End of the grocery store challenge

April's challenge was to not go to the big grocery stores in town. Here are the highlights

Good:
Visited some new grocery stores
Only spent $100 for the month
Found a new brand of crushed red pepper that Brent really likes (burns his mouth off)
Forced to be creative
Tried some new recipes

Bad
I never found a good source of meat. Well, I found one butcher, but they were closed when I stopped by so I didn't really check them out. We get chicken from a farm, but nothing else.
Lack of convenience food. Well, we shouldn't be eating processed convenience food anyway, but there were at least two times when we were too tired to cook anything and we would have gone to the grocery store for a frozen pizza or something. Instead we went to Taco Bell. Much worse.
Not enough fresh fruits and vegetables. I missed these. In the summer it's a nonissue because of the farmer's market, but in the spring they're still scarce.
I also missed bananas very much.

Conclusion:
I probably could not do this forever, but perhaps I could avoid grocery stores during the summer, or only visit them once per month.

Why you should care about the environment even if you don't give a crap about global warming

I'm going to admit it here, folks - I'm still on the fence about global warming. Yeah, I've seen Inconvenient Truth, I've heard arguments from both sides - but I still don't know if it's really as big as some people think it is. I guess I'm a global warming agnostic. But, I'm still a hippie tree-loving freak, and here's why.

1. Saves us money. Most of the time anyway. Some things are more expensive, yes - like fair trade coffee or non toxic paint. But, most of the eco-friendly things that we do daily save us money also. Some examples - use the heat and air conditioning sparingly, line dry our clothes, use cloth napkins, combine our errands into one trip, buy things used, reduce, reuse, recycle. There are many more examples.

2. Better for our health. We try our best to eat organic because we don't want all those icky pesticides in our body. I use a reel lawn mower becasue I don't want to breathe exhaust (not to mention damage my ears) from a gas mower. We cook our food from scratch because High Fructose Corn Syrup and Partially Hydrogenized Vegetable Oil can't possibly be good for you. The less toxins the better. It's true the FDA is changing their story about what is good for you and what isn't so I go by this rule - the closer it is to how God made it, the better.

3. I like animals. I don't want to eat them. I think that eating Bessie the cow is just as bad as eating my neighbor's dog. Eating meat has massive effects on the environment but I'm not going to go into that here. You and your google-skills can find them for yourself.

4. Better for the global population. The whole world doesn't have cushy office jobs, or 3 weeks of paid vacation. Much of the world's population works their butts off in terrible conditions so we can be selfish and have whatever we want. I saw a picture once of a kid carrying water home in a barrel that had a huge skull and crossbones on it. It was from the pesticides that were used in the apple farms where he worked (yes, the kid). Would you let your kid drink from that barrel? I would hope not. Our choices do not only effect us.

5. Better for the local economy. Conservatives should especially like this one. Buying local and not from big box stores (*cough*Walmart*cough*) will help your city. Less unemployment, more money being spent within the community, happier people, more visitors, less taxes. Why would you not want to help and support the very place that you live.

6. God says so. This one is especially for my Christian readers. And, I think that even if you don't care about my other reasons, this one trumps them all anyway. Read Genesis 1. God gave us this earth to enjoy and protect, not to wreck. God created nature to work in perfect harmony with each other, and the humans have a little problem with coming in and disrupting it all. Also, what about the verse - Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. That one goes especially with #4 point. The lady sewing your jeans for pennies a day is your neighbor too.
And, the Pope says you should care about the environment too.

Alright, I'll stop my soapboxing for now. You don't have to become a hippie tree-hugging freak overnight. Make some baby steps, read an environmental blog (Green as a Thistle) or listen to an environmental podcast (More Hip Than Hippie). Take one habit at a time and you'll never notice the change.

And one more post for you to read to show you that babysteps aren't futile. The Butterfly Effect of Not Wearing Socks

Tracy - who was green before it was cool. :)

My most favorite-est website in the entire world.

Gentle Christian Mothers - specifically the message board.

Now, I always feel a little weird saying that I am a member of this site, because I'm not a mom yet, but I've been a member over there for over 4 years. Brent can attest to my complete addiction.

I have never met a more caring, gentle, Godly group of women in my entire life. There are all kinds of women there, not just mothers - some who are not even married yet - and in every stage of life. Many of us have different views on things, but it is all dealt with love and respect. No trolls or flaming and very little petty infighting. Not like any other message boards I've been on.

I have learned so much about God's love, healthy living, attachment parenting, gentle discipline, adoption, infertility, general parenting, and every topic imaginable. Check out the articles to see what it's all about, and if you're a chick, check out the message boards too. :)

GCM Rocks!

One small step and one giant leap

We sent in our I-600a form yesterday. It's not really a big deal actually, because it's just one form and a few sheets of paper. Not difficult at all.

But, it's the first document we're collecting for our dossier and the one that will probably take the longest. It kind of signifies what I think of as the 'second trimester' of the process when we're not even really done with the 'first trimester' (homestudy).
I think it's what makes this whole process seem real to me.

So, only one small form, but a really big deal to me.

