Abundance

I took a mini-retreat/field trip to Lake Geneva a few months ago, and when I was driving back through the cornfields of northern Illinois/Wisconsin, I saw this sign in the window of an antique shop in a tiny country town, and immediately pulled over to take a closer look.

Source

I was hoping the sign was for sale, and was prepared to pay a pretty penny to buy it. Turns out, Abundance is the name of the store in whose window the sign hung, and alas, the owner wasn’t interested in selling it. Geez.

At any rate, I have every intention of getting my hands on this sign or a replica of it at some point in my life. I think it’s gorgeous, and imagine hanging it one day in a breakfast nook or dining room. Oh the wild and crazy dreams I have for the future.

Last year, I, along with the majority of American women, read the book Eat, Pray, Love. The book didn’t change my life. I didn’t immediately book a trip around the world to emulate Elizabeth Gilbert’s quest for self-discovery, mind-blowing pizza, and exotic ex-patriots. But I liked it.

One of the things from the book that stuck with me is the author’s idea of having a word that describes you, your philosophy on life, your demeanor. Her word is attraversiamo, which is Italian for “let’s cross over.” And if you want to know why, you’re going to have to read the book because I’ll probably do a poor job of explaining, and that’s not really what I want to talk about anyway.

But I do like the idea of having a word. As I was reading, I was trying to think of what my word was. I didn’t think too hard about, but let the idea linger in the back of my mind, and waited for my word to make itself evident. And before too long, the word “tenacious” came to mind, and I thought, “There it is. That’s my word.”

I was in the middle of a really difficult season. One that required a lot of yanking on fraying boot straps and gritting my teeth and tears, loads of tears. So in the midst of struggling through all that, I was determined to just keep going until it was over, to get to the other side, to be tenacious.

There wasn’t a definitive moment when that season ended, but at some point I looked up and realized that it had. And suddenly tenacious didn’t seem like the right word anymore. Driving through that tiny town in northern Illinois after a quiet day in a pretty lakeside town where I read and journaled and chose to be alone - and enjoyed it - I was struck by more than the beautiful sign, but by the truth of the word.

Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly,” (John 10:10). The NIV version says “to the full,” but I think abundantly conveys so much more than full, it conveys a life overflowing with God’s grace and blessing.

It is Thanksgiving week, and it is only right that I put words to how grateful I am for a life of abundance.

He brought me into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. - Psalm 18:19

There is no doubt that a huge component of the transition from tenacious to abundant had something to do with getting a new job. On the scale of busy-ness and stress, my former job and current job are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Though I wouldn’t be opposed to a little more stress in the workplace, I am beyond thankful that my job does not consume my every energy, where I don’t have to fight tooth and nail for time to cook dinner, do laundry, get an oil change, or maintain a healthy blood pressure. I am thankful for this spacious place.

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. - Psalm 126:3

To be clear, it is not that my life was not abundant and now is. My life, in Christ, has always been and will always be abundant. Similar to joy, abundance is not contingent on circumstances. Abundance is perspective and recognition, and sometimes we forget to see.

But I have been learning to see better. I was on my way home from work one evening in February, and suddenly recognized joy in my heart. It was Valentine’s Day, and I had left work later than I wanted to, and was rushing to catch the train, and yet, I wanted to give everyone on the street a high five. My circumstances weren’t anything special, and if I wanted to be cranky, I probably had sufficient cause. And I can think of no other reason than the Holy Spirit at work in me that allowed me to get past the petty and insignificant things going on around me, and find His joy.

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. - Psalm 116:7

There have of course been many times in the months between now and that moment in February where I have felt less than joyful and abundant. There have been moments when I have felt anxious, selfish, grumpy, or doubtful. My memory can be short, and my patience can be thin. It is especially important in these moments, when the world does not seem so spacious, to remember the God I serve, and all that He has done for me. And that though I am far from deserving, He will continue to be faithful. The Lord has been good. He will be good.

Happy Thanksgiving.

In Like a Jack-o-Lantern, Out Like a Christmas Tree

Well October was a big fat flop for me in blogland. In real life, not so much. In fact, it was a particularly good month. I love October, I love fall, and even though it flew past in a whirlwind, I feel as though I really enjoyed this month to the fullest. Read on for some highlights of all the fun.

