Effortless Effervescence

Outside my window…
…it’s very different from the world outside the windows at my grandparents-in-law’s home in smalltown PA! Firstly, no snow flurries, twoly, lots of cars and people and other animals. I really enjoyed walking our dogs through the fields and country roads and brisk fall air. But now I’m home in the “big city” (as hubby’s family would call it!) and although I’m always glad to be back in my own little world, I miss the peace and quiet.

I am thinking…
About Christmas preparations… and money… and trying not to stress. And about long-term goals and wondering where on earth I’ll “be” a year or two from now.

I am thankful for…
An extended family that has welcomed me wholly. Oh, and that I married a man who isn’t afraid to fix things around the house! I mean, I’m a feminist and I’m all about women feeling empowered to tackle things like car repairs and home renovations and everything else supposedly “masculine.” I’m also all about doing what you’re good at and what you like to do - and I am NOT good at solving plumbing problems, nor do I LIKE doing it. I am good at cooking yummy food and making sure we don’t run out of toilet paper. Hence why the division of labor in our house is so “traditional”… and I’m glad I’ve finally stopped feeling guilty about it!

From the kitchen…
I got a package of several different cuts of beef for a decent discount, and tonight we had pan-fried steaks, noodles and sugar snap peas. Tomorrow morning I’m loading the slow cooker with a roast, carrots and red potatoes.

Also, the freezer is stocked with Italian ice and ice cream sandwiches. Shopping while pregnant and hungry guarantees that I will purchase several different kinds of frozen treats. I’ve also stopped feeling guilty about that!

I am wearing…
My Philly E-train tee shirt, which I bought in (you guessed it) Philadelphia a few years ago. And black yoga pants covered in paint.

I am creating…
A blog post… it feels so good to have access to the net again!

I am going…
…back to work tomorrow And to the OB, for the results from some routine blood tests.

I am reading…
The backlog of blog posts in my Google reader, LiveJournal friends list, and Dreamwidth subscriptions! Also Anne Lamott’s Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Lamott is such a brutally honest person that sometimes I’m wriggly and uncomfortable reading her words. And at the same time, comforted by the fact that someone else out there is as screwed up as I am, and willing to admit it, and certain that Jesus loves her (and the rest of us jokers) anyway. And I find myself nodding along quite a bit, too, because she’s got a tight hold on the fact that life is damn hard but God i big and grace is real.

I am hoping…
That I’ll be able to finish all of my Christmas crafts in time!

I am hearing…
The TV show my hubby’s watching in the living room. Something about guys that drive heavy duty tow trucks.

Around the house…
… there’s lots of luggage, stuff we toted back from the grandparents’, dirty clothes, various snacks and trash and nearly a week’s worth of junk mail. It’s going to take me awhile to recover from vacation!

One of my favorite things from the past week…
Our dog Milo snoozing on my lap nearly the entire way up to PA and the entire ride back home!

A few plans for the week ahead…
Laundry, balance the checkbook, work on a training presentation for work, crochet, eat ice cream, read!

A picture for thought…

I found this picture when I searched for the word “grace” on Flickr. I have a thing for cute animals, and that is one darn cute animal… but more than that, she seems full of joy and light. Isn’t it awesome how animals manage to transmit happiness to us with a look or a touch? It’s a beautiful mystery…

(Photo credit.)

For November 23, 2009:

Outside my window…
It’s overcast and blustery. Still not COLD, but we’re definitely progressing through fall and swiftly approaching winter. I’m trying not to pout too much over how night falls so early now; I’m trying to remember to just enjoy bundling up at home and letting my body hibernate a bit. (Especially since this winter I’m using all my energy to grow a little human being!)

I am thinking…
Of all I still need to do for Christmas (so many presents to make!)

I am thankful for…
The wonderful man I’m married to.

From the kitchen…
Not much. I’ve been focusing on needlecrafts so much lately that I haven’t been doing any fun cooking or baking!

I am wearing…
The brown Dockers slacks I bought for about $10 a few months ago, and a plum-colored shirt.

