the post go up and here it is!

McKenna was at lunch with a friend when the writer/photographer approached her and asked if she could take a picture of her outfit.  When she was telling me about it later she said, "I felt so dumb standing there!" (I'm sure I would feel the same way), but I think she looks great!

staying organized during a PCS (part 1)

When you're in the military, moving is just a way of life.  I grew up moving, so I learned a lot of tricks from my parents and I've passed some of those along to my husband (like how to pack a box of dishes so none of them break!).  We moved to our current base about a year ago and this became my eleventh home!  And I'm only 25!

Organization is vital during a PCS (permanent change of station)!  If you're like me, you like to be organized all the time.  But when half your home is packed away in boxes and the other half is in random piles that are supposed to make sense to you, it's kinda nice to have a system to stay organized.

Here's our secret: a three ring binder

Yep.

We love our's so much that we even named it:  Big Blue (any guesses as to it's color??;)

Moving (especially in the military) means lots of paperwork.  Instead of trying to keep track of all the separate papers, we stick them all in Big Blue and then we just have to remember it!  If you've ever heard of the FLYLady, Big Blue is loosely based on her control journal.

Big Blue has page protectors and it has a couple binder pouches too.  The page protectors hold all the paperwork.  Here are some examples: copies of my husband's orders, copies of our marriage certificate, copies of birth certificate, printout of hotel reservations, maps to our location, copies of driver's licenses, reservation of moving truck, leasing agreement, **birthday/anniversary cards, map of the new base, etc.

**about a month before our move, we buy cards and get them stamped and addressed.  then i put a sticky note on the front with the date it needs to be mailed so we have one less thing to think about during those crazy weeks.

One of the binder pouches hold little things like our passports, stamps, random keys, etc.  The other is where we put all receipts pertaining to our move.  When my husband is in-processing to a new base, he needs those receipts so we make sure that every single one goes directly in Big Blue!  So far, we've never lost one!

Big Blue rides with us in the truck/car which means it's easily accessible at all times and,  at nights, it goes into the hotel with us.  It might seem like overkill to have printouts of everything (maps, hotel reservations, etc) because most of those things can be accessed online these days.  But let's be honest.  Murphy's Law seems especially true during a move.  One time we got to our hotel and their whole computer system was down, but since we had a printout with our confirmation we were able to still get into our room.  The LAST thing you want at the end of a long day of traveling is to have a technology fail.  The maps have come in handy at times when the 3G on our phones wasn't working well (i.e. driving through rural Arkansas).

Anyone else have moving tips to share?? :)

 Staying Organized During a PCS - Part Two
Staying Organized During a PCS - Part Three

TED talk: violence & silence (dr. jackson katz)

Sometimes it's hard to figure out how something "went viral".  Like Gangnam Style or the Harlam Shake.  How in the world did those become worldwide trends?!

Other times there are important messages that *need* to go viral.  This is TED talk by Dr. Jackson Katz that I believe is important for our society (really, our world).  I hope that you'll listen and, perhaps, share as well.

I found this specially interesting because my husband and I had just discussed this very topic about a week ago (before I'd heard about this talk).