Even though it’s sad to see October come to an end, I am beyond pumped that it’s November. I started writing a blog entry that never made it’s way to completion a few weeks ago, and even though it’s beautiful and sunny out today, I wanted to make sure these few paragraphs found a good home:

The past few days have been grey and cold and rainy, a good reminder that winter is coming. I don’t really know when it happened, but somewhere along the way of spending the last 17 winters in either Chicago or Boston, I have really come to love the colder weather. Like pretty much anyone else, I love fall the most. But unlike most people, I actually don’t mind winter all that much. I like sweaters, and boots, and candles, and slippers, and soup, and getting cozy. I like shorter days, and the slower pace, and hunkering down. I like getting frost bite while scraping my windshield every morning, and ruining my shoes and pant legs with crusted salt. Okay, so even I don’t like everything that comes along with winter, but I have a little more patience with it than a lot of people.

I have been reflecting on this passage a lot lately, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13) In fact, now that I think about it, this verse was part of a sermon entitled My God Shall Supply All Your Needs that I heard back in February, but has continued to be pretty significant for me over the course of this year.  I definitely recommend taking a listen if you have some time.

Hopefully some good reflections as we enter a month particularly focused on giving thanks. Speaking of, I started reading One Thousand Gifts (like I mentioned in this post), and am particularly thankful (pun totally intended) to be reading this book at this time of year. It has already been a pretty life changing book for me, and I have a feeling it will be one I refer back to frequently. (Now you can be thankful that I will have another book to quote besides A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.)

Okay enough reflecting and seriousness. On to some fun stuff, and duh duh da da....pictures!!

October Highlight Reel

Chicago Marathon
The month started off with a 26.2 mile jog around the city of Chicago. The marathon was harder and hotter (it was 83 degrees!) than I wanted it to be, but even so, I was thankful to have so many friends and family there to support me. It’s not often that so many of the people I love are gathered in one place, and even though the weekend passed way too quickly, I treasure each part of it.

The day before the marathon with some friends from Minneapolis, Syracuse, and Detroit at Niketown

Post marathon with some friends and my brother and sister-in-law

Civil War
Midway through the month some friends and I snuck in a little Civil War reenactment. I know, you probably think that people who go to Civil War reenactments are super dorky.  I’m not even going to try to prove you wrong. But it was fall, and it was at a pumpkin patch, and it just felt like the right thing to do. The only downside was that I think the Confederates won the battle, so we all left a little disappointed and confused. But just a little.

You go to a Civil War reenactment. You take pictures with a canon.

Told ya it was at a pumpkin patch. We're not that weird.

New England Fall Tour

It had been about six months since I had been to Boston, so fortunately my friends agreed to get married last month to give me an excuse to visit. In the course of four days, I managed to visit three states, take a stroll by the ocean, see a lot of people I love, and take in a little fall foliage. All in all, not a bad weekend.

The wedding party and some rehearsal dinner crashers the night before the wedding

My very favorite place on earth

The view from the cabin we stayed at in New Hampshire

Time of My Life

It came to my attention a few weeks ago that a friend of mine had never seen Dirty Dancing. I was shocked. What. a. travesty. Fortunately, her birthday was right around the corner, so I planned a little girls night for us to watch this cinematic classic. It doesn’t hurt that I love having people over to my house, so I spent most of the day of the party cleaning my house, making soup, and jamming to Whitney Houston. Pretty much the whole day was a lot of great decisions strung together. I definitely recommend these Butternut Squash and White Bean with Bacon soups. I also highly recommend partaking in the full extent of Whitney Houston’s repertoire while preparing them. And who can go wrong with a living room full of adult women watching Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray overcome the world through oversexed dancing?

How do you call your lover boy?

Halloween

Sometimes I am embarrassed to admit this, but growing up we were one of those families who didn’t celebrate Halloween. My parents admit that this was a mistake, perhaps their biggest parenting mistake. And I suppose if this is their biggest parenting mistake, it’s safe to assume that we their children turned out pretty well.

As a result of my lack of fond childhood memories of Halloween, I still don’t get very excited about it. I think this is partially because by the time I was old enough to make my own decision about celebrating it, all the girls my age we’re dressing up as (slutty) kittens, nurses, police officers, etc., etc. Partially I think this is ridiculous, and partially I just don’t do sexy very well. Anytime I’ve tried to push the limits and wear some higher heels or red lipstick or anything remotely qualified as sexy, I end up feeling like a very unsexy fish out of water. For all of these reasons, I try to keep it classy.