I am creating…
Christmas gifts! Hopefully this week I’ll be able to tear myself away from my yarn stash and work on some ornaments I’ve got in mind.

I am going…
To see my in-laws up in PA for Thanksgiving. We leave Wednesday afternoon, and I am so excited!

I am reading…
First-Time Mom: Getting Off on the Right Foot from Birth to First Grade by Kevin Leman. Dr. Leman is a well-known Christian author and speaker whose advice never comes across as preachy. He’s funny, practical and sensitive (First Time Mom allows for all kinds of moms - single, married, biological and adoptive) and I highly recommend his work.

I am hoping…
That our dogs get along with the Pennsylvania dogs this weekend!

I am hearing…
My friend who’s on the phone getting directions.

Around the house…
It’s a mess. I won’t lie! I only have so much energy right now, and I’ve been channeling it into crafting, so things like sweeping and mopping have been low on my list of priorities. When we get back from PA, I really want to put up the Christmas tree, so maybe I’ll do a good deep-clean before we do that. (Or maybe I’ll just do a quick once-over and call it a day!

One Two of my favorite things…
Right now, peanut butter and yogurt! Lately I’m hungry ALL. THE. TIME., so I try to keep lots of quick, healthy snacks around. A few saltines with peanut butter or a cup of yogurt knocks down that OMG SO HUNGRY feeling and keeps nausea at bay.

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Laundry, pack, and craft.

From my camera…
My two most recent crochet accomplishments!

A cotton knapsack for my niece Bella; I’m making one in pink for her sister Kate!

A rainbow beer cozy - one of a pair I’m making for our friends Annette and Kay.

photo credit

What foods say “holidays” to you? Is it turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, eggnog, or pumpkin pie? Or something entirely different? (I know some of my Aussie friends celebrate Christmas with a big cook-out. I still can’t wrap my head around Christmas in the middle of summer!)

And on the subject of eggnog, how do you like it? With a shot of whiskey or amaretto? With a dollop of whipped cream on top, dusted with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg? Nothing at all, just fresh and ice cold?

For me, nothing says the holidays like store-bought brown-and-serve rolls. I don’t care if they’re full of simple carbs and empty of nutritional value. I love the way they get all crispy on the outside while staying light and springy on the inside. I love splitting one in half and letting a pat of butter melt into a pool in the center of one half while using the other half to mop up my mom’s special from-a-jar-cuz-she’s-got-nothing-to-prove gravy. Ain’t nothing like it, and I dare you to find something better.

Pssssst! There’s more Quick Takes over at Conversion Diary. Check ‘em out!

Take 1: Greetings from sunny lovely Virginia Beach, VA! Perhaps you heard about the Nor’easter that slammed the mid-Atlantic coast last week? Well, it was everything the weather channel says it was and more - high winds, tons of rain, and a general pain in the butt for people who want to, say, leave their houses to go to work or buy groceries. I ended up taking the day off on Thursday and getting a ton of chores done around the house, which felt heavenly, but I was twitching with cabin fever by the end of the day. And I didn’t realize until I woke up on Sunday and was stunned to see a big, brightly shining orb in the sky that we hadn’t had any real sunlight for four days. Now that’s depressing. Mental note: never move to Alaska.

The storm managed to provide some entertaining moments, like when our neighbors’ trampoline ended up in our tree, but it wasn’t without casualties: my brother flooded his car on Saturday, totalling it, which really bummed him out. Now, that car, a Saturn Ion, belonged to my older sister for ten years and my older brother for two or three before it finally ended up in my younger brother’s clutches. It had 260,000 miles on it, so it’s not a big loss. Still, it was sad to see such a faithful friend go to that great junkyard in the sky. *hums TAPS*

Take 2: So according to Sarah Palin’s recently released memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, all those rumors about tension within the McCain/Palin campaign (which, IIRC, Palin herself denied at the time) were true after all. After reading that, I think I finally understood one of the reasons that I was so adverse to the idea of voting for McCain. I had other reasons of which I was wholly certain, but I also felt a latent uneasiness about McCain and Palin and couldn’t quite figure out what was causing it. Now I realize that the rumors of discontent coupled with the insistence that, “No, we’re one big, happy family!” that came from campaign officials, PLUS McCain and Palin’s forced smiles and overly affectionate banter reminded me very much of my time in the cult.

