living simply

Between a course on spiritual disciplines, living around Portlanders and liberal Christians, and eventually coming to Fuller I've had a lot of ways of living simply suggested to me. Somehow I thought, oh, I know what that means, and I'm just seeing what fits into my lifestyle. But I'm realizing there is still a whole new world waiting out for me regarding learning how to live green and to be responsible as a consumer. Even this week I learned that nail polish and lipstick are very chemically, which means bad for the environment and bad for your body.

In the past month we have been learning to do things more simply. This started with a dry period of time (didn't get the taxes back, APU didn't pull through on Donovan's raise, etc) but turned into a sort of game for Donovan and I. How much fun could we have on how little money? What was really a "need" in our lives? We quickly realize, there are LOTS of things we waste money on. Here are a few key ones for us:
1. Coffee trips. Making coffee at home with good ingredients tastes just as good, if not better, and usually can make more than 15 servings at the price of about 4 cups from the coffee shops. Savings #1, check!
2. Planning grocery trips instead of buying spontaneously when we get there. We had twice as many dinners and lots of healthy food after planning and sticking to our list and we spent $75 for the week instead of $100. Of course we didn't have pre packaged food, we limited our meats, and we had no candy.... but our bodies thanked us for these changes. Alright!
3. Just not doing the extra things... cutting back. No meals out, no unneccessary additions to our Target bag, no "shopping" for fun. It seems restrictive and un-fun, but really, it makes you feel a sense of pride that you're being more thoughtful about how you are spending your hard earned dollars. No more status quo... check!
4. Drive less, bike more, walk when you can. Save on gas, parking meters and lots, tickets, insurance, maintenance, the list goes on and on!
5. Spending less on the expensive entertainment culture in Pasadena takes a bit more thinking, but in the end, a lot of times it's a lot more fun! We went to free concerts, shared movies with friends, walked instead of went out for dinner, and played together (lawn bowling, swimming, etc). Being more intentional about not spending money on entertainment was actually more fun. Sweet!

So take a chance, do something different than those around you... embrace a concept of living simply. Hey, you might already have to because of your wallet, but at least you will be more at peace in your mind. Instead of thinking, gosh, my friends have all these great things and I have nothing... you can think, gee, I'm so grateful to have a nurishing meal on the table and a roof over my head. So many people in the world can't say that today, so be grateful if you can.

shout out

Thank you Martha Stewart. You rock my world.

Here is a recipe that made my week. I hope you enjoy it too!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/tofu-stir-fry-with-noodles?lnc=073ddfc3832ee010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=taxonomylist_food_quick-recipes

I'm eating the leftover for lunch right now. Yum yum.

a miracle has happened!

When I started writing this blog I was writing that our taxes still haven't been processed and how it has caused some emotional and financial woes in our household. Yes, we filed before April 15, and no, we still haven't gotten our taxes processed. We have had several trip ups along the way including being really stressed, arguing about whether to do it personally or professionally, getting them in just before the deadline, making a mistake on our first submission, not knowing what to do when we didn't hear back from the IRS, and resubmitting them on our own only to have them denied again. Over coffee I told my friend Robin from church about all of these things that are happening and she said that Len, her husband, could help us. He's a tax man :)

Len and Robin really rescued us from big trouble. Total, including the kicker checks we should be getting almost two thousand dollars back. But because we didn't submit them properly the first time we almost lost the possibility of getting a kicker check! Yikes! Plus they saved us from killing each other because we were both getting pretty stressed about the idea of the money never coming.

Len just called a few minutes ago and he said that he was able to process our taxes! Yea! Len is a miracle worker when it comes to taxes; he even processed them a different way and got us more money than we knew possible! Thanks Len! He also acted on our behalf and worked out all the kinks with our original submission so that we can get the kicker check. Praise God!

This has really shown us what a blessing it can be to live within a church that cares for and prays with you, works together with their skills to help others in need, teaches others, mentors, dialogues and waits patiently, and practices the life of Jesus Christ in relationship to one another. What a good reminder of God's love! He cares for us and understands and hears our cries even regarding our tax problems and our financial burdens. Thanks God, that's great.

Dear bike...

here are the top 10 reasons why I love you, bike. you make the world a better place.