Wow, apparently I had a lot of pent up feelings about Halloween. All I really wanted to say was that I had to dress up this year for a youth group event, so I went to Goodwill, and found this gem. I’m not exactly sure what I was dressed up as, but this was far too good to pass up.

I don't know why this dress exists, but I'm happy that I now own it

The dog ate my homework

Okay, whoops. It’s been more than a few days, huh? After a record-breaking number of posts in September, October is not off to the greatest start. These are the reasons I haven’t been blogging:

1. At the beginning of last week, I still had n.o.t.h.i.n.g. to do at work and was feeling kind of depressed and cranky, and didn’t want to spread my discontent and bad mood.
2. In the middle of last week, the skies opened up, and suddenly I was very busy. Like from the moment I arrived in the office studio, until the moment I left. Why not blog after work, you ask? Because I was also very busy getting ready for the weekend. Keep reading.
3. During the weekend, I ran a marathon. (Talking about running marathons is always an awkward thing. Like you don’t want to brag, but it’s also one of my greatest accomplishments, so if I’m going to brag about something...either way I just try to slip it in nice and casual like.)
4. Because of said marathon, a lot of the people I love on the planet came to visit. My parents, my best friend and her husband and baby, another close friend and her husband. So the prep of getting ready for them to come (which was not as much as I would have liked), and then the being with them while they were here also preempted me from blogging.
5. It was marathon Sunday, back to work on Monday. Christopher Columbus can go ahead and commemorate himself, but we’ve got work to do. And while things haven’t been super, super busy this week, they are humming along at a nice steady beat that I hope will continue for a good long time.

Not to fear, hopefully I’ll still have time to blog. I just had to get use to the change of pace, but we should be good to go now. I’ll be back soon!

41 minutes to save the world

We are nearly at the end of the work week, and I wanted to leave you with a little something to get you through the weekend. I’ve got a lot of grand plans for the weekend, evidenced by a lot of grand lists. A grocery list (kindly generated by Plan to Eat), a wicked long to do list, a reading list.

Today has been a weird day. Another not so busy day at work, and though I tried to get a blog entry started at a few points, nothing was really coming together for me. But here we are and the day is nearly over, and I pretty much have nothing to show for myself - blog or otherwise. So I’m doing my best to put pen to paper/finger to keyboard and at least have some evidence of productivity - even if a blog entry doesn’t register very high on the list of valuable things to do with your time.

Okay, so now what to write... we’ve covered a lot of ground in the past few weeks - some thoughts and Scripture to enrich the spirit, books to enrich the mind, and food and such to enrich the body. Not to assume that any of this has actually been enriching, but I’m in a hurry here and was aiming for a parallel structure.

What else is there to talk about? I’m feeling the need for a more funny, less serious entry. Although as its the end of the week, and I’m feeling a little twitchy on this Friday afternoon, I have a feeling that funny today is going to err a little on the side of sarcasm. But I’m game if you are.

Things that would make this blog more interesting

1. If I had a kid
I can now understand why this blog thing is appealing to so many moms - they have a ready source of entertainment, challenges, updates, and funny stories to tell (the source is their children for those of you who aren’t too quick on the uptake).

Don’t get me wrong. I probably read more mommy blogs than the average mom. I’ve got loads of time on my hands (something most moms don’t), and actually like hearing stories about other people’s kids (something that is probably more difficult when you are  rightfully convinced that your own child is the funniest, most adorable, creative, intelligent human to grace the planet). All I can say is, kids say the darndest things, and we would all benefit from a more steady stream of material for me to blog about.

2. If I had a camera
The other people that really like to blog are photographers. Especially wedding photographers. You know how I know this? Because I read a lot of their blogs.

As we know, I am one of those girls who likes to think about husbands, and weddings, and babies. So while some people may find it mind-numbing, I actually don’t mind looking at people’s wedding pictures. And can we talk about what a huge advancement for humankind it is that wedding pictures look less like this and more like this?

As someone with no photographic experience whatsoever, it seems a thousand times easier to me to throw a few pictures up and get peoples interest than trying to captivate them with your prose. I recognize that this is not as easy as I like to think it is. Kind of the way that as a runner I think that people who ride bikes are chumps, until I actually get on a bike and realize that it still takes some muscle.