When I was working at Christ Church, nearly everyone who brushed shoulders with my pastor and his minions (which included me and all my friends) noticed that there was something Not Quite Right in the way that he treated us, in the way that we catered to his every whim, in the way that we insisted, “We’re one big, happy family!” Our forced smiles and overly affectionate banter didn’t hide the fact that there was something Not Quite Right (actually, make that something Gravely Wrong) and I remember getting the same feeling from McCain and Palin. Any time something reminds me of those cult dynamics, I take that as an indication that I should run in the opposite direction.

Now, that is not to say that Obama and Biden are BFFs or that they were so much more genuine and honest and real than their rivals were. I’m not even getting close to alleging that one candidate was perfect and the other was the antichrist (but there’s lots of other blogs out there that DO if that sort of cow patty floats your boat). All I’m saying is that something inside me didn’t like the Republican ticket last year because they gave me the willies. And now I know why.

(Book cover image released by HarperCollins to the Associated Press)

Take 3: Do you guys realize that Christmas is just weeks away? I realized it yesterday, and I had a small panic attack. I love the holidays, but I feel wholly unprepared for them this year. I have to figure out what we’re giving folks - I have some ideas, but not a lot - and then, oh yeah, I have to buy or make the things we’re giving folks, and that requires spare change and time, both of which are in short supply right now. I always tell myself that it’s okay to not spend a lot of money, that it’s the thought that counts, and I shouldn’t let my holiday gift-giving choices be dictated by guilt - but still, I have a hard time doing that!

I will say that I’m VERY proud of myself for deciding to scale my Christmas card list waaaaaaaaaay back; last year I sent over 100 cards, and now that stamps are what, 44 cents apiece, that means I’d spend $44.00 on just MAILING the cards, not to mention the cost of the cards themselves! It occurred to me that spending that much money to send cards to loads of people I don’t know that well OR know very well but talk to every single day makes no sense. I’ll send cards to family members and old friends that I don’t talk to often but with whom I want to keep in touch, and call it a day. GO ME.

Take 4: Another source of holiday stress is that I tend to agonize over what to buy for my stepson. For instance, do kids still like The Berenstain Bears? Now that CJ is in kindergarten, I feel it’s my duty to line his bookshelf and turn him into a tiny little nerd, and I love the idea of giving him some of books that I enjoyed as a kid - but I’m not sure if he’ll like the books as much as I did! Unfortunately, I usually find myself spoiling the dickens out of him because I can’t stop buying seriously awesome stuff and because I have stepmommy guilt because we live so far away and can’t see him very often. I have to remind myself of the valuable piece of information I learned when we visited for his birthday in July: he thought pretty much every present we gave him was The Best Thing Ever, but he actually played with the action figures we picked up at the dollar store waaaaaaaaay more than he did with the more complicated (and more expensive) toys.

Take 5: I do have ONE Christmas present ready to go! Take a gander at my second finished crochet project: skinny pom-pom scarves in black and gold (of course) for one of my Pittsburgh in-laws, and modeled by yours truly. (I make ‘em look good, don’t I?)

Take 6: And while I’m cleaning out my digital camera, I might as well post some pics of my furbabies, right?

Please note that the five-month-old puppy is now bigger than her 2-and-a-half-year-old brother. Please also note how torn and stained my couch is. This is the price of having a small zoo in your home.

And here’s a pic of three of the five cats doing what they do best: EATING. I fill up four or five bowls with dry kibble every morning, and less than 24 hours later, they’re all empty. It is possible that Indy (the orange tabby bowling-ball-shaped guy on the right) is eating more than his share, but the kittens are definitely putting a dent in the food stores. Especially A.C. (not pictured, sorry), who compared to her brother Randall (he’s on the left in the pic) is quite a little butterball.

