-:{These little pieces}:-: Weekend

Showing posts with label Weekend. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2011

{Image from here}

Today I am joining Jennifer by posting seven quick takes...

I’m planning to make these no-bake energy bites this weekend using peanut butter, honey, rolled oats, wheat germ, flax seed, sunflower seeds, and mini chocolate chips. Is your mouth watering too?

St. James Cathedral in Chicago will be celebrating diversity this Sunday with a “Pride Eucharist,” a prayerful celebration featuring the music of Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper. To put it gently, I don't think those words should all be in the same sentence. For another perspective on the so-called diversity of same-sex "marriage," I recommend this brief article.

I have never purchased anything from J.Crew, but somehow I stumbled upon this season’s swimsuit collection. My eyes are on this, this, and this one. They have it all--ruching and ruffles, great style, and even modesty, and they would be kind to my post-baby tummy! But then my eyes see the price, and I remember why I’ve never bought anything from J.Crew.

Next up on my outside-to-do-list: build window boxes. Actually, I put it on my husband’s to-do list. :) Our house is white, and I am picturing glossy black window boxes sitting on pretty decorative corbels.

After hearing about the movie Andrei Rublev on Ancient Faith Radio’s The Orthodox Moviegoer, my husband added it to our Netflix queue. From all he told me about the movie, the only thing I can remember is that it's over three hours long. That is really long. And that’s why I am bummed that I didn’t add more movie to our queue. Now we have a three hour movie waiting to be watched.

Last night I got a haircut, and I got long bangs. I think it’s the first “hip” thing I’ve done to my hair since my Jennifer-Anniston-inspired haircut in the 6th grade. Well, actually the haircut was inspired by my best friend’s haircut. She’d actually seen Friends. I never had. And I think that long bangs are hip. Or maybe they just used to be hip. Or maybe they never were. Oh well.

After my haircut, I swung by Target. My local Target had lots of great jeans marked down to $4.69. I used a $3 off any pair of jeans coupon, so I got a pair for $1.69! As of last night, the coupon was available here. Hopefully you can score a great deal too!

Today I am joining Jennifer by posting seven quick takes...

I am happy to report that the lentil soup was just as good as I had hoped it would be. The coconut milk added a delicious layer to the flavors!

This is an interesting article about the abortion debate. Timothy Dalrymple explains why he believes the tide is turning: (1) young adults have seen too many sonograms of children in the womb, and (2) militant feminism is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, something associated with aging baby boomers.

I came across this blog post and was struck by the photos of the brussel sprouts. I can’t believe it, but I never knew how brussel spouts grew! They look so incredible! Just like Wendell Berry says, this is a perfect example of how the food industry has turned the eater into a passive consumer.

I am working on a fun little project for a child’s birthday party tomorrow. I’m excited to share the results next week!

About Eastertide, my new-favorite-writer Joan Chittiser writes: "It is a time of unbounded assurance and a sense of limitless liberation. It is hope and faith and trust all bound into one in us. It is the fifty great days of illumination meant to carry us across the darkness of life’s divides (page 176, emphasis added).

{Image from here.}

Tonight I'm joining Jennifer by posting seven quick takes...

Is it true that Easter Sunday was nearly two weeks ago? I don’t know where the time has gone! I think our household has finally recovered from Holy Week. Perhaps now I will find the time and energy to resume blogging. My break was unplanned!

Before this topic is totally outdated, I have a Lenten thought: It occurred to me that Lent is the appropriate season for one to go through his or her belongings in order to give things away. Yes, I believe that even spring cleaning can become part of living the church year! We have so much excess and so much that we don’t need . Lent calls us to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As we prayerfully ask the Lord to meet our needs, we can learn to abstain from hoarding and greed, and we can give our belongings to the poor.

Doesn’t this sound so fresh and delicious? I think I will try walnuts, oranges, and cranberry juice.

"I wonder what percent of the population of adoptive parents are Christians?" my husband mused last week. Coincidentally, on Sunday our priest referenced this very idea. He told a story of an adoption class where every single couple in attendance happened to be Christians. I find this to be a very strong argument for the Christian ethic and for how Christians improve society.

Our new house doesn’t have a front door, which makes it challenging to landscape the front yard. Based on all my Google searches, it seems that no one else has ever struggled with this dilemma! Last weekend my husband used our minivan to pull out the unattractive shrubs that dwarfed our house. Now we just need to figure out what should take their place!

I stumbled upon this cookbook the other day (and the blogger behind it). It has been added to my Amazon wishlist, to say the least!

I love the letterpress designs of Dutch Door Press. I have purchased some of their cards over the years, and now I have been eyeing their state bird prints. Wouldn’t a set of three look so pretty framed on a wall?

Today I'm joining Jennifer by posting seven quick takes...

My husband gave our sixteen-month-old son his first haircut earlier this week. I cried. I am still not used to it, and I still wish his hair was long again.

We had this meal this week, and it was a big hit. If I am cooking with meat, I try not to make it the main dish. This recipe is good because the edamame is also a source of protein.

My mom gave me a Keurig Brewer for Christmas. Previously I have teased her for owning one herself, citing how the k-cups are overpriced are wasteful, not to mention how the Keurig Brewer lacks the intangible quality of sharing a pot of coffee with others. So I should have immediately returned the gift, and under normal circumstances I would have, but I didn’t. You see, I have three children under the age of two, and I really appreciate the convenience of the Keurig Brewer. Of course, I have every intention of returning to the old fashioned coffee maker someday, when life becomes a little less crazy.

I just finished going through More with Less, a collection of Mennonite recipes and tips. The cookbook’s intention is to encourage people to eat less meat and use less of the worlds resources. I am excited to try some the of the recipes. Here’s one tip that I liked: Keep a bag or container in your freezer to collect old pieces of bread. When the bag is full, you can use the bread to make bread crumbs or croutons. Sometimes I find myself throwing away a piece or two of crumbled bread when I get to the end of the loaf. Now I have something to do with those pieces!

I also just finished this book. I liked it and would recommend it. It’s nothing too profound, but it’s filled with lots of encouragement practical advice. It doesn’t hurt that the cover is adorable.

Speaking of adorable book covers, take a look at the covers of these new Penguin Threads Deluxe Classics. So beautiful.

We will be planting our square foot garden this weekend. I’ve had a vegetable garden for the past couple years, but this will be our first attempt at square foot gardening. I’m excited! Did you know that a 4x4 foot square garden will produce more than a normal 8x10 foot garden?