3. If I had a cause
Though I’ve got this whole list thing going on with my blog, it isn’t specifically devoted to one particular topic or cause. If I had to articulate who the target audience for this blog is, I’m not sure I could give any specifics aside from “my friends who already know me and won’t get the wrong idea if I swear occasionally.”

In all seriousness, I’m not trying to attract a big readership, and don’t really want to be limited to a specific topic. I like being able to write according to whatever whim I may be feeling, and as you should know by now, it’s not too difficult for me enlist/conlist/forlist (what is a verb for making a list?), er, take that whim and list the crap out of it.

4. If I had a salary
Although one could argue that since I often write this blog during the work day, I am essentially getting paid to write it, let’s keep in mind that if I fail to write the blog, I will still, in fact, get a pay check. But let’s imagine that if I was getting paid to write, or paid to learn how to write, or paid based on the number of people who liked my writing, I would find something interesting to write about and find it pretty damn quick(ly).

Sadly for you, that day is not today, so this boring, hastily crafted blog entry will have to suffice.

Happy weekend everybody!

I'm Obsessed

One of the upsides of having next to nothing to do at work this week has been having the opportunity to spend hours and hours reading and researching about doing this grain free challenge.

I think the key to success for something like this is planning ahead and making sure everything you need is easily at your disposal. No doubt, this takes an s-load of time. So I guess it’s a good thing that I have loads of time at work to think through all the planning and preparation.

You guys may or may not be as pumped about this whole grain-free, organic, I’m-going-to-look-and-feel-amazing-in-a-few-short-weeks kick that I’m on, but just in case you are, I thought I would share some of the resources I’ve found to be helpful with those of you who may not have hours and hours at work to sift through them yourself.

1. Plan to Eat

 

This one isn’t specific to eating healthy/organic/grain-free/traditional foods, but it is AWESOME. Basically it lets you peruse/add recipes, drag-and-drop them into a meal planning calendar, and then creates a shopping list for you. You can modify the number of servings in a recipe if you’re only planning on making a half or a quarter of the recipe (something I have to do all the time), and it automatically adjusts the amount of the ingredients you need in your shopping list. You can select items in the shopping list that you already have on hand, and move them to your pantry. And voila! you have a shopping list ready to go.

An example of my menu planner for next week

If you feel so inclined to check it out, consider using this link: http://www.plantoeat.com/ref/vcgax8jrxa. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial, but if you use this link when starting your subscription, I get some points for referral. So thanks for clicking!

Oh and one more thing - you can have friends on this site and share recipes. If you sign up and want to be my friend, click on the FRIENDS tab, and enter my login - listgirl311. I would love to have more friends and use this as a way to share recipes! I am using a lot of exclamation points in this blog post! Apparently I’m so excited about Plan to Eat and the grain free challenge!

2. Blogs, blogs, and more blogs
There are a heck of a lot of blogs devoted to these topics with a lot of great recipes and information.

Here are some that might you might enjoy (arranged in the particular order of the ones I like the most to the ones I like not the most). I’ve made a note of some of the recipes I have made or plan to make in the coming week and you’ll be glad to know that I’ve already uploaded most of these in Plan to Eat. So sign up, become my friend, and a little of the leg work is already done!

Deliciously Organic: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/
- Pretty much everything
- Eggplant Involtini
- Meatballs and Marinara
- Chicken Piccata and Zucchini
- Almond pancakes (grain-free)
- Kambucha

Organic Spark: http://www.organicspark.com/
- Breakfast Kale
- Coconut Banana Muffins (grain-free)
- Homemade chicken broth

Life as a Plate: http://www.lifeasaplate.com/
- Acorn squash hash
- Chili (modified a bit to use turkey instead of beef)
- Sunday morning crepes (grain free)

The Nourishing Gourmet: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/
- Apple cider vinaigrette

Nourished Kitchen: http://nourishedkitchen.com/
- Homemade vanilla extract
- Homemade sauerkraut

There are loads of others, and it’s cool because they often link to each other so if you start tuning in to one, you’ll likely come across links to some of the others.

3. Other websites
Again, not all of these are specific to the whole topic of an organic, grain-free lifestyle, but they have been helpful either in gathering information, getting additional recipes, or keeping track of my travels across the world wide web.