And in case you’re wondering, the cat in the middle does NOT have a tail, just that little nub you can see in the pic. He was adopted at age 4 by Jon’s ex-GF, so we have no idea if he was born that way (possibly a Japanese Bobtail or a Manx) or if he had an accident and lost the rest of his tail. It’s just part of his mystique. (And let me tell you, he has lots of mystique!)

Take 7: Audience Participation Tell me, what are you looking forward to about the holidays this year, and what’s giving you some serious stress? Do you have any strategies for eliminating holiday stress (like my slashing-the-holiday-card-list)? If you do, please share!

photo credit

The inspiration for this meal came from The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2008, so you can imagine that the original recipe was much more involved than mine. And according to one of my friends, it’s totally worth it. But if you don’t have the time or the inclination to attempt perfection, this is a not-so-shabby substitute.

1 TB olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TB Italian seasoning
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2.5 lbs. ground beef (or half-and-half ground beef and ground chicken or turkey)
1.5 cups bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 egg
4 cups of pasta, uncooked
1 20-ounce jar of pasta sauce (splurge on a better-quality sauce for this meal; don’t get the generic brand!)
1 14-oz can of crushed tomatoes

Preheat oven to 475 degrees and adjust oven rack between middle and top of oven.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, 1 TB Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook until onions are golden, about ten minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, combine ground meat, bread crumbs, 1 TB Italian seasoning, egg, and salt and pepper to taste. Add cooled onions and garlic, mix well. Form into 2.5-inch meatballs (you’ll have maybe ten or twelve of them) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (or in the unlined cups of a muffin tin). Bake until well-browned, about 30 minutes.

Towards the end of the meatballs’ cooking time, mix pasta sauce and crushed tomatoes in a medium saucepan and heat until bubbling. Add meatballs, cover and simmer for about fifteen minutes. While meatballs are simmering in sauce, cook pasta according to package directions.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and bread. Serves four to six.

Apparently the secret to these meatballs is cooking them in a very hot oven - it gives them a nice crust, but they’re still super moist. The original recipe called for Italian sausage and fresh bread crumbs and milk and blah blah blah - but I think the real secret is the sauteed onions and simmering the meatballs in the sauce. The layers of flavor are heavenly! The only thing that would have made this meal better is if I’d had enough Parmesan to work some into the meatball mix. But that’s what next time is for!

A friend of mine makes less pasta for this meal and more meatballs and sauce so she can serve the leftover meatballs in hoagie rolls with melted mozzarella cheese. She’s also been known to double the meatball recipe and freeze half of them (sans sauce) for a quick meal later.

ETA: The fundraising goal was met in 18 hours. I dunno ’bout you, but I’m blown away. Feel free to give anyway - all funds over and above the original goal go to similar projects. Read the full story below (if you haven’t already).

From Jon Acuff at Stuff Christians Like*:

Out of nowhere, my daughters will say something that is punch you in the stomach profound and then do a ballet twirl and go play with dolls.

That’s just how they get down on a fairly regular basis, but one particular thing my oldest daughter said more than a year ago is refusing to let me go.

We were looking at a book on storms and came to a page about drought and famine. In the corner was a little boy who was starving. His ribs were sticking out and flies covered his small face. I kept flipping the pages but L.E. made me stop and return to that one. She asked, “What’s that?” I told her, “That’s a little boy who doesn’t have enough food to eat.” She thought for a few seconds and then responded, “That’s not real though. That’s pretend, right?”

Good lord. That’s one of those moments where parents get the depressing but altogether necessary job of crushing their child’s innocence. Yes, honey, it’s real.

When Jon’s daughter L.E. said that to him, he had something of an epiphany, and started thinking about what he could do to make things that shouldn’t be real… well, not real. Stuff Christians Like is an amazingly popular blog, and it occurred to him that maybe, instead of just using the internet to become quasi-famous and promote his new book, he could use his blog to do something really awesome for little kids who need some awesomeness.

Which is the short version of how Jon came to be raising $30,000 for a kindergarten in Vietnam. You can read about the project here and here, and you can donate here.

