Hooray!
We’re back in Washington.
I still have lot’s of lovely places & sites to share from our 3 weeks of life on the road. Hopefully in time, I’ll get around to showing you the rest of our trip (which included stopping at fresh lavender stand & buying a bouquet).
Right now, my brain is in a whirl. Joseph goes to basic training next week. The reality of it all is beginning to sink in.
Last night, after the kids were in bed we laid on the couch together we watched the last bit of Anne of Green Gables. You know, where Gilbert & Anne are on the bridge (Why can’t we all live on Prince Edward Island?) & they are finally honest & declare their love for each other? I couldn’t help but get a little weepy about it. Especially under the circumstances. Joseph & I will be celebrating 8 years of marriage next week, followed by 3 1/2 months apart.
A lot of decisions have been made recently. Here are some:
1a) For sure, I am staying in Washington with kids & living with parents so kids can have family support, & so we can save money to buy a used car with cash once we move down there.
1b) Since we’ll soon be making income & have a steady cash flow, I am beyond thrilled to tackle debt, get some 3-6 months savings, & start saving for retirement. I’m so ready to live a debt-free lifestyle. Since living the last 4 years on a meager income, supplemented with debt (thank you, $100K in student loans), I have grown tired of looking at zeros in my checking account. Now, I will no longer get depressed when I log into mint.com.
2) I’ve decided to home school. At least until we move to San Antonio in December. This a.m., I went to an orientation meeting for a k-12 homeschooling cooperative that gets funding from Washington state. I get $1200 to buy curriculum & educational resources for Hyrum & Asher. I’m thrilled (a lot) & nervous (a lot). A friend here is also doing it, so I have great comfort in knowing that I won’t be doing this alone. Am I crazy? Yes. But I already knew that.
Oh yes, it’s Monday, isn’t it?
About time for another edition of Marvelous Mondays, since last week I spent my Monday in the Redwoods.
I really love MM because it gives me an opportunity to share all the tid bits I find during the week that I want to share with you or talk about, but don’t quite fit in my other posts.
Here we go: lots of randomness, a few links I want to share, & a some controversy.
Here’s how you do it:
Gather your hair into a ponytail, leaving some bangs or hair from the front of your hair out, as well as a small chunk of hair near the base of your ponytail.
Put your hair into a messy bun. Wrap the spare piece of back hair around the bun & secure with a bobby pin or two.
Using a small barrel curling iron, wrap medium chunks of hair around iron, taking care to leave very bottom of the strands out from the iron. Pin your strands loosely. The idea is loose, with an element of control.
♥ Boys & Reading
You know I’ve talked about boys & reading before. It’s a subject dear to my heart, naturally, since God saw it fit to give me two strapping boys.
My friend Mercedes, a contributing journalist for the Desert News, contacted me for an article she was writing about boys & literacy. She asked some questions, I said a few things, she quoted me (& lots of really smart people). If you have boys, I highly recommend reading the article. You can find it here.
♥ Julia Child
If she were still alive, she’d be celebrating 100 years this month. People are celebrating her life. (Diane Jacobs remembers, & an article from USA Today)
What do you think of her? I hated Julia & Julia (love Meryl Streep, but the main character is a person I for whom I cannot respect & did not like), & French cooking is not my thing (snails, cream, butter?, I’ll pass, but thanks), but Julia Child, as a person, as a character, fascinates me. She was unabashed, defined, resolute, attributes that I can, & do respect.
♥ Vegetarian vs. vegan
Char, a blogging friend, did a recent post on how she no longer is vegan, but vegetarian. This stoked some critics (all vegan), who accused her of being selfish & others who said that a vegetarian diet was unhealthy. I found the discussion interesting, & it made me think about why it is that many vegans are so critical of others, particularly of those who are on their side (ie. vegetarians). What do you think?
♥ Eating disorders & vegetarians
Gena, from Choosing Raw, reviews some recent research about the links between vegetarianism & eating disorders. Worth the read.
♥ To pin:
This summer squash & corn orzo recipe.
Scenes of cobbled London & rolling hills of Tuscany,
that will make your traveling soul swoon.
Banana split popsicles, oh yes.
& my recipes from the last week: grain -free granola,
oatmeal breakfast bar,
Thai basil tomato salad,
raspberry black forest brownies,
raspberry cashew ice cream.
♥♥♥
Thanks for coming to Bring Joy today! Did you know I’m also on Twitter & Facebook? Have a question for me, or just want to say hello, send me an email, I always love hearing from you.
Hi Janae! Happy 8 years! Adam and I once spent 1 month apart and that was tough, but we didn’t have kids then. I think it’s probably a really great decision to be near family…that will hopefully make things a little easier.
And I just referred my Mom to your blog…she is essentially vegan and is now going gluten-free for health reasons and I’m so glad to send her to a great resource for recipes!!
Hi Bri! So nice to hear from you. Yes, I’m hoping the proximity to family will lessen the impact.
Awesome that your mom is eating veg, I’d love to hear from her, tell her not to be shy if she has any questions she can always FB me, comment, or send an email. I always love hearing from readers especially newbies to the whole thing, who have lots of questions & may feel a little lost.
