Sunday, October 25, 2009

Slowing Down

Over the last couple of weeks God has really opened my eyes to my desperate need to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. I've always been someone who is looking for the next step. I make plans constantly and am always daydreaming about what life will be like in a couple of weeks, months, years. But lately, God has given me these amazing opportunities, in the most random of situations (driving home from church; outside with the dog; etc.) to realize how happy Andy and I are here in Cedar Falls. After two and a half years of homesickness and longing to get back home, it's actually feeling a lot like home here in Iowa. I couldn't be more thankful and am blessed that God would grant me this peace. It feels nice to be content.

"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

Sunday, October 11, 2009

First Go at Organic

In an effort to be healthier and after some research on going organic on a budget, Andy and I (okay, I have...Andy's just along for the ride) have decided to try to begin introducing some organic stuff into our lives (thanks, Liz, for the inspiration!). We don't have the income to go 100% organic but we're making a conscious effort to put better things into our bodies.

In my research on going organic, this document from the Environmental Working Group has helped us to create our priorities regarding which foods to definitely get organic and which foods not to worry much about. I also appreciated this blog post because it gave a list of the top things to buy organic. Armed with my information, I headed to the Farmer's Market yesterday morning to check out the produce and talk with the family that sells organic meat and eggs a few Saturdays a month there. (Before I go on, I should clarify the word "organic". I'm less concerned with making sure that things are USDA certified organic and more concerned that the products are simply grown or produced without the use of pesticides, herbicides, and hormones.) Unfortunately, that family was all out of ground beef for the season, and eggs that day, but did direct me to Hansen's Outlet, which is just a few blocks from our apartment and sells all kinds of great food! There I got ground beef, eggs, and cheese. The man working was so thoughtful and helpful and really took the time to explain a lot of stuff to me. Hansen's is famous around here for their milk, and the man working said that they go through as many as 300 gallons a day! After going to Hansen's I made my way to HyVee, our local grocery store to check out their organic section (it's nice that organic is becoming so much more trendy...it makes finding quality food less impossible) and found milk (the most delicious milk I've ever had) and some yummy produce for reasonable prices. Once I got home, I showed Andy all my delicious finds and he thought I had gone crazy. I turned many of my ingredients into a delicious beef, cheddar, and potato pie that I found in the latest issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray . It was so fun to make and I was really excited that the majority of the ingredients were organic. In Andy's words....we've created a monster!

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11




St. Louis Weekend!





Last weekend Andy and I met our great friends, Lacy and Jason in St. Louis for a wonderful weekend! Andy and I headed down on Friday and stayed in Chesterfield, MO, right outside of St. Louis. Then, Saturday morning we headed into the city to meet the Bolings and go to a Cardinals Game. Andy hadn't been to the new Busch Stadium, so it was so great getting to experience that with him. Also, Lacy and Jason have a beautiful 10 month old daughter and she was too cute for words and so fun to have around for the weekend. The game was at noon, which gave us time to wander around town that evening. We checked out the arch (although we didn't go inside...) and had a fun evening just catching up in our hotel. Then on Sunday, we headed to the St. Louis Zoo before coming home to C.F. Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Hilarious video...

Hilarious and Ridiculous Video!

When you have time, get ready for a laugh and follow the link above!! One of my colleagues made this and sent it to all of my co-workers!