1. When it's hot outside you make me move through the city so fast and alleviate my tender Oregonian skin from scorching in the heat
2. When I am late, I can hop on you and you get me there on time
3. When I go to work I don't have to stop to get a parking ticket because it's free to park your bike
4. When I'm SUPER late, I don't even have to take the time to go downstairs and park you, I can just bring you right into the building... you can't do that with a car!
5. you require no gas, have no carbon footprint, and therefore you greatly improve the well being of all those in LA
6. you are a conversation starter in a city where people rarely talk to strangers
7. you help me stop and smell the rosies because everything is so much more raw and real when you are on a bike... the wind in your hair, the sun on your face
8. you were $25! what a bargain. one of the most price effective choices I've made since moving to expensive southern california
9. riding on a bike sure beats being on a bus and having awkward conversations or hearing a loud roar for the whole ride
10. no gas, no insurance, few repairs, little maintenance... you help me save money!

I love you, bike.

recent readings

Lately I've really been into reading and discovering more about the crisis in northern Uganda. It all started by reading the book Girl Soldier. You can read my recent facebook note if you're interested more in what my thoughts are regarding that.

My newest book is Jesus for President. I've just started reading it, but it looks like it is a real good read. I always assess the books I read and if they are really good I send them to Lou Foltz, a friend of mine at Warner Pacific College and suggest he use them in his Psychology of Religion class. We'll see if this one hits the recommendation list. It has pictures in it, but don't be scared... it's basically encouraging Christians to have a new imagination for what faith and life looks like instead of following our American culture blindly. So I'm guessing the pictures go hand in hand with the imagination of a new way of thinking. So far I'm really liking the totally new format to the book. I will have to keep you updated as I read it. This is my favorite quote thus far,
"Most of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a distorted quest to possess beauty. Coveting begins with appreciating blessings. Murder begins with a hunger for justice. Lust beins with a recognition of beauty. Gluttony begins when our enjoyment of the delectable gifts of God starts to consume us. Idolatry begins when our seeing a reflection of God in something beautiful leadds to our thinking that the beautiful image bearer is worthy of our worship."
This short segment created for me such an image of the superficiality I can have sometimes, it was all too revealing of my sinful human nature in such a short paragraph.

chillaxin'

This weekend we had a fun time with our neighbors playing Rock Band and different games on the Wii. Here are some photos of some summer fun with our friends from our apartment complex.....

This weekend we had a fun time with our neighbors playing Rock Band and different games on the Wii. Here are some photos of us having some summer fun with our friends in our complex...

Dustin is so excited about the game right now that he can't even stop to eat... this is him asking Kendra for a bite while he's mid-game time...







Yesterday Donovan and I took another LA walking tour. For those of you who don't know... we bought a package of tours that you can take through LA that describes historic buildings and modern sights, it's really fun. We went to USC for the first time and walked around the campus and surrounding area. It is very beautiful. We took a picture of USC's oldest building, the Alumni House, it was built in the 1880's. I was surprised by the adjacent rose gardens, museums, and that the Olympics have been held there twice! The rose gardens go on forever and there are several fountains and cute areas to sit. It's very romantic. If you haven't been and live in LA, you should try it! It's free :)














Donovan has been working on the art of cookie making this weekend too. This is his second batch in two weeks. Here are some pics of his wonderful creation. They were what we made for our church snack this week. Mountainside... we love you SO MUCH. And Donovan, you have skills. Mad skills. Thanks to Tracy for teaching him all that you did about cookie making!

adam

Recently our neighbors moved out of Beth Re'im, which is the apartment complex we live in within Fuller housing. We miss them so much! They were a family of five and we had lots of good times together. Now we are the only residents on the outside of the complex. I hope someone moves in soon to join us! But, no matter who it is, it won't fill the special place in our hearts for Will, Rachel, William, Dante, and Adam.

Adam used to come over to our place and play Yahtzee. He knows how awesome it is, which makes him a very smart three year old. Sometimes we also played Rummikub or Loaded Qs... not the traditional way of course, because rules are hard to communicate to a three year old. If we didn't lock our front door, he would just walk in. If we did lock our door you could hear Adam outside with a cheerful voice "hey guys! I'm right here! open the door!"

They moved out last Friday. I really miss seeing the boys regularly and catching Rachel at the mailbox or the laundry room and talking to Will about bikes. They were the only family with kids that I really knew in our complex, and it feels kinda sad now that they are gone.

...Yet it's also nice to sit in my underwear at my computer and not be afraid that a little boy is going to walk into my living room... unless I lock myself in.

I've been thinking about loss a lot lately (because of my work and life events) and realize that it is almost always bittersweet like that.