I am so interested in hearing your experiences with homeschooling….we have 4-5 years to decide, but i’m definitely considering it! I honestly don’t even know where to start right now though…
Looking forward to looking at some of those articles later today…
The homeschooling leap doesn’t seem as frightening these days, especially with all the online support, & the fact that I get funds from the state to buy materials. Not a bad deal, at all!
As someone who has been vegetarian for 30 years and sometimes vegan I can relate to some of the problems in the vegan/vegetarian community. If I eat dairy and eggs I always make sure it is from small farms and it is a small part of my diet. I think it is sad that some people have to be so judgmental. And how can anyone say that every person has to eat the same diet for their whole life. I used to be that way but I now realize that everyone’s body is different. I intend to stay vegetarian with being mostly vegan because that is what works for me.
Yes Sharon, I understand why vegans can be judgmental of vegetarians. But seriously, the hatred, the pious remarks from other vegans? I definitely don’t want to be associated with that part of the vegan community.
You’re right, every body has different needs. I think the shift towards plant-based whether it’s cutting back meat consumption, eating vegetarian 3 times a week (instead of none), going vegetarian or vegan, I think all of these moves are ones to be praised. The all-or-nothing attitude is not sustainable.
Oh the mint.com wave of depression… I know it far too well. Thankfully, we didn’t have student loans to set us back, but a couple of years ago, we were in a pretty difficult place financially. It’s hard to see passed money issues and live a happy life, but it’s doable! We’ve gotten so creative with saving money!
Sounds like you guys had a great time – can’t wait to hear more about your travels.
Happy Anniversary! I’m glad you two will be able to spend a bit of time together (still backpacking, right?) before he heads out. And then, you’ll be so busy homeschooling that the 3 months will fly right by! Looking forward to hearing stories about how it goes; we’ve talked about homeschooling a lot, but its not gotten past the talking stage yet. Great article on boys and reading- sounds very familiar. We’ve littered the house with books and read, read, read to them and still they’d usually both rather zoom around the house or play legos or anything before they thought to pick up a book on their own. That said, our eldest is a super reader when we ask him to read his nightly book out loud, but we frequently get that look of “Oh this is just too exhausting for words.” He gets an A+ for his dramatic efforts.
Thanks for all the other links too! That vegan to vegetarian move IS such an emotional subject for many vegans. Like a sense of betrayal or something. I have to admit feeling that way a bit when another plant-based blogger I was following started eating and sharing recipes with dairy. It’s like I was sad that a member of our “club” backed out on us. It was fleeting and I quickly remembered that we need to make our own path in life, but still I was surprised at the twinge I first felt.
Glad you are back from your road trip safely!
Yes Dana, we’ll be backpacking for most of our trip. I’m giddy with excitement!
Nervous, to say the least, about what’s ahead in terms of the changes we’ll have to adjust to. For one, I’m sure going to miss all the support that my husband gives me. He is such an amazingly involved dad & supportive husband. That is what I will miss the most, I think.
I understand the feelings of betrayal when a fellow vegan goes vegetarian. But when you think about it, we’re still all in the same boat! Also, veganism is not a cult, although it starts feeling like one when you read some of those mean, unforgiving comments.
Wow, 3 and half months! Tough, but you can do it, especially with the support of family. And homeschooling sounds like a perfect fit for right now for you guys! Can’t wait to read about your experiences.
Yes, homeschooling for the present is the best fit, since we’re not entirely sure when we’ll be making the move to San An (although December is the plan for now). A lot of responsability, but with that comes many opportunities & freedom you just don’t get with public school. There are a lot of schools to choose from in San Antonio, so it remains to be seen whether or not we’ll continue once there, or find a school that’s a right fit for my kids. We’ll see.
Firstly, thank you so much for including a link-back about my post! And thank you so much again for supporting me
I really appreciate you having my back. It’s a shame that the vegan/vegetarian community can either be very loving or very, very cold.
I totally feel your pain about Joseph leaving
With Dallas being in the military, I have to deal with him leaving, too. He’s gone 3 months this summer…but only 19 sleeps left! I hope the time goes by quickly for you <3
I LOVE that super cute hairdo! Anything that looks loose, casual, laid-back I think is so gorgeous, because it has that "natural pretty" look to it. Sometimes I throw my hair up in a pony tail & a clip without brushing it, & I get a lot of compliments
haha
btw, thank you for posting the link to Gena’s post. Very interesting…I don’t know if I have any thoughts to share yet, but it’s definitely one of those topics that gets you thinking!
Of course! We’re all in this together, friend.
Wow, kudos to you for deciding to homeschool. I think it can be such a beneficial educational experience, and yet didn’t have it in me to take that on myself. You are a super-woman-mama! And, this has not much to do with your post questions, but gosh I love that pic of you reading in your glasses. Very cute glasses, they suit you – and your are gorgeous as always.
Dreena, thank you. Those glasses, though you can’t tell in the photo, but Salem ripped off the left side of the glasses, so their good for emergencies (like in this photo where I didn’t have any more contacts left!). About home schooling, don’t know if I’ll do it beyond the 3 months we are here, once we go down to San Antonio, I may put them in school. Just felt like this was the best option for our life right now. As always, you’re way too good to me. ox