Check ‘em:

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com 
I know I said that 99.5% of Pinterest is devoted to planning a wedding or remodeling/decorating a house, but I have actually found a recipe or two on the site, as well as added some pins of my own (groundbreaking, I know!) to help remind me of recipes that I come across that I want to try. Of course, the majority of the recipes on Pinterest are like the one pictured below, which is not grain-free or healthy in any way shape or form, but you may find Pinterest a helpful tool nonetheless.

http://pinterest.com/pin/189010590/ 

Punchfork: http://punchfork.com/ 

This is another great website devoted specifically to recipes - though again, the large majority of them are not organic or grain-free. But I did come across this gem, and it was delicious!

http://punchfork.com/recipe/Baby-Spinach-Salad-with-Honey-Roasted-Butternut-Squash-Pumpkin-Seeds-Gorgonzola-and-Dried-Cherries-Skinny-Taste

The downside of this site is that you cannot add recipes, you simply have to select from the ones that are aggregated. I do like all the pictures though, and the way you can search by recipe or ingredient.

Dr. Mercola: http://www.mercola.com/ 

As far as I know there aren’t any recipes on this site, but it is a wealth of information about natural health and wellness. The guy is pretty radical (and as you can see in the pic above, kind of a schweenbot), and isn’t skilled at being concise, but he does provide a lot of great information on myriad topics related to natural health (probiotics, not eating sugar, fish/krill oil, etc., etc.).

I get the newsletter and scan for topics that I think are interesting or important, and then kinda scan the articles (which are usually pretty long). He does sell product, so sometimes you get to the end of the article and feel a little frustrated that you don’t want to spend $80 on another health supplement, so try to take what he says with a grain of salt.

I think that’s it for now. I don’t know if the conclusion of this blog post is, “Wow, this is a lot of really helpful information!” or “Wow, Nikki really does have hours and hours and hours to troll the internet!” Either way, I hope we can agree that if I have hours and hours to kill each day, this isn’t the worst thing I could be devoting my time to. In fact, I think I’ve only gone to Facebook twice today so I’m feeling quite proud of myself.

Organic Overload

Believe it or not this blog post took me a super long time to write. It felt something like a research paper. And you should know up front that it’s not very funny. Hopefully informative and interesting, but not necessarily funny. I added pictures to help you along. Here you go...

I have always been a relatively healthy eater, always had a pretty good sense of what is good for you and what is not so good for you (even when I’m choosing to eat something that is not so good for you), always been pretty adept at checking the nutrition facts on the side of the box.

But over the past year or so, I’ve been attempting to become more educated on natural, whole foods and how to have a diet that not only slims my waistline, but gives my body what it needs to function well and be strong and healthy throughout my life.

Not surprisingly, this quest for knowledge has unearthed a lot of information, and can be somewhat overwhelming. As someone who loves food, loves preparing, eating, and sharing food, I find it challenging to determine what information and practices I should implement, and what areas might be a little over zealous if I have any hope of being able to prepare a meal that doesn’t taste like cardboard. Frankly, it wouldn’t be worth living a long, healthy life if that life does not include enjoying most of the meals I eat.

On top of the information overload, incorporating more organic, whole foods in your diet can get pretty pricey, so I’ve been trying to figure out what things are worth shelling out a little more cash for, and what things can be put on the back burner until I marry someone rich (I’m only half-joking).

Well luckily for you, I’ve finally gotten it all figured out, and below you’ll find a list of things you should start doing immediately if you want a long and happy life and ways to do them on a budget. Okay, not exactly. I still have a lot of learning to do, and I’ll probably keep writing about things I’m learning and trying in the months to come. So let’s consider this blog post a starting place with ample grace for me to renege on my position on these topics as I continue to gain more knowledge.

Here are some the things that I have started doing differently. I certainly have a long way to go, but I’m trying to do this little by little, make informed decisions, and not get overwhelmed or discouraged by trying to do too much at once.

1. Eating less sugar

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I love desserts. A lot. I have a bad habit where I need a little something sweet after almost every meal. But I’m trying to break up with sugar. Cause it’s like really bad for you, like really.

This article from Dr. Mercola will tell you all the reasons why. Basically, it makes you fat, grumpy, irritable, and sick - to name a few. And just so you know, artificial, calorie-free sweeteners aren't really any better for you.