Just in case you’re wondering, Samaritan’s Purse, the organization through which Jon is raising this money and who will be doing the “real” work of building the orphanage, is a Charity Navigator 4-star organization, which means that they’re really efficient in using the money you give to do what they say they’re going to do. About 88 cents from every dollar donated goes directly to the project it’s earmarked for. So you can give to this project and know that you’re not actually donating money to the build-the-Acuffs-and-big-new-house fund or give-crazy-televangelists-more-dollars-for-annoying-telethons fund. Now that’s peace of mind.

And lastly, I just have to stand up and applaud Mr. Acuff for doing something so positive with his net-fame. Blogging is, in many ways, a totally self-interested occupation. We bloggers write posts about things that are important to us (and usually ONLY to us), and we welcome the accolades of strangers from around the globe telling us how clever and funny and thought-provoking we are. Some people actually make money from blogging (I have got to figure out how they do that, because honestly? Getting paid to talk about myself is my dream job). This is not to say that bloggers never write with a higher purpose in mind, such as raising awareness about certain issues, or encouraging people, or just making the noise on the net a little less negative. But this is the first time** that I’ve seen a blogger use his/her platform to do something big and awesome, and I’m real proud of this guy. Which is why I’m giving what little I can to this project.

What about you?

* Stuff Christians Like is a HILAAAAARIOUS blog about all the goofy crap that somehow came to be part of the churchy experience. If you’ve been part of a Protestant/Evangelical church for any amount of time, you’ll “get” SCL and you’ll LOVE it.
** Okay, that’s not true. Every year during Blogathon, bloggers the whole world over use their words to make a difference. However, this is the first time I’ve seen someone with real “blog-fame” use that fame for something so good. I’m sure others have done it before - this is just the first time I’m aware of it.

Every month, Elizabeth Esther hosts The Saturday Evening Blog Post, a collection of her friends’ “best of” posts for the last month. If you have a moment, head over there and check out the list - there’s some real gems in there, including Elizabeth’s post about Rethinking Feminism and our mutual net-friend Jennifer’s post about her weeklong fast from the computer. What I love about gatherings such as these (and Jennifer’s Seven Quick Takes every Friday) is the opportunity I get to “meet” some really nifty new people - even if it takes me a couple of days to get caught up!

Enjoy!

photo credit

Let’s do things a little differently in this edition of Munchies Monday. Let’s talk about FOOD FEARS. Not icky foods that strike terror in our hearts (cauliflower is my arch nemesis). Not sugary/fattening foods that we don’t even want NEAR us because we’re certain that they’ll FORCE us to overindulge and gain fifty pounds in five seconds. (A friend of mine - let’s call her “Amy” - who was on a strict diet to go from a size six to a size two flipped out when her coworker brought in a birthday cake for their boss and set it down next to Amy. I think Amy had a few problems beyond her daily caloric intake, but who am I to judge?) I’m talking about foods that you’re afraid to try making because you’re certain that you will FAIL MISERABLY.

My Food Fears are as follows:
- pie crust (actually, anything that requires using a rolling pin scares me)
- bread (of almost any type - quick breads, yeast breads, rolls, etc.)
- mulit-course dinners (I greatly prefer the approach of dumping meat, veggies, and a starch in a casserole and calling it done; that way I don’t have to worry about my potatoes getting soggy and cold while the roast takes too long in the oven)

Now, a couple of months ago I started tackling my Fear of Baking Bread Without the Assistance of a Bread-Baking-Machine by trying a couple of batter bread recipes. When I achieved batter-bread-SUCCESS!, I decided to move on to the big time: real, kneaded, yeast breads. Yesterday I made a loaf of Walnut-Oatmeal bread (recipe courtesy of my trusty Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook), and though the texture could’ve used some work (I think I didn’t knead it long enough) I’m super proud of myself for taking the plunge. Also, it occurred to me that a round loaf of “artisan bread” from my local grocery store’s bakery would have cost about $4, whereas the loaf I made probably cost about 1/4 of that. What a bargain - especially since I had so much fun making it

Now I guess the next challenge is pastry. It might take me several weeks, though, to work up the courage for that one.

