bring joy

{MM} 4.1.2013

We’re a house in recovery.

We had house guests (in-laws & cousins) over for the past 5 days.

A good time was had by all, but now it’s time to get back into routine & order. And wash all those sheets & blankets. Oh, & yes, I had the stomach flu. So did Salem. Then Asher got it. Nothing like stepping in throw up first thing in the morning because your kid didn’t wake you up before or after he did it. Then Hyrum got it. Then 4 of our 5 guests. It was thrilling.

Despite the sickness, we still mananged to have Easter dinner: savory lentil loaf, mashed potatoes & “gravy,” steamed veggies & apple crisp & vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Today, with the guests gone, 2 of the 4 kids in school (Hyrum’s home with pinkeye), I’m left with a pile of dishes & something like 50 loads of laundry, more...

A reader’s question: Is Dr. McDougall right?

vegan/health, weight loss

Disclosure: This post contains a link to Amazon, of which I am an affiliate. If you purchase a book through this link, I make a few pennies.

I received the following comment on last post, & decided, after I started responding, to just turn it into another post.

Ha! You caught my attention with John McDougall because I attended his 10-day live-in program last August. Every time I eat oil, I think of what he said…”the fat you eat, is the fat you wear!” I don’t have heart disease or diabetes, I am very overweight and desperate for anything that will help me lose the weight and not want to eat my shoes at the same time…enter in Weight Watchers, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig, blah, blah, blah. I applaud those that it works for, it doesn’t for me. I was also looking for a...

We bought a car, & why Dave Ramsey & John Mcdougall are alike

debt-free

{For more on going debt-free, see my post, Out of Debt: 5 steps}

This is going to be one of those long posts that I really try to avoid, because, who, after all, has the attention span or time to read a 2,000 word blog post?

But, I have a lot to say, so thanks for understanding the long wind.

Also, if you are going to comment on this post (which I would love for you to do), please read the post in it’s entirety, so you’re clear on what I’m trying to say. ‘preciate it.

Our Chevy Venture mini-van, as you know, with it’s 230K+ miles on it, has seen better days. After spending nearly $3K (transmission, alternator, fuel filter, new tires) in recent months in hopes of bringing new life to it (& hoping that it would buy us 1 or 2 more years of operation), we decided, though the car still...