Learning Russian (or any other language)

I saw this on Lifehacker last night and immediately downloaded it, even though I should have been getting ready for bed.

ProVoc - Free, but for OSX only.

You can download vocabulary lists for different languages - not just the common ones either. [Not only French, German, and Spanish, but also Vietnamese, Czech, Persian, Sanskrit, Filipino, etc. Also they have Chemistry terms, English common phrases, and Meteorology terms.] Then you you can take multiple choice tests to learn the words you have downloaded.

Plus, you can add your own words! So if you don't like the words they have, you can make your own list. I made a list of the numbers 0-10

The only issue I had at first was that I can't really read Russian letters very well, so I was quickly just memorizing the first letter of the words and guessing at the right answer. But then I found that I could record my own voice saying each word, so that when I got the choices, the program would say them to me before I answered. So I went over to my favorite Russian learning podcast - Spoonful of Russian - and listened to the numbers podcast and recorded myself repeating after the podcast.

I went through the little quiz a couple of times, and now I know my Russian numbers. :)

Very cool program!

Our first (real) homestudy appointment

Our first (real) homestudy appointment was yesterday. The homestudy guy was really nice - it is nice working with him. It lasted about an hour and he asked a lot of questions about how Brent and I met, what we loved about each other, our strengths as a couple, how we planned to parent. It wasn't so bad. Very similar to our mini homestudy interview. I thought he was going to do a home inspection so I cleaned really well, but he said he didn't need to do that until the last visit.

We have two more appointments and then he thinks we'll be finished. Then he has to write it all out for us - so we should hopefully have it completed in 3 weeks.


Also I'm filing our I-600a (Immigration application to adopt an orphan) this week. I think this form will be the real wait - the website said they were now processing forms that were submitted in December. Hopefully they just have not updated the site in a while.

I'm going back to school

Kindergarten, that is.

Brent and I have decided that we're going to homeschool A when he comes back to us. Absolutely at first, but probably all the way up until high school. After that we're undecided, but it's a long time before that anyway.

At first I was all for a very relaxed unschooling approach, but after seeing how much A thrived with structure and a routine, I thought that the freedom of unschooling might be too much for him.

So I began to look into other methods and really like Charlotte Mason's methods. It involves a lot of reading novels and stories instead of textbooks. For example, if you are learning about electricity, you could read the biography of Ben Franklin and learn so many other things about history and science - instead of just learning the key tied to a kite during a thunderstorm story. Copywork for penmanship and memorization. Narration instead of tests ("Tell me everything you know about electricity"). Learning math concepts instead of memorizing facts. Nature walks and drawn maps and leaf collections and sketchbooks.

Of course we're not going to start by reading Shakespeare. We're going to start by learning English. But I really feel like this method facilitates that because it involves so much reading and talking - especially at the early years.

I think this seems like a really well rounded method. And, it interests me also, whereas all the cirriculum I looked at seemed boring and something I wouldn't really want to teach. So I feel like I'm going back to school too. And I'm excited. :)

Cheap or Free in Sheboygan - April and May

Sunday, April 22 - Earth Day Celebration
11am-4pm.
Educational and hands-on displays and activities for all ages. Including horse-drawn wagon rides, live animal displays, and presentations. $2/person; 3 and under free. Maywood Environmental Park, 3615 Mueller Road, Sheboygan

Tuesday, April 24 - John Michael Kohler Arts Center - Independent Lens
7:00 p.m.
Movie - SENTENCED HOME -Raised as Americans, three Cambodian teenagers make a decision that irrevocably shapes their destiny. Now unwillingly deported back to Cambodia, they find themselves caught between a tragic past and an uncertain future in a system with no second chances. Free. JMKAC 608 New York Avenue, Sheboygan

Tuesday, May 15 - Sheboygan Riverfront - Ride Aboard a Charter Boat Day
6:00 PM
Sheboygan Area Great Lakes Sport Fisherman's Club's 3rd Annual Ride Aboard a Chater Boat Day. Free boat rides will be provided to all, courtesy of our club member charter captains along the Sheboygan boardwalk.

Friday, May 18 - Stephanie Weill Center - Movie: My Fair Lady
4:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Tickets available at the Weill Center Ticket Office or by phone 920-208-3243.
Tickets $5.00

Saturday, May 19 - Maywood - Scoping the Skies
9:00 PM
The Sheboygan County Astronomical Society begins its monthly public viewing sessions with a look at Saturn, the Beehive Cluster, and the Hercules Cluster. A beautiful view of Venus and crescent moon less than 1 degree apart. Telescopes provided or bring your own binoculars and scopes.
Meet in the Maywood parking lot. Overcast skies may cancel. Free, drop-in program; no registration required. Maywood Environmental Park


Saturdays in May - Saturday Morning Bird Walk - 7:30 AM - Maywood Environmental Park

Grocery Store Challenge Update

First week we didn't buy anything.
Second week we bought coconut milk, onions, red lentils, oats, milk, and vegetable oil.
Third week we went to a bigger natural food store in Milwaukee (not Trader Joe's) that almost falls under the 'grocery store' description, but it's locally owned and not a chain, so I decided that it was okay. We bought cheese, salsa bread (mmmm), chocolate, green peppers and frozen broccoli.