So tell me, peeps: What are your Food Fears? Don’t hold back because you think your answers are to simple or silly!

Pssssst! There’s more Quick Takes over at Conversion Diary. Check ‘em out!

Take 1: I’ll admit it, I can be pretty judgemental and haughty sometimes. (Oh, don’t look so surprised!) A belief I’ve held for a long time is that serial killers are not born, they’re made, and I usually blame a perp’s parents for the terrible things he or she does. Then I read Susan Klebold’s essay in the November issue of O, the Oprah magazine. Susan’s son Dylan was one of the Columbine shooters, and the pain she felt in the days that followed April 20, 1999 is just as acute and terrible as what the parents’ of her son’s victims felt. actually, I might even say her pain is worse - because a parent whose child died innocently, maybe even heroically, can take comfort in the fact that their offspring was blameless. But to have your child do something so terrible, and then take his own life so that you can’t ever ask him why, or offer him forgiveness, or even get mad at him - well, that’s gotta be hell.

I find this lesson particularly important considering that someday I’ll probably be really angry at the child I’m carrying. He or she could very well do things that embarrass and horrify me, and I could find myself in Susan Klebold’s shoes, with a nation of angry fingers pointing at ME, indicting me for the crimes my child committed. I’m not trying to be morbid here - I certainly hope and pray that my child will grow up to be a well-adjusted, not-at-all-violent, productive member of society. I’m just saying that I could do well to remember the old adage: “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Take 2: On the subject of mass shootings, how about the sh*t that went down at Fort Hood yesterday? I am particularly intrigued by how the shooter doesn’t seem to fit the stereotype of a political-radical-turned-mass-murderer: you know, young, disaffected, loner, not-really-going-anywhere-with-his-life. I mean, this dude is 39 years old and has a medical degree. Usually, the real weirdos are weeded out of the military early in their careers, but it seems Maj. Hasan slipped through the cracks. When I look at his friendly face on internet news sites, I can’t help but wonder what torturous thoughts were threatening to break him as he smiled for the camera.

Take 3: Let’s switch gears to happier things - like cake! You see, we take birthdays seriously at my workplace. One of my coworkers had her birthday on October 30; we covered her cubicle in silly string and I baked a pumpkin pie. My boss’s birthday is this weekend, so two of us filled her office with balloons and streamers (then had to crawl out the door, careful not to disturb the decorations) and someone else brought in homemade almond-flavored cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting, fresh whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries. I don’t think I need to tell you how yummy all of that was. Oh, and I printed the “Burfday Prinsess” macro on Post-it label paper and posted it on every single door in our department. Mwahahahaha. Call us immature, I don’t care; I bet I had a better day at work than about 80% of the people in America!

Oh, and we’re going to Mahi Mah’s for lunch. I can’t have sushi (boooooo!) because I’m preggo, but I’m sure I can find something equally nomalicious on their lunch menu.

Disclaimer: I used to work for the company that owns Mahi Mah’s, but it’s not like I get any kickbacks for recommending them to my net-friends. Trust me, if you’re ever in Virginia Beach, you won’t be disappointed if you stop in for a bite.

Take 4: Randall, our orange kitten, is getting “fixed” today, and his impending surgery necessitated quarantine all last night. He wasn’t TOO upset about being shut up in my art room with his own litter box last night, but sometime around 2 or 3 a.m. he must have realized that he was mighty hungry, mighty thirsty, and mighty BORED. So he cried and cried and cried for the next four or five hours. I visited him around 7 this morning, and boy was he friendly, but when I left him behind again, the plaintive meows resumed in force. *sigh* Hopefully he’ll forgive us not only for the injustice of castration, but also for those twelve hours of solitary confinement.

