Just in case you haven't met Jessica

Jessica came to us via Lee County Humane Society in March. She is super laid back however, really hates to be alone. Her personality makes you fall in love at once and then proceeds to drive you mad if she can't join in on the fun. On this particular night, she thought by putting on Meghan's flip flops, we would mistake her as just one of the girls!!

This Morning

A conversation on the way to church...

Me: Hey, I found a cool website that sells organic cotton t-shirts. One of them had a snowman on it and under it said Endangered Species.

Wes: Oh yeah?

Peyton: What's a snowman?

Wes: Exactly!

Because sometimes...

you need more than a paintbrush.

Made in China

So I had heard some time ago about a woman who went a year without buying anything made in China.

Sara Bongiorni takes pains to say she does not have a protectionist agenda and, despite the occasional worry about the loss of U.S. jobs to overseas factories, she has nothing against China. Her goal was simply to make Americans aware of how deeply tied they are to the international trading system. "I wanted our story to be a friendly, nonjudgmental look at the ways ordinary people are connected to the global economy,"

It was one of those things that stayed in the back of my mind, however, occasionally reared its head as if to say, "I'm bugging you for a reason". I kept fruitlessly trying to push is back because like most things of this nature...it made my head hurt.

Wes lost his flip flops a few weeks ago and decided to try and find an affordable replacement made in the USA. We are still looking! Even the super ridiculously expensive ones are imported. Now if it were me I would have patted myself on the back for giving a good effort and said "Oh well, I NEED flip flops. I can't spend an entire summer without!" And off to Target I would go. But, instead Wes just puts on his old ratty sneakers without complaint and keeps going. I fear if he tries to replace the tennis shoes we will run into the same problem.

This morning I found this article from 2007. The journalist focused on the harmful products coming out of China as of late; toys, toothpaste, pet food, produce, to name a few. The end of the article sums up what made sense to me. A former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said:

...all consumers receive value from the ubiquity of Chinese-made appliances, but when it comes to food products and ingredients, companies need to be more vigilant in tracking their supply chains. “Unfortunately in the case of foods and drugs, there’s a safety issue on top of the quality issue. If the toaster doesn’t work you just take it back to Wal-Mart and they give you another one. But if the food is unsafe, that’s a different matter.”

Ok, so here is my question. Or rather dilemma. How am I going to change the way I think about shopping? Will I start turning over products to see (or for that matter care) how much jet fuel it took to put them in my hand? Will I actually stop by the Farmers' Market instead of passing it on my run? Will I ever be able to buy a cute top, a pair of earrings, or heels from Target or Wal-Mart again? Can I afford to? Can I afford not to?

Go see this movie! Now.

I have never felt more responsible for my actions than I do now that I have seen this movie. I believe this movie is meant to make us feel guilty. I mean most of us are only going because you can take kids. That's what got me in. What a great way to market environmental change. The entire time I sat there I felt ashamed of how much Peyton's generation is going to have to clean up after me!

I am not a huge fan of the phrase "Going Green". Why? Because it's trendy and trends never last. There is a lot of publicity about it and most of it is not what it seems. You can spend ALOT of money going green and really do nothing to make our stay here better.

I could sit here and list all the ways but you're smart. You know how to use Google. Maybe I could waste a whole day writing a blog about 100 ways to be green. Or maybe I can start living my life in a way that shows Peyton I actually care about her future.

Care to join me?

I was wondering...

Do ever have those times in your life where you realize you've changed? You take a step back and wonder, "when did I stop liking cream in my coffee, how did I forget that I love roller coasters, why did I ever believe I wanted a house full of kids"?

Some of these questions keep popping into my head and won't go away. I wonder, did I change my mind or did I just not know that I didn't want or like certain things? The one thing REALLY bugging me is that I can't quite pinpoint the thing in my life that I am passionate about. Obviously my family is my greatest passion but I'm talking about me, just me, my selfish wants and needs. Something that I could not imagine not doing or having in my life.

I am getting better at knowing what I don't like.
I don't like red sauce on pizza.
I don't like, no I HATE to mop (that fact is painfully evident).
I don't want to use my Human Development degree. Ever.
And I don't like to be touched by people I'm not close to. Just the other day I caught myself putting my hands behind my back and making the smile on my face bigger (a lame attempt to still seem somewhat inviting), just so I didn't have to shake some one's hand.

Things that I don't know:
Who to vote for (this one make my head want to explode).
Why can't I politely listen to my husband explain how different drugs work in your body and not get utterly frustrated because I'm not going to remember what he said in 3 minutes?
Why can't I manage all this free time? Some days I get absolutely nothing done. Nothing.
Why am I all or nothing? I get super excited about starting a project and then get burned out and just stop.
This list could go on for days.

There is little that I am completely certain about. However...
I love Mexico. I WILL find a way to spend a LOT of time there!
I love red wine. I love to drink it at a nice restaurant on a date or on my back porch with a group of friends. And,to be perfectly honest I love to have just one glass too many.
I love the pastor at our church. I could listen to Jim Evans speak all day.
I love earrings and heels. This is a new love for me, but getting dressed up makes me giddy.
I LOVE that my husband is completely difficult.
I love that my little girl likes to express her independence.
I love fall in Auburn.
OK, so maybe I am certain of more things than I thought.

Somebody should warn you before you hit your 30s of all the questions and self doubt! Sheesh!

Bear With Me

In hopes of inspiring a bit of creativity and motivation, I decided to change things up.

Moving seemed easier for a few reasons. I LOVE to start over when I can. It can be annoying especially when the reasons to start over are only apparent to me. I can be very anal and when I don't like what I have done, I usually refuse to try and patch it. I had much rather scrap it, go buy new crayons and paper, and start ALL over! However, in this case I didn't want to "scrap" the old blog, I just didn't know how to transition into something else. That's what I want....something else. Something new, fresh, and different than the last. Something that I hope keeps me inspired because as much as I loved the old, it obviously wasn't well... inspiring me. The other is still there if you want to go back and reminisce. I probably will occasionally do just that.


In an abbreviated effort to catch you up, Peyton finished kindergarten and has so far had a busy, yet fun filled summer. She has had the opportunity to travel and see almost everyone she misses the most. Not for the length of time she had hoped, but some good times nevertheless. We are planning one last trip to the beach before diving back into schedules and required activities. We have exactly one month left and I am actually sad that summer break is coming to an end. Surprisingly the weather in Auburn has been incredibly mild! Unlike last year where going outside made me ill, this year we have tried our hardest to do everything we can outdoors.

In June, Wes and I were able to go on a vacation sans child. It gave us an opportunity to see the pros to such grown up getaways. So as a result, we are committing to do this once a year and when school starts to one date night a week.

I have one room left in my house to paint. The house is now settled and arranged. My husband has found a grove at work that he can manage. My kiddo has her friends and a level of comfort in her environment that makes her feel confident. So my "time off" is slowly starting to seem silly. I NEED a different purpose. A job? Continuing my education? A volunteer program? All of the above? It makes my head hurt to try and figure this one out. So I am planning to start small. I am going to apply for a part time job and enroll in a beginners Spanish class starting in the fall. Hopefully, I will be successful in these endeavors.

But that will be for another blog...