But since I have such a deep abiding love for cookies and ice cream, I’m taking it slow on this one. I started by not putting sugar in my coffee any more. And I also try to use mostly raw honey or real maple syrup instead of more processed forms of sugar. And if I do have dessert (which I still do more than I should), I try to have just a few bites and not an entire pint of ice cream. But this SOB totally kicked ass my last week. Damn you Ben & Jerry.

2. Organic meats and dairy

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I’ve been aware for a long time that organic meat and dairy is probably the better way to go. I started eating cage free eggs several years ago, and though I’m not a huge milk drinker to begin with, generally do my best to purchase organic dairy. (By the by, I have come to find out the cage free eggs are not enough, you really need to buy organic, cage free eggs. And don’t get the ones fortified with Omega-3’s or anything like that. Eggs as God made them have all the nutrition you need.)

After watching Food, Inc., I became further convinced of how important it is to eat organic meat and dairy. This is no doubt much more expensive than normal meat and dairy, but realizing the effect of various hormones and antibiotics in animal products, and how truly disgusting and unsanitary meat packaging facilities are, it is hard for me to consume regular meat or milk, and not think about what else I may be ingesting that is potentially harming my body.

Even though it’s more expensive, I generally only buy meat for myself, so that helps to make it more affordable. I also try to keep in mind how much more affordable it is to prepare dinner at home, even with organic meat, relative to eating out - which is definitely something I do a little too frequently. And I also try to make some non-meat based meals with beans, quinoa, veggies, etc. that also limit the amount of meat that I have to buy.

As I said, I don’t drink a ton of milk. The dairy in my fridge is generally yogurt, half-and-half for my coffee, and a few different types of cheese. The yogurt and half-and-half are easy enough to buy organic, but I do have a harder time finding good, affordable organic cheese. But slowly, I’m making changes. Eventually I would like to try raw dairy products, but we’re at least a few months away from that venture.

3. Organic produce

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I eat a lot of fruits and veggies. I eat a salad for at least one meal almost every day. I try to bring fruit and veggie snacks to work. So buying all organic produce could definitely take a toll on my budget. 

With that in mind, I find these “dirty dozen” and “clean fifteen” lists very helpful. If you can’t buy everything organic, then it’s good to know which fruits and veggies you should stick to organic, and which you’re okay to go conventional. Now of course, the majority of the fruits and veggies I eat are on the dirty dozen list, and not every item that I pick up in the produce section is accounted for. But it’s a helpful starting tool. I also found out about this iPhone app yesterday that is free and keeps both lists on hand for you on the go. Perf.

4. Grain-free challenge

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Almost everything I have been reading and hearing challenges the notion that grains, even whole grains, are essential to our health and well being. I’ve read or talked with several people that encourage a gluten and/or grain free lifestyle, and have been making up lots of excuses why I could never do that, the list of which begins and ends with the fact that I love bread in nearly all forms. (Except Wonder Bread. No thank you.)

Well for the past few weeks, I’ve been getting these really bad, slightly blinding headaches that feel like someone is doing their best to crush my skull with their bare hands. I’ve been minding my water and caffeine consumption (plenty of the former, only a moderate amount of the latter), and that hasn’t made too much of a difference. I’ve talked to my chiropractor about it, and he scheduled a session with the massage therapist who twisted and turned and rubbed my head and neck something fierce. And that helped a little, but I’m still waking up with these headaches pretty much daily.

In the midst of all of this, I happened upon this blog just yesterday: DeliciouslyOrganic.net. I fell deeply in love with this blog almost immediately, and even tried this recipe last night for dinner. It was so good.

The author’s name is Carrie Vitt, and I love her story; I love how informed she is; I love how her recipes look amazing (I’m sure they are amazing, but I’ve only tasted one so far); I love that I feel like I could prepare these meals for people visiting my home, and they would still think I’m a good cook. After spending a few hours reading through the blog, she had me convinced that I can give up grain for 30 days.

My goal for this weekend is to clean out my cupboards and prep for the 30-day grain free challenge for the month of October. I’m a few weeks behind Carrie and co at Deliciously Organic, but I guess I’ll have the benefit of a wealth of recipes to choose from as I plan my meals for the next month. I’m really excited to see how it goes, and will no doubt be giving you plenty of updates along the way.