Stuff we have in excess: spaghetti, tomato soup, quinoa, rice mixes, eggs, chicken, potatoes, and flour. Also we have finally used up almost all of the frozen produce we had leftover from last year's farm share. All we have left is a ton of garlic.

Things I have improvised on: homemade potato chips, homemade tortillas, used tomato soup and pureed veggies for spaghetti sauce, ate refried beans on bread since we ran out of PB (that was kind of gross), made chocolate cupcake cookie things (madeleines?).

I think it's going okay. I think Brent doesn't like that there are no super easy microwave meals, but he'll only have to suffer for 12 more days. Of course, Taco Bell isn’t a grocery store…...

When you can't afford a KitchenAid mixer

Geocaching today

I spent the morning surfing and looking for cheap things for Brent and I to do around town now that the weather is getting nicer. I found a ton of stuff - lots of local fesitvals and nature walks among other things.

Also, we decided to go geocaching and found 4 caches. Here are some pics of our day :)

First cache was by the VFW memorial

Found it!

What's inside?

Hey, here's a friend of ours. (Thanks for serving, Mr. Behr!)

Second cache was in a park right by our house.

Just a log inside - not room for anything else.

Third cache was inside here - muddy.

Last cache was down a cliff by the lakefront.

Found it!

Fun day!

About the 'Russian Adoption Shutdown' in the news

I think the media over did it a little.... okay a lot.....

Basically - all adoption agencies working in Russia had to go through a accreditation process before they could process adoptions again. Today was the day that the accreditation expired on the last two agencies. So now there are no agencies that can legally process adoptions.

However, all the agencies have known that this was coming, and are all working on re-accrediting themselves. Our agency is expecting June.

So, not really shut down, just slowed down.

We're not at that stage yet anyway, so we're confident that our agency will be all worked out by the time we get there.

Thanks to everyone who expressed their concern - we appreciate your prayers. :)

Self imposed grocery challenge

The challenge is to not go to any chain grocery stores in April.
Locally owned (like ethnic groceries) are allowed.

I'm hoping that I will
- use the stuff in our pantry
- plan meals around what we have
- buy more locally and discover new places to buy food
- really look at what our food needs are
- buy less convenience foods
- try new recipes
- save money

So far I've done well. Today is the first day I really need to shop, and will buy cheese (cheese factory), oats and milk (natural food store). Oh yeah, I bought eggs from a farmer too.

This only really works because our pantry was super overflowing, but it's kind of fun to be creative. I plan to do it again in the summer when we start getting our farm share again.

What's goin' on

Hope you all had a happy Easter. We went to my parent's house and Brent's parents came too. It was a good day.

I have been stalking our homestudy guy and finally got us an appointment with him. We'll be meeting in our home 1.5 weeks from now. I'm not sure how many times we have to meet, but hopefully we can get them over with ASAP. He seems like a nice guy, although a little hard to get in contact with. But he just started at that job, and I think we're his first adoption homestudy clients.

A has been gone for over a week - much longer than that it seems. We finally took his car seat out of the car and finished cleaning his room. I still have to pick up the half dozen smiley stickers that are ground into the carpet, but that will have to wait.

That's it for new news. The only other thing thats taking up my time is trying to figure out financing for the adoption. We almost have it covered - through loans and such, but that doesn't stop me from trying to squeeze blood out of every penny that comes into this house. Every $5 we save is a Fedex ground shipment. Every $10 is an apostille request. Every $100 is a night's stay in Moscow. Every dollar that we don't have to borrow later is an acomplishment.

Hosting Day 11

We set our alarm for 3:40, got up and got A's backpack packed to the brim with toys, clothes, stickers, a little picture album and other fun stuff. I was going to hide some M&Ms in there, but he found them before I could. Brent got him dressed and we headed down to the hotel lobby to wait for the other kids and A's ride to pick them up. He said he was hungry so we scrounged up an apple, a granola bar and an orange soda to sugar him up before passing him off.
A's ride was a little late and came at about 4:45. Brent and I headed back up to the room and slept in until about 10.

Now we're home and he's gone. In the air somewhere.

I'm sad but not really sad. I'm ready to move forward with the adoption - with new vigor and urgancy. I'm ready to start preparing for him to come back.

I told Brent's mom yesterday - having a six-year-old is difficult sometimes, but not having a six-year-old is more difficult.

We miss you A! It's too quiet here :)

Hosting Day 10

A had his church program today, and he sang so well and loud. Very proud mama here. :)

After church we went for lunch at Olive Garden with my parents, yum yum.

Then we had to take short trip to Oshkosh (half hour away). We had realized the night before that we left A's backpack at home - the one he had to take back to Russia with him. Thankfully, Brent's parents so generously volunteered to meet us in Oshkosh so we wouldn't have to drive all they way back home and spend 3 hours in the car on our last day.

A was pretty much a crazy person all day. It was tiring and frusterating for Brent and I, but I can only imagine what A was going through. All new everything - no routine - no idea what we expect of him - would drive me crazy too. But we made it through with minimal trauma and A fell asleep around 10 PM.