Friday, February 22, 2013

The Friday Four, Part 2

~1~

Reading over my post from yesterday I realized that it sounds much more negative than I intended it to be, which is extra ironic, of course, because it's supposed to be about my efforts to think more positively!  Honestly, a couple of pretty lousy days right at the outset have been followed by some pretty darn decent ones.  Thank you muchly to those who have offered support and encouraging words.  I can't tell you how much it means to me.

~2~

Let's talk about cabbage.  I have to admit that cabbage is one of my least favorite veggies, always has been.  My favorite form of cabbage has actually been sauerkraut - blame my German studies and time in Vienna - but even that I can only take in fairly small amounts.  Never could abide cole slaw.  I'm fairly ambivalent about those Asian-themed salads with raw cabbage, too.  And then I got a whole head of cabbage in my Bountiful Basket Saturday before last.  And then a friend convinced me to take the whole head of cabbage she had gotten from Bountiful Baskets, too.  ("Oh, come on," said she, "If nothing else, your chickens will appreciate it!")  So now I had two whole heads of my least favorite vegetable in my fridge.  I hate wasting food, so I sent out a plea on facebook: Friends, what do you do with so much cabbage?!?!  They stepped up to the plate and made several yummy-sounding suggestions.  I ended up trying this Apple Cole Slaw for my son's Blue & Gold Banquet earlier this week and dinner last night was these Cabbage Rolls.  And I surprised myself by actually liking both!  Cabbage is getting perilously close to losing its status as my least favorite veggie; rutabaga and lima beans are eyeing the number one spot jealously.  I have a quarter-head wedge of raw cabbage left that I didn't use in the cole slaw, and about half a head of steamed cabbage left from the cabbage rolls, enough to try a few more recipes...Any suggestions that will bump cabbage off its least-favorite perch permanently?

~3~

I read a lot.  And I am often asked just how I manage to read so much with everything I have going on.  I'll let you in on one of my secrets.  A couple of Christmases ago, my husband bought me a Kindle Fire.  I love it.  I truly, truly do.  It's incredibly handy, especially on trips, because it drastically reduces the weight and volume of my reading material.  I still mostly prefer to read "real" books - you know, the kind with paper pages that you actually turn - but the Kindle Fire has been incredibly useful and has really helped me get more reading done, especially since I relented and downloaded Angry Birds...

What you don't see in this picture is me with my feet up in the chair across the room, reading my latest acquisition from the library.  Mom of the Year, I know...
~4~

If any of you aren't reading Momastery, you should be.  Glennon and her family are going through a rough transition right now, but her brutiful (a word she coined) honesty and authenticity are refreshing.  She is able to put her beliefs on faith and family into words that are inclusive and encouraging and simply perfect.  A few of my favorite posts:

Don't Carpe Diem
"Parenting is hard. Just like lots of important jobs are hard. Why is it that the second a mother admits that it’s hard, people feel the need to suggest that maybe she’s not doing it right? Or that she certainly shouldn’t add more to her load. Maybe the fact that it’s so hard means she IS doing it right…in her own way…and she happens to be honest."
For Adam
"Baby, if you see a child being left out, or hurt, or teased, a part of your heart will hurt a little. Your daddy and I want you to trust that heart-ache. Your whole life, we want you to notice and trust your heart-ache. That heart ache is called compassion, and it is God’s signal to you to do something. It is God saying, Chase! Wake up! One of my babies is hurting! Do something to help! Whenever you feel compassion – be thrilled! It means God is speaking to you, and that is magic. It means He trusts you and needs you."
I Think Jesus'd Be Gay or...No She DIDN'T
"And so I just wonder…what form would Jesus take if he came back to Earth again? If the form He chose last time is any indicator, He’d appear as someone whom religious leaders and we common people would least expect. Last time, they were sure He’d come as a powerful king and He arrived as an homeless infant. I wonder what He’d say, who He’d befriend, how He’d live, WHO He’d be this time around? Again, if past behavior is indicative of future behavior- His way of being and friends and every word He said would scandalize and challenge the religious folks of today, and He’d walk around breaking THE WORD OF GOD for Love. He would challenge and change all of our perceptions about who is in and who is out and He would ask us to fulfill the law, not by nitpicking isolated scriptures that have been translated by humans for centuries but by soaking in and understanding His entire message. The whole rainbow. LOVE."
A Mountain I'm Willing to Die on
"Children are not cruel. Children are mirrors. They want to be “grown-up.” So they act how grown-ups act when we think they’re not looking. They do not act how we tell them to act at school assemblies. They act how we really act. They believe what we believe. They say what we say. And we have taught them that gay people are not okay. That overweight people are not okay. That Muslim people are not okay. That they are not equal. That they are to be feared. And people hurt the things they fear. We know that. What they are doing in the schools, what we are doing in the media - it’s all the same. The only difference is that children bully in the hallways and the cafeterias while we bully from behind pulpits and legislative benches and one liners on sit-coms."
Begin Again
"Life is hard. Not because I am doing it wrong, just because it’s hard. But I know, deep down, that it’s all a gift. Every excruciating experience – each is an invitation to walk deeper into truth, into life. And that’s what’s happening to me today. I’m growing – I can feel it. And I am going to be okay – not because of any decisions I make or don’t make, but because of the grace of God. There is no door I can open that God won’t be standing behind, waiting to usher me through."

And on that note, have a lovely weekend!

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