**In case you are wondering, here is the list of grains that I will not be eating as part of the 30-day challenge. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure I don’t eat many of them to begin with :)

• Amaranth
• Barley
• Bulgur wheat
• Corn
• Durum wheat
• Fonio
• Kamut
• Millet
• Oats
• Popcorn
• Rice
• Rye
• Semolina wheat
• Sorghum
• Spelt
• Teff
• Triticale
• Wheat
• Wild rice
• Quinoa (Carrie included this on her list because although it is a seed, many people digest it the same as a grain. However, other sources list quinoa as a good grain free option. So I think I am going to allow myself to eat quinoa during my 30 day challenge.)

Book Club - Part Two

Does anybody remember Book It from elementary school? It was this reading program where you agreed to read a certain number of books each month, and if you met your goal, you got to get a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. Awesome, right?

The funny thing about Book It was that you could set your own goal for how many books you would read each month. If a kid said they would read two books and met that goal, they got a pizza. If someone said they would read five books, and they only read three, no pizza for them. I don’t remember how many books I said I would read in the second grade, but I would venture to guess I was somewhere in the 5-7 range after careful counsel from my mother not to overcommit. Better to aim low and get the pizza, you know what I mean?

Sarah Dougherty’s mom did not offer the same advice, and Sarah Dougherty said she would read 30 books every month. I mean, c’mon! 30 books? That means a book every day. And that little B always got all of her books read. I think this was the first...no second...cynical moment I had in my life (the first is when I never really bought into the whole Santa Claus thing). There is just no way Sarah Dougherty was reading an age appropriate chapter book every single day of the month. Either she was counting the Bernstein Bears and Dr. Suess, or she was straight up lying. Oh, the injustice!

As it turns out, this isn’t a blog entry about dormant issues that I should probably see a counselor about, but the promised list of books that I have already read that I think you should check out. But the list is probably a little bit boring, so I thought it would be fun to open up with a random story of some relevance to reading. Wasn’t that fun?

Books I Think You Should Read

A Prayer for Owen Meany 

Sometimes I want to read a book that is substantive. Sometimes I want to read a book that is fun. Sometimes I want a book that is both substantive and fun. Owen Meany delivers. If you’ve seen the movie Simon Birch, this is the book that movie is based on. But true to form, the book is a thousand times better than the movie. The story follows the friendship of two boys in New Hampshire throughout childhood and into their lives as adults, and intermixed with some references to places in New England that I know and love and funny stories of the shenanigans of two young boys, is the narrator’s account of how his friendship with Owen Meany restored his faith in God. All in all, just a really good story.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

As you may recall, I’ve talked about my love for this book here and here. Are you ready for me to stop talking about it already? Then read it, and maybe I’ll shut up. But probably not. This is the type of book that I like to go back and re-read every so often, even if I’m just scanning through pages where I’ve folded the corner of the page that has an excerpt I like (which is approximately ever other page with this book). If you’ve ever asked questions about what you’re doing with your life, then this book has every answer you’re looking for. Lies. It doesn’t have any answers, but it did help to shift my perspective on the story I want my life to tell, and that’s a good step toward getting some important life things sorted out.

BTW - this book is by the same author, Donald Miller, who wrote Blue Like Jazz. When Blue Like Jazz first came out and the rest of the world was all, “This is the most amazing book ever written,” I was all, “This guy is kinda annoying and self-deprecating.” I thought maybe I was in a bad mood or something the first time I read the book and didn’t fall in love, so I tried reading the book again. No dice. Still no sparks. That being said, you probably have to read Blue Like Jazz to get a full understanding of A Million Miles, but it’s a quick read even if you do have to plug your nose to get through.

Committed

You are familiar with my tendency to think about and plan for things that aren’t a present reality in my life, so you won’t be surprised that I’m including a book about marriage on my list. But I don’t think that Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of this book, intended for only married people to read this book. In fact, I think she intended for people preparing for marriage to read this book - even if those people were a little closer to actually being married than I am.

At any rate, as the author of this book is preparing for her second marriage, she does an in depth study of marriages around the world. What the successful ones look like, what the not-so-successful one look like. If nothing else, the book is an interesting study about the way different cultures approach marriage, an institution that no doubt has pretty far reaching impact on society. So even if you aren’t on the lookout for marriage advice, I’d venture to guess you’ll find this book pretty interesting.