Take 5: Whenever I’m in a public restroom, and one of the other ladies just rinses her hands under cold water for a second, or worse yet, doesn’t even pretend to be concerned with hygiene, I’m always reminded of Winona Ryder. Why, you may ask? Because my sister ran into her in the ladies’ room at the Orlando premiere of Murderball, and was scandalized that Winona did NOT wash her hands after exiting the bathroom stall. Because I always usually try to think the best about people, I came to Winona’s defense, saying that perhaps she had a small bottle of Purel in her purse and she used that because washing one’s hands and then touching the disease-infested door handle on the way out was an exercise in futility. Or perhaps she just went into the bathroom stall to adjust her pantyhose or do a line of coke? We’ll never know. All I know is my sister didn’t introduce herself to dear Winona because she didn’t want to shake her hand.

Take 6: I have long missed the seasons of the church year that I observed while attending an Episcopal Church. Lent, the season of preparation before Easter, is probably my favorite, but Advent is a close second. Today, most Americans think of countdown-to-Christmas calendars when they hear the word “Advent;” you know, those little cardboard scenes with 25 doors that each hide a verse or a candy. You open one door every day of December, or if you’re a particularly impatient child (as I was) you open ALL of the doors on November 29th, eat all the candy and read all the verses, then toss the Advent calendar on the floor and forget about it until December 20th, when your mom tells you to clean your room because Grandma Sue is coming for Christmas and she’s staying in YOUR room. (Not your BROTHER’S room, mind you, because he never has to be put out for company… not that you’re bitter or anything. *ahem*)

Now that I’m married, and my husband and I have a family started, I’m thinking I’d like to put some more Jesus into our holiday celebrations and that the best way to start that would be to observe Advent - the season of preparing for Christmas. Instead of being focused just on pretty decorations (though there is nothing inherently evil about little white lights on a fake pine tree) and presents (though there is nothing inherently evil about gifts given every 25th of December), I would like to make a conscious effort to focus on the coming of Christ. I believe that traditions are valuable for many different reasons, one of which is to draw a family together - whether the “family” in question is a nuclear family unit of mom, dad, two little kids and a dog or a cat, an extended family with many cousins and grandparents and in-laws, or a group of people who are unrelated by blood but who call one another brother and sister. I also believe that tradition is valuable because it gives us a chance to express our spiritual beliefs concretely, and somehow in the repetition of yearly and weekly rituals, our faith is made fresh and new. I guess that’s just one of that magical things about the holidays

(Advent calendar photo credit)

Take 7: Audience Participation Tomorrow, one of my friends is throwing a baby shower for another one of my friends. Since I helped with the planning (designed the invites, which you can see below, and made the party favors) I decided not to get a big present for my buddy, but I DID get a little something that’s supposed to be from the mommy-to-be’s dog. It’s a sleep with little paw prints all over it, a puppy embroidered on the front and the words “I Woof You!” underneath the puppy. I’m writing a little letter “from” the doggy to mommy and daddy. And as I think about this gift, which to me is TOTALLY ADORABLE, I wonder what other people, especially my faithful Smooch-readers, would think. So tell me: gifts “from” the pet - kooky or cute?

I want to revisit the lessons learned in this post, mainly because I haven’t adequately learned them yet. I promised you guys I wasn’t going to go Thoreau on you, but now I’m starting to see the wisdom in dear old Henry David’s words. More than 150 years after its initial publication, Thoreau’s unassuming little memoir Walden, or Life in the Woods is considered a classic of American literature, but his call to “simplify, simplify, simplify” is largely unheeded by American citizens. Maybe we ignore Thoreau’s call because he was a really weird guy (according to Wikipedia, he encountered zombies while living at Walden pond, which proves something I’ve long believed: going without the company of other human beings for an extended period of time will make a fellow bloomin’ crazy). Maybe we think that Thoreau’s ideas were great for the mid-nineteenth century, but we believe that in today’s world we need all the conveniences of modern life. Or maybe we’re quite honest with ourselves and say, “I don’t need ‘em, but I sure do like ‘em, so you are NOT taking away my 42-inch plasma screen television, nyeh!”

I’ve often wondered why the idea of living without television or indoor plumbing sounds like absolute torture to me, but the people around the world who were born in such circumstances and die in the same don’t seem to mind. Certainly there are necessities that many of our planet’s citizens suffer without: clean water, nutritious and plentiful food, basic medical care. But beyond those things which keep us healthy and whole, what else do we really NEED? I referred to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in my earlier post, and I have to say that I really think Maslow hit the nail on the head when he identified our basic human needs - not just the biological ones, but the more “touchy-feely” ones, such as creativity and self-esteem.

The key to understanding ourselves and truly enjoying life (or so I believe - you’re welcome to disagree with me) is to figure out what we really need and recognize that the rest of it is all gravy. Countless articles have been written on the subject of whether or not money can buy happiness (my favorite is the one about how rich people have better sex), and so-called experts seem to be just as confused as most of us laypeople. Some say that because wealth offers us a multitude of choices, it ups our happiness quotient. We’re not “stuck” in a small house, or with a rusted, beat-up old car. We can choose to have modest posessions if we like, or we can choose to show of our good fortune. The delight is in the choosing.

Others say that once a family rises above the poverty line, they’re as happy as they’re gonna get - whether their income to expenses ratio continues to increase or not. The stress of being unable to pay bills for basic human needs - food, clothing, shelter - and being unable to occasionally indulge our higher, more cerebral needs - such as spontaneity - is what makes poor people unhappy. But once a person has a secure home, is adequately clothed and fed, has regular stimulation for the mind, he or she is just as happy as someone who has ten times as much material assets.

The problem here, folks - and this is a problem I know well, since I managed to sink myself into a deep hole of consumer debt after my first marriage ended - oh, and I should mention that I can’t blame my ex-husband or the divorce for that financial fluff-up; it was all my own doing - is that we make more financial stress for ourselves by living above our means and lusting for things out of our reach. It occurred to me this morning that I think God is trying extra-special-hard to teach me that I do NOT need all the things I have, and that if I would allow myself to think outside the proverbial box (in this case, it’s a digital cable box or a bag of brand-new clothes bought at ridiculously high retail prices), I would find a life that is infinitely more peaceful. The issue isn’t that I don’t have enough resources to meet my needs; it’s that I need to adjust my “needs” to meet my resources.

This is a drum I’ve beat for a long time - occasionally. I mean, every few months I’d become frustrated with my credit card statement and I’d pick up the drumsticks and started pounding out, “I - DON’T - NEED - STUFF - TO - MAKE - ME - HAPPY!” And then a day or so later I’d become quite put out when all my friends went out to dinner without me, or I realized that I was going into the summer with “only” two pairs of shorts, or I decided I was bored with the dozens (okay, hundreds) of books on my bookshelf, half (okay, three-quarters) of which I’ve never read. Being sorely afflicted by my terrible fate in life, I’d dust off the credit card and “treat myself” to an expensive dinner (that’s only slightly better, if at all, than anything I can make at home) or a whole new summer wardrobe (purchased at a department store, because combing through racks of pre-worn clothing at a thrift store for something that fits and flatters is just “too much work”) or an armful of brand-new books (bought full-price at the mall bookstore without bothering to check whether they’re available at my local library for FREE or online at a significant discount).

In other words - I think I figured this all out a long time ago, but as of yet I haven’t put my money where my mouth is. Or stopped putting my money where - er, no… Well, you get it.

At this point I realize that making a positive change in one’s life is a whole lot more than just a cerebral understanding of what’s wrong. Especially since the issue of money and possessions is quite an emotional one for most of us. I think that’s why, so far, God hasn’t opened up the sky to drop a garbage bag full of $100 bills on my head. Although it would be great to hit the reset button on my debt, and to start over with a clean slate - and though I say over and over, “I promise, God, if you fix this for me, I’ll NEVER get into this predicament again!” - I think God and I both know that I need to learn this lesson the hard way. I need to be willing to “suffer” a little bit, or at least put some effort into getting where I want to be.

Photo credit.

Also of interest: Without their money by Toban Black and Schedules and Hard Stops by Jennifer @